With two steps, I managed to grab her arm, swinging her around.
Another surprise.
She smashed a vase against my head. I’d be goddamned.
The shock of what she’d done caught her off guard, but not enough to keep her paralyzed. She sprinted away from me, but even with having stars floating in front of my now aching eyes, I managed to cut her off before she was able to get to the door.
Her frustration grew, her groans from me thwarting her adorable, but the annoying habit she had of acting as if she could control the situation was over. No one had ever challenged me the way she’d done.
“I’m through playing games,” I told her.
“Oh, yeah? Well, maybe I’m not.” She threw a book at me. Then a second. Suddenly, she was ripping them from the bookshelf, tossing one after another. Her aim was damn good. I had to give her that.
Four smacked me in the head before I figured out her technique and managed to duck. It took me a few seconds longer to realize she was stealthily heading toward the spiral stairs. I’d be goddamned if she wasn’t going to try to escape through the window again. How the hell was I going to deal with this woman?
Before I knew it, she’d not only wreck my house, she’d also destroy my resolve.
Soon, there would be no control left.
“Stop. Now!” I yelled.
“Over my dead body.”
“Catherine. Do not continue with this behavior.”
“You don’t get to say what I do. You don’t own me.”
The woman was infuriating, straining every ounce of my control.
That could leave her bruised and broken and I couldn’t allow that to happen.
Not now. Not ever.
With books still in her hands, she managed to make it to the stairs. Where she’d been unstable on her feet before, she’d recovered quickly, taking them two at a time. Still tossing books.
That was it.
I had no other choice but to tackle her.
As my body landed on hers, she struggled but failed.
“What are you doing?” she asked, as if she didn’t know exactly what was happening.
“Keeping that promise.”
CHAPTER 10
Catherine
Before the full blow of his weight came crashing down, I managed to scramble up a couple of stairs. The brunt of his massive body landed on my legs awkwardly and I was able to kick him with enough force he tumbled down the stairs.
But he was lightning quick, refusing to fail a second time. The look on face was wired, rich with almost desperate need. “Stop fighting me, angel. Allow me to show you what blinding passion feels like.”
“Never.” Even as I muttered the words in utter frustration, my body was betraying me just as he’d suspected. There was no stopping the man and in truth, I didn’t want to.
The desire roaring through me was unforgivable. Within seconds, he’d ripped my skirt, the sound unmistakable. He managed to tug the material down my legs, yanking it off completely. There was nothing normal about the moment nor was he even human any longer. He was a beast taking what he wanted.
My skin was clammy, the rush of adrenaline as powerful as the wanton desire that was overtaking any sense of rational thought. My core was pulsing more than before, my heartrate off the charts. I tried to keep him from shredding my panties, but I failed as I’d done with everything else with him. Being torn between wanting and loathing was a strange aphrodisiac.
