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I ran my tongue over my teeth. “I won’t have you running to my brothers while I’m not finished speaking to you.”

“I’m not afraid of you,” she mumbled in feeble protest.

I closed my eyes for a moment, summoning a partial shift to change my hand. Lifting it to her cheek, I turned her face toward me with a single claw.

She froze, her breath coming shallower by the second.

“Rule number one,” I said, allowing a growl to infuse my voice. “Never tempt a predator.” I ghosted my claws over her cheek, down her chin, and over the front of her throat.

Her panicked eyes locked with mine as she panted.

“That is what you called me, right? A predator?”

She didn’t move.

Didn’t speak.

Didn’t breathe.

My claws at her throat held her still. One swallow and I’d pierce her fragile flesh.

I dragged the claw of my index finger lower and paused over her sternum, leaning in to whisper in her ear. “Am I wrong?” I lowered my hand, satisfied I’d reminded her of the type of creature she dealt with.

“No,” she breathed, her scent changing.

My proximity affected her the way her proximity to the others affected them. It surprised me. We’d spent no time alone together. She’d avoided me, and I’d done nothing to make myself approachable.

I couldn’t resist burying my nose in the hair above her ear, breathing her in like a beast scenting a kill. A growl vibrated in my chest. With the partial shift, I didn’t feel as in control around her. The realization both alarmed and excited me.

“You know, your scent reveals so much about you,” I said, dragging my nose over her neck. “Even if they hadn’t admitted to fucking you, I’d know by scent alone.”

Her breathing grew erratic, her body leaning toward me, submitting beautifully. I couldn’t stop the blood rushing to my cock if I tried.

“I know you want them all. Not just Ash and Cyn.” I lifted my head, commanding her attention with my stare alone. “Do you know what else you want?”

Her glassy stare remained captive to mine as she shook her head side-to-side in denial.

The scent of her arousal, thick and sweet, saturated the air. I’d never felt so intoxicated.

I pressed my tongue against the tip of my fangs, allowing her to see them.

Blood didn’t hold much interest for me, but I wondered what it’d feel like to sink my teeth into her—to taste her pure blood, untainted by venom.

I bent my head close to her ear again, and she whimpered, expecting me to bite her. Instead, I whispered, “You want me.”

“No,” she rasped.

I lifted my head. “No? If I reached beneath this threadbare shirt and into your panties, I wouldn’t find the flimsy material soaked?” She pressed her thighs together. “Are you saying that if I slid my finger through your slit, my claw wouldn’t come away dripping?”

She squirmed.

I bent to her ear again and whispered, “Are you also saying that if I put you on that bed right now, you wouldn’t spread your legs for me and let me own your body the way I own your mind?”

The moment the last words left my mouth, I knew I’d broken the spell. Her scent soured so fast it made me nauseous. She wasn’t ready to admit the truth.

“As if I’d let you touch me like that.”

Her resistance bolstered my weakening resolve, allowing me to reset my mask.