“Determined to keep you alive? Yes.”
“You are out of your mind!” I didn’t stop to think. I cocked back my arm and swung my fist—
He caught my wrist with shocking speed. “See how easy that was? I didn’t even blink.”
Fury erupted in me like a volcano. I swung my purse around like a bat toward his big, egotistical head—
It never made contact.
The purse flew off my arm and from my grip as if an invisible hand had grasped it.
“And now?” he asked, his grip on my arm firm but not painful.
I twisted, angling my body to his as I jerked up my knee, aiming for his groin.
The King shifted, using his thigh to block my strike. The impact caused him to grunt. “And how about now? What else are you going to do?” He flipped me so my back was to his front. An arm clamped around my waist, yanking me back against him.
The heat of his skin seeped through the thin material of my blouse, scorching my flesh as his other hand curved around the underside of my jaw. He forced my head back against his chest, causing my back to arch as I met his gaze. “Do you know howeasy it would be for me to snap your neck? Just like that?” His thumb slipped over my thrumming pulse. I reached both arms up, one hand fisting the soft strands of his hair. “Are you going to pull my hair, sunshine? Is that your—?”
The soft click of my blade sliding out of the cuff silenced him. His eyes widened slightly.
I kept the edge of the blade a scant centimeter from pressing into his jugular as I smiled at him. “What are you going to do, King? I can’t decapitate you from this angle, but I can make a hell of a mess out of your throat.”
His eyes flared with heat as he stared down at me. I felt his chest rise and fall against my back. I saw his gaze move to where my breasts were straining against the delicate strip of buttons along the front of my blouse.
It happened so fast.
One second, we were fighting. The next moment, it all changed. I didn’t protest as he lowered his mouth to mine, utterly unfazed by the iron at his throat. I didn’t say a word or pull away. Anger and frustration crashed into something far stronger, something rawer, and the moment his lips touched mine, I was lost.
He was no longer the King.
He was Caden.
Chapter 30
The kiss…
Caden’s mouth moved against mine with lust-soaked intensity. He kissed—God, he kissed like a man starving. He kissed as if he were going to devour me, and I wanted that. Ineededit. It was all I could think about. Or maybe I wasn’t thinking at all. Instead, I was feeling. I was just letting myself feel.
“You drive me insane,” he growled, sliding his hand down my throat. “And even worse, I think I like it.”
“There is something wrong with you.” I gasped as his hand cupped my breast. “There’s nothing wrong with this.” He squeezed gently, causing a hot shiver to curl its way down my spine. His arm loosened around my waist, and I felt his fingers at the buttons of my blouse. There was a light tugging motion, and then the sound of buttons hitting the floor. “I hope you didn’t like this shirt.”
“I did.”
“You’ll forget about it soon enough.”
Caden was right. I did. He turned me in his arms, tugging the cups of my bra down, and the hem of my skirt up. Before I had a chance to think, his lips moved along the scar Aric had left behind, kissing the faintly pale, slightly raised skin.
And then he drew my nipple into his hot mouth. I gasped as pleasure rolled through me. His free hand slipped between my thighs, his fingers brushing over my panties before making quickwork of them. I had no idea if he tore them off or if they’d simply fallen to the floor.
He lifted his head, nuzzling my neck under my ear. “I don’t think you have any idea how badly I want you.” His fingers brushed along the center of my core once more, this time with no barrier. “I can’t stop thinking aboutthis.” One finger slipped inside, just a little. I moaned. “About how you felt around my fingers. How tight and wet. How you rode my hand.”
My entire body clenched. Hot, tight shudders racked my body. Caden’s fingers were barely in me, and I already felt like I might tip over the edge. This was insane. I was mad at him, and he was beyond frustrated with me, but this… God, this felt right, and I was so full of raw, painful need that I didn’t care what came next.
“Do you want this?” he murmured against my cheek, pressing his finger in just a little farther. “Just say the word, and I’ll make you forget everything.”
I knew I should say no. I should stop this. But I didn’t. I said, “Yes.”
