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He grabbed her wrists. ‘You like me?’

She pushed harder, wild with heat and shame and fury.

He kissed her.

It was a crash of want and rage, lips bruising, teeth clashing. His hands held her like she might disappear, and for one moment, just one, she let him. Kissed him back with fever.

Then she thrust him away, gasping. ‘I might like you, but I’m not sure I want what you do about it.’

‘Is that right? Why?’ he snarled.

‘Maybe I’m not cut out for an untamed, spectral relationship,’ she snapped. ‘I’m not some weak ass woman waiting to be claimed. Not by you.’

The words left her mouth before she could catch them. Regret swam through her gut as she saw the shift in his face.

Xander’s eyes went flat and cold.

‘Untamed, ay?’ he drawled, the ice in his rasp so glacial it sent shards of terror through her.

At the same time, his energy flames, and she saw flashes of violet and gold lightning arc around him.

Fokk.

‘A few nights ago, you said my lycan abilities were hot, they turned you on. Were you lying because you now realize you have a problem with my genetics? Or is it my prison time? Perhaps you fear the Bianchi clan’s shame at having a shifter lover? At hooking up with an untouchable?’

She hesitated, her breath hitching. ‘I’ll be honest. You’re not the kind of man I’d typically bring home.’

His face hardened like steel. ‘Not surprising given the Bianchi’s anti-meta, counter-shifter stance.’

She shook her head. ‘Nada. My parents and I might be Bianchi, but we don’t think like the others.’

‘So why the hesitation, Savvine?’

His intonation cracked like lightning, eyes burning. ‘Am I too rough, savage, or lycan to ever be good enough for you?’

‘That’s not true.’

‘Oh,naam, but it is.’ He spoke in a bitter growl. ‘You pure race human girls always mean it. You want the thrill. The edge. Until we ruin your picture-perfect future.’

Her jaw clenched. ‘It’s a lot, happening so fast. I’ve been torn from my family and - .’

‘You sought temporary comfort in a shifter. Is that why the hell you’re here?’ he growled. ‘Did you kiss me, sleep in my bed, let me mark you all so you could feel a little better at the expense of my feelings?’

‘Maybe I did at the start because you intrigued me, fascinated me!’ she snapped. ‘I didn’t think I’d start to care for you, but I do, and it’s overwhelming me.’

Xander leaned away from her, his chest heaving.

‘I’m asking for space,’ she whispered. ‘That’s all.’

He tilted his head, hands crossed over his rising torso for a long beat. ‘Thenfokkin’take it.’

With a snarl, he pivoted with a snarling curse and hit his comm.

‘Miral.’

‘Fokk,’ Xander muttered. ‘You’re responding now?’

‘Naam, Commander,’ came the cool reply.