Page 105 of The Hunted
He moved farther into the foliage and paused. He closed his eyes and held his breath, needing to listen to the world around him. He could feel his heart beating in his chest like the slow rumble of thunder before a summer storm. His palms itched, already feeling Silva’s soft skin under his touch. He tried to will his body not to react—not to remember what it felt like when they first kissed. Not to remember how she fit into his body the way no one else ever had before. He needed to ignore the way she intrigued him and tested his grit both as the Reaper and just as the woman herself.
She was everything he never knew he could want or need.
From the first moment they ran into each other, something had clicked inside of him. That part of him that longed for a companion—especially after his guardian died—had latched onto her. She pushed past the beast inside of him, the one that demanded it kill and take what the world offer. She lulled it into submission because she spoke the same language as it.
Until she ruined it.
Santino felt the subtle shift of the world around him before he heard a branch snap. He ducked just in time and rolled out from under whatever Silva had swung at his head. He didn’t have time to get his bearings. She was coming at him like a tornado intent on destroying everything in her path.
Her fist connected with his jaw and he cursed. That damn right hook of hers was going to make him have to pay a visit to the dentist, and he hated dentists. They creeped him out.
He ducked under the next hit, swinging and punching her in the stomach. She pitched forward, and he knocked her legs out from under her, but she sprung up like a jack in the box and scrambled backward.
“Care to make a wager?” she taunted, putting her hands up to block her face.
They circled each other, both trying to assess an easy opening. When one got too close, the other swung out before backing up. They danced like that a few times before they went back to circling each other.
“Come on. We never did get to spar, and I do have an apartment to clean.” She chuckled. “I already know how good you look on your knees. I think a maid’s outfit will only add to your appeal.”
“Princess,” he loved watching the flush coat her skin when he uttered the pet name. Just as much as he enjoyed watching her eyes narrow from it. She didn’t want to like the name, but she couldn’t help it any more than he could help his body’s reaction to her. “You and I both know I would have won.”
She snorted. “Your skills leave a lot to be desired.” She went for a punch, and he blocked it but caught a roundhouse kick to the ribs for his trouble.
He went down on one knee. He didn’t have time to catch his breath before she was knocking him on his back. She scrambled up his body, straddling his waist. The first hit had him seeing stars. The next hit pissed him off, and he flipped them over, landing her on her back with him hovering over her.
“If you wanted me on top of you, princess,” he pinned her arms above her head so she couldn’t claw his eyes out, “all you had to do was ask.”
They were both breathing heavy. Her body seemed to melt into his, or maybe his was melting into hers. He used his other hand to press into her hip to keep her pinned beneath him. Her shirt had risen just enough for his fingers to tease the flesh above the edge of her pants.
Silva’s breathing changed, and her eyes widened, causing Santino to chuckle. “Even with death in your eyes you turn into a purring kitten in my arms.” He leaned in, running his nose along her neck. The temptation to sink his teeth into her skin overwhelmed him.
“Was any of it real?” He hated how his voice trembled, but he needed to know, needed to understand if this reaction to her was born out of pure chemistry or manufactured to keep his guard down.
Santino nipped at her pulse, loving the way she arched into him. “I asked you a question.” His hand moved toward the middle of her pants. “Would you still let me touch you, princess, out here in the woods where no one can hear you scream for me?”
Silva bit her lip, her eyes locked with his as her hips moved. He couldn’t tell if she was doing that on purpose or if there was a deep need in her to have him touch her the way he craved to crawl inside of her.
“You’re not going to answer me, are you?” He shifted his weight so he could shove his thigh in between her legs. The low whimper she let out had his cock twitching.
“You’re so stubborn.” He gripped her hip again, helping her rock back and forth. “I think you should answer me, princess.” His lips hovered over hers. Every breath, every whimper was his to inhale and taste.
He was committing this to memory. He needed to hold on to this version of her to keep him warm at night when he left Nova Springs. He needed to remember this version of her—the one that melted at his touch but looked at him with a hunger to rival his own. If none of this was real, he’d hold on to that first kiss—that first taste that made him believe she was the perfect fit.
“Tell me, princess. Give me your truth, and I’ll let you cum one last time before I kill you.” He groaned when he heard her utter his name.
Her hips were moving faster, her breathing was choppy, and he could tell she was getting close. She wouldn’t get there without an extra push, and he stupidly released her hands to wrap his own around her delicate throat.
“Did you know when I first met you, I thought this was how it was going to end between us.” He squeezed tighter, and her eyes rolled to the back of her head. “You are so lost to the pleasure my body gives yours. I could kill you right now and you wouldn’t fight me, would you?”
Silva’s lips pulled back into a smile, and that was the only warning he got before he felt a sharp sting down his side. He hissed and pushed back just enough for Silva to sit up and press a knife under his chin. “Got you.” She winked.
Santino chuckled. “You really need to stop stabbing me. Knife play isn’t really my forte.”
She pressed the knife in deeper. “Really? I recall when you had me tied to your bed, you used one of your knives on me. Turnabout is fair play.”
His whole body went rock hard. That moment seemed like a lifetime ago. She looked so pretty at his mercy, but he always knew she was running the show when they’d been intimate. There was nothing he wouldn’t have done for her, and that notion sobered him.
“Silva,” he groaned. Her eyes softened, and she eased up on the knife under his chin.
