Page 29 of Craved

“Because you don’t want to see me held down and beaten to a pulp by your mother’s enforcers.” I halted a few feet away from her—and decided the hell with being charming. “Oh, wait. You already did that. If you didn’t want to fuck, Princess, you should’ve told me straight out.”

Something flitted across her face. Remorse? Sorrow?

“I shouldn’t have let things get that far.”

“You think? They beat me, Zoe. Your mother threatened to stake me if I ever came back. And she said she wouldn’t stop with me, either—she’d go after my brothers, too.”

Her face shuttered; whatever I’d thought I’d seen replaced by a frosty stare. “I didn’t know.”

“And that’s supposed to make it all right?”

“No, but—”

“You left me to take the fall—for something you set up. Because the way I remember it,youcame on tome.”

Her chin came up. “I thought it was mutual, but blame me if you want.”

My fingers clenched, unclenched. “Oh, I do blame you. For coming to my room that night. For making sure I sent my bodyguard away so that I had no warning when your mother showed up. Alone, both of us—that was the agreement. And yet, Jean-Michel was with you, wasn’t he?” My mouth twisted. “I guess I should be grateful for that. Hell, if he hadn’t warned us, Victorine would’ve found me balls-deep inside you. Or maybe that was the plan? Get me naked and weaponless so your men could take me without even having to break a sweat.”

Zoe went rigid. “You think I set it up? I was as surprised as you when she showed up.”

“Yeah? You’re the one who arranged the time and place. You’re the one who came to my hotel—alone. And yet somehow your mom turned up just in time to save you from the Big Bad Kral.”

I prowled around her, aware I’d gone way past charming to flat-out offensive. But now that I’d started, I couldn’t stop.

Iwantedto hurt her. I’d trusted the woman. I’d even let myself fall a little in love.

And she’d stabbed a knife in my chest, then stomped on the twitching corpse.

“I wanted to see if you lived up to the hype.”

Maybe Zoe couldn’t have prevented the beating, but she’d humiliated me in front of Victorine and her thugs. She might as well have kicked me in the nuts and been done with it.

“You didn’t think I was serious, did you?”

“You let me suck your tits.” I was behind her now. The high heels gave her an extra few inches, but she was still three inches shorter than me. I leaned down, put my mouth next to her ear. “Stick my fingers up your cunt. Your hot, wet, needy cunt.”

A tremor went up that fragile, delicate spine, and the gods help me, I felt a dark thrill. I backed up, not sure who I was more disgusted with, me or her.

“You’re wrong.” Zoe turned to face me. “I didn’t want my mother to catch us, and Jean-Michel was supposed to wait in the lobby. Think about it. I had more to lose than you.”

“Yeah.” I sneered. “Guess you didn’t want to be caught with a Kral,Princess. And a dhampir on top of that.”

Her mouth compressed, but she didn’t deny it. And why that hurt after all this time, I don’t know.

“You didn’t come all this way to pick a fight,” she said. “I want to know why you’re here—now—or Iwillcall security.”

“Stop pretending you’re going to call security on me. We both know you won’t. Because you still want me. You’ve wondered what it would’ve been like if we’d finished things that night.”

Her mouth opened, then shut. Then she swallowed.

So I was right. She did still want me.

My dick stirred, all that anger needing an outlet—or at least, that’s what I told myself. Because I was damned if I’d admit even in my own head that I’d wondered myself what it would have been like.

“Try me.” She folded her arms over her chest, causing the tiny white handkerchief of a dress to ride up and show even more of her long, toned legs.

My dick got harder. Two years, and I still wanted her. Two years to replay that scene in the hotel room over and over in my mind. Two years to absorb how Zoe had played me for a fool. Two years to promise myself I’d never get caught like that again.

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