Page 18 of His Temptation

Siobhan swallowed the frustration, fury, and something far more dangerous burning in her chest. Every inch of her skin was hyperaware of the man standing too damn close, his breath warm against her ear, his voice still lingering in the space between them like a challenge she couldn’t ignore.

‘You feel it, don’t you?’

She hated he was right. Her panther, the one she had spent years controlling, taming, forcing into submission, wasn’t just stirring—it was pacing, restless and agitated, drawn to him in ways that made no sense.

He was the enemy. She should be thinking of ways to kill him, to free herself from this impossible trap he had laid for her. Instead, her body was betraying her in the worst way. Her nipples were becoming taut and her pussy had made its presence known.

She forced herself to breathe as she pushed up from the desk. Daragh stepped back, allowing her to face him. He scented the air and smiled. God she hated him. She tried desperately to shove down the primal instincts trying to take over. That wasn’t her. She didn’t submit to anyone. Siobhan squared her shoulders, shoving her hands against his chest with enoughforce to create space between them. Daragh only let her move him because he chose to.

That alone made her want to rip his throat out. She lifted her chin, keeping her expression carefully blank. “I need time.”

Daragh arched an eyebrow, his gaze sharp, assessing. She could almost hear the amusement in his silence, the way he was cataloging every reaction she was trying so hard to hide.

Then he nodded once. “You have twenty-four hours.”

Her belly sank and then wallowed in a pool of desire. Twenty-four hours to decide if she was going to bind herself to him and his world. Twenty-four hours to figure out if she could live with the consequences of refusing. Twenty-four hours to figure out if she could find another way out.

Siobhan forced herself to stay composed, even as her heart pounded against her ribs like a trapped thing.

“You expect me to agree to this insanity in a day?” she demanded.

Daragh’s lips curled slightly, his amusement clear despite the sharp edge in his voice. “I expect you to understand the reality of your situation.”

He stepped closer, his body a wall of heat and dominance, suffocating in the worst way.

“If you run,” he continued, his voice dropping to something dangerous, something certain, “I will come for you, and when I catch you, I will attach a leash to your collar and lead you back here. I will have everyone at the estate waiting to watch me parade you up to our room. I will claim you with that iron collar around your neck, your lovely ass sporting a set of welts from my belt, and your belly already full of my cum.”

Siobhan’s pulse spiked, but she held his gaze.

“I’m not afraid of you,” she said, the words coming out smoother than she felt.

Daragh’s blue eyes burned into hers, unreadable and infuriatingly steady.

“You should be.”

She forced a bitter laugh, crossing her arms over her chest as if that could protect her from whatever the hell this was between them. “If I wanted to leave, I’d already be gone.”

Daragh tilted his head, his gaze unnervingly patient. “And yet, you’re still here. Perhaps you’re far more interested in my forcing your submission. If so, kitten, just say the word. I’ll have you naked and on your knees, with your pretty mouth wrapped around my cock so quickly it’ll make your head spin. When I’m almost ready to come, I’ll put you back over that desk and will fuck you so hard that your yowl will be heard for miles when I claim you.”

Siobhan gritted her teeth, hating him so much in that moment mostly because he was right. Every instinct, every primitive urge wanted a show of his dominance and strength. She needed him to force the issue so she could tell herself she’d never wanted it even though she knew she did. And the worst part of it was, he knew it as well.

Her throat felt tight, her panther clawing at the edges of her control, trying to understand the inexplicable pull toward the very man who had trapped her.

Daragh took another step forward, close enough that she could feel the heat radiating from his body, close enough that she was acutely aware of how damn big he was, how easily he could overpower her if he wanted to.

His voice was low, lethal. “You have until tomorrow night to decide your fate.”

She forced herself to meet his gaze, ignoring the strange shiver that ran through her at his words.

“Or what?” she asked.

Daragh’s gaze darkened. “Or I decide for you.”

Her breath caught, but she didn’t flinch. She couldn’t afford to. Not in front of him. Not when he was already watching her too closely, seeing too much.

Daragh turned, heading toward the door like he had already dismissed her from his thoughts.

Siobhan hated the way her body burned with frustration, the way her instincts screamed at her to chase after him or run in the opposite direction, but neither was an option. Instead, she stood there, feeling the weight of his words settle around her like a cage she hadn’t even realized she had stepped into.

---