Page 75 of The Sacred and the Tormented

“I don’t care,” Raevina said.

“Clearly.” His voice was too high. Talon heard her shift in the water, but he didn’t look up. “Why are you here?”

“The other pools were taken. I wasn’t about to join Rion and Arianna. Gods know that male’s moody enough. Saoirse is busy guarding the pool with the half-breed and the others are too small. I didn’t think you’d object.”

Object? He couldn’t even move. Gods, was this female trying to kill him?

Silence filled the space. Talon had wanted to unwind in the heat, but it felt like every muscle in his body had coiled in on themselves.

The water moved and Talon nearly jumped out of his skin when he looked up to find Raevina less than a foot away. She was standing, her torso fully exposed. He couldn’t help it, his eyes traced over her body. The luscious curves and dips. And the scars. So many scars. He counted each one, then lifted his gaze to hers.

Raevina tilted her head and smirked. The movement reminded him of a predator who’d ensnared their prey. “Are you so reserved that you won’t take a female who’s clearly offering herself to you?”

Talon licked his lips then tried, in vain, to clear his throat. “You made yourself pretty clear last time.”

She waved her hand. “I was tired and cranky.”

His lips parted. She was—

“Don’t play with me.”

Raevina’s smile widened. “It’s true then, you haven’t bedded a female before.” She cocked her head. “You don’t want the experience?”

His jaw clenched. “Some of us want the experience to mean something.”

Raevina stepped closer and reached for a strand of his hair. She let it fall between her fingers before looking at him again. Her gaze heated. “And what do you want it to mean?”

His heart was going to beat right out of his chest. “More.”

“More,” she echoed the word, letting it roll off her tongue. Talon wasn’t sure how his body remembered to breathe. “I don’t do more.”

Their gazes locked again. It’d be so easy. So, so easy to let himself have this. To take her in his arms. Run his hands overher body. To satisfy the cravings plaguing him since the first night they’d danced.

But he also knew he’d be left disappointed when she walked away. He’d be nothing to her, just another notch in her belt.

“Then the answer is no.” His words were confident despite how he felt.

Her gaze traveled down his torso and peered through the water before she looked up at him through her lashes. “Your body tells me otherwise.”

Talon didn’t respond. She stood there, staring at him, waiting before Raevina finally sighed and pulled away. She sank back into the water and seated herself on the adjacent side of the pool. Her arms rested on either side and she tilted her head back.

“Shame,” she said. “I was looking forward to a pleasant evening.”

Talon could hardly draw breath. He peered at her from his peripherals, then averted his gaze at the sight of her bare chest. His heart was beating so fast. He’d barely maintained control and was already kicking himself for it.

“Will you seek that company from someone else?” Anger burned through him at the thought of another male’s mouth anywhere near her.

Raevina lifted her head and quirked a brow at him. “Would that upset you?”

“About as much as it’d upset you,” he countered.

She smirked. “What?”

“I saw the way you walked in here. You were looking for the Weaver.”

Raevina tilted her head back again. “I didn’t want to disturb you if you were occupied.”

“You hardly seem like the type to care.”

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