He returns to the column of my throat, stroking it slowly but deliberately. An unspoken message passes from him to me in that tiny caress. This man could kill me. But the reverence in his touch is what keeps me from running.
To be cradled in the hands of a demon is unsettling. And thrilling.
“I told you, I’m fine,” I say, hardening my tone.
“I believe you’ll live, little raptor.”
His words send a shiver through me. I know the second he feels my body’s involuntary movement. The barest smirk plays about his lips. The sensual expression makes me want to moan. And then punch him in the face.
“I have so many questions,” I say. “Not just about Ben, but about that night.” My confession fills the space between us. I take a deep breath as if I can pull it back into my body where it’s safe from him. Xavier keeps stealing it from me.
The skin around his jaw tightens, but the sly expression remains. “Not tonight.”
“When?”
His fingers, still lingering on my neck, tighten their grip. “When it’s safe.”
The intensity of his answer resonates somewhere deep. It’s a cryptic promise, laden with the weight of secrets that I’m not yet privy to. Not yet.
“I just want to understand,” I say. “Don’t you get that?”
“I’mveryfamiliar with wanting something I can’t have.”
My breath catches at the raw yearning in his voice, the hunger that ignites something inside me. The irrational allure that surrounds him snakes around me, coiling and unmovable. Leaving me helpless.
Xavier lifts his hand to brush a tendril of hair away from my cheek, tucking the errant strand behind my ear. Our eyes stay locked as he lightly grips my jaw and strokes my bottom lip.
“A predator should never desire its prey.”
“I’m not prey.” My voice betrays me with the smallest warble. Is the tremor from fear? Or fascination? “And you’re not just any predator.”
Xavier smiles. It’s wistful, pricking my heart, making it bleed the tiniest bit for him. What has he gone through to think this way?
And what’s wrong with me for being drawn to him?
“Are you going to get off of me now?” he asks.
My cheeks blaze with embarrassment. I look down at our bodies, flush with one another and our legs entwined. I’ve been laying on this man like a pillow-top mattress. Except he was hard.
Everywhere.
I scramble to my feet and wrap my arms around my middle to fortify myself. And create a barrier between us. Theawkwardness that prickles my skin quickly removes all thoughts of attraction.
“Sorry,” I mumble, unable to meet his gaze.
Xavier gets to his feet in one fluid motion that has my eyes widening. He has control over his body in a way that most people don’t. It’s the reason he was able to save me from getting run over, while also landing with me on top to cushion my fall.
“No need to apologize.” He pulls his black hood over his head, his gray eyes gleaming at me from underneath. “It’s not every day a beautiful woman sexually assaults me.”
I look at him, not bothering to hide my appreciation of his physical appearance. “I doubt that.”
He shrugs. “It’s never the one I want. Until tonight.”
I open my mouth to say something sarcastic, or possibly stupid, but he juts out his chin in a silent command. “Go straight to your dorm. I’ll know if you don’t listen to me.”
His authoritative response has me flipping him off. He laughs at my act of rebellion. The sound is like melted caramel, sinking into my stomach and making me jittery.
“What about Ben?” I ask. “I need to speak to?—”
