How would he react if she unwillingly made him the one thing he’d hated for most of his life? And what kind of relationship would it be if she forced the change on him and irrevocably tied his life to hers? Not a good one, that was for sure.
Feeling entranced by her, Nathan walked over to kiss her before cupping one of her breasts and running his thumb over her tantalizing piercing. “I love these by the way,” he told her before forcing himself away from her.
“I’m glad,” she murmured. “Too bad you didn’t see my other ones.”
“Other ones?” he inquired as he lifted his jeans from the floor and turned to face her.
“I removed all my piercings while in captivity. I was foolishly hoping I could use them as a weapon somehow, and I didn’t want them used against me. But I once had my belly button and clit pierced too.”
His gaze dropped to her belly before sliding lower. “You might be the death of me, Vicky Byrne.”
You will be the death of me, Nathan Holter, she thought, but kept it to herself as she lowered her arms and sat forward.
“Are you on hunting duty tonight?” she inquired, all playfulness gone.
“Yes. Asher and I are going out with Declan and Lucien.”
Vicky chuckled. “What, did they decide to temper Lucien’s assholiness by pairing him with Declan?”
Nathan smiled as he pulled on his jeans. “Most likely as it’s usually Saxon, who is friendly, with Killean, and Killean’s even more unfriendly than Lucien.”
“He’s that way to everyone, not just hunters.”
“Good to know. Some of the other hunters are going out with some of Ronan’s more advanced trainees.”
“Will you see Ronan?”
“Probably not, why?”
“Unless it becomes necessary to keep them safe, or to keep all of us safe, I’d prefer he didn’t know about Sister and Duncan. They’ve led a peaceful life, done a lot of good, and I’d like for them to keep their anonymity, from everyone.”
“I won’t tell anyone unless I think it’s necessary.”
“Not even Kadence?”
“Not even Kadence.”
Nathan pulled his sweater on and for the first time took a good look around her room. Lavish was an understatement as he realized the bedroom was only part of a suite; the doorway across from him opened into a spacious living room with a balcony. All of it was decorated in a tastefully understated style that screamed of wealth. Though it was impressive, it wasn’t a place where he would have chosen to stay.
“Nice place,” he commented.
“My family is used to a certain something from me, and I don’t like to disappoint,” she replied.
“And what are they used to?” he inquired.
She lay back on the bed and draped her arms over the pillows once more. “I’m the diva, the fashionista, the wild child, the selfish one. I’m the one who demands only the best, thinks only of herself, and spends lavishly.”
“Is that what they expect of you, or is it what you expect of yourself?”
She considered this before answering. “Them.” But she wasn’t sure that was true anymore, wasn’t sure it ever had been.
Nathan frowned as he glanced over the suite again. Then, understanding dawned. “Before the warehouse, you cared about these things, but not so much since.”
“I grew up a lot while in chains.”
“But you think your family will worry about you if you don’t give them the Vicky they’ve always known.”
“They’re already too worried about me. I’ve barely had any freedom from them since being freed.”
“So, if they see carefree, extravagant Vicky again, they’ll back off.”
“My older siblings and parents all have lives, mates, and families. My younger siblings shouldn’t have to know what I went through, and I don’t think they do. My actions landed me in captivity, and my family risked their lives to get me out. I won’t have them worrying about me any more than they already do,” she said.
“That doesn’t sound like a selfish woman to me.”
“You didn’t know me, or what I was like, before the warehouse.”
“I may not have known you before your imprisonment, but Sister, Duncan, and those children did, and they all care for you. I don’t think any of them would like the woman you’re portraying yourself to have been. I’m not saying that out of all your siblings you weren’t the crazy one or the more self-centered one, I’m saying I think you remember yourself in a worse light than what is true,” Nathan said.
Vicky considered the girl she was before, and she’d truly been a girl before those chains. That girl was obsessed with hair, makeup, the latest fashions, one day traveling to Paris, and, as she grew older, partying and distracting herself with some men. That girl had been a naïve idiot, but she’d never been purposely malicious.
“Perhaps I do remember myself worse than I was,” she admitted. “However, my family would shit themselves if they saw me in anything but the best hotel.”
He chuckled as he sat on the end of the bed to put on his boots. “And how do you afford such a place?”
“Investments. My family is big on that. When we turned eighteen, my dad gave Abby and me a small stipend to invest. He informed us he had no intention of supporting our asses for eternity. He may have said that, but everyone keeps returning home and building houses on my parents’ property. It’s like our own stronghold.”
“There’s safety in numbers.”
“True, and we’re all extremely close. But anyway, I’ve always been good with numbers. I hated school and only liked college for the parties before I quit, but I like math, and I’m an avid stock market watcher. You’ll be surprised to learn a very wealthy woman just made you come harder than you ever have before,” she told him with a wink.
He grinned at her. “And how do you know you did that?”
“Because you sure made me come harder than any other man ever has.”
