“Don’t push me, Shadow.” That icy stare narrowed. “What did you do to me?”
So he did know.
Like she’d tell him anything now, the ungrateful wretch. “You mean, what didyoudo? Throwing out those ice splinters like I was the enemy?” A low blow, but Nik in this mood worried her.
His lips tightened, and he prowled closer. Hastily, she backed away, the bed stopping her retreat. “What are you gonna do, huh? Punish me for helping you?”
In that annoyingly fast way of his, he grasped her wrists and wound them back around the bedpost, his bare chest brushing against hers, distracting her for a moment. Then something solid tightened around her sleeve-covered wrists. She tugged and frowned when she couldn’t free herself. A faint chill seeped through the material into her skin—
Oh, no, he didn’t!
“What the hell, Nik? You cuffed me with freakin’ ice!” Her heart slammed against her ribs. “You can’t just restrain me to the bedpost!”
“In this place, I can do whatever I want.” He stepped back. “You ran from me in the castle, at the club, and now. This is a little insurance as we talk.”
Talk—talk? “I’m not talking to you while shackled.” Clamping her mouth tight, she tugged her hands, but the damn ice had no give. She glowered at him.
“Very well.” He sent that cool stare of his over her, then he fingered the neckline of the finely knit jersey she wore. “My sweater?”
“I have no clothes here,” she shot back.
He grasped the neckline and tore it right down the middle.
Shock rippled through her as he spread open the ruined sweater, exposing her bare chest. Worse, she hadn’t worn a bra because of her injuries. Her fingers clenched, but she schooled her features, refusing to show him her apprehension.
A tic worked in his jaw as he examined her. She glanced down at herself. Several tinges of blood smeared her chest. Why didn’t he tell her he wanted to see if she was hurt? Probably because she wouldn’t have let him. But with her feeding so thoroughly for the first time ever, all the initial ice-splinter stings had already healed. “I’m okay—”
His head lowered, and he licked the red smudges on her shoulder, then his warm tongue trailed down to her left breast, and her nipple hardened.
Oh, shit. She gasped, her heart galloping to her throat. “Nik, I said I’m fine.”
He didn’t respond, seeming determined to find out for himself. His tongue laved every inch of her chest, then slid along the dressing covering her wound. Even though she knew it was another way they healed, with their saliva, a quiver of heat darted through her, and that darn piercing of his stroked her skin—gah! A deep ache built in her core.
“Dammit, Nik,” she stifled a groan.Please, please, don’t let him know how turned on I am.
His tongue swiped over her nipple—oh, god. She bit her lip, choking off her whimper. “Wh-what are you doing?” she forced out the words, sounding like she’d swallowed a handful of grit. “Let me go.”
He looked up, but nothing showed on his unreadable features. “I’m not done.”
And he lowered on his haunches, his warm, calloused palms gliding down her legs to her ankles. At the tiny bloody smudges there, he picked up her left foot and ran his tongue over them, then up her calf, finding every smear.
Goddd. Shadow shut her eyes as he dragged his mouth past her knee to her thigh, and she stifled a groan, her nerves stretching, tightening, her blood buzzing like a lit fuse.
Since her damn body betrayed her, she pressed her lips into a tight line and fought not to show just how much his touch affected her. But when he tucked the hem of her short plaid skirt into the waistband, her eyes snapped open, and her mouth went dry.
Now he watched her as he slid his tongue over the top of her thigh. Maybe she was panting, Shadow had no idea. Still…
“If this is your idea to teach me a lesson or whatever crapass reason you have, it’s not gonna work, you-you savage!”
“Let’s see, shall we?” He rose to his feet, then wrapped her loose hair around his hand, and lifted her face to his.
“Really?” She glowered at him. “Like you don’t already have me trapped, you cave—”
His mouth captured hers, cutting off her words, his tongue sliding over hers, sucking and stroking, his tongue piercing a tormenting caress. His bare chest lightly brushed her nipples, setting her alight.
A whimper escaped her. Shadow forgot her precarious situation and kissed him back, need surging through her like wildfire. Her shackled hands grabbed onto the post, and she strained forward, trying to press into him. But he broke their kiss.
Leaving her breathless, he withdrew a few feet, his lips wet from the carnal connection. His eyes blazed with heat, but his expression remained cool.
