“I said, don’t touch me.” My voice was steady despite the chaos raging inside me.
Ryker’s lips curved into a smirk. “There she is,” he murmured, his voice a velvet caress that contradicted the weapon at his throat. “My vicious Temptress.”
“Shut up.” I pressed the knife deeper, drawing another drop of blood. “I meant what I said, Ryker. I’m going to destroy you.”
“Promises, promises, Temptress.”
His cocky grin cast a red haze over my vision, and without a moment’s hesitation, I plunged the dagger into his shoulder.
A low grunt was his only response. I stepped forward, forcing him to take a step back.
“I’m no longer playing by your rules, Ryker. I’m not some subservient, dutiful wife who will cower before you and bend to your every whim.”
Despite the pain pinching the corner of his eyes, Ryker grinned. “But you bend so prettily, Cadence,” he said, his voice low and suggestive.
But there was also something else lurking beneath it. Something feral. As if he relished the war as much as the surrender.
I met his gaze with a smirk of my own. “Careful. You know what they say about cornered animals.” I stepped closer until there was only a breath between us. “They bite back.”
Ryker inhaled deeply, as though he were savoring my words.
“You have no idea what I’m capable of, Ryker.”
His grin widened, and the darkness in his eyes deepened.
My threatsexcitedhim.
“Oh, but I look forward to finding out.”
And with that, he turned on his heel and marched from the room.
Chapter Two
Ryker
The corridor outside my chambers was empty, and I was thankful for it. My shoulder hurt more than I would admit, and I didn’t want an audience as I removed the dagger.
My dagger.
Cadence had driven it in with surprising precision, and despite the pain radiating from the wound, I couldn’t contain the grin that pulled up my lips.
Lethal and vicious. Those two words described my mate perfectly.
I leaned back against the door, wincing as fire shot down my arm. With both hands wrapped around the hilt, I tugged the blade free and barely stifled the grunt that wanted to escape me.
Fuck, that hurt.
My Temptress had certainly hit her mark.
Blood soaked through the fabric of my tunic in thick, wet pulses. A sheen of sweat coated my brow, and I leaned my head back as I reveled in the pain. It was a reminder of the passion burning beneath Cadence’s flesh.
A passion I very much looked forward to claiming, no matter how many times she made me bleed for it.
Boots clacked in the corridor, but I ignored the newcomer as I closed my eyes and inhaled the scent of her destruction.
“What the hell were you thinking, Ryker?” my brother demanded. “Nullifying cuf—” Riordan trailed off as he sucked in a sharp breath. “What happened to you?”
I glanced sideways to see Riordan frozen in the hallway. His gaze was locked on the crimson stain covering my shoulder before it dropped to the bloodied knife in my hand.
