Page 99 of Savage Hunt

I smacked his hand away. “Touch me again, and you’ll find out why I don’t need Fane to protect me.”

Dominic’s head lowered. “Oh, I’m going to be touching you a lot while I?—”

The shifter was suddenly tossed into a tree like a ragdoll. My neck tattoo went haywire as Fane stepped in front of me, a growl twice as terrifying as the one he unleashed on Saint bursting from his lips.

“I’ve been looking for a reason to rip your throat out, Dom.” Fane cracked his neck while talons sprouted from his fingertips. “You just gave me one.”

Dominic climbed to his feet, sneering as he dug bark out of his brown hair. “You and I both know you won’t kill me, Fane. You don’t want to cause trouble for your family.”

“I was ready to take on an alpha, and you don’t believe I’ll slaughter you?” An ominous edge sliced his laugh.

Some of the blood drained from Dominic’s cheeks. “Why do you even care? I heard you wanted her dead.”

Fane shrugged his massive shoulders. “Doesn’t mean you get to touch her.”

“You two really are screwed up.” He dusted the leaves and dirt from his shirt and turned to leave, glancing over his shoulder. “You’re going to pay for what you did to Dorian, Tate.”

I scoffed. “Dorian got his title stripped all on his own. You can’t blame me for his stupidity.”

Dominic smirked and vanished into the shadows, leaving Fane and me alone.

The demon shifter glared at me, his nostrils flaring. “Trouble follows you everywhere.”

“Excuse me, holier-than-thou demon shifter. I didn’t ask Saint to come up to me or for Dominic to assault me. I sure as hell didn’t ask you to come to my rescue in either situation.” I shoved his shoulder, which felt like trying to move a mountain. “I could have handled both of them.”

“I bet you would have handled Saint just fine.”

A laugh burst out. “Jealous?”

“I have nothing to be jealous about.”

He was correct. Saint was insanely hot, but no one could compare to Fane in my book. “Why don’t you just go back to brooding somewhere and leave me alone?” When I tried to step around him, he moved in my path.

“You’re not going anywhere, Teague.” His teeth bared as his lips curled back. “We’re not finished.”

I tossed my hands up. “What else do you want?”

Fane grabbed my belt loops and yanked me into him. His lips were on mine before I could take another breath, his tongue invading my mouth and taking control.

My reaction was instantaneous, melting into him and surrendering to his rough, possessive touch. A moan slipped out of me as Fane continued to stake his claim. He tasted like warmth and cinnamon and felt like a fire, one I’d let consume me until nothing except ash remained.

His fingers dove into my hair, pulling on the roots to tilt my head. My scalp burned, and I whimpered, but he didn’t stop.

I didn’t want him to.

Fane crushed me into a tree, his hips rocking into mine. His hard length pulsed between us, and I wanted to tear his jeans off to take him in my hands. “Fane,” I murmured, lost in the desire and longing crashing around us.

His fingers slipped under my shirt to caress my heated flesh, but when he skimmed the raised scars from Warin on my side, he turned rigid. Fane jerked away as if the marks reminded him of his need for revenge.

Our ragged breaths filled the air as rage flowed around him, battling with the lust. His hand lifted, fingers curling like he imagined wrapping them around my throat. Before he attacked, his gaze traveled over my head, and he smirked.

I spun just as Saint vanished into the shadows, flames converging across my cheeks. “Was he here the whole time?” I hissed. “Is that why you kissed me?”

He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “You thought I was overcome with so much desire for you I couldn’t stand it?” His laughter punched holes in my chest. “I just wanted Saint to back off. I won’t be able to kill you if he’s sniffing around, trying to turn you into his mate.”

Without considering the consequences, I slapped him, his head jerking to the side as a loud crack ricocheted through the forest. “Keep telling yourself that you hate me, Maverick. Maybe one day you’ll believe it.” I closed the distance between us and craned my neck back to look at his harsh face. “And you kissed me because you wanted to. At some point, you’ll have to stop pretending.”

Traumatic childhood memories bled through the nightmares of Fane chasing and killing me. Or sometimes I was the one with a lethal dagger impaling his heart. And then the scene would fade, and I’d be back in a foster home or on the streets, at the mercy of some horror.

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