Wicked Bite (Realm Enforcers #5)(51)

"Why did you kick me?" Low, guttural, the primal tone cut through the storm.

The lump in her throat kept her from answering.

"Nessa." His tone owned the word. Owned her name.

She was stronger than this. A woman like her would never cower. "This is all or nothing."

The animal in him reacted to her words, visible just beneath his skin. Anger, dark and primal, overtook the wind. Even the snow felt like a touch from him. "Cabin. Now."

She could go to the cabin like a meek little human. Or she could show him. Show him she was strong enough to be his mate, whatever that meant. At least for this moment. After, there would be intrigue and undercover work, and probably more hidden agendas. But in this time and this place, he was all male, and she was female. If this was going to happen, then that's all that mattered right now. It was all that could matter. So she stood her ground. "Make me."

His head snapped up. The growl he emitted was darker-deeper-than she'd ever heard. The female inside her heeded it. She turned and ran, seeking safety. Adrenaline lit her on fire, and she aimed for the river.

He caught her by the nape before she'd cleared the cabin, sending them both sprawling through the snow. He wrapped himself around her as they tumbled end over end, keeping her off the rough ground. Even so, snow and ice splattered her, and she shut her eyes. The world spun in every direction.

They landed with him on his back and her on him. She gasped and jumped up, pushing off the impossibly hard ridges of his chest.

He stretched to his feet, his gaze pinning her in place, his body between her and the rushing river. Rips marred his T-shirt, and the talons of the dragon tattoo nearly glowed a dark omen.

She'd forgotten. Oh, he was mainly a bear shifter-a predator of the forest. But deep inside his flesh, inside his very bones, a dragon still lived. Unpredictable and deadly. A primordial being not understood by many. "Bear," she whispered.

He stalked toward her. Broad and dangerous, his body moved fluently. But his face. Hard ridges and predatory planes. His eyes glittered with masculine intent.

She backed up. If he was still hampered by his illness, he didn't show it. In this time and place, nothing else mattered but the two of them. A week ago, she had never been within a foot of him. Now? There was just them. For this slice of time, her entire world narrowed to the beast of prey deliberately stalking her.

Because she'd wanted this-and she'd challenged him.

It was too late to stop him, even if she'd wanted to. She quivered, caught. Reality tried to creep in, and she looked around almost frantically.

"There's nowhere to go," he whispered, the deliberateness of his steps toward her all the more threatening than if he had charged. "Cabin."

She stood straighter. A witch didn't submit any easier than did a shifter. Her people were long on this earth, and they created fire from ice. They understood the laws that sustained the entire world. They were power, and they were strength. She was part of that flow. "No."

His lids half lowered.

She turned and ran again. What had she been thinking? Panting, she dodged around a tree and smashed right into his body. He didn't grab her.

Freaking out, she ran the other way, her legs pumping and her arms swinging. She rounded a series of bushes and collided with him again. She bounced back, her butt hitting a sapling.



       
         
       
        

He towered over her, not saying a word.

Desire slammed through her so quickly she swayed. Coupled with fear, it left her entire body alight with a shocking anticipation. She couldn't back up any farther.

"This is what you wanted," he said, his eyes glittering way beyond lust. The animal shifted beneath his skin, shimmering, always present. He remained in human form, but he was no longer anything close to human. Maybe he never had been. His eyes blazed, and red flushed across his rugged cheekbones.

Her knees trembled with the instinctive need to flee. Her blood pounded, hard and fierce, wilder than the storm vibrating through the air. She moved to run, and he stepped into her space, pinning her between his body and the tree. Hunger, primitive and deadly, shone in his eyes.

Hunger for her.

A preternatural silence surrounded them both-all from him.

She shot her knee up, and he swatted it down, his hand clapping hard against her thigh. Her gasp burned up from her compressing lungs.

"Enough." His mouth slammed over hers, furious and forceful, knocking her head back against the tree. He kissed her deep, taking everything he wanted, penetrating her mouth with his tongue. All male, all alpha, all-controlling. His canines were elongated, and they scraped her lips but didn't cut.