His brow furrowed as he spoke, and she could see the wrinkle in his forehead above the sunglasses he always wore. For some reason he looked broader, more muscular than he had earlier in the alley.
“I took what he didn’t need. The senator has more money than most families in Burgess, certainly more than we have down here... How did you know where I lived and who let you in?”
Panic suddenly began to spread and she turned, moving to the door. “If you hurt Cree or any of my residents, I’ll kill you with my bare hands!” She was yelling as she reached for the doorknob, only to be stopped when his palm flattened against the door inches above her head.
“I didn’t hurt anyone and it doesn’t matter how I got here. What matters is that I’m here to help and you have no choice but to listen to me.”
“Lies!” she yelled, because even though parts of what he’d said were true, trust still didn’t come easily to her. She turned around quickly, bringing her knee up to land in his groin.
He was faster, grabbing her leg midair and pushing her until her back slammed against the door. It didn’t matter that the air had momentarily whooshed out of her lungs, she knew he wasn’t being completely honest with her. He’d been lying to her since that first night on the roof.
“Don’t try that again,” he warned, his voice a low, deep rumble.
If she allowed herself to get past how he’d come to be here—which she would not—the way her traitorous body warmed at his touch was pissing her off. She pushed against his chest with all her might and he stumbled back. Pulling her with him, they both tumbled to the floor. Taking advantage of her position on top of him, Ravyn wrapped her hands around his neck, or rather, she placed both her hands at his throat—they weren’t big enough to wrap completely around his neck. But she squeezed anyway. His glasses slipped to the side as his head thrashed but before she could get a glimpse at his eyes, he flipped their bodies over while simultaneously grabbing her wrists and pulling her hands away from his neck.
She grunted as he pinned her to the floor and his glasses eased back into place. A slither of disappointment eased through her and she wondered why seeing his eyes made any difference to the fact that he’d just broken into her room.
“Keep still,” he told her between clenched teeth.
True to form, Ravyn didn’t listen and she squirmed to try and get him off her. It didn’t work. What the movement did was rub her center—the part of her body covered only by the thin cotton of her panties, because her nightshirt had ridden up above her hips in all the motion—right up against his now-thickening erection.
A deep, almost animalistic sound rumbled in his chest as his lips stayed closed in a tight line, his fingers flexing on her wrists. Heat shot down to her plump folds, causing the already stimulated flesh to throb, her essence pouring from her as if she’d just worked herself almost to the point of climax.
“Don’t. Move. Again.”
His words seemed forced and this time Ravyn listened. While she’d been thinking about him and the reaction her body was having to him most of the night, she’d never imagined actually being in this position with him. Who could have predicted he would show up here and straddle her with his thick arousal poking persistently against her juncture? She damn sure couldn’t have and she had no idea what to do about it.
“I want you to answer me. If you don’t, I’m going to scream and then I’m going to grab that dagger and slip it into your gut.” She could speak slowly and deliberately, as well.
“You’re not going to do either of those things,” he said without missing a beat. “And the reason you’re not is because you want to protect this Cree person and whoever else lives here with you.”
He couldn’t know about Safeside. Nobody knew and it was better that way. It was how they’d survived for the past four years and how they would continue to survive in a world that didn’t give a crap about them.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
His head tilted to the side, an act that had a few of his locks sliding over his shoulder.
“Then tell me what’s going on here, Ravyn. Explain to me why I’ve watched you stealing everything from medical supplies from a delivery truck to an ancient artifact in the past few weeks. And while you’re at it, tell me why you live underground when there’s ample housing in the city.”
The light from the bathroom poured into the otherwise dark bedroom area, creating a slash of gold across sepia-toned skin. He’d chucked the jacket he normally wore, so now his muscles were only separated from her touch by the thin layer of his dark T-shirt. His hair looked soft and her fingers would have reached to touch it—if they weren’t being held down by him at the moment. And why was he holding her down? Why wasn’t she screaming or fighting harder against him? Every time she was near this man things went wrong.
“I live here because those asshole enforcers made it impossible for me to live in peace anywhere else. Are you satisfied now? Will you run back and tell your colleagues they succeeded in running me away?”
The words burned her throat as her body once again vibrated with the force of her anger and the impossible fear she thought she’d pushed back a long time ago.
He stared down at her a few seconds longer than she thought
