Page 85 of Untamed

A soft kiss at my temple makes me draw in a ragged breath. “Yeah, little queen. We can.”

“So what’s the plan?” His fingers lace with mine as we drive through the city. “When’s the gala?”

“Tomorrow.” Leaning in, he nuzzles my neck. “So I have you all to myself tonight. We get to sleep in. In the morning, we meet my family.”

My stomach drops out from under me.

Already?

The car ride is smooth, the kind of luxurious glide that makes me hyperaware of everything. The leather under my fingers, the faint scent of his cologne, the way his hand rests possessively on my thigh. I can’t stop fidgeting, my palms damp despite the chilly air-conditioning.

“Relax,” Rodion says, his lips brushing against my ear like it’s the most natural thing in the world. “Breathe. You’re with me.”

“With you,” I echo, forcing a tight smile. “That’s what I’m worried about,” I quip.

His laugh is low and rich, wrapping around me. “You’re going to make it through tomorrow night just fine. My family doesn’t bite—but I might.”

I shoot him a glare. “Not helping.”

We pull up to a towering hotel, all sleek glass and stone, and my nerves are back to full throttle.

It feels all a bit surreal—armed guards and uniformed assistants, every detail dripping with luxury and discretion. As we step into the private elevator, I let out a shaky breath. The space ispristine, with mirrored walls reflecting Rodion’s sharp gaze and my wide, uneasy eyes. I stare at the buttons, watching his hand move to select the floor, but instead of pressing it, he hesitates.

Uh-oh.

I know that look by now. I know the way his eyes grow heated and dangerous, and maybe it’s my romance-cultivated imagination, but I swear this is when he transforms from human into beast.

“Rodion.” I put my hand out in a futile effort to stop whatever he’s going to do. “What are you?—”

Before I can finish, he slams the emergency stop button. The elevator jolts to a halt between the floors. The sudden stillness is deafening, save the rapid beating of my heart.

“What the hell?” I snap, turning to face him, but he’s already moving, stepping into my space, swallowing the distance between us.

“You’re on edge. Scared,” he says simply, his tone infuriatingly calm and controlled. “I don’t like it. And I want to remind you who you belong to before we take another step anywhere.”

“You don’t like it?” My voice rises, my fists clenching by my sides. “Of all the nerve! Well, excuse me if meeting your family of actual criminals in person has me a little wound up.”

Leaning in, his hand curls at the back of my neck. I stifle a moan at the instant flood of heat that rushes through me, grounding me in an instant.

How does hedothat?

“They’re not going to touch you, little queen.” His thumb brushes the sensitive skin at the base of my skull, anddamn him—it works.I stop trembling.

Was I the one who moved closer, or was it him?

I’m against the wall of his chest, and a very small part of me still wants to push away, but the mirrored wall is behind me, leaving me nowhere to go. “This isn’t fair,” I whisper. “You can’t just…trapme to calm me down.”

“Says who? Why not?” His voice is velvet-wrapped steel, the dangerous purr of a predator, but I want…more.“And who says my plan is to trap you to calm you down? Maybe I have other plans.”

I open my mouth to argue when he lifts me up, his hands under my ass as he perches me on the elevator railing. The sudden intimacy of it all makes my skin prickle with heat and my breath catch. “Rodion…”

This time when my voice trembles, it isn’t from fear.

Leaning in so close, I can feel his breath against my jaw and smell the raw, masculine, heady scent of his cologne, he whispers, “Go ahead, little queen. Tell me to stop.”

How does he read my mind like that?

Of course I can’t. I don’t want to.

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