Page 7

Cadence

A low groaning sound filled the chamber, and I sat bolt upright as I watched the door swing open. The aged hinges protested under the strain, disturbing the quiet of the night.

True to his word, Ryker had left me locked inside the four walls of his chambers all day, and I would have gone stir-crazy if not for the occasional visits from Scarlette bringing me food. But just like her first visit, she escaped my probing questions before I could interrogate her.

One moment, she was there, and the next, nothing. Poof. Gone. She disappeared like a whisper in the wind.

My exhaustion eventually won out, and I climbed into the enormous bed that had no business being so damn comfortable. I could almost forget how I’d ended up here, lost in the luxury of silken sheets and pillows so soft they felt like clouds.

Almost.

The illusion came crashing down the moment Ryker’s towering frame filled my vision.

“Where have you been all day?” I demanded.

Ryker lifted his head, and his piercing gaze struck me all the way to my core. His grey eyes held a magnetic intensity that was so powerful, I couldn’t look away.

“Miss me, Cadence?”

His voice was smooth against my skin, the deep timbre a gentle caress that had my nipples puckering under the sheer fabric of my nightdress.

“Of course not,” I scoffed.

Ryker’s gaze dipped to my chest, and his tongue darted out as he swiped it across his bottom lip.

It was then that I realized I had failed to hold onto the sheet in my haste to confront him. My nipples were standing to attention, and Ryker had a front-row seat to my mortification.

My hands fumbled for the bedding as I yanked it up to my chin, shielding myself from further scrutiny.

Ryker chuckled darkly, and, godsdamn, the sound… did something to me.

Warmth flooded my core, and liquid fire pooled at the apex of my thighs.

My body was a lust-induced traitor. Clearly, she had forgotten that he was the enemy.

Ryker stalked toward the bed before settling on the edge opposite me. I watched as he removed his boots and tossed them to the side, not bothering to put them away.

The action irked me more than it should have.

Next, he reached over his head and gripped his tunic in his fist before dragging it over his body.

I bit my tongue to stifle a groan.

He obviously spent a lot of time training.

The muscles along his back rippled and strained with each movement, and I couldn’t help but wonder what it would feel like to be pressed beneath his muscular frame.

My mouth went dry, and I had to shake my head to break the trance I had fallen into.

No. Nope. Not happening.

Pull yourself together, Cadence!

Ryker stood abruptly, and I held my breath as the sound of his belt buckle being undone echoed around the space. He gripped the waistband of his trousers, and his forearms flexed with the motion.

“Wait! What are you doing?” I cried just as Ryker was about to pull his trousers down over what were undoubtedly thick, toned thighs.

I felt his smirk before I saw it.

Ryker peered over his shoulder at me, his gorgeous face framed by a wayward strand of his snowy hair, that knowing smirk pulling up the corner of his full lips.

“I’m getting ready for bed, Cadence.” Without further warning, Ryker shoved his pants down his legs, and I was suddenly face to face with the toned globes of his bare ass.

“What is wrong with you?” I hissed, slapping a hand over my eyes.

Not that I didn’t want to look. Rather, I wanted to look too much.

And if I allowed myself to be pulled into his intoxicating orbit, I knew I’d sink so deep I’d never be able to find my way back to the surface.

I needed to hold on to my rage.

I needed to remind myself who this man was to me.

The bed dipped next to me, and I tensed as I waited for Ryker to make his next move. A rough, calloused hand gripped mine, and Ryker pulled my palms away from my face.

“Don’t be embarrassed, Cadence. It’s just a body,” he cooed. “Unless, of course, you’re not acquainted with the male form.”

I scoffed. “If you think I’ve been waiting around for you to grace me with your presence, Ryker, then you’ll be disappointed.”

Ryker’s jaw tightened, and all hints of teasing fell away, leaving only menace in its wake.

“Who?” he demanded.

“That’s none of your business.”

Before I realized what was happening, Ryker was on top of me, his large body pressing me into the mattress as his hand circled my throat.

His grip was firm, but not tight enough to cut off my air.

I tried to hide the way my body trembled beneath him, but I was certain he could feel every shudder.

“You are my mate, Cadence. Mine!”

He tightened his grip slightly, as if to emphasize his words.

“Everything about you is my business. Now tell me who dared to touch what’s mine, so I can show them why crossing me was a mistake.”

Despite my unease, I couldn’t contain the words that slipped from my tongue.