The reminder that other men had experienced the exquisite release she could bring caused his hand to clench on the boot, and he snarled.
CHAPTER 18
“Nathan?” she inquired. He wouldn’t attack her, but he looked ready to commit murder as his boot twisted in his grasp.
He inhaled a calming breath as he tried to regain control over the uncustomary, volatile sway of his emotions. “While whatever this is between us is going on, you will not be with other men.”
He practically saw her hackles rise.
“Do you think to command or cage me, Nathan?” she inquired in a deceptively sweet tone. “Because I’ve been caged once; it won’t happen again.”
“No,” he said. “I think to be the only one who knows your body while you’re sharing it with me.”
She could tell him he’d forever ruined her for all other men, and it wouldn’t be some corny line; it would be the horrible truth. The idea of being with another man had repulsed her since she first saw him, but she’d be damned if she revealed that to him.
Kadence had explained how hunters worked when it came to love and marriage. One day, he would be assigned his virginal bride, who’d been raised to be the perfect wife and mother, and Nathan would marry her.
He would do what he had to for his people. She couldn’t blame him for it, but she would protect herself as much as possible from him until then. He would never know how much power he had over her and how much he affected the outcome of her life.
“And will there be other women?” she inquired.
“No.”
“Before you say no, be aware that we’ll never have sex. We can pleasure each other, but it will never go that far.”
“And why not?”
“I have my reasons.”
“You’ve been with other men.”
“I have,” she confirmed.
The flippancy of her reply set his teeth on edge. “But you won’t be with me?”
“No.”
“You’ll let other men—”
Red briefly flared through her eyes, but this time he knew it was due more to anger than passion, and he felt the answering emotion rising in him.
“I choose who I fuck,” she said. “Don’t question or judge my choices.”
“And how many have you chosen?”
“Five,” she replied, retaining her casual posture on the bed though she’d claw his eyes out if he made one snide comment, and coming from a place where he resided in a stronghold of chaste women, he might. “And what of you, Nathan, how many women have graced your bed?”
“Eleven.”
The green-eyed monster reared its ugly head, but she kept it suppressed. With his looks, she’d expected the number to be higher, but she suspected it had something to do with his upbringing. In a normal environment, he would have been rolling in the women, but in his world, his options were slimmer. Still, she contemplated killing every woman who’d ever known him in a way she never would.
“Does it make you happier to know?” she asked him.
“No.”
“I didn’t think so.”
He finished putting on his boots and rose from the bed. He couldn’t stop himself from drinking in the vision of her golden body, but whereas before a sensual air surrounded her, now she radiated hostility.
“You won’t be with other men while this is going on between us,” he said.
“The only orders I take are in bed.”
Nathan’s blood pressure hit the roof when her words sent a white-hot spear of jealousy through him.
Vicky almost gulped at the look that crossed his face; she realized she’d poked an irate bear. If he was feeling a tenth of the jealousy over this conversation she was, then this grizzly might rampage.
Demon DNA in hunters, she reminded herself. Did that mean he was also feeling some of the pull of the mate bond to her too?
She buried her rising hope at the possibility. In this situation, hope might kill her faster than Nathan walking out of her life to marry another.
“If no other men for me, then no other women for you,” she told him.
“Agreed.”
“Will you let me know when a bride is chosen for you and you become engaged?” she inquired.
“You know about that?”
“Yes. Did you plan to keep it hidden from me?”
“No.” He didn’t know what he’d planned to do with the knowledge of his marriage looming like a guillotine over his head. He never expected this to happen between them, so it never crossed his mind to tell her. When the blade fell, he would have to break this off. He may not desire Simone the way he did Vicky, but he would never be unfaithful to his fiancée or wife.
“Will you tell me when it happens?” she asked.
“Yes. Is that why sex is off the table?”
“With those other men, I knew the relationship would never lead anywhere, and I didn’t want it to. I know this can never lead anywhere either, but I’m not the same girl who once made bad decisions and didn’t care about the consequences.”
“I see.”
And suddenly, he did. This wasn’t because she didn’t desire him, it was clear she did, but she was afraid of getting hurt, and he might be the one to do it. He wanted to tell her he would never hurt her, but he couldn’t lie to her. She was right; this could never go anywhere between them.
They should stop this now, but he didn’t have the strength to end it. He didn’t have much time left before the elders announced his bride; in her bed, or out of it, he anticipated spending every spare second he had with Vicky.
“I have no choice on becoming engaged,” he told her. “I’m their leader; my family has always been the strongest hunter line and always been expected to lead. I’ve made too many changes already to change the way our marriage is done too. One day, yes, I will make sure it’s different, but I can’t now.”
This isn’t something he wants! Vicky realized with a start. She’d assumed it was something he either approved of or didn’t think much about, but he didn’t want this. However, he would sacrifice himself to keep his people happy. Crap, that only made her care for him more.
“I didn’t ask you to change anything,” she said. “I’ll never ask that of you. I understand your people come first.”
