Page 48 of When Death Whispers

Rad growls, a pleased, feral sound. “You don’t know what you’re doing to me, Beholden.”

His hands tighten around my waist, dragging me flush against him. I let out a shaky exhale, thighs clenching, heat gathering low in my belly.

“You smell like need,” he whispers, burying his face in my hair, his breath sending shivers down my spine. “Like mine.”

I shudder, thighs clenching, heat coiling deep in my belly. My hands slide down his stomach and?—

God, he’s hard. Thick and heavy beneath the fur at his waist.

He’s a beast, a predator, dangerous—yet the only thought I can hold onto right now is how I want to grip those horns and?—

There is something seriously fucking wrong with me.

Rad lets out a dark chuckle, shifting his stance as he moves closer, broad shoulders rolling back like he’s deliberately showing off.

Is he… preening?

I should shove him away. I should scream. But I don’t.

I stand there, pliant and flushed and aching in ways I don’t understand.

Fuck.I’m usually sharper than this—years of dodging my monster’s death attempts forcing me to be quick on my feet, always ready to react. But standing here, staring up at the beast towering over me, breathing in his scent—brimstone and ash, tinged with something darker—I feelsluggish.

Not in a bad way.

It’s like syrup pouring through my veins, humming beneath my skin, making my breath come slower, heavier. Desire builds low in my belly, spreading in slow waves, making my thighs press together.

What the hell is happening to me?

He could tell me he was going to eat me like a rabbit, and I’d probably roll over and sayyes, sir.

Rad chuckles again, the sound vibrating through my bones as he leans in closer. Heat radiates from him, seeping into me, making me shudder. His nostrils flare, and a pleased sound rumbles from deep in his chest—apurr.

He pulls back just enough to drag the sharp edge of a fang along my jaw. “Mmm. That’s a thought worth revisiting… but not yet. I have other plans.”

Before I can ask what those plans are, there’s a knock at the door—and Rad vanishes.

Gone. Like smoke.

I stumble forward into the empty space where he stood, my breath coming in harsh, uneven bursts. I grab onto the edge of the bed, my fingers digging into the fabric as I try to calm the storm inside me.

Then the door creaks open.

Hudson leans in, brows drawn. He takes in my flushed face, my trembling hands, the way I’m still catching my breath.

“Parker?” he asks slowly. “You… good?”

I swallow hard, forcing my expression into something resembling neutral. “What’s up?”

Hudson holds up a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. There’s a massive bite missing.

He frowns at it. Then at me.

“Your sandwich-stealing creature… thing… is back.”

20

Holy fuck,Parker looks sexy as hell when she’s flushed like that—chest rising and falling in quick bursts, pink lip caught between her teeth like she’s trying to hold something in.

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