Page 16 of King of Inferno

I lick my lips nervously. “Um … my name is Taylor.”

He looks down at me and smiles. “You can call me Bradan, little one.”

“Oh,” I squawk.

“Not what you were expecting?” he asks with a lifted brow and an amused grin.

“I don’t know, but I like it.”

“Do you now?”

We step into an elevator. He turns to face me after he presses a button on the panel. I look at his patch and notice his name is spelled Bradan, but he pronounces it as Bray-dan. I like the way he says it. I look up into his eyes and watch as he takes me in.

He tilts his head to the side. “I’ve never seen you dressed like this for me,” he murmurs.

I look down at my feet. “This was for you. I was hoping you would come and be …”

He reaches beneath my chin and lifts my head. “And be what, my sweet little one?”

“Um … jealous. Maybe then you would approach me. I know, stupid, right? You probably have no interest in me.”

He cuts my babbling off as he tugs my body into his and looks down at me with so much lust in his eyes. I yelp as he lifts me onto his waist before taking my lips in a deep, searing kiss.

I cup his face, pushing one hand into his hair and give in to his domineering kiss. I knit my brows as the flavor of smoked chocolate strawberries hit my tongue.

Tightening my hold on his face, I suck his tongue into my mouth, trying to get more—more of him, more of his kiss, more of the intoxicating flavor coming from his mouth. He groans and it vibrates through me, curling my toes.

I’m so consumed by him, I’ve forgotten all logic. It’s when smoke pours from my nose that I break the drugging kiss. Looking into his eyes, my sense begins to return.

There’s fire in his eyes. In the parking lot … that was a ball of fire in his palm. Oh my God, what is he?

I wiggle to get to my own feet and take a step back. A scowl comes to his face, and he looks … hurt? I can’t help myself. I inch closer and reach for his hand.

“Bradan?” I whisper. “What’s going on? What are you?”

“I’m your mate. You are mine. I can smell it on you now. I didn’t know why I was drawn to you before, but now I feel it. I taste it on your lips. I can smell it in your blood. You, baby girl, are mine.”

“Yours?”

My knees nearly give. His words feel like nothing but the truth, but I still don’t understand. He lifts the hand I’m holding to my face and runs his thumb across my lip.

“Mine,” he says more firmly. “You just took my full kiss and true breath. You are definitely my mate and not human as I first thought you were.”

“Not human? Your mate?” I utter like a buffoon.

He chuckles, and it sounds so delicious. However, I force myself to focus on what’s really going on here. I grasp his wrist with both hands as he continues to cup my face.

“If I am not human, what am I, and what are you?”

The elevator dings and the doors open. Bradan turns his hand to take one of mine and leads me off the car. I follow him like a lost puppy, needing to find some answers as my brain scrambles for some semblance of the truth.

He leads me down a long corridor and veers right as we get to the end. Opening the second door we pass; he pushes it in and steps inside with me in tow. Glancing around the room, my eyes grow wide; the place is huge.

There’s a huge fireplace, almost as high as Bradan is tall. Over it is a crest of some sort. However, what grabs my attention is the huge bed and the throne chair that sits on a platform facing the foot of the bed.

My cheeks heat as my mind is bombarded by dirty thoughts. Bradan steps behind me and wraps his arms around my waist. I crane my neck to look up at him.

He’s looking down at me with a smile. “I can’t wait until I can hear your thoughts. I wonder if the gods did as well with your mind as they did with your looks.”

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