Page 51 of Death and Desire

His soft laugh made her stomach flip. “You ask me that question when you’ve seen what I truly am, what I am capable of?”

She knew who he was, what he was, and yet, she longed to unravel more of the shadowed mystery surrounding him. He’d shown her his true form, his power. It should have left her quaking in terror, but it only fueled her desire to learn more.

Those foggy memories of her time in his palace haunted her. She craved to sate her curiosity. Was he as formidable as she remembered? The initial fear she encountered there had dissipated, giving way to something more desirable. She wanted to seehim.

Violet lifted her free hand to his face, resting her palm against the curve of his jaw. “Show me again.”

Chapter Thirteen

Ensnared by his darkgaze, Violet held her breath as thick, black smoke curled around her ankles. Fear should have filled her, but she only felt excitement pounding in her veins. Her skin tingled where they touched.

Whatever this was between them, she craved it. Her uncertainty melted away at the hum of tension surrounding them. She knew exactly what he was—who he was—and she stillwantedhim.

Khalid moved her hand away from his face as the smoke climbed higher, weaving around them like a ribbon pulling them together. Binding them in this moment. She gasped as the smoke slid between them, slowly blocking his face from view.

His dark eyes glowed gold, fixed upon hers as smoke curled around his head before engulfing him completely.

Violet shifted closer, her mind and body held in a trance, as if she were drunk on him. On what he made her feel. Whether it was some trick or spell, she couldn’t say, but when he entered her mind, she found only peace. It unnerved her to have someone inside her thoughts, speaking to her without words, but it was simultaneously exhilarating.

Anubis, she whispered in her mind.

His presence returned, and she smiled.

Slowly, the shadows dissipated, evaporating in the evening air like smoke on the wind. Even though she expected it, anticipated it,askedfor it, she gasped at the revelation of his true form.

Anubis towered over her. She’d forgotten how tall and broad he was in this form. Her gaze drifted across his bare chest, the defined muscles carved beneath his ebony skin, glinting like polished stone beneath the dim lights and full moon.

Her gaze snapped to his face...not a man’s now, but a jackal’s. One pointed ear, laden with three gold rings, twitched. Vibrant gold eyes held her gaze. She felt the warmth of his skin beneath her touch and the rasp of his nails as he grazed them across her palm.

A shiver wracked her.

“I frighten you,” he said simply, his tone low and gruff.

“No...” Violet bit her lip, feeling heat rise in her cheeks. Her body hummed with awareness.

“Why does your breath catch and your heart race”—he drew one curved nail over her wrist—“if you are not afraid?”

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