Page 27 of Hunted (Love and Revenge #5)

Finally, he pulled away. I was sure he would leave now, and probably feel like this whole thing was a mistake thanks to my overreaction. But he surprised me once again.

“Can I... touch you now?” he mouthed, gesturing at my body with a somewhat flustered wave of his hand.

A surprised laugh escaped me as I signed. “I was intending to take care of you, gamma. Not demand favors for my own pleasure.”

But he just shook his head, not joining in my humor. “You don’t cower in fear when I touch you,” he said seriously. “I’d like to know I can bring pleasure with my touch, rather than fear, for once in my life.”

I smiled sadly at him, realizing the absurdity of this whole interaction, but not willing to have it end.

“Come on,” I said, standing and reaching out a hand to pull him to his feet.

Once he was on his feet I stopped speaking aloud and signed instead.

“Come back to my room with me. It’s lonely sleeping alone, and. ..”

I stopped and shrugged, the obvious ending to that sentence hanging between us. One of my lovers was a newly turned vampire with a monster in his head, and the other was the omega of a large, powerful court who could have her pick of bedmates. I spent more nights than I’d like alone.

He huffed. “Poor alpha,” he said, deadpan.

But he followed me to my room without comment.

We spent a long time cuddled up in bed together while he explored my body in a reverent, but mostly platonic way, his quiet awe at the experience of touching someone without fear enough to melt even the most stoic heart.

“Haven’t you ever done this with Robin?” I asked at one point, suppressing a laugh when he ghosted his fingers over my ribs in a ticklish touch.

He froze and met my eyes in surprise. “I... no, of course not.”

I frowned at him. “She can’t shake off the fear?” I assumed it was my alpha nature that allowed me to tolerate his aura. But maybe I was wrong?

Dusek rolled onto his back, an arm over his face to hide what I suspected was a very un-boogeyman-like blush. “What am I doing here?” He mouthed the words, and I don’t think he really intended for me to be able to read his lips. But I could.

After a moment, he finally lowered his arm so he could sign.

“I’ve never tried to touch her. She teases me, but I never really allowed myself to dream that she might be serious.

And... I just assumed she’d react like anyone else.

” He sighed . “Robin is a gorgeous and awe-inspiring woman. But she is not interested in me , not when she has an entire court of attractive, normal lovers at her beck and call.”

I arched my brows at him in surprise. Sure, the other alpha and potential true mate to my omega raised my hackles and made me want to shift into snake form and crush her in my coils much of the time—maybe give her a good dose of paralytic venom just for good measure.

But even I could see how beautiful she was.

How magnetically attractive she was to everyone around her.

And I had observed the way she interacted with Dusek.

He must be blind to think she was joking when she flirted with him.

“Dusek,” I said on a disbelieving groan. Then I turned to him to sign. “Do yourself a favor and tell your alpha you want to fuck her.”

He just stared at me, his darkly handsome face devoid of humor or expression.

I laughed, long and hard, the first time I’d done so in far too long. But I couldn’t help it. The bubak was such a dark, mysterious, imposing figure, full of shadow magic and power. And yet, here he was, revealed for who he really was under all that bluster—a tender-hearted, awkward mess.

I rolled to lie on top of him, pinning him to the bed as I grinned down at him. “ Please tell me you’ve changed your mind about sex,” I said aloud, since both hands were busy propping me up. “Because I really need to fuck you now. You are so cute. ”

He shoved me off, and I let him. But I saw the faint smile that played about the edges of his stern expression before he got it under control. “Go to sleep, snake.”

“Only if you promise not to leave,” I signed while giving him a commanding look and a little bit of alpha push.

He rolled his eyes. “Fine.” But he didn’t resist when I pulled him close and lay my head on his shoulder. His arm wrapped around me, and he held me there.

I ignored the fact that we were clinging to each other, both of us desperate to preserve this odd moment of connection and belonging.

A sliver of guilt wedged its way between my ribs.

I used to lie with Josh this way every night before we were forced into slavery with the vampires.

And I’d held him this way most nights after we came here to the rebel court. .. until he was turned.

I shoved the guilt away. I wasn’t replacing Josh. I never could. Dusek was his own unique treasure. I let my serpent tongue flick out, fluttering across the base of Dusek’s throat. Scenting. Tasting. Committing him to memory.

If anyone was the stand-in here, it was probably me. I was a safter option than his own alpha.

“Go to sleep, snake,” he said again, as he batted my flicking tongue away. But there was a definite twitch of humor flitting across his features again.

A sudden, disturbing jolt of reality flashed through my mind as I lay there reveling in his scent and making sure to cover him in my own...

Shit. I groaned internally. This man wasn’t mine. He wasn’t my gamma. Not part of my clan or court. He belonged to Robin. And that was going to be a big problem sometime soon. Because... mine.

The insistent pulse of instinct inside me was not a good sign.

I’d gotten carried away. Again. Like I always did.

But terrifying, stoic, broody gamma who absolutely didn’t belong to me curled into me as he drifted off to sleep, taking comfort in my presence.

And for the first time in weeks, I slept through the night.