Page 43 of Mortal Shift
I didnotwant to be prey right now.
“It smells delicious, brother,” Thessalia purred, canting her head and inhaling deep. “Its fear is intoxicating.”
“If you think she smells good,” he said, “you should taste her.”
“Hey! There will be notastingof me, asshole.”
“Its voice irks me,” Princess Bitch complained.
“Come now, sister. Everything about her irks you.”
Thessalia hissed—actually hissed, like a pissed off snake. I canted my head and scrutinized her closely.
“It does,” I said, not quite able to keep my confusion from my voice. “Why?”
Thessalia snapped her head round and looked directly at me, sending a chill down my spine. Here was someone who really, truly wanted me dead. And I had no fucking idea why.
She closed the gap between us, and I made to step back but immediately Thaden was behind me, blocking my escape. A ragged gasp burned its way from my throat and goosebumps raised on my arms.
“You are nothing,” she snarled. “Less than nothing. But you’re ruiningeverything!”
“I…” I tried to back up again, and again crashed into Thaden. His hands clamped around my upper arms, holding me in place.
“I should kill you right now,” she said. I swallowed hard, unable to look away as she glared at me with pure hatred. “You’re a pathetic, mewling mess. You don’t belong here.”
Beg,some instinct whispered in my head.
Fight,another voice demanded.
I ignored them both, because frankly, they were shit ideas.
“If you kill me, Cole will come for you.”
She laughed, and the sound sent ice through my spine.
“You don’t know the first thing about him, do you? He would berelievedto see you dead. You’re nothing but a burden to him. To us all.”
She whirled on her heel, and before I could finish trying to make sense of her words, she’d melted away into the shadows.
I breathed a sigh of relief, and then registered the hands still clamped around my upper arms.
“Get off me, Thaden,” I demanded, trying to squirm free.
“You have something I want.”
I felt his hard body pressing against mine from behind, and a shiver raced through me. I peeled my tongue from the roof of my abruptly dry mouth, trying to ignore the way my pulse quickened.
“Let me go,” I whispered, even as some twisted part of my mind urged me to press myself against him. “Please.”
He laughed, the sound colder than the night air. “Don’t flatter yourself, sweetness. It’s not yourbodyI crave.”
“Your cock jutting into my back says otherwise.” I aimed for dry and snarky and might have pulled it off if there hadn’t been a breathless tremor to my voice. Fuck, what was wrong with me?
“Your racing heart tells me you might enjoy it,” he countered, and I knew if I twisted round I’d see cold amusement in his eyes. And I’d also be face to face with a dangerous predator, so I wasn’t going to be doing that. “Perhaps if you beg me, I’ll give you what your heart desires.”
“Well, that’d be a stake throughyourheart, so…”
“My sister is right, you do have poor manners.”
