Page 107 of Beneath the Light of the Moon

Desire darkened his eyes.

And the world stopped.

He was purposefully playing with her, drawing out her torture, trying to get her to crack.

And they were both feeding off the euphoric feeling.

“Then this is going to be a long, grueling process,” he finally said.

“Someone is going to have to give,” she started, “and itisn’tgoingto be me.”

“Oh, is that right?” His hand snaked up the front of her neck, gripping the delicate column of her throat. “Didn’t I just tell you how patient I could be, little moon?”

He restricted her blood flow, squeezing tightly. “Those who are truly patient don’t have to reassure those around them—”

Before she could even finish her sentence, the softness of his black balaclava brushed against her lips. Even though there was material still between them, shock sparked throughout her body, shivers zipping down her spine at the sudden contact. And as much as she wanted to shy away from him, she couldn’t.

It felt dirty to kiss him. And she liked it.

The warmth leaching through the fabric had her tugging uselessly against her restraints. His lips pressed against hers, eager to touch her even if there was a barrier between them. Despite their argument, their overall situation, there was a hunger in Mikko—one Anika wanted to tear out of him. He always kept it locked behind his stoic facade unless he was around her. Then, all hell broke loose.

Everything sparking between them conveyed what they couldn’t say: desire and unadulterated lust. Anika knew she shouldn’t want it, knew they were always at each other’s throats, but this felt so good.Hefelt so good. Curse the threads of hate tying them together. Those emotions were beginning to suspiciously feel similar.

If only he wasn’t Alek’s son…

Mikko groaned against her lips, the sound vibrating across her sensitive skin. It was at such odds from the ripping sensation of the tape moments before.

If she’d have guessed confessing partially to Mikko would encourage him to break in and kiss her, she might’ve gone about this differently. But now, she didn’t want him to stop. He was in the palm of her hand, and it was the most exhilarating feeling in the world.

Pulling away, Mikko’s breath slightly labored, had her wishing his mask was gone—that she could feel him against her skin unhindered.

So she could sink her fucking teeth into him.

No, no, no.

Meeting his gaze head on, mostly unashamed of what had happened, she was surprised to see pain blatantly displayed in his eyes.

“Fuck,” he whispered.

Heat pooled between her thighs, her ability to clench them together mostly prohibited from his expert knots. She swallowed audibly, trying to school her features and tamp down her vile thoughts.

“You shouldn’t have done that.” Anika’s voice was quiet but strong. “Untie me and see how things go for you then.”

Backing away, he put more distance between them as if he didn’t trust himself.

Good.

“What and take the fun out of this?” His words were light but there was a fire blazing in his eyes.

“What? You don’t want me to touch you?” she said, a sweet smile forming on her face as she teased him. “You showering and coming all over my things has me thinking differently. You don’t want to know what it feels like for me to kiss and lick and suck—”

“I don’t think you’d want to see the man I become…” he trailed off, emotions back to cool and collected.

If her hands had been free, she would’ve wiped her mouth. “I think you’re using that excuse as a crutch.”

She’d learned long ago that even though humans were complex, they could be boiled down into attributes. And she was figuring Mikko out piece by piece. He was ruled by his emotions, but did everything in his power to remain emotionless in front of others. Anika wanted to see him crack—knew he already had. Him breaking in and cornering her was an action so full of feeling that it wasamazing he couldn’t see it himself.

But Anika had no intention of giving the reins back to the man in front of her.