Page 7

He takes a step toward me, but his legs are so long that he crosses half the distance in one step. One more and he’ll be on me.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” I say, holding out my hand. “That’s far enough.”

He looks at his hands and flexes them open and closed like he’s stretching the stiffness out of his long fingers. All I can do is stare at the long sharp claws at the tips with my heart pounding.

He’s going to eat me.

He may be beautiful with that big chest and that dreamy face and that long wavy hair and that… oh my god, it’s longer than it looked when he was frozen.

My cheeks burn as I stare at it, somehow unable to take my eyes off its thick length even though I’m in quite the deadly predicament here and I need to focus.

This is a convicted creature. A deadly creature. A creature that’s condemned for execution.

He won’t think twice about slicing me in half on his way out of here. He’ll probably eat my organs. He’ll probably devour my pounding heart for dessert.

When I see him lick his lips, I burst into action.

Crossbow.

I run inside and grab it off the wall.

He follows me in, ducking under the doorway.

Luckily, my paranoid father always keeps an arrow cocked in the crossbow, so it’s ready to go. I point it at his gut just like Father said.

“You stay right there, buddy,” I say as I aim it right between his shredded charcoal abs. “You’re not eating me. Not today.”

He tilts his head and narrows his eyes as he studies me curiously. I feel my skin flushing under that scrutinizing gaze and the throbbing between my thighs gets more intense.

My body needs a reality check and it needs it right now. I’m in a deadly encounter here—the most dangerous one of my life—and it decides that now would be a perfect time to get the baby factory going.

I mean, are you freaking kidding me?

This beast is looking at me like I’m dinner and my body wants me to climb onto the plate.

I should complete the job. I should pull the trigger. My finger is right there. I could end this now. Get paid. Father would be pleased. We could move on. Maybe grab some lunch in town.

But… I can’t. Not with those silvery eyes on me.

“How long was I stoned?” he asks, his voice all deep and scratchy like he hasn’t used it in a long time. It’s a sexy voice. A raspy voice you’d want whispering naughty things in your ear. A powerful voice that would have the whole town gathering in the Market Square if he began to sing.

“I don’t know,” I say as I try to hold the crossbow still despite the trembling in my arms. “Just don’t move or I’ll send you right back there.”

He licks his lips again and lets out a low moan that I feel between my legs.

“Hungry?” I ask, steeling myself. “Well, I ain’t an all-you-can-eat buffet, okay? So don’t get any crazy ideas. This food fights back.”

That sexy mouth with those dark lips curls up into a grin as he watches me. Is he… amused by me?

I don’t think that helps my situation. I saw Korrick laughing at a weedhopper last week before he crushed him. Funny or not, this beast will crush me all the same.

“Who are you?” he asks. God of the sea, that voice. Why does it keep making my skin prickle?

“Ravena,” I say, keeping the pointed arrow aimed at his charcoal flesh. “Who are you?”

“My name is Tharion.”

His wings ripple and I flinch back, gripping the crossbow tighter. “Don’t move! I mean it, buddy! I’m not playing around!”