My vision blurs as hot tears form in my eyes, spilling down my cheeks. And this man—this complete fucking stranger, this walking ad for testosterone who looks like he's auditioning for the villain in a dark romance—tilts his head with predatory focus. His face is so close I can feel the heat radiating off his skin; I can practically taste his citrusy scent. My breath hitches and I freeze in place.
I stop struggling, and time stops.
He leans in, eyes fixed on my lips, and just when I think he's about to kiss me, which I am definitely not leaning into, his tongue darts out and he drags it across my face, licking my tears.
He licks the fuckingtearsoff my face.
What the hell is wrong with me? I should be disgusted. Horrified. I am, I think. But his scent is still calming me. That same sensation of safety I felt earlier, caged in by his powerful form, is just as comforting, and that makes me want to scream.
"What do you want? Take anything. Take whatever you want. Please, please just… let me go," I frantically stutter.
His warm tongue licks the tears that track down my cheeks on the opposite side, and then he emits a low hum. It almost sounds like he's… purring?
I suck in a sharp breath and try to slow my breathing before I hyperventilate. The wall against my back is firm. He's warm, close, but not pressing into me. I'm okay. I'm going to get out of this. I'm going to be okay.
I chant this in my head, over and over again.
He closes his eyes, like he's savoring the taste of me.
"Are you a wolf?" I blurt.
His eyes crack open. "Areyou?"
Obviously not, but I say nothing. He takes a step back, scratching thick, calloused, scarred fingers across his knife-sharp jaw. There's a wolf silhouette tattooed on his hand. Letters on each finger I can't make out. The tattoos disappear beneath his sleeve.
"I wasn't expecting you," he says absently, almost to himself.
"Well, I wasn't expecting you either," I snap. "So, uh, maybe, you know, we can just forget this whole thing. I'll pretend you didn't follow me home—"
Then I pause. "You didn't follow me home. Wait. How did you know where I live? How did you find me?"
Panic rises up again. My racing heart doesn't match the dizzying slowness of my brain trying to connect all the dots, finally noticing all the pieces that don't fit. He was here before me. I've never seen this man before in my life. Not before that party.
Calm as ever, he doesn't react to or answer any of my questions. Still just stares at me in contemplation, like I'm a puzzle he's trying to figure out.
"What do you want with me?"
"What's wrong with you?" he asks instead of answering. "Your scent is… off. Wrong."
My scent?
Iknewit. He has to be a wolf. He shakes his head and takes a step back, looks me up and down and breathes me in, then comes to some kind of decision.
"I'm sorry for this, pet. I'm not known for my apologies, but for this… I truly am sorry. But it must be done."
"What must be done? What are you talking about?"
Adrenaline surges in time with my panic, and I stare at this beautiful, dark, dangerous man who just broke into my house, who's apologizing for whatever terrible thing comes next. My mouth goes dry. I'm shaking so hard, I can't believe I'm still upright.
I should be screaming. But I'm frozen. Fight, flight, or freeze, I could have predicted exactly what my body would do in this situation.
Only when he lunges for me do I finally scream.
But my voice is cut off when his teeth sink into my neck. The pain is sharp, and I suck in breaths, panting, gasping for air, gurgling protests. He releases and bites again on the other side of my neck, ripping open my flesh. At first, it stings.
The sharp, the burn, the sting, the amalgam of sensations erupt almost in slow motion so I can feel every layer of pain.My fingers curl into his shoulders to push him off, but it's like gripping concrete. I try to buck and kick, but he effortlessly pins me against the wall.
I feel the blood draining from my body. Its warmth trickles down my neck below my collar, and I'm trembling, scared to fucking death, but he stole my voice. I can't scream.
