“You … are going on a date?” he asks through clenched teeth as he glares down at me. “With whom?”
Fuck this guy.
I refuse to be bullied by someone I barely know.
With my feet firmly planted on the floor, I say, “Again, it’s none of your fucking business, but yes. I’m going on a date. Friday evening, in fact. He’s new in town, and we have a lot in common. Why the hell do you even care?”
The flames of rage lick wildly at the flesh beneath my skin, and through my red haze, I notice Ezra glance over hisshoulder. He closes his eyes and takes a deep, steadying breath. Eventually, the deer-hound shadow flickers and fades.
Am I trying to make him jealous?
Holy shit, I am.
I want this man on his knees begging for me.
Christ, that’s a strange thought.
Maybe he’s just worried about me, like Thane was earlier.
No, that’s definitely not it.
I clench my fists at my side as I lean toward the man with the strange shadow and smile sweetly at him.
Ezra smiles back just before he takes two steps toward me, pinning me against a bookshelf. His arms cage me on either side, and he leans in close, his breath hot against my ear.
My resolve wavers, just slightly, but the anger still burns beneath the surface, making it hard to think straight.
And Ezra? He’s tossing Molotov cocktails into the fire just to watch it rage.
“Well, well, sweet little Auroracanget angry. Rage looks good on you, darling. I could watch you burn all fucking night.”
Ezra exhales a low, shuddering moan against my ear. One hand slams against the bookcase near my head, while the other grips a shelf with so much restraint I hear the wood crack behind me.
His mouth parts against my skin, and when he speaks, his voice barely holds together.
“What … are you?”
His lips graze my throat as he breathes me in, slow and greedy, like he’s trying to sear the scent of me into his lungs.
He’s so close. Too close.
Everything—his heat, his scent, the way he bows his head into the crook of my neck—is fucking intoxicating. He’s obviously holding back, and I wonder if normal, boring Jameson can compare to this wild inferno I feel when I’m near Ezra.
A shudder rips through me as my mind scrambles to stay ahead of my stardust meat suit. But I don’t stand a chance.
My fingers find his biceps, digging into the muscle as I drag him closer, pressing his body hard against mine.
His breathing stops for a moment, while the chaos of his shadows dances wildly behind him.
I don’t know what the fuck he is, and right now, I don’t care.
My lips graze his ear as I whisper, “What happened to the possessive asshole who grabbed my hair and sank his teeth into my neck this morning without asking?”
His jaw tightens against my cheek, control straining against instinct.
“You seem a little lost, Ezra. Can you feel it? That pull between us—the way my body aches for yours?”
I drag my fingers down his arms, savoring every tense muscle beneath my touch.
