Page 24 of Filthy Royal

Her chest pinched tight. She felt the same.

Literally. As if faint, invisible tendrils stretched from him to her and back again, telegraphing the chaos of his emotions—protectiveness, lust, need, frustration, and fury—as if they were her own.

And maybe they were.

All she wanted was to beg him to touch her again.

But that could not happen. He was a fighter. She was a prize. If caught, there would be no end to her suffering and his.

“I-I appreciate you freeing me. But I need you to put the restraints back on.”

His amber eyes—streaked with red—flashed with defiance. “No.”

She kept talking. “Then you need to go. This was…” she forced the words out, “a mistake.”

He snarled low. “No mistake.” He slapped the flat of his palm against his chest. “I feel you here. All those vibrant colors, sinking beneath my skin, staining every cell so I’ll never look at anything the same ever again.”

A soft sigh escaped. No one had ever said anything so lovely to her before.

“You feel it too, Scarlett. I know it.” His tone deepened to a coaxing rasp. “You and I are what happens when everything is just right.”

Her body responded to his disarming statement, slick pooling between her folds.

She did feel it.

But she had to be smart, to think of her own survival. And his. Hadn’t her brother warned her against letting lust and love rule her choices?

“You need to stay away from me.This,”—she gestured between them—“won’t end well. It’s forbidden to touch a prize before a champion is decided.”

“Good thing it’s already decided.” His voice pitched to a low, teasing rumble, his mood shifting from intense to playful as easily as a fighter executing a feint and jab.

Scarlett got the sense she’d miscalculated, that Damien Skolov lived for a challenge, and she’d handed him one.

“There’s no chance in hells I’m not winning this tournament.” The determination in his voice confirmed her suspicion. “Especially now that I’ve met you.”

“Such a big head. It’s dangerous to be too cocky.”

“Omega, I can promise you, when I’m between those pretty thighs, and you’re screaming my name,bothmy big heads will only grow bigger.”

Her laughter caught her by surprise. “You’re outrageous.”

The rough pad of his thumb stroked her upturned lips. “Try to tame me. I dare you.”

Wanton need mixed with the colors inside her, sparking and swirling like a windstorm.

A few escaped, flashing outward.

He groaned, his gaze tracking the splashes of color as they slid across his skin. “It feels like the lightest of touches. I can’t wait to feel your hands on me.”

She started. No one had ever felt her colors before.

“You should know, Scarlett.” He leaned over the mattress and tucked a stray hair behind her ear. “I have fought for everything I’ve ever gotten. I have no problem fighting for you too.”

Her heart fluttered inside her chest. “You’re too young for me.”

“Why don’t you try me out and see?” His thick thighs pressed into the edge of the bed, that cocky grin playing at the corners of his full lips. “You had no complaints before.”

Goddess help her, she hadn’t.

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