The dark pits of his eyes shut down any argument.

“When he died,” he says, “did he take you with him?”

“Fuck you.”

“No, sweetness. Fuck you.” He takes hold of my hips and yanks my ass off the wall.

I drive my fists into his arms, but Kallum has my dress ruched up past my belly before I can put up a real fight. He grips the back of my neck and holds me in place as his other hand flattens against my stomach.

“Your fucking pain strangles me every day,” he says, resting his forehead to mine. As the backs of his inked fingers graze my sensitive skin, my stomach seizes with uncontrollable tremors, my whole body succumbing to the violent attack.

“Please…” I try to reason.

“What are you pleading for?” He growls the question, his demand provoking reactive tears to my eyes. “What do you want?”

I don’t know.

Pushing his mouth against my ear, he says, “Before I even saw you, I felt your pain. It called to me like a siren, my muse of heartbreak. I wanted to taste it, to feast on it, your pain is that irresistible. If you had let me that first day, I would have dropped to my knees and devoured every last drop of you, just so you could breathe…so I could fucking breathe.”

My breaths are ragged, choking my voice. “You’re fucking sick if this is what gets you off.” Anger sears my insides, rising through the debilitating fear. “A soulless demon like you could never understand what I feel.”

He slams his hand against the wall, so close to my face I feel the force ricochet through my bones. I shake from the force of it, tears spilling over my eyes. I’m angry and frightened and yet I want to scream .

“There it is,” he whispers over my lips. His frenzied gaze hungrily tracks the tears, then he pushes in against me and drags his tongue up my neck and jaw, tasting my emotions, lapping my tears.

“I can taste your anguish like the spiciest curry,” he says. “It’s so goddamn delectable, it’s driving me fucking crazy. I want to sink inside you and rut out the pain.”

His admission stirs a visceral reaction, and my body responds against my will. I feel the heated wetness pool in my panties, and I press my thighs together to offset the throbbing ache.

Kallum moves aside and leans his forehead against the wall, his body corded tight around me. He plants the heel of his hand to my chest, fingers trapping the solitaire pendant—the diamond from my engagement ring.

On instinct, my hands go to my belly, trying to control the tremors racking my muscles. My knees buckle. The only thing holding me upright is Kallum’s grounding touch as the unwanted memory cruelly breaks through.

The sound of grinding metal. The flashing lights of the ambulance. The doctor’s stoic face as she delivered the news of Jackson’s death and the loss of our unborn baby.

“Stop—” I say the word aloud, but I’m not sure who it’s directed toward; me or Kallum.

He releases a leaden breath as his hand travels to my stomach. He grasps my hand and pins my wrist to the wall with an unspoken command before he skims the backs of his fingers across the sensitive plane of my abdomen, provoking another hard shiver.

“Here’s the truth of your pain, sweetness.” His fingers tease the flesh of my pelvis. “Nietzsche believed the only way to achieve our desires was through suffering. Anything that comes easily is measured as mediocre. Any art, any passion, any great love”—he pushes away from the wall to capture my gaze “—is attained only through pain and struggle. Your beautiful pain is divine, and you still have no idea how much power you possess.”

“You’re not making any sense,” I say, my voice trembling.

His chuckle slips over my flesh in a sensual caress, and he grabs my face in a brutal grip. His thumb swipes the tear tracks from my cheek before he moves to my mouth, clearing away the remnants of blood staining my lips.

“One taste.” His gaze is on my mouth, and fear stabs my chest, knowing I will not survive if his lips touch mine.

Kallum drops to his knees. His mouth delicately brushes my belly, trailing to my pelvis, before his teeth capture the border of my panties.

“Oh, god…”

“I will make you see god for damn sure.” He drags my panties down around my ankles and notches his arm beneath the soft junction of my knee, spreading my thighs.

The feel of his mouth surrounding me, tongue delving between my slick folds, buckles my knees. He pins me to the wall as he tastes me. Fire blazes up my back as his teeth scrape over my clit before he sucks my lips into his mouth.

A broken breath escapes past the aching pressure in my chest and, losing my mind, I fist my hands in his hair. I buck against him, my body detached from all rational thought. I’m so close to falling over the edge…

Then suddenly the feel of him is gone, cool air caressing my bare skin.

I chance a look down to see him staring up at me with those clashing eyes, hellfire and maddening desire swirled within the depths.

He drags my panties up, slowly sliding them in place, then pulls my dress down. He braces his forehead to my belly, feeling the tremble of my body, before he stands. He backs away, his heated gaze still causing havoc to my body.

The red light of his ankle monitor flashes in rhythmic pulses, chasing the acceleration of my heartbeat, then sounds with a beep .

A smug smile pulls at the corner of Kallum’s mouth as he places his hands behind his head. And waits. His eyes never leaving mine.

“We’re far from done, little Halen.” He licks his lips in warning.

The bedroom door breaks open, and three FBI agents tear into the room. Kallum’s gaze stays on me as they apprehend him, cuffing his wrists behind his back. One of them asks if I’m all right, but I can’t take my eyes off him. If I look away, if I let the spell break, whatever transpired between us tonight becomes real, and I can’t face that yet.

Flames engulf me as Kallum is taken into custody and, despite my every attempt to cheat and deceive the devil, I danced with him. I wasn’t just tempted by the flame, I stoked it into a roaring inferno.

Then I begged for the burn.

OceanofPDF.com

11

Will to Power

Kallum

T he alluring sight of Halen’s tear-streaked mascara tracking her beautiful face keeps me from completely losing my mind in the holding cell.

Apparently, Dr. Stoll Verlice didn’t take too kindly to our ditching him. The monitor was already out of bounds, and along with his tattling report, the feds decided to make good on their threat to hunt me down like the FBI’s most wanted.

It was worth it.

I bring my knees up to the bench and lean back against the wall, savoring the mental image of Halen. A fucking vision of my muse in ruin as she confronted her grief.

Goddamn delectable.

Her sweet taste clings to my tongue, and I’m not sure how I willed myself to stop when I was so close to tearing into her, to seeing her break…but stamina is a virtue I do value.

You can’t spoil your dessert with a hastily devoured meal out of famished desperation.

And one taste only whet my insatiable appetite.

Letting my thoughts roam, I probe the ankle bracelet. Tampering with the device sends off a signal. But like any manmade apparatus, there are always flaws in the design.

The loud click of the holding-cell door grabs my attention, and I drop my feet to the floor. Dr. Verlice shuffles into the room, followed by a rookie agent who looks too young to be out of training pants.

“Professor Locke,” Stoll starts. “We have the matter of your misconduct to address—”

“Where’s Halen?” I demand.

A faint, derisive smirk registers on his pale face. “Miss St. James is none of your concern,” he says, setting binders on the only chair. “But I believe she’s been removed from the case. She’ll be leaving soon—”