Page 17 of Hunted

Hit him, she told herself, but she couldn’t move. Those eyes were holding her in place. “Liar,” he whispered, with just the tiniest smirk.

Asshole. Her fist came up, but he blocked it. He’d always had lightning-fast reflexes—and an uncanny knowledge of when she was about to hit him.

“Still ready for whatever you dish out, babe,” he said.

“What about when I hit you in the kitchen?”

He shrugged. “Lucky shot.” He reached out towards her dragon amulet. “This is new. What is it?”

She jerked back out of his reach. “It was a gift. Leave it the hell alone.”

Being Gunn, he touched it anyway. It sparked red, singeing his fingers, and he pulled them back and shook out his wrist. “Shit!”

It had protection spells on it, to keep anyone from taking it from her. She smirked. “I warned you.”

He ignored that, and closed the first-aid kit. “One more chance to give up the antidote. Otherwise I have to turn this whole mess over to my boss, and he’s not as nice as me.”

“Fuck off.”

His jaw clenched. “Mikey,” he said. “Just please—”

“I said fuck off!” She couldn’t let him see how desperately a part of her wanted to trust him, wanted to give him everything he needed.

Wanted to put it all back the way it had been, over a year ago.

The way she thought it had been.

“You’re just making things worse for everyone.” He took the kit and left the bathroom, calling over his shoulder, “I have things to do. You’re going to be in here a while, but the bed’s made up, if your conscience will let you sleep. Otherwise, you can just think about how you’re going to live with yourself if Dobe dies.”

He left the bedroom, shutting the door behind him, and she heard the lock engage.

The door was steel and there was no knob on the inside, and the metal mesh was still down over the window. A nice little holding cell.

She looked around for the security cam, and found it high in the corner, behind a plexiglass barrier. She gave it the finger, then went in the bathroom to get her clothes.

They were gone. The sneaky bastard—she hadn’t even seen him take them.

“Dammit, Gunn!” she yelled.

There was a flicker of light and a crackle of speakers, and then a screen on the bedroom wall flared into life, with Gunn’s image on it. She wanted to throw something at it, but there was no point. It too was encased in a plexiglass cover.

Gunn said, “Missing something, princess?”

Michelangela was fuming. “You’re seriously going to make me stay in here naked? I’m sure you’re going to invite all your buddies to ogle the security footage, too.”

“Yeah, like we have nothing to do all day but stare at your boobs.”

She narrowed her eyes. “A hundred bucks says you’re staring at my boobs right now.”

Gunn’s eyes went hot, bringing back a memory she’d tried to bury. The two of them lying in bed, Gunn’s fingers tracing the curve of her breast, his lips caressing her nipple. You have the most gorgeous boobs, he’d murmured. I could spend days doing nothing but this.

Apparently not.

She said, “Take a good look. It’s the last you’re going to see of them for awhile.” She raised her arms and pivoted, showing off everything she had, and then Changed into her wolf.

Then she jumped on the bed, flipped her tail at him, and curled up in the center of the mattress.

The screen blanked out.