Page 85 of Greed: The Savage
Enraged with himself for having let her get this close, he lunged towards her, gripped an arm around her waist, and pulled her close.
“You maddening minx,” he hissed. “You’ll have me say it.” Her eyes went wide. “Iwantto protect you.”
Every muscle stiffened, tight with dread. He’d never laid himself bare. What she did with it next had the potential to wreck him in ways he’d rather die than admit.
Addien took him in with a somber intensity. “Well, of course you do,” she said softly. “You must protect the pawn you’ve found for the duke.”
Stunned into releasing her, Thornwick reeled back. “A pawn implies you are not a willing partner,” he said tightly. “I have been forthright with you, Addien. I have given you choice and…power.” He gritted out that last word.
“I was a willing partner in your bed, Malric,” she said bluntly. “But that is all I’ll ever be.”
Was. As in past tense. A hollow pit formed in his stomach.
She confirmed it with her next words.
He stiffened. “So, that is it,” he said coolly. “You arerejectingme.” Thornwick couldn’t hide the shock and…other emotions from his voice.
Saying it aloud hit him harder.
“I ain’t looking to help you in some nobleman’s game you’ve got going on with your father.” Addien gave him a sad smile.
He despised that smile. He far preferred the humor-laced ones she’d bestowed these fleeting days.
Wait a minute. His eyebrows came together. “You are rejecting me,” he said, his voice dead to his own ears.
Addien took several slow, purposeful steps away from him, and with each step, she slipped further and further away…
Frustration, and something darker, burned in his chest. A feeling he couldn’t name because he’d never known it before. All he knew was he bloody hated it. Hated it because it felt too damned close to the word he’d let slip earlier:care. And it went deeper still.
His shoulders squared. He would not yield. To hell with his next assignment.
“I’ve been honest about why I’d marry you. But hear me when I say—I respect you. I admire your strength, your courage, your unshakable convictions.” His lashes lowered, voice dropping to a low, dangerous growl. “I love having you in my bed. And I will keep you safe. I will keep you secure. And I will keep you so well sated you’ll forget what it is to want.”
He stepped in, close enough that her breath caught. “Sit. Think on it.” His fingers grazed her jaw in a slow, claiming sweep before he let his arm fall. “When I return, I expect your answer.”
“Malric,” she said, her voice strained.
Hewouldtriumph. She wanted him with equal ferocity. Having finally unmoored her, Thornwick hauled her against him and took her mouth in a hard, frenzied kiss, one she met without hesitation. She pressed into him, her tongue tangling with his.She bit at his lips, marking him as if to brand herself into his flesh. And bloody hell, she was succeeding. Breath ragged, Thornwick wrenched himself away.
His chest heaved, the sound of it rough in the space between them. “This isn’t over,” he said, imbuing a double meaning to his vow.
Thornwick turned to go.
When he reached for the door handle, Addien called out.
“Malric?”
He cast a glance over his shoulder.
Addien nudged her head his way.
“Goodbye,” she said softly.
Thornwick flashed her a hunter’s smile. “For now, love.”
Only for now.
When he returned, he’d make such violent love to her, she’d surrender to Thornwick.
