“I don’t read romance novels. I read non-fiction.”

“Well, then don’t start reading romance. It’ll only give you wayward ideas of what reality’s actually like.”

“Does that mean you read romance novels?”

“Hardly.” I snorted, even though, yes, I totally read them. But I wasn’t going to tell the hunter that. I could only imagine the merciless teasing that would ensue.

“Are you speaking from experience then?” he asked. “Do you have memories of being an old married couple in your previous life?”

“No, but if I did, I imagine that’s what it’d be like.”

“You know, I’ve never seen or heard you look so tense before. Maybe I should massage—”

“Nope! Don’t even think about it. Your side. My side. Don’t cross it or I’ll gouge your eyeballs out.”

“Hmm.” Another dip came from the mattress, then he purred, “There’s that violent side I love so much.”

“I highly doubt that you would love it if your eyeballs were hanging from your head by their retinas.”

A strangled laugh came from him, before he said huskily, “So graphic. You’re giving me a hard-on.”

I whipped around to face the hunter, my mouth falling open. “Are you serious?”

He laughed—truly laughed—and I realized I’d fallen right into his trap.

“No, that particular image doesn’t turn me on, but the thought of you attacking me and raking your nails over my chest, now that—”

“Goodnight!” I whirled back around, giving him my back once more, and even though he made a few more comments, trying to draw me in with his insufferable demony wit, I didn’t fall for it.

Finally, a long sigh came from the hunter and he stopped moving around. Several minutes later, I heard his slow deep breaths, and I realized he’d gone to sleep.

He’d actually held up his end of the bargain and hadn’t forced anything on me.

Once that shock had worn off, and I realized the hunter and I would truly be sleeping tonight and sleeping only, I allowed my rigid form to relax and drift back a few inches so I didn’t actually fall off the bed. Then, I sank deeper into the mattress, letting the lull of sleep pull me under.

My eyelids drifted closed, triumph oozing through me as the heat of the hunter, only inches away, warmed me.

One night down. Only dozens more to go.

I could do this.

OceanofPDF.com

Chapter 21

Blissful warmth and a cedar scent tingling my nose pulled me from a deep sleep. My upper body rose and fell as if I were on a ship at sea rolling over gentle waves. But what I lay on felt incredibly hard and hot, and something coarse tickled my cheek.

I slowly peeled my eyes open and came face to face with dark hair and a flat hard chest. It rose steadily beneath me—so, not an ocean then. Farther down, sheets bunched around a toned waist.

My face was turned, planted on the firm chest, and my body was half lying on top of said chest, my legs and limbs draped across the man’s body.

And that was when it hit me.

Oh my gods, I’m cuddling with the Fire Wolf and lying on his chest.

A delicious thrill and a spark of razor-sharp embarrassment ran through me simultaneously. I made a move to scramble off of him and prayed that I didn’t wake him. But the second my body lifted, a heavy arm clamped around my waist, holding me in place.

“Stay.”

The single command fell with husky clarity. Turning my head, I peered warily upward and came face to face with the hunter.

Disheveled hair covered his head, and his beautiful lips twisted into a wicked smile. Too late. The Fire Wolf was already up.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize that I’d—”

“I like it,” he drawled. “It’s good to see that in sleep you seek me even if you’ve yet to succumb to that desire while awake.”

Heat bloomed across my face. “Well, good morning to you too. It’s nice to see that you’re already gloating.” My heart raced, and I tugged at my shirt, trying to get it down since it had ridden up during the night. Even though my breasts were covered by my T-shirt, they were pressed flush against the hunter. My soft to his hard. Gods.

“You can leave that as well,” he said when my T-shirt flashed a sliver of my abdomen. The damn thing didn’t want to straighten.

“I’m sure you’d like that.” I yanked on it more until I was completely covered again, but the hunter’s arm was still locked around my waist holding me captive.

“Release me,” I said curtly, or as curtly as I could manage.

He inhaled, his nostrils flaring. “You know you say those words, but I don’t think you actually mean them.”

So he’d detected my arousal that was already running full throttle. Not that I would ever admit it. I arched an eyebrow. “So no doesn’t mean no? Is that what you’re saying?”

“You didn’t say no. You said release me.”

“If that’s going to be your argument in court, let me encourage you never to pursue magistrate school.”

His lips curved, an excited gleam growing in his eyes. “First thing in the morning, and your sharp wit and delicious scent are already driving me mad. Did you know that’s what you do to me?”

“I’ve kind of picked up on that.” I stopped trying to move. He was holding me firmly in place, and even though I’d die before admitting it, waking up next to him felt more pleasant than I wanted to acknowledge, and I didn’t actually want to move.

I wanted to press a kiss to his lips and run my fingers through his hair, to tangle myself up in his embrace and feel his hands on my thighs. I wanted him to settle between my legs and rub his—

My cheeks flushed more just as his eyes darkened. “I would love to know what you’re thinking right now, colantha. Your scent just became mouth-watering.”

I squirmed, my core clenching and aching. Perhaps I shouldn’t be thinking about those things, but maybe I could enjoy this position. Just for a few minutes. Surely, there was no harm in that.

Tentatively, I propped my elbow on his chest and cupped my chin in my palm. “So, Fire Wolf, what are we doing today?”

His face tightened, an emotion clouding his eyes that I couldn’t quite decipher. “Kaillen.”

“What?”

“Call me Kaillen, not Fire Wolf. That name is for my jobs and the Shadow Zone, not for people I know.”

I swallowed, thickness coating my throat. I absentmindedly began to trace a finger along his chest, through the dark hairs on his pecs. “But do you and I really know each other? Has it even been a week since I accosted you at the Black Underbelly? And we met because I hired you to—”

He brought a finger to my lips, silencing me. The touch of him quickened my pulse and shot electric jolts down my nerves while halting my finger’s progression on his chest. “You know me better than almost anyone on this planet.”

His quiet declaration made me grow still, and with startling clarity, I knew he was telling the truth. That was how private and reclusive the demon hunter was. I, a woman who’d hired him in the Shadow Zone not even a week ago, knew him better than most alive.

That familiar tightening and tingling in my belly began anew, so I trailed my finger over his chest again, anything to distract myself from the dip in my stomach.

His breath sucked in when my fingertip grazed his nipple, his entire body shuddering. “Tala,” he said huskily.

Before I could snatch my finger away, the hunter was upon me.

His huge body rolled me in a flurry of heat and fire as he pinned me to the mattress. I gasped, and then he was there, his lips molding to mine.

My back arched, my body jolting at the sudden feel of the hunter’s mouth.

He growled, his weight sinking into me, and before I knew what I was doing, my fingers were threading through his hair, my hands beckoning him to move closer. Everything happened so fast, but then I was wanting, needing, craving.