Page 13 of Wilde and Deadly

Fear.

And that sliver of desperation that always seemed to lurk below her surface.

Fuck.

She had him right where she wanted him.

Again.

In a fluid motion, she flipped their positions, straddling his hips, her thighs clamping tight around him. His back hit the mattress, and his wrists were pinned above his head. He stared up at her, dazed from the heat of her body against his, from the phantom press of her lips.

She was breathing hard, her chest rising and falling against his as she held him pinned. The wicked gleam in her eyes should have sent heat racing through his veins—but this time, it was different.

This time, something was wrong.

Finally, his lust-addled brain caught up. His muscles tensed beneath her grip, and every instinct roared to life.

“Rowan,” he warned. “Don’t.”

She leaned down, lips brushing his ear. “I’m so sorry, Davey.”

A sharp sting at his neck.

His body betrayed him instantly. An unnatural cold slithered through his veins, blooming outward from the puncture like ink spilling into water. His pulse staggered, sluggish and uneven, as if his blood had thickened to something syrupy, too heavy to move. A deep, insidious numbness crept into his chest, his limbs, taking over until his body was no longer his own.

Panic clawed through him, sharp and jagged.

What the hell did she give me?

He tried to shove her away, to fight, to doanything—but the paralysis took hold too fast. His nerves stopped responding, his arms refused to lift, his hands curled uselessly at his sides. The room wavered, tilting at the edges.

No. No, no, no.

“What... whatdidya…” His tongue felt clumsy and foreign, his words slurring before they could fully form.

“Just a sedative,” she murmured, brushing her fingers gently through his hair. “Relax and let it take you. You’ll be fine in a few hours.”

Davey fought like hell to stay awake, but the darkness wasn’t just creeping in. It was crashing over him like a wave, dragging him under.

He was sinking.

“Rowan...” His voice barely made it past his lips. “Don’t...”

She bent down, pressing a gentle, lingering kiss to his lips.

Soft. Like she cared.

“I wish things could be different between us, Wilde. I really do.”

So did he.

And then she was gone.

Slipping through his fingers again… just as he slipped into the abyss.

four

She’d crossed a line.Again.

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