His fangs erupted from his gums and it was all he could do to hold his craving in check.
“Your brother and his mate seem very nice,” she prompted him. “Are you sure Knox is okay with us being here?”
Razor cleared his throat, if only to give him a chance to tamp down the desire that had him in a stranglehold. “He’s my brother. He knows I’d do the same for him if the tables were turned.”
“You two seem close.”
He pivoted to look at her. “Of all my brothers, Knox and I are the tightest.”
She nodded. “Where are the others now?”
“Florida. We built a Darkhaven together in the Everglades. Knox lived there too, before he ventured north and ended up here with Leni.”
Willow listened quietly, something unreadable in her schooled expression. “Is that where you’ll go next? Back home to Florida?”
He lifted his shoulder. “I suppose. Haven’t really had time to consider what’s next.”
His noncommittal response tasted like a flat-out lie when he’d been doing nothing but thinking about what was going to happen after he got the answers—and the retribution—he was after. Going back to the Everglades Darkhaven was the most logical next step, but nothing about his current state of mind was logical.
Standing this close to Willow, seeing the tenderness in her beautiful face as she was looking at him now short-circuited every reasonable thought he had except the one that was hammering like a war drum in his veins.
Mine.
It was the bone-deep reaction he’d had to Willow Valcourt from the first moment he saw her. Every minute he’d spent with her in the time since had been a test of his self-control. A test of his honor as a man, and as the self-appointed guardian who was determined to ensure her safety and protection.
She was anything but safe with him, especially when she was gazing up at him with those long-lashed eyes that were as green and entrancing as a forbidden forest.
The memory of their all-too-brief kiss in the resale shop came back to him as he got lost in her unflinching gaze. She had wanted him too. That had been revelation enough, but there had been more to her kiss. She cared about him. He’d tasted it on her lips, and in her tender touch as she’d healed him.
He saw all of that in her beautiful eyes now, and more.
She cared about him.
She believed in him. Trusted him more than anyone now.
Her body moved closer at the same time he did, both of them closing the distance as if neither could resist the pull that drew them together. But when her hand came up toward his face he bit off a tight, hissed curse.
“Willow, we need to talk.”
Her hand lowered at once and she abruptly glanced away from him. “I know what you’re going to say.”
His short exhalation was full of self-loathing. “No, I don’t think you do.”
When her gaze swung back, that endless green forest had become shuttered. “I’m not looking for promises, Razor. I know you have more important things waiting for you somewhere else.”
“Ah, fuck.” She couldn’t have misunderstood his intent more. He cursed again, furious at himself for how badly he was fucking this whole thing up with her. “Willow, you don’t—”
“Please, let me finish,” she said, adamant now. “I’m not fooling myself into thinking I’m ever going to have the kind of life your brother and his mate have made together. And that’s fine with me. I’ve never needed much to be happy.”
He scowled. “Willow, you deserve . . . everything.”
Her smile wobbled as she shook her head. “I’m not going to ask you for that. But after everything that’s happened, I just want you to . . . I just need you to stay with me for a little while, Razor. I need something real to hold on to, even if it’s just for one night.”
Whatever flimsy resolve he wanted to believe he had when it came to this woman crumbled under the raw honesty of her plea. She looked so tender and vulnerable, even though he knew how strong she truly was. He’d seen her strength and courage every minute they’d been together, yet here she stood, opening herself to him in such a painfully honest way it staggered him.
“Willow.” He reached out, gently wrapping his hand around her nape. Her skin was hot to his touch and velvety, her tiny veins pulsing against his palm and fingers. Her blood called to his, adding dangerous fuel to the possessive fire already roaring within him. How could she even think he might want something other than what he held in his hands right now?
When he found his voice to speak again, his voice came out as rough as gravel for the depth of his need. “You deserve so much more than I can ever give you, Willow. Being with you like this, touching you, is all I’ve been thinking about since I first laid eyes on you.”
