Page 372 of Primal Bonds

Langdon rose from the couch without taking his gaze from hers. Her lungs seized. Her fingers opened and the stiletto clattered to the floor as she stared helplessly into his fire-touched pupils.

Yesss. The mindless tentacles drank up her fear, enjoying it.

She shook her head from side to side. Her knees felt like jelly.

Look away.

But she couldn’t. She was ensnared, helpless as a trout in a net.

Breathe in. Breathe out.

A sharp rock of fear lodged in her throat.

I can’t. Hopelessness welled up inside her.

Yes, you can. This isn’t you—it’s him. He’s making you feel this way.

Somehow, she managed to drag her gaze from Langdon’s. Her breath shuddered in. She stared at the floor, chest heaving, and stopped her useless slapping at the tentacles.

“Get them off me,” she said. She tried to make it a command, but it came out more like a plea.

He stalked toward her. “I want you.” A cold statement, spoken through set lips.

She blinked. “What? No.”

“You still think to fight me?” His brows bunched in a baffled frown, and the sucking sensation receded.

She took a deep breath and lifted her chin. “I won’t bargain with a man who’s attacking me.”

A considering pause. Then he nodded. “Very well.” As suddenly as the tentacles had appeared, they disappeared.

She backpedaled, getting as far from him as she could. When her back hit a bookcase she halted, sucking in oxygen, skin crawling.

Langdon picked up her stiletto, tossed it into the air. It transformed into a small brown bat and with a high-pitched squeal, shot across the room straight toward Rosana.

She stilled. What kind of Gift did Langdon have, that he could bring inanimate objects to life?

The bat circled her head, its tiny face inquisitive, its scent wild, earthy, and then flapped away, curiosity satisfied, to perch on a window valence.

The prince stalked toward her, hand outstretched. “Come.”

She forced herself to take it. His fingers were cool, firm.

He drew her toward the table. “Sit,” he said, and it wasn’t a request. “Eat my food. Drink my wine. And then we’ll talk.”

She moistened her lips. The best thing was to buy some time. Dion would come for her, and Cleia.

And then there was Adric. He’d left before her.

Which meant he was probably already in Virginia.

Ice sheeted down her spine. What if her being at the court somehow set off the timeline that led to his death?

The prince pulled out a chair for her. She sank numbly into it. As he took the seat beside her, an ornate silver spoon appeared on the table next to the fish stew.

“Eat.” Langdon nudged the bowl in her direction.

Chapter 26

---