I eyed the clock on the far wall. It was mid-afternoon. “You know, I’m still really sore from yesterday. Even if you think my new power is mainly mental, I don’t know how much I’m capable of doing today.”
“Relax, I promise to go easy on you for our first practice.” He lifted his arms above his head, stretching. Muscles bulged everywhere.
My mouth went dry. Lord, help me. I crossed my arms. Forcing my gaze away from his very tempting appearance, I tapped my foot. “What makes you so confident that you can train me? My new power stumped Prisha’s father, and he’s been training me my entire life. Granted, he’s never seen my new power in action or felt it like you have, but what makes you so confident?”
“I have a particular skill set that many don’t share.”
“And what exact skill set is that?”
He gave me another wicked smile. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”
“Here we go again.” I shook my head, and cast him an aggrieved stare. “I’m being serious, you know. This is only my life that we’re gambling with ’cause I’m pretty sure Jakub-Dipshit doesn’t value it.”
All joking left his face. “I know that. I take this very seriously.”
“Then would you answer my question?”
He held my gaze for a moment before replying, “It has to do with what I am.”
“And what are you?”
He leaned down and began pulling mats together on the floor, the broad muscled plains of his back shifting and rippling. “I’m a supernatural unlike anybody else on earth.”
“Meaning what?”
“Meaning, as you’ve pointed out several times before, I have a unique genetic mixture.” His muscles bulged when he lifted an entire mat over his head before placing it beside the first. The scent of rubber rose around us every time he shifted the huge squares.
“What exactly are your genetics?”
“You already know that I’m part werewolf and part demon. But there’s more to it than that.”
“As I’ve surmised, since you’re capable of casting spells.” I tapped my foot again. “Are you ever going to tell me?”
His lips tilted up in a smirk, a low chuckle escaping him. “I don’t know. I quite like when you constantly beg me. Your curiosity is amusing.”
I advanced on him, intent on wiping that smirk right off his face.
An excited gleam grew in his eyes. Ugh. His demon side was running front and center right now, just waiting for the conflict. No, not waiting. Relishing what was about to come.
Seeing that brought me up short. I halted two feet away, realizing I’d almost fallen into his trap. He loved to provoke me, but what if I flipped the tables on him? I crossed my arms again. “How about this? I’ll make a deal with you.”
He straightened to his full height. Damn, why did he have to look so good? “I’m listening.”
“If you tell me what you are, I’ll tell you something in return.”
“Like what?”
I shrugged. “Something that you’re curious to learn about me.”
“No deal.”
My arms fell. “Why not?”
“Because that’s not what I want.”
“You’re not interested in learning about me?” For some reason, that needled at my heart.
“On the contrary, I’m very interested in learning about you, but that’s not what I want at this moment.”
“Then what do you want?”
“You already know.” Heat grew in his gaze.
“Oh my gods, you’re such a male. That’s not happening.”
He sauntered away to grab the last mat by the far wall. I tried to ignore how those loose pants hung so low on his lean hips. “That’s a shame,” he called over his shoulder. “I know you’re dying to know what I am.”
My teeth snapped together as I glowered at his back. Stupid, insufferable demony wolf.
His dark chuckle rumbled in the room. “Careful. I can feel those daggers shooting into my back.”
I cupped my mouth to project my voice. “Good. I hope they’re painful!”
He laughed, the sound resonating around me.
I scoffed, and despite knowing that he was purposefully baiting me, I couldn’t stop my curiosity. “Why can’t you just tell me what your genetics are? How can you wield fire and magic?”
He strolled back, the last mat in tow. “I’ll answer that if you give me what I want.”
“No. I refuse to fuck you.”
“But what if that’s not what I was going to request?”
I eyed him warily. “Then what was it?”
“Sleep with me tonight.”
I rolled my eyes. “Dude, what did I just say? I’m not fucking you, and I am not a prostitute. I’m not bartering sex for information.”
“I never said sex. I said sleep with.” He took another step forward, and his citrusy cedar scent hit me with such a vengeance that my entire body fluttered to awareness. When had his scent grown so strong? “You’re the one who’s wanting to strike a deal, and I just gave you my terms. I’ll tell you exactly what I am if you share my bed tonight. Do you accept?”
I narrowed my eyes, not liking at all how my belly was tightening in anticipation. “Define what your definition of sleep with is.”
“We share the same bed.”
“And?”
“And we sleep beside one another.”
“And?”
“There’s no further and. We simply share a bed. That’s all I’m asking for.”
“You mean you’re not insistent that I, you know . . .”
A devilish smile curved his lips. “Whatever are you referring to, Ms. Davenport?”
My cheeks flamed. “You’re insufferable.”
“You wouldn’t have me any other way.”
My breath caught at his words, because he was right. Dammit. As much as I didn’t want to admit it, I liked his company. I liked bantering with him. I liked when his demon side made him entirely unpredictable. It put me on edge and set my nerves ablaze, and excited me. There was never a dull or ordinary moment around him—well, usually there wasn’t. Our walk this morning had been relatively normal, but I’d enjoyed that too. He was wild and unpredictable, yet interesting and layered. And he was caring when needed, and oh-so fucking fuckable.
Crap. So I liked his company. I liked him. There, I’d admitted it to myself. And, gods, it would be so much easier to just give in to this desire to be with him. To let myself get swept up in the Fire Wolf’s molten desire and heated promises.
But then Carlos’s warning flitted to the front of my mind. Can’t be a normal mate instinct.
If only I had a crystal ball. If only I could know what would happen if I did give in to these urges and took the hunter up on all of the tantalizing things he wanted to do in the bedroom. If my sister were in this position, she would do it in a second, never once thinking about the consequences or fallout of her actions.
But I wasn’t her. I’d always been the more sensible, the more pragmatic. The one to carefully weigh the options and analyze the pros and cons, before making a decision that carefully balanced mitigated risk with a high yield. It was those traits that had resulted in Practically Perfect being a successful business.
With a firm press of my lips, I made up my mind. Nope. I wasn’t going to have a mindless fling with the hunter. While the sex would no doubt be mind-blowing, I wasn’t going to risk losing my heart to a man who’d never genuinely wanted me before his wolf caught my true scent. Because Carlos could be right. Even if I decided to ignore the hunter’s initial lack of interest, and trust that he would still want me just as desperately after fucking me senseless because of the mate instinct, I had to remember that the hunter wasn’t just a wolf.
He was a demon too.
And demons loved to fuck and forget.
Besides, even if the mate instinct didn’t disappear after he banged my brains out, it would never change the reality of our situation. The truth was he’d never once wanted me before his wolf did. The man—the supernatural underneath all of his magic and power—hadn’t wanted me. Only I had wanted him.
