Page 49 of Nightmare Island

He’s transformed from the man I know into something else entirely. His black hair is wild, his chest growling with each breath. Blood spatters his white shirt and smears his knuckles. But it’s his eyes that hold me. They’re still that molten gold, pupils blown wide with rage and something else, something hungry.

“Did he hurt you?”

I quickly shake my head.

He stalks into the room, his movements fluid and predatory. Power radiates from him in waves. My heart thunders against my ribs—not in fear exactly but in recognition of something primal and ancient.

“Ghost,” I whisper.

A growl rumbles from deep in his chest. He stalks closer until I feel the heat rolling off his body. His hand comes up to brace against the wall beside my head, and I catch the scent of blood, pine, smoke, and perspiration.

“You’re mine.” The words seem to tear from him. “Mine to protect. Mine to defend.” His other hand comes up to cup my face, surprisingly gentle despite the violence still thrumming through him. “Anyone who touches you without your permission forfeits their right to breathe.”

I should be terrified. Should be running from the barely contained violence in front of me.

He pushes something into my hand, something hot, warm, and sticky, while saying, “Anyone who dares touch you will lose that part of their body because only I get to touch you.”

I glance down at the slimy, gross, red tongue in my hand. A scream bursts from my mouth, and I fling the tongue away. It hits the wall with a wet thump, then slides down.

“What the fuck, Ghost!”

He’s there in my face, hands on my arms, drawing me against him, and I shake him off, already rushing to the bathroom to wash my hands. He’s right there before me, doing the same.

“Do you know how it felt to look over and see that fucking monkey with his tongue down your throat?” he said, glancing over me. “I practically vomited and flew to come for you. It murdered me seeing someone else taste you.”

“Oh, that’s funny coming from you,” I snap, trying to ignore how my body automatically leans against him. “You want to talk about murder? Try watching Eve treat your bicep like her personal stress ball while you just stand there looking amused.” I inject as much venom into the word as possible, even as my traitorous body floods with warmth at his proximity.

I march out of the bathroom, and he’s on my heel. When I stop, he pauses, looking genuinely startled. “Eve?”

“Don’t act dense. It doesn’t suit you.” My hands press against his chest—to push him away or pull him closer, I’m not even sure anymore.

“She means nothing to me. I should have pushed her away.” His voice drops lower, rougher. “Sometimes I’m so used to her being there like a bug that she’s invisible to me.”

“A bug?” I’m laughing. “Wow, that’s actually kind of mean. I like it.”

Suddenly, he’s on his knees before me, his hands gripping my hips with a possessiveness that makes my breath catch.

“Hel, I’m sorry. Fuck, I’ll grovel all night to show you that you’re mine and the only one I want.”

Something molten unfurls in my chest at his words. My wolf is snarling at me to submit, to let go, to give in to whatever this crackling energy between us is. My rational brain is trying to remind me that I’ve known him less than a week, but it’s fighting a losing battle against the way my body is responding to him.

With trembling fingers, I reach for his skull mask, pulling it up and off. He stays perfectly still as I lift it away, like a predator allowing their prey one last move. The moment I set it aside and look down at him, I see it blazing in his good eye—the hunger, arousal, possession. His hands slide up my dress, leaving fire in their wake.

Then he climbs to his feet, towering over me.

“Maybe we shouldn’t,” I murmur, even as my body arches into his touch.

He growls and hauls me closer. “If I don’t have you right now, I’ll burn this whole fucking forest down.”

The raw desire in his voice makes me shiver, but then his mouth finds that spot on my neck, and coherent thought becomes a distant memory.

“Ghost…” My voice catches as his teeth graze my skin.

“Say it again,” he demands against my throat. “Say my name.”

Chapter

Twelve

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