Page 65 of Catch a Tiger

Vix waited, ignoring the pounding of her heart as the anticipation of his rejection coursed through her veins like poison. Her eyes burned, but shewaited.

No one was quite as cunning as the fox.

“You would let me go so easily?” Mylo asked, his tone so bland she might not have noticed how upset he was if she couldn’t feel the excruciating pain in his chest as the silver thread of their bond threatened to snap. “Makes me wonder if you really are my mate.”

Running her tongue over her canines, Vix decided he was ready for the truth even if it might get her throat torn out.

“You think this is easy?” She released his dick and reached up to take his face in her hands. “You set my entire body on fire. My skinhurtsbecause you won’t touch it. The ache in my chest is somehow worse than the ache of the emptiness where your body should be, and still…that’s not even close to the ache in my teeth. It’s taking every, single, tiny drop of sanity I have left not to force a claim on you. I almost lost control in that cavernous bathroom when I first scented it, and now you’re above me, practicallybeggingfor it.”

Finally, his body was starting to react to the things she was saying. Mylo’s chest began to heave as he tried to breathe through the painful truth he could hear in her words.

“I could do it, you know,” she murmured, licking her lips as his tiger started to shred through Mylo’s cage of humanity. “Foxes are just as strong as apex predators – a little secret we keep to help us play our tricks and games.”

His grip on her throat tightened, but not enough to cut off her oxygen, and Vix smiled, deciding to prove it to him.

She wrapped a hand around his wrist and the other around the back of his neck. “The only reason this is still here is because I want it. I like how possessive it feels,” she admitted, tightening her grip on his wrist until the bones creaked.

Vix stopped just before they snapped and forced him closer with the hand on his neck.

Relishing in the flicker of surprise she could see, his bones scraped together when she squeezed just a little more.

“Do youwantme to force the claim?” she asked, grinning up at him when she sensed his desire start to leak into his scent. “Do you want me to take the choice away from you?”

His alpha tiger growled at her, and her grin widened.

“You can’t smell it, but I’m just as dominant as you,” Vix confessed, squeezing his wrist until he winced when the bones started to fracture. “I couldmakeyou deny the bond, if that would be easier.”

The sound of bones cracking felt faraway as Mylo stared at her with something like disbelief when he didn’t feel the pain of it at all, because she stole it from him before he could.

“You think I would come to this dead place with three massive tigers so immersed in humanity and secrets without knowing how to deal with the consequences?” Vix shattered what was left of his unbroken bones and took all the pain before releasing him so it could heal. “I knew how dangerous you were, but it was worth the risk because Rune ismine.”

Then she let go of his neck and lay there, showing him just how much she didn’t care what he did with her at this point.

“Youare mine,” she murmured, watching as every single word she’d spoken took root in his mind to flourish and grow. They might even help hold him together a little better. “You can reject me, but that doesn’t change the fact that I was made for you. I won’t abandon you, Mylo. Even if you deny our bond.”

He looked like he was trying to deny the bond, like hewantedto, but…couldn’t. It was a fascinating thing to watch as he went through so many emotions in such a short amount of time, but Vix didn’t rush him.

It gave her the time she needed to cool down and remember she didn’t want to force a claim on him…unless he asked her to.

“I want to kill you,” Mylo admitted, but there was no bite to his words. “I keep trying, but I can’t seem to crush your throat as easily as you crushed my wrist.”

Vix held her breath as she waited for his decision.

“Your lack of scent is revolting,” Mylo practically purred, his voice somehow getting even deeper. “Your chaos is ridiculously dangerous and yet…”

He released her throat and settled his body over hers, letting a good portion of his weight press down on her so she was completely covered like he was her very own personal blanket, and finally her skin stopped hurting. His cock was still hard and it nestled against her thighs and clit, the damn thing so big she could feel it on her stomach too.

It was impossible not to touch him when he was like this. Vix settled her hands on his lower back as softly as she could and slid them up as he watched her, stealing tiny sips of pain from all his scars until she felt his muscles relax just a little.

That should be enough for now. Too much and he might rip at his seams until they burst. Vix had never been good at putting things back together and if he fell apart, there was nothing she could do to fix it.

“The only touch I allow is through violence,” Mylo told her. “Even with Rune and Samuel, I can barely stand skin-on-skin contact unless there’s pain.”

“Pain is easier,” she agreed, pressing her hands to his shoulder blades just to feel the strength in his body. “It’s easier to understand and control.”

His cock flexed against her then and she hissed in a breath, clenching her teeth against the sudden, overwhelmingneed. It didn’t keep her from raising her hips though, or digging her claws into his shoulders.

“So, what makes you different?” Mylo growled against her throat, his teeth taunting and teasing. “If I keep touching you, what will keep me from unraveling? All these seams will rip if I let this happen.”

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