“Gods! What’s wrong with you? I don’t belong to you, Ryker. You didn’t even know I existed before yesterday.”

My chest heaved as I tried to get control of my anger.

“What did you imagine I was doing with my time? Just waiting idly for you to sweep me off my feet?”

I didn’t know why I bothered defending myself. He was nothing to me and never would be. He had ruined my life, and I could never lose sight of that.

Ryker moved his hand up my throat, his fingers gripping my chin between his thumb and forefinger. His hold was harsher this time, and I fought the urge to wince.

He drew my face close to his, and his warm breath fanned across my lips. I struggled against the shiver that worked to break free, unsure why I was responding to him in this way.

“I don’t care that you had a life before I found you, Cadence. You are my mate, and I will eradicate anyone who has ever touched this smooth skin, kissed these plump lips, or entered this tight body. And when I’m done, I’ll sear every last one of them from your memory until the only touch you can recall is mine.”

Ryker closed the distance between us and claimed my mouth with his.

It wasn’t a sweet or gentle kiss.

It was brutal, an act of claiming.

Ryker thrust his tongue between my lips as he went to war on my mouth. His kiss was electric, all-consuming, and it sent goosebumps spreading across my skin.

Ryker’s hand sank into my hair as he pulled me closer, deepening the kiss. My own hand shot up, and I sent my open palm sailing through the air to meet Ryker’s cheek.

Ryker jerked back in shock, and it took him a moment to realize I’d slapped him.

“Don’t you ever touch me without my permission again,” I seethed.

Ryker’s shock melted away, and a dangerous glint danced in his eyes. A wicked grin spread across his face, the searing red handprint on his cheek only making him look more dangerous.

“Oh, Cadence,” Ryker purred. “You’re a little temptress, aren’t you? I do enjoy a challenge. Trust me when I say it won’t be long before you’re begging me to touch you.”

“This is not a fucking game, Ryker. This is my life!”

“Oh, I’m well aware. It’s you who haven’t come to terms with it yet.”

He leaned in close to me, his lips brushing against my neck as he pressed his mouth to the shell of my ear.

“You may think you’re strong and resilient now, Cadence, but I will break you,” he said huskily.

A foreign feeling settled in my stomach, and I couldn’t decide how I felt about it. Choosing to ignore it instead, I pulled back as far as the mattress would allow and leveled Ryker with a bored expression.

“I’m tired, so if you wouldn’t mind…” I eyed the door, then Ryker.

He grinned, as if he saw right through my feigned indifference.

“So go to sleep.” He shrugged as he made himself comfortable.

“I’m not sharing a bed with you, Ryker.”

“You don’t have a choice, Cadence. This happens to be my chamber and therefore, my bed. I intend to sleep in it.”

To prove his point, Ryker tucked his hands behind his head and closed his eyes.

My gaze traveled down his body, only to remember he was naked when my eyes landed on his very large and very erect cock.

“You can kiss it goodnight if you’d like,” he said, without opening his eyes.

My cheeks heated, and I was thankful his eyes remained closed.

“You’re. Naked.”

“Again, very observant of you, Cadence.”

“Why are you naked?”

“I sleep naked. You should try it sometime. It might relieve some of that self-righteousness you’re carrying around.”

Self-righteousness! From the asshole who’d never heard ‘no’ in his life.

My fingertips tingled with the familiar sensation of my magic, and it would be so, so easy to end his miserable existence here and now.

It won’t seem worth it when you’re just as dead , I reminded myself.

Taking a deep breath, I scooped up some pillows and yanked the cover off the bed, making Ryker tumble off the side.

Small victories.

“What are you doing now, Cadence?” he asked, having the audacity to sound exasperated.

“I refuse to share a bed with you, so I’m sleeping on the floor.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

“I’m not being ridiculous,” I snapped. “I’m keeping myself from smothering you in your sleep.”

Ryker chuckled, unperturbed by my threat to his life.

“Not that you wouldn’t deserve it,” I muttered.

No matter how much I fluffed the pillows or adjusted the cover, the ground remained hard and uncomfortable.

“If the floor isn’t to your liking, you can always return to the bed,” Ryker taunted. “You’d have to ask nicely, of course,” he added.

I inhaled a calming breath before I closed my eyes and resolved to come up with an escape plan in the morning.

One way or another, I was leaving the Unseelie Kingdom, and its prince, behind.