Page 30 of Born Savage

I backed away from Star on purpose, the confusion hijacking my brain creating an anxiousness I didn’t need.

A single step away from her wasn’t enough.

Star turned around, remaining against the wall. She had the same crazed look in her eyes, something wild and unbridled that kept the air in the room dense.

The heat in the room alone was explosive, but the wash of electricity shooting through me was nothing I understood. Nothing I’d planned for.

I took another step away, feeling the heavy weight of my balls pulsing between my legs. This just wasn’t going to work.

“Get some rest.” Uttering the words had been difficult, taking every ounce of control.

She opened her mouth to retort before looking away. The slight shake of her head was out of annoyance.

Her defiance hindered me from walking out the door as I should.

“No.” The single word hung in the air as if she’d swung her sword in hopes of gutting me.

“No?”

“You heard me. No sleep. Not until we’re finished.”

The soft moan she emitted was done on purpose. So was the drag of her tongue across her bottom lip. A seductress after all. Whatever her reasoning, which could be nothing more than personal, I was losing hope I could just walk away.

Not when the draw had so clearly affected me. The brutal twitch of my cock was only one indication. There were others, including the catastrophic rush of adrenaline that often fueled the part of me that truly was nothing but savage in nature.

A man woven with threads of desire to invoke violence had no place in hungering for flesh in a different way. Yet there was no denying our combined attraction.

She took a step closer, defying every aspect of my command, whether from before or just now.

My mind continued to drift to my orders. There wasn’t a line stipulating I couldn’t touch her. Only that I would protect her with my life.

When I didn’t rebuke her approach, she moved even closer, her lithe body acting as if a cat. She even dared walk around me in a complete circle. What did she think she was doing, stalking her prey? At least the thought provided a smile since that wasn’t possible.

I shifted my head over my shoulder, studying her while refusing to touch.

For now.

Her eyes were wilder than before, the light from the lamp managing to highlight the flicker of gold that would hold any man’s attention.

When she was standing in front of me once again, her breathing hitched while she allowed her gaze to fall. No matter the time that had passed, she acted as if this was the first time seeing me.

Her long fingers touched the scars on my chest, her brows knitting together as questions formed in her mind. Her touch created another wave of longing that was becoming impossible to ignore.

“Time in Exile.”

She pulled her fingers free, curling them as she slowly looked me in the eyes. “It does exist.”

I laughed, the sound intentionally bitter. “In every domed city.”

Exile was the name of the penal system operation by the Freedom Hunters. While there were several Freedom Hunters kept behind bars, imprisoned because of heinous deeds, the circular buildings were used to house Savages. And the bastards didn’t distinguish between those created before the war and those considered Verndari.

“My God.” She almost pulled away but I stopped her, wrapping my hand around hers and pulling her fingers to my lips. One kiss of her heated skin and everything I’d been trained to avoid was about to be tossed aside.

“There is no God, Star. The sooner you realize the truth, the easier your life will be.”

“How very sad.”

“Perhaps,” I breathed before kissing her knuckle. “But very true.”