The creature huffed, but Mireille’s limbs strengthened and enough power flowed through her muscles that she was able to make a final push.
She strained for the ledge, the claws of her left hand digging into the stone. She was going to make it.
Her feet slipped.
She bit her lip to cage in a scream, didn’t want to draw any attention, and said a silent prayer in her mind to whatever Gods were listening.
She put all of her strength into her left arm, clinging to the ledge with her claws.
“Fuck, fuck,fuck,” she hissed, her toes scrabbling to find purchase against smooth stone as she struggled to pull her body up.
Gritting her teeth, she surged her right arm upward, just barely hooking her claws over the edge.
After an agonizing, muscle-trembling pull-up, she managed to swing a leg onto the ledge, then hoisted herself up.
She stood on the narrow ledge, pressing her forehead to the cool stone as a hysterical laugh tore up her throat.
You are a crazy bitch,her wolf chuffed.I love it.
Mireille smirked, then reached her arm toward the open window.
A surge of energy shot through her veins, blasting her backward.
Time slowed as her breath whooshed out of her lungs, the free-falling sensation silencing her wolf.
She was about to die. Or be severely injured, at the least. In this stupid dress. On this stupid assignment. For these stupid males.
Another hysterical laugh bubbled through her as the wind tore at her body. She closed her eyes, waiting for the ground to break her.
She slammed into something hard, yet…warm.
Ronin let out an airy grunt, then stumbled backward, cradling her in his arms as they both fell onto the gravel driveway.
She sucked in a gasping breath, the movement bringing her awareness to every place their bodies touched. His hard chest rose and fell beneath her, and she swore she could feel every ridge and dip of his abs against her back. Not to mention a very considerable something pressed against her ass.
They stayed like that for several minutes, Ronin’s powerful arms banded across her chest and hips. She didn’t even feel the bite of the teeth-chattering cold, not with Ronin’s radiant heat seeping through the thin silk of her dress.
She was about to open her mouth when Ronin shifted beneath her, scooping her into his arms and marching her through the front door.
The foyer was empty as he carried her into the front parlor, then set her down in a maroon velvet armchair beside which she spied her shoes.
He gripped the armrests, bringing his face in line with hers, caging her in.
His narrowed eyes blazed, though neither of them uttered a word as she studied him. The hard line of his usually soft mouth. The sharp cut of his jaw. The patrician slope of his nose. All combined into a breathtaking vision of wild, savage beauty.
Of wild,furiousbeauty.
A bolt of pure, raw need shocked through her.
She wanted to devour the distance between them, slant her mouth over his, taste his anger.
But she didn’t give in to the foolish impulse, likely inspired by the adrenaline still coursing through her veins.
“What happened?” His voice was a faint, guttural sigh.
“The window was warded.”
“I gathered that.” He pressed his lips together. “I meant before. When your legs gave out.” His face was so close that his breath ghosted over her mouth. Had he been watching her the whole time rather than trying to get into that room?
