Total pages in book: 138
Estimated words: 127461 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 637(@200wpm)___ 510(@250wpm)___ 425(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 127461 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 637(@200wpm)___ 510(@250wpm)___ 425(@300wpm)
Need swamped her. Of what? Him. Gorya. It was a slow seduction. He hadn’t really done anything other than kneel in front of her looking like temptation itself. Whispering outrageous things that made her want to laugh—or tease him back. She had no idea what to do with him or what he was leading them into, but she found herself relaxing more and more. Very slowly the feeling of being safe with him crept over her despite the unfamiliar sexual tension he produced.
“I believe I’d like your bites,” he murmured.
“You’re outrageous.”
He shifted closer. Gorya was so close already, she wasn’t certain how he did it, but now she felt the press of his body against hers. Heat came off him in waves, penetrating her skin until she felt him like a brand on her bones.
“Are you ready for step two?”
She shook her head and raised both hands, forgetting about the knife as she tried to put her palms on his shoulders to push him back. At the last minute, she wrapped her fist tightly around the hilt. “No step two. Step one was scary enough. I think we need a break. A cool shower or something.”
His eyebrow shot up. “You want to shower with me? That’s step ninety. You’re getting way ahead of yourself. I’m not ready for that yet.”
She laughed; she couldn’t help it. “Gorya, do your cousins know you’re a menace?”
“They think I’m cute and cuddly and need looking after.”
The laughter faded as she studied Gorya’s face, feature by feature. Maya thought maybe someone did need to look after him. She didn’t think anyone ever had, because he’d never let anyone see him. Just as she’d never let anyone see her. It made one too vulnerable. His life had been just as horrific and unhappy as hers had been.
Maybe he was her only chance at a real life. She had always thought she would have to end her life eventually when it all got to be too much. There was the possibility she would be killed if she was a little too slow on the hunt. She’d never envisioned herself with anyone, but then she hadn’t known someone like Gorya existed.
“This is our one chance, Maya.” There was an ache in his voice. “Take the risk with me. Let’s try it. If we fail, so be it, but at least we can say we gave it a shot.”
He echoed what she’d been thinking. Her gaze drifted over him again. To her, he had a beauty unequaled by any other man she’d come across. There was strength in him others might not see. A will of absolute steel. He would be implacable in his resolve. If he made up his mind that they would make it, he would pour everything he was into ensuring they did.
Maya knew herself very well. She might deceive others and even herself occasionally, but when it came to what she was like inside, she knew if she gave her word to Gorya, she would honor it. She was just like him. She had that same will, and she wouldn’t give up unless he became abusive—and then she’d kill him, if she could.
Without thinking, she shoved the knife back into the sheath at her waist, a gesture of capitulation when she still wasn’t certain she could manage to do everything needed.
“Gorya.” The answering ache was in her voice. “You know I want to say yes. I am different with you. I don’t seem to mind your touch so much. I am attracted, but that doesn’t necessarily mean I’ll be able to have sex with you. The thought of a man touching me fills me with revulsion.” She had to be truthful.
“The thought of a man touching you fills me with more than revulsion.” His large hands framed her face, piercing eyes looking straight into hers with the intense, focused stare of a leopard, only there was no leopard—there was only Gorya. “Just the thought fills me with murderous rage.”
Her lashes swept down as her heart jumped. At the same time, her sex clenched. She didn’t want to be that person—the one who was a little thrilled that he might get violent if some man came on to her physically. Still, no one had ever wanted her with that fierce possessiveness or the protective streak she sensed in Gorya. She’d never had that, and in just the short time she’d spent with him, he’d set up a craving for it in her.
“Sex is far down the line when it comes to our steps, Maya. We have time before Wraith is fully in her heat. I have control. You’ll learn that I can keep you safe even during the times she rises. Those times will be short, and I can handle them for us until you’re ready.”
Trust. He was asking a lot, but at the same time, he was giving her his trust. His life hadn’t been any better than hers. She stroked a finger over the tattoo, tracing the Amur leopard.