“Bimbo?” She could almost feel him narrowing his eyes. “I know you can’t be jealous. We don’t know each other—”
“Exactly,” she cut him off. “My life, my damn biz. Now get outta my way.” She spun for the door.
“Walk out of here, and I’ll follow. This time I will kill the demon.”
Teeth gritted, Shadow grabbed the handle. His hand slapped on the door, holding it shut. Goddamn him! Snarling, she spun around and shoved him.
He stepped back. “Is that all you have,lígo machitís?” he taunted.
Anger overtaking her frustration, she lashed out a flying kick, realizing too late she was probably signing her death warrant attacking him. He grabbed her ankle and stumbled backward, taking her down with him to the cement floor. She landed atop his hard body, her breath escaping in a rush.
Adrenaline surging, she scrambled up, swiped her blade from her left boot, and pressed the deadly edge to his throat. “Don’t move.”
Chapter 6
Nik narrowedhis eyes as Shadow straddled his chest, her blade pressed to his carotid.
She was damn fast for someone so small, but did she think the dagger would scare him? He’d had worse done to him, and death was no stranger. Besides, knife wounds were a mere irritation.
However, he understood her attempt to lash out. He wasn’t letting her fuck her way through the worst of the species while under his watch. Even though she appeared to hate his guts, deeper, something primal brewed between them. He had to find out what the hell it was. Why he reacted to her in this way when he never had with anyone else.
“Is that little blade supposed to scare me?” he drawled, watching her through hooded eyelids, keeping his hands on the floor near her booted feet. Her gaze skimmed over his face and lingered on his mouth.
“You have me pinned down and at knifepoint, now what?” he asked, tone low.
He half expected her to bolt when an evil smirk spread across her arresting face, tightening his gut. Then she startled the hell out of him, trailing the tip of her weapon along his jaw to caress his lip with the flat of her blade.
Oh, she had balls, he’d give her that.
“Starshine,” he drawled. “You want me, go ahead.”
She jerked back.
Not so spirited now. “I’m not one of your little demons,” he said softly. “So, scratch, bite, maim me with your nails, teeth, or your little knife…you won’t hurt me.”
She stared. Nik could almost feel her heart hammering like a drumroll, then she snorted.
“Yeah, no. You’re not my type.” Scoffing, she climbed off him.
Irritation flaring, he snagged her arm, hauling her back. She almost fell over him, her blade clattering to the floor.
“What the hell?” She hastily righted herself, back on his chest again, knees splayed. Her core closer to his face now. The seductiveness of her current seat didn’t escape him…or her, judging from the faint blush on her cheeks.
Before that sharp mind of hers rebooted, and she realized they were fighting, Nik wrapped her waist-length hair around his palm and dragged her lower, until only a scant inch separated their faces. This close, her irises did glow like a starburst of colors. Her ragged breaths became his air. “Don’t start what you can’t finish, Starshine,” he whispered. “When you play with fire, expect to get burned.”
“Burned?” She arched a challenging brow, back on track. “Oh, yes, I do like a man of fire. Not ice. Andyou, don’t do it for me—eeek!”
Nik flipped her on her back. Her eyes widened, not in alarm but in pure annoyance.
Did she even know what fear was or have an inkling of the sheer evil trapped within him? Even now, the dark souls thrashed, seeking escape. He tightened his psychic shields. No, he wasn’t letting those fucking shits destroy this unprecedented moment.
Wedged between her thighs, Nik shifted, and her pale face flushed a deeper pink when his cock hit her right against her beckoning heat. She blinked. Awareness stole through those striking eyes.
“Lígo machitís,I am noman—”
“Yeah-yeah, thealmightyGuardian.” Growling like a trapped she-wolf, she bucked, trying to dislodge him. “Either kis—kill me or get the hell off me! It’s what Neanderthals like you do, use brute strength.”
“Neanderthals?” Nik lifted an eyebrow. “And too late trying to cover your error. If you want me to kiss you, just say so.”
