Page 42 of The Naga Lord's Pretty Little Mouse

A slow exhale slips through my lips. “I’m not hungry.”

The muscle in his jaw flexes.

“You will eat,” he repeats, this time softer, more dangerous.

Tension coils between us, silent but sharp, stretching across the space like a taut rope waiting to snap.

I lean back against the chair, deliberately casual. “What happens if I don’t?”

Xirath doesn’t move at first. A calculated pause.

In a fluid, unnervingly graceful motion, he picks up a piece of the meat, turning it between his fingers before lifting it toward me. “Then I will feed you myself.”

My breath catches in my throat, a sharp betrayal.

Heat licks against my ribs, not from anger.

I force a smirk, tilting my chin higher. “You wouldn’t.”

Golden eyes darken, a slow, deliberate promise.

His tail coils behind him.

I do not react in time.

The sudden shift of movement is too quick to counter, too precise to evade. His tail snakes around my ankle, yanking me forward just enough to unbalance me.

My back presses against the solid warmth of his chest, his breath a whisper against my cheek. The smell of him, smoke, spice, something dark and ancient, invades my senses, sinking deep.

The piece of meat hovers just before my lips.

“Open.” The word is a command. A taunt.

Heat flares in my stomach, curling, twisting.

I clamp my lips shut.

A low chuckle vibrates from his chest, the sound sliding over my skin like silk and steel.

“You are stubborn,” he muses, voice a quiet amusement laced with challenge. His free hand presses beneath my chin, thumb tracing along my jawline. “But you are not stronger than me.”

I still beneath his touch, every nerve in my body taut, waiting.

His grip remains firm, but not cruel. Not yet.

The food presses against my lips, warm, rich. His palm keeps me still.

I should push away.

I should fight.

I do neither.

My lips part, just enough.

Just enough for his fingers to brush against them, for the taste of fire-roasted meat to spread over my tongue.

He exhales, slow, controlled. But I feel the shift in him.

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