Page 44 of Wicked Bonds

His brown irises glittered with intrigue, his mouth curling into a sensual grin.

He’d heard every thought. Every consideration. Every desire.

And his expression promised he would deliver on each one in time.

The glint of a blade caught her eye as his palm went to her nape. “Tell me where to cut you, Lee,” he repeated.

She suddenly understood Sethios and Caro’s penchant for playing with knives in the bedroom. It had never been her kink. Ropes, blindfolds, dominance, yes. Drawing blood or leaving marks, not so much.

But there was something undeniably intimate about trusting one’s partner enough to play with a deadly weapon in the bedroom.

“Your choice,” she whispered to him.

He smiled as he lifted the blade to gently stroke her throat. She swallowed as the cool metal touched her skin, her lips parting when she realized it wasn’t the sharp end but the handle.

“Give me your hand, Lee,” he told her.

She held it up between them as though pulled by a string. It almost felt as if she were compelled to obey him, something she typically fought. But with him, it was more fun to submit.

Although, seeing him on his knees would be an enticing sight indeed.

“Only if you earn it,” he murmured, playing on her earlier thoughts.

Sounds like a challenge,she thought.

His lips curled, but he didn’t otherwise acknowledge her comment. Instead, he focused on her hand. “Palm up.”

She did as he requested, causing his grip to tighten against her nape as his opposite hand brought the knife to the fleshy part of her palm.

The tip bit into her skin, eliciting a hiss from her lips.

He pressed the metal siding against the small laceration, saturating the end of the blade in her red blood. Then he released her and walked over to grab a towel from Issac’s hand. Leela hadn’t even seen the other male move to the kitchen to find it, nor did she know where Balthazar had found the knife.

Because she’d been too distracted by everything else to pay attention.

That didn’t bode well for their chase.

She needed to have her head in the game to survive.

Balthazar had grounded her, drawing her back from the brink of fear, leaving her to wonder if anyone else had noticed. But their expressions now gave nothing away. Everyone appeared determined.

This is going to work, Leela told herself as Balthazar wiped the blade clean on the towel.This has to work.

She curled her hand into a fist, the stinging sensation trailing up her arm. It would go away in a minute, her Seraphim genetics helping her heal at inhuman rates. But Balthazar returned in the next breath with a damp paper towel that he used to soothe the cut along her palm, causing her to frown.

Where did that come from?she wondered.

He winked in response. “Preparation is vital to success, Lee.” The innuendo in his tone was not lost on her. “Ensures pleasure for all involved, too.”

Only Balthazar could turn a dangerous situation into a seductive opportunity.

Well, Leela could, too.

Usually.

Just not today. Not right now. Not with what lay ahead of them.

Balthazar pressed the damp paper towel against her wound, just enough to apply pressure to stop the bleeding, but also in a manner that grabbed her attention. Taking her away from her fears and forcing her to focus.Again.