Page 36 of Claimed By Midnight

"Storming away from me isn't going to work." Athena's chin tilts up, those golden-green eyes blazing. "I deserve to go to the market with you. I'm not a child."

"No?" I spread my wings, blocking her path to my workbench. "Then stop acting like one. New Solas isn't safe for humans."

"I've lived through worse." She plants her hands on her hips. The late afternoon sun streaming through the windows catches her hair, and it is distractingly beautiful how it highlights her. "I can handle myself."

A growl builds in my throat. "You think because you patch up a few scrapes, you know how dangerous it is?" I lean down, bringing my face closer to hers. "The things I've seen would give you nightmares."

She scowls. "You underestimate me." And then slightly lower, with just a touch less bite, she says, "I thought you wouldn't do that."

Fuck. The fire in her eyes, the way her chest rises with each angry breath – it drives me crazy. I want to shake her. Kiss her. Both.

"You're too precious to risk." The words slip out before I can stop them.

"I'm not some delicate flower." She steps closer, jabbing a finger into my chest. "And you don't get to decide what I can and can't do."

My wings curl forward instinctively, creating a cocoon around us. The scent of her mingles with the metallic tang of my workshop. "Watch your tone, little demon."

"Or what?" A smile tugs at the corner of her mouth, challenging me.

I catch her finger before she can poke me again, wrapping my hand around hers. "You're playing with fire."

"Maybe I like getting burned." She grins up at me, all sass and defiance.

The tension crackles between us like lightning before a storm. My free hand itches to grab her, to show her exactly how dangerous I can be. But that smile of hers – equal parts sweet and wicked – keeps me rooted in place.

The defiance rolling off her small frame hits me like a physical force. Where others would cower, she stands taller. My wings cast shadows across her face, but those golden-green eyes still gleam with challenge. Fuck, she's beautiful when she's angry.

"You think those wings scare me?" Athena's lips curve into a smile that's pure sin. "I've been living with demons my whole life."

I drag my thumb across her captured hand, feeling her pulse race beneath her skin. The anger is twisting into something else - something more deadly. "Then you should know better than to provoke one."

Her free hand reaches up, fingers hovering near my wing. "Or maybe you're not as scary as you think you are."

Blood rushes in my ears. No one touches my wings. Ever. But I don't stop her. Her fingertips graze the edge of my feathers, sending electricity down my spine.

"Careful, little demon." My voice drops lower, rougher. The warrior in me wants to pin her against the nearest wall, show her exactly why creatures fear me. The man in me wants something else entirely.

She stretches up on her toes, bringing her face closer to mine. "Or what?" Her eyes dart down to my mouth and back up. "What will the big, bad xaphan do?"

A growl tears from my throat. My wings snap forward, caging her completely. The movement brings her flush against my chest, and I feel every soft curve press against me. Her breath catches, but that fierce light in her eyes only burns brighter.

"You have no idea what you do to me." I release her hand to grip her waist instead. "How much control it takes not to-"

"Then stop controlling everything." She fists her hands in my shirt, pulling herself even closer. "Especially me."

The scent of honey and herbs surrounds me, making my head spin. Every instinct screams to claim, to possess. She's too pure, too good for the darkness inside me. But the way she looks at me – like she sees past the monster to something worth wanting - makes me forget why I've been holding back.

Her chest rises and falls in quick, angry breaths - or maybe it's the arousal that I'm certain I see written across her face. Blood pounds in my ears, drowning out whatever argument she's making. All I can focus on is the way her bottom liptrembles, how her fingers dig into my shirt like she wants to tear it off.

"You're not listening to a word I'm saying." Athena's cheeks flush a deeper pink. A stray curl falls across her face, and it takes every ounce of control not to brush it away.

"I hear you." My voice comes out rougher than intended. "I just don't care."

She makes a sound of pure frustration, yanking harder on my shirt. The movement pulls her up on her toes, pressing those soft curves harder against me. My wings twitch, instinctively tightening around us.

"You're impossible." Her breath fans across my throat. "Arrogant, stubborn-"

"Keep going." I slide my hand from her waist to the small of her back. "Tell me what else you hate about me." Gods, it shouldn't turn me on so much to see her this worked up.

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