Page 84

He blinked slowly, but came no closer. Did my words get through to him?

Fuck if I knew, but at least I could try again. It was better than nothing. “You want food?” I held up a piece of the beef jerky like a dog treat. That was how I won over stray dogs, so maybe it would work with Galen, too?

Except, the way he stared at me suggested it wasn’t food he was after. If he wanted to eat me, I was pretty sure it would be in the way that would leave me boneless but not tiny bloody chunks.

And why the hell did that turn me on? Was I an idiot?

Yes, I really am…

He growled lowly, then leaped forward, through the fire. Despite the fear, the realization that this could go very badly, I could admit that looked really fucking cool.

At least, I thought that before his weight slammed into me, shoving me backward, pinning me beneath him. He somehow felt heavier than he had before, even if he were human. Why? More muscles? Maybe he’d always been heavy, but I’d never had him on top of me like this, so I’d never realized it?

He leaned down, his face inches from mine, his expression unreadable. It made me recognize that he’d always been difficult to read.

Many of the men I was involved with were hard to read, but Galen was different. With Kelvin and Ruben, I had to worry about what they were up to, how it might affect me. While neither would do things outright to cause me harm, they both liked to trick me, to use dishonesty or non-answers to get what they wanted.

I never had to worry about that with Galen. No matter what happened, I’d always had absolute faith that he was on my side, that he was looking out for me. It meant even if I couldn’t read his expression, if I couldn’t work out what was in his mind, I didn’t fear it. Nothing inside of me believed that he’d hurt me—even now.

He leaned in and pressed his nose to my throat, inhaling deeply. A more contented rumble left his chest, at least until he frowned and moved his nose down, over my shoulder, then to my arm and the cut.

His narrowed eyes became bright amber slits, casting out light brighter than the fire. It was as though this place took him over, like the Spirit energy that existed here drove him mad.

“Call for them,” he said, his voice so deep and guttural that I hardly understood the words at first.

Call for them?Did he mean the others?

“Why?”

He tilted his head again, the action reminding me of a dog. Whether he understood the question or not didn’t matter, because he crossed the scant space between us and took my lips in an aggressive, consuming, claiming kiss.

Galen had always been gentle, careful, sweet, but none of that rested in this touch. Instead, it felt like something between punishment and starvation, and he crowded me so closely I doubted there was any escape.

Which was probably exactly why he’d told me to call for them, to ask for help. The meaning hit me all at once, that he wanted me to understand that he had no control, that he couldn’t stop himself from anything.

“Call,” he repeated before nipping at my throat, his teeth sharp, telling me that they had at least shifted. The points pressed into my flesh, but he didn’t break the skin. This delicious pain sparked from that place. It wasn’t like Kelvin, like when he bit me—that was quick and brutal, a flash of agony before ecstasy took over.

This was entirely different. It wasn’t quick, more like a threat, something torturously slow that forced me to wait, to endure, to submit. He raked his teeth across my skin, and to my own astonishment and shame, I moaned.

Yeah, I really am a pervert.

He pressed his forehead against my chest, over where my heart raced. “Call, please.” Desperation saturated his words.

But I couldn’t do that. Calling for help would prove I didn’t trust him, that I needed saving, and I refused to do that. This was Galen, and better or worse, I accepted him—all of him.

“I won’t.”

He let out a snarl that sounded nothing like him, and when he moved, I expected him to back off. He was bluffing—I was sure of it. Just pushing me to prove a point.

It shocked me when he didn’t go that way, however, when instead he gripped my waist and flipped me over. I gasped at the strength he used, the way he seemed to one handedly turn me over like that. I found myself on all fours, the fire to my left, far enough that I didn’t risk getting burned even though the heat warmed that side of me. The other side had a chill, but my back?

Well, given the way Galen mounted me, it wasn’t cold at all. In fact, his skin felt feverish against mine, even through my clothing.

And the way something hard pressed against me, I was pretty sure I knew exactly what was on his mind.

Even so, he didn’t do anything more. He wrapped his fingers in my hair and tipped my head back, shifting so he could look into my eyes, his body leaned to the side to let me see him. “Call them.”

“I’m not going to,” I assured him.