Page 70 of When He Hunts

He lowered her beside the bed. A massive bed. One covered with more rose petals. Champagne chilled on the nightstand. Candlelight flickered all around them.

“You are the sexiest man I’ve ever met,” she told him as she stood so close to him.

That was Luna. Honest. Stark.

Turning him on all the more as she smiled at him. Innocence. When all he knew was sin. He could fuck her a million times—and I want to—and she’d still give him that smile of innocence when he was done.

“I should get naked, right? I mean, we should.” She twisted to reach the zipper on the back of the dress.

He stopped her. Turned her around. Slowly lowered the zipper. The faint hiss lingered in the air. His fingers trailed down her spine. His fingers, then his mouth. He loved to kiss Luna. Loved the way she shivered and moaned against him.

Soon, she would be gone from his life. There would be no more touching her. No more tasting her. No more enjoying the way she shivered against him.

The dress fell to the floor. She wore a white bra. White panties.

She looked over her shoulder at him. Her breath caught at whatever she saw in his eyes.

Ronan unhooked her bra. Let it fall. “Get on the bed.” Guttural. A dark, dangerous tension filled his blood. He’d always been so careful with his control. Even as he’d taken her before, he’d beenincontrol.

But…

Luna will be taken from me soon. I won’t have her again. I’ll go back to death while she has a life somewhere else.

She hurriedly perched in the middle of the bed. The rose petals fluttered around her. She still wore the white panties.

He was still completely dressed.

He stood beside the bed, staring down at her. Feeling too rough. Too dangerous. Knowing he should never have put his hands on her in the first place because she wasn’t meant to belong to him.

He’d fucking shoved her in the trunk of a car.

Drugged her.

She reached for his hand. “This works a lot better when you’re in the bed with me.”

Her touch burned through him. “I could destroy you, Luna.”

She blinked. Tilted back her head. “I’m pretty sure that you’re just here to save me.”

He didn’t want to just save her. He wanted to own her. Too many dangerous thoughts swam through his head. Dark, tempting.I could take her away. Make her vanish in a blink. Tyler wouldn’t be able to find her. Gray wouldn’t. The rest of the world could think she was dead. I could keep Luna.

He could finally have someone of his own. Weird. Because he’d never wanted someone that way, not until Luna. Ties hurt. They made you weak. Especially when…

When the people you needed really did die. When gunfire came at night. When everyone around you died and you were the only one still left standing. When a bastard put a knife to your face and told you that you were going to be next and…

“Ronan?”

He blinked.

There was Luna. Beautiful Luna.

“You are here to save me,” she said again.

Right. Save her.Save her from myself.Because she should never be around the monster he kept caged inside. His breath slid out. He reached for the champagne. Ronan could feel her eyes on him as he popped the champagne cork. The explosion of sound was loud, and the bubbly poured over his hand. Screw a glass. He raised the champagne bottle to his mouth.

Then had a far better idea.

“Ronan, what’s wrong?”

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