Page 52 of Scavenger's Oath

Fuck.

Running a hand over my jaw, I try to hide the way it clenches.

She's not doing anything overt. Nothing seductive or outright manipulative. But she knows exactly what she’s doing, and I still want to touch her bad.

My dick keeps reminding me he wants it too, throbbing in my pants likeI’mdenyinghim.

Gaze dropping to her legs instinctively, my eyes trace the curve of her thighs, throat tightening. I can’t stop picturing what she'd look like without that sweater, my face buried between those thighs. Soft moans in my ear.

I wonder if she's wearing any underwear.

The next words leave my mouth before I can stop them.

“What would you do if I asked for the same thing you offered Zane? Like you did for Myles?” I venture—clearly having lost my mind.

Her eyes widen, then she looks down at her hands.

The silence stretches, and I can feel her heartbeat from here. It echoes in me. Makes my skin buzz.

When I close the distance, her breath hitches and shebacks up against the desk.

I stop right in front of her, so close I can see the way her lashes fan on her freckled cheeks when she blinks.

Goddamn, she's pretty.

Too pretty.

Raising my brow, I silently push her to answer. But God, I want to kiss her. I want to pull that hoodie up and find out if she does have anything on underneath. To see if she'd even let me.

Ivy chews on her lips nervously before giving me a small nod. Her hands grip the edge of the desk as if she’s bracing for a blow that isn’t coming.

She looks too small in this place. Like a ghost haunting the walls.

My eyes drag over her slowly, enjoying the fact that my gaze seems to be making her uncomfortable now.

Ivy is a problem I can’t fucking solve. A fracture in my discipline.

I hate this. I hateher. For what she’s doing to me.

“You think I don’t see what you’re doing? This little scared act. I know what women like you do to men like us,” I growl. “You crawl into our heads, make us forget who we are. Who we need to be.”

Ivy swallows and whispers, “I haven’t done anything.”

“Exactly,” I snarl, taking a step back, needing to put some space between us. “You haven’t. And I can’t stop thinking about you anyway.”

She sucks in a sharp breath, as if she wasn’t expecting that. Standing there with her chin lifted, almost enough to look brave.

And something inside me fractures all over again.

“You want to stay with us?” I question. “You want food, safety, protection?”

Her blue eyes meet mine as she nods.

“Then earn it,” I sneer, voice gritty and full of the frustration she draws out of me.

Her throat works, voice softening. “How?”

I shouldn’t be doing this. I know better.