Chapter One
Cadence
The shadows swirling around my body slowly disappeared as my feet settled against the hard floor. I swayed as I adjusted to my new surroundings, and a large, calloused hand gripped my elbow to steady me.
“I don’t need your help,” I said with a snarl, and Ryker quirked an amused brow.
Without warning, he let me go, and I stumbled until my back hit the wall. Ryker stalked forward, positioning his forearms on either side of my head as he caged me in.
“From where I’m standing, Temptress, you could use all the help you can get.”
“And whose fault is that?”
“Yours.”
Mine!
The fucking audacity of this man.
My hands slammed against his chest, but he didn’t move a muscle. His body was solid granite against my palms, hard and unyielding. The heat radiating from him made my skin burn, and I resented how my pulse quickened at his proximity.
“My fault?” I hissed, tilting my chin up to meet his blazing stare.
The look in his eyes had liquid fire pooling at the juncture of my thighs. My gaze darted to his lips, and I clenched my fists to rid myself of the intrusive thoughts churning inside my head.
“It was you who dragged me away from the safety of my home and into the underbelly of your corrupted kingdom. You’re like poison, Ryker. Everything you touch wilts and dies at your fingertips.”
“Everything except for you.” His eyes darkened, and I forced myself to repress the shiver that wanted to break free.
A bitter laugh tore from my throat. “I survive inspiteof you, not because of you.”
Ryker leaned in closer, my words hanging in the air between us, crackling with something… dangerous. He caught my wrist, his grip firm but not painful. The calluses on his fingers scraped against my pulse point, which betrayed me by quickening.
“Tell me something, Temptress.” Ryker’s breath fanned against my cheek as his lips grazed the shell of my ear. “If you hate me as much as you pretend, then why do you keep looking at me like that?”
“Like what?” The words slipped free before I could think better of it.
“Like you want me to ruin you.”
Heat flooded my cheeks, but I refused to look away. I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction. I swallowed hard, the sound audible in the tense silence. As my heart hammered against my ribs like a caged animal seeking escape, I cursed my traitorous body for being so transparent.
This man murdered my mother.
I hated him.
And Ididhate him.
But my body and my mind weren’t on speaking terms from the moment I peered up at him and saw the intensity brewing in his storm-grey eyes.
“You’re delusional,” I said, but my words lacked conviction, even to my own ears.
His lips curved into that infuriating half-smile that made my stomach flip. “Liar,” he purred.
Ryker’s hand reached out, one finger tracing the line of my jaw. I jerked my head away, trying and failing to create space between us.
“Don’t fucking touch me!”
Something twisted his features. Anger. Determination maybe.
