Page 84 of Phoenix Falling
“What have you told her?” Sun demanded.
Something was nudging at my brain, niggling for my attention. My glamour kept my expression neutral when I wanted it to, but up to now I hadn’t worried about it. I’d been too overwhelmed with Sun’s presence. Maybe that nudge was my own instincts telling me to protect myself.
Or maybe it was my heart dying inside me with every second that Sun watched me with suspicion in his eyes. Anger. Loathing. No sign of the tenderness he’d shown me the last night we’d been together.
I tightened my glamour around me. “Nothing.”
Sun snorted. “You really expect me to believe that?”
I shook my head. “I don’t expect you to believe anything. You’re obviously too dense to see the truth.”
Grim wiped a hand down his face, and though I couldn’t see his eyes, I could certainly imagine the look they held. It was almost funny, knowing the secretive shifter was exasperated.
“Out!” Sun barked.
“Sun—” Grim took a step forward.
“I said out!”
Nala hurried to the door. So much for female solidarity, am I right? She threw me a confused glance over her shoulder, looked to Sun, then dropped her gaze and exited the cell. He was her king, I remembered then. King of the Archai, king of all he surveyed, and that included me. Or so he might like to think. Nala might rush out of here with her tail between her legs, but I was made of sterner stuff.
Grim tried to argue, but when Sun started toward him, he, too, exited the cell. Within seconds Sun had me backed into the farthest corner from the door, looming with enough menace that I felt safer with the wall at my back than I did trying to stand up to him. He got as close as he could without actually touching me.
That hurt too, but I’d pull it out and examine it later.
“I want the truth from you,” he said, his voice low and dark. Dangerous. To me? There was no way to tell. Hefeltlike he was dangerous to me, but some part of me, deep inside, couldn’t admit to that truth. I wanted to believe he was still the Sun who had taken my body with such hunger and care. But that Sun had disappeared days ago. About the time he’d seen my true face.
“I’ve told you the truth.”
“Don’t lie to me, Rissa.”
I sighed. “The truth is, Sun, if I lied”—I stared hard up at him, refusing to flinch, trying to drill my sincerity into him with the intensity of my look—“you would never know.”
He slammed his palms into the wall on either side of my shoulders. Cement block cracked beneath the impact. He hung his head, the soft fall of his hair brushing my cheek. Far softer than Sun actually was. “Tell me the truth. What do you want with Raine?”
Friendship? Caring? I wouldn’t share any of that with this male. Only one thing was safe enough to let free.
“I wanted to protect her.”
His head jerked up, disbelief written plainly in his eyes. He reached as if to grab my throat, fisted his hand, and pulled it back. And that was when I knew—it didn’t matter what I said; he was never going to believe me. That ability had died along with whatever tenderness he used to view me with.
I hid the agony of that realization behind my glamour, and though I swore I saw his nose twitch, I knew he couldn’t see what I didn’t want him to see. Could Archai smell emotions? I knew some animals could, but I prayed this one couldn’t. Some parts of me needed to remain private.
The question was, would Sun allow it? Or would he rip through my brain like he had last time?
As if he could sense my fear, he closed those blazing eyes. “That will never happen again.”
“What won’t? Touching me?” I knew it wasn’t what he meant, but I also knew him well enough to get a rise out of him. “You’re damn right.”
He hissed between lengthening fangs. “You think I’m never going to touch you again?” He straightened up, shifting his feet closer. Thick arms caged me in.
“Not with my permission.”
Ah, Risk, what huge quantities of bravado you’re able to pull out of your ass.
A smile quirked one corner of Sun’s mouth, as if anything about this could be amusing. “That might be what you believe, but it doesn’t make it the truth.”
Rising on my tiptoes, I went nose to nose with the male I had, mere days ago, finally admitted that I loved. “Bet me.”