He opened his mouth to reply, but he had no idea what to say, and he didn’t know why he’d revealed so much to her.
“I should shower, and you should be on your merry little hunter way,” she said with false brightness.
She leapt out of bed. Lifting her arms, she raised them above her head and stretched her back. She smiled when his gaze latched onto her breasts, and a glazed look entered his eyes. Gripping the edge of her thong, she pulled it down her legs in a sashaying dance before tossing it onto the floor.
She stood unabashedly before him. “You’ll have a picture-perfect memory of me for when you’re alone later.”
The sight of her completely bared unraveled something primitive within him. He felt on the edge of losing control, something he never did, as he stalked toward her.
Unable to stop herself, Vicky stepped back until her heels came up against the wall. Stopping before her, Nathan rested his hand on the wall next to her head. His sky-colored eyes darkened to the color of a storm-tossed sea. He placed his other hand against the wall beside her head and lowered himself until his eyes were level with hers. A lethal aura emanated from him, one she hadn’t expected to come from a mortal, hunter or not.
“This,” he said and lowered one hand to slip it between her legs. “Is a scent and sensation I will never forget. This body”—his gaze raked over her as he slid a finger inside her—“is mine. If I find you with another man, I’ll kill him.”
Vicky rested her hand on his stubble-roughened cheek, looking to soothe him as her hips found the motion of his finger within her. “The same goes for you,” she murmured. “And if you don’t tell me when you become engaged, I’ll kill you. I’m many things, I’ve done many things, but I don’t screw around with men who are taken.”
“Do you think you’re strong enough and trained enough to take me, Victoria?” he murmured as he bent his head to nibble on her bottom lip.
“We’ll find out if you keep your engagement from me.”
Her hands slipped through his hair as he deepened the kiss and his hand did wondrous things to her. She came with a loud cry that he muffled with his mouth. Barely able to stand, she released his hair and slumped against him when he pulled his hand away.
“Later, when you’re alone, remember who makes you scream like that,” he whispered in her ear.
Before she could reply, he kissed the tip of her nose. Unsettled, Vicky suddenly felt compelled to shield herself from him, which was ridiculous as he’d already seen it all. She’d proudly displayed it to him, but suddenly she felt exposed and vulnerable in a way she never had before. She always ran things, always called the shots, but Nathan had taken control, and where she’d planned to leave him craving more, he’d turned the tables on her.
“Vicky.” He gripped her rounded chin with his thumb and forefinger and lifted it so she had to look at him. “I’ll call you later.”
He kissed her forehead before releasing her chin.
“Be careful tonight,” she said.
“Always,” he replied.
Watching him walk away, she smiled at his awkward gait. She’d left him wanting more at least. Then, he turned to look back at her.
“What are you doing tonight?” he asked.
“I’ll meet up with Duncan again and explore some of the other groups in the sewers.”
“I don’t like the idea of you going alone.”
“Lucky for me, what you like doesn’t matter, and I’ll have Duncan with me.”
A muscle twitched in the corner of his eye as he held back from commanding her to wait for him before she went down there again. It would be useless. She wouldn’t listen to him, and she was right, he had no say over anything she d
id.
“Be careful,” he said.
“Always.”
CHAPTER 19
“Nathan!”
Nathan stopped and turned when someone called his name. His heart sank when he spotted Simone strolling toward him, but he made himself smile as she approached. Her gray skirt revealed only the tips of her black boots as it swished about her ankles. The matching gray blouse was something a schoolmarm would have worn in the eighteen hundreds.
Her glossy auburn hair was pulled into the severe bun many of the hunter women wore. However, instead of the austere style and unattractive clothing detracting from her beauty, they only emphasized the perfection of her slender nose, high cheekbones, and full, pink lips.
“Simone,” he greeted when she stopped before him.
Her clover green eyes danced with merriment. “How are you?”
“Good,” he replied. “And you?”
“Busy as always. The greenhouse is coming along well. I harvested some tomatoes from it earlier.”
His eyes fell to the large, red tomatoes in her basket when she hefted it a little higher. “They look good.”
Already bored with the conversation, Nathan glanced at the main house, more than a hundred yards away, and wished he’d returned to it sooner. A couple of hours ago, he’d come out to walk the grounds, take inventory, and see how everyone was faring in their new places. He’d listened to countless complaints, fixed the ones he could, and made a note of the ones that couldn’t easily be remedied. Asher and Logan stayed with him throughout most of it, but they both jumped ship as soon as he said they could go.
Knowing it was expected of him, especially since everyone believed they were about to be betrothed, Nathan asked the question he’d prefer not to voice. “Would you like to walk with me?”
“I would.” Her smile would make the angels weep at the beauty of it. “I’ll put most of the tomatoes in the pantry, but I’m going to make a big salad for dinner tonight,” she continued as they fell into step beside each other.
“Your mother will enjoy that.”
“She will,” Simone agreed.
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