Page 30 of Hunt Me

Leaning back, I exhale, my breath shakier than I want to admit. Klyn, of course, notices and continues to smirk as he drains his glass and pushes to his feet. “Her name is Torissa Sage, in case you’re wondering.”

“I wasn’t.”

He sets his glass down, angling toward the door before he stops and says, “You want her address?”

“No.”

“Suit yourself.”

I listen as he lets himself out, my thoughts churning. She’s alone. Raising her sister. Vulnerable. Unprotected.

My dragon’s need to go to her, to protect her is overwhelming. The feeling goes far beyond any blood vow obligation I’ve ever experienced.

Before I can think too hard about all the reasons not to, I am up and out the door and heading for the portal. All it takes is a quick exchange with the soldier guarding the portal, and I’m cleared to pass. My position has its advantages and this is one I almost wish I didn’t. Without clearance, I’d at least be forced to stay away from her.

The moment I step into the Earth realm, I shift into my dragon and take to the air. The mate bond slams into me, calling me toward her with an urgency that catches me off guard. I could feel her in Tartarus but not like this.

In this realm, the tether that connects us is a screaming siren, beckoning me toward her. I fly faster, harder, if only to burn off the lust that fills me as I imagine her following this strand of connection we share—hunting for me as if she were the predator rather than the prey.

It's pointless to go to her.

And yet, that’s what I do.

The mate bond leads me to a small house with peeling paint and a well-tended yard. In the back, a light shines inside a shed. Despite having every reason not to, I land in the trees far enough away that she won’t hear it and slowly approach from the woods. I’m nearly at the edge of her yard when I remember I’m still naked from the shift. Doubling back through several yards, I snag a pair of pants from a clothesline and tug them on before making my way toward her home.

Her presence is a screaming neon sign.

Even from outside, I can already scent her, and it takes everything in me not to break down the door and bury myself inside her.

Instead, I watch her from the window.

Her green hair is loose and long, obscuring her face, but the curves of her body hypnotize me as she moves from plant to plant, watering, inspecting, murmuring things to each of them.

A killer.

I snort. Hardly.

At the sound, she jerks her face toward the window, and I rear back, melting into the shadows.

I wait, barely breathing.

The shed door opens.

I strain to listen for the sound of footsteps or movement, but there is only silence.

Too much silence.

I press myself against the wall, my body thrumming with lust that clouds my thoughts. My erection bulges painfully against my pants. It takes me a moment to sense anything beyond my need for her.

She’s a quiet hunter, I’ll give her that. On silent steps only a fae could achieve, she is suddenly standing before me. Her hair is pulled back in a tail now, revealing her face, and I find myself studying her features even while imagining what it would be like to free her hair again. To watch it curtain around her shoulders. To curl my fists around the ends and bow her head back so I can lick from her throat to her breasts.

Her eyes meet mine, and I watch as her breath catches. Her pulse pounds harder, and I nearly drop to the ground at her feet right here and now to give her what she wants.

What we both want.

Her fist swings out, flying quicker than I would have thought her capable. I barely manage to dodge the punch, sidestepping her at the last second.

She glares at me.

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