Page 293 of Flirting with Darkness

His grip tightened and suddenly he felt a knife pressed to his dick. Dex had to close his eyes before he took her right then and there.

“Keep better track of your knives,” she spat. The pointy end of the blade dug into his skin and he had to bite his lip to keep from groaning. “Now let me go.”

He thrust into that knife, making sure she felt how hard he was. It was fine, he’d heal.

Dex pressed his lips to her neck and then her cheek. “Make me.”

If she had the balls to go through with it, he’d fucking get down on his knees and beg her to marry him.

Dex wanted her to prove to him that she could take care of herself. In a place like this, a witch with as little power as she had would end up used and abused. He needed her to prove to him she could fight back.

The last thing he wanted was to find her in an alley, brutalized by outside shifters or vampires.

They stood like that for a long time, her breathing erratic and shaky as she held that knife to him. He could feel her indecision, but her hand was steady. Dex shifted so he held her chin instead. Pulling back, he eyed those full lips slick with purple like some kind of poisoned treat he couldn’t convince himself not to eat.

“Come on, do something about it,” he teased. “Or I might have to take advantage of this position.”

The knife disappeared and she shoved it back in his sheath, turning him on even more. “Ask me to dance or let me go.”

Dex couldn’t hide his surprise. “An ultimatum? Hm, I like this change in tactics.”

There was that blush he couldn’t get enough of.

“Dance with me, Nova.”

She crossed her arms over her chest and quirked that sassy eyebrow at him. “I said ask.”

Dex grabbed her hips and growled, letting his gloved fingers span her lower back to force her even closer. “I like when you tell me what to do.”

Nova’s hands rested on his shoulders and he could feel her shiver again. He wished he could figure out what she was thinking when that happened. Without the ability to scent her emotions, he felt completely blind.

“Will you dance with me?”

“No.” Then she ducked under his arm and he was so shocked he let her go.

Technically, there was no specification she had to agree to the question.

Dex grinned and followed after her, grabbing her arm gently this time. “Hey, before you go, can I show you something?”

She stopped and looked up at him, the uncertainty clear in her eyes. “If you promise me one thing.”

He gritted his teeth, not liking this new game. “I guess that depends on what it is.”

Nova nodded like she’d expected that answer. “You have to answer one question with the truth.”

Dex didn’t like the sound of that. What answer did she consider that valuable?

But as he inspected her from head to toe, he supposed she wasn’t the only one with questions.

“Okay, one question.”

14

NOVA

Nova let him lead her through a locked door and down a hall with various rooms that could be for storage, stock, or offices. At the end of the hall was another set of stairs that led up. She used the time to consider which question she wanted to ask.

She’d known when the wolf shifter had begged him, when he’d said ‘I didn’t know she was one of yours’ that Dex wasn’t just some random paranormal. She’d marked him as the potential owner of the barcade with ties to a mortuary – not that unusual for someone powerful and dangerous.

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