Page 13 of Iron Blade

“I like this one,” he said quietly.

“Of course you do, it’s a naked woman.”

He pinched my chin between his fingers, turning my face to look at him.

“Don’t underestimate me, Miss Kekoa.” His black eyes were like an abyss that I wanted to fall into. He was a snake, and I was the mouse, caught in his gaze. “I am not one who falls for simple delights. I don’t fall for cheap thrills. I pay a high price for what delights me.”

I swallowed. His fingertips traced down to my throat, stopping at my pulse point.

“What would you pay?” My voice was breathy, and I wasn’t sure what I was asking.

“I’ll give you this gallery.” His hand moved down until his palm lay possessively over my throat, his finger and thumb digging into the underside of my jaw.

“What?” My thighs clenched as his possessive hold did terrible things to my brain.

“Let me taste your cunt, and I will buy you this gallery, and everything in it.”

Those alerts swirled in my head, warning me like a siren of upcoming danger. I needed to get out of here. I needed his attention off of me and on to someone else. I couldn’t breathe.

Run!

Chapter six

Consequences

Eoghan

Ihave never wanted a woman so badly in my life. Women, as a rule, are common and cheap. Easily forgotten when out of sight. But not this one. I was obsessed and delighted. Even her scent made my head swim.

My cock ached, and if she so much as brushed against my trousers, I would leak pre-cum like an adolescent. It was agony, talking art with a woman of such insane depth.

“I need to get you out of here or I will take you against the fucking wall.”

“No.” She looked at me with fire in her eyes, burning with a deep hatred that I didn’t understand. “I need to go. Goodnight, Mr. Green.”

“Why?”

“I’m not a whore.” She swallowed; her eyes as heavy with lust as my own. Then she took a step away from me, creating a cold space where we had exchanged heat.

“I never said you were, Miss Kekoa.” She was fate. She was destiny. She was mine.

“You have offered to pay for sexual favors, and…”

“Would you prefer it if I hadn’t? Would you like me to pretend that I wouldn’t move heaven and earth for a taste of you? That I wouldn’t bargain with the devil himself to kiss your mouth?”

She looked away, shaking her head. What was she thinking?

“That’s not how it’s meant to be. It shouldn’t be a transaction! It should be…”

“Love? Fine.” I stepped toward her, closing the space again because I needed to feel her near me. I spun her around and drew her in, pulling her toward me by the biceps until her breast pressed against my chest. “What do you want? A thousand roses? Would it be more honest if I got down on one knee and proposed? Do you wish to cease to be Ms. Kekoa, and become Mrs. Green?”

I leaned down, needing to be close to her again. I needed her breath, her movements, her pulse in my hands.

“So be it,” I swore. If that was what she needed, then I would make it so.

Was it rash? Yes. But I hadn’t felt this alive in over a decade. I hadn’t felt a flutter in my dormant heart in just as long.

“You’re insane.” She squirmed out of my hold, stomping away in anger. “I don’t even know where to start! What the fuck is wrong with you?”

---