Page 51 of Queen of Diamonds

I stepped toward her, acutely aware of the way she tensed, pupils narrowing as she watched my movements. Too alert, almost nervous—if I were to put my finger on it. Looking for an opening for a fight? Or afraid I would hurt her?

Strangely, I wasn’t sure.

The more time I spent with her, the more convinced I was that she was hiding a lot of fear.

Still, if she was looking for a fight, I was ready. She might have one-upped Knight, but he hadn’t had a weapon. If she wanted to try to bring it to blows, I wasn’t too worried.

“Hands out,” I told her, stopping before her and looking down into defiant chestnut eyes.

Again, she paused a beat, considering, before lifting her wrists to me.

I tugged out the cuffs Kyan had brought, keeping my expression painfully neutral as she saw what I had.

“What the fuck?”

“You broke our last pair. These will have to do.”

True to his bratty fucking word, he’d gone and found a pair of leather and fake fur cuffs. They definitely looked like bedroom toys, though Kyan had sworn they’d hold her. Alpha grade, he’d said. I tested them, too—trying to break the chains—but they’d held.

“Is this a joke?” she asked, tugging her wrist away as I moved to fasten the first cuff.

“For your comfort,” I replied, like this was my idea.

Fucking prick.

“One mention of heat, and you pull out your toys?” she asked, disgust twisting her expression. “Are they used?”

I cocked my head, watching the feral flash in her eyes.

There it was again. A territorial claim she didn’t have a right to. She thought I was bringing her a sex toy I’d used with another woman?

Damn.

Well, if she wanted to make her own life harder.

“Wrists.”

Those perfect round lips pursed in rage and her chest heaved. It was almost impossible for me to keep my eyes on hers with the way that top cupped her breasts, and her scent of cream cardamom became deadly at that moment.

For a second, all I could think of was sliding my hand around that pretty neck and pressing my lips to hers.

Both of my pack mates had. I was the only one who?—

No.

Focus.

Knight couldn’t handle her, and Kyan would blow up all the progress he’d made in the last few years if I let him at her. But for me, this wasn’t even the beginning—not even the tip of the iceberg. I couldn’t be losing myself right now.

“I will pin you down,” I said with absolute calm, as if the visual didn’t send boiling hot lava through my veins.

Word choice.

With absolute fury, she lifted her hands and let me fix the cuffs on. Unlike regular sex toys, these didn’t have belt latches. They locked like regular cuffs. And I had my key tucked into my pillowcase.

I turned from her, happy to avoid looking at her as much as possible as I tugged her to the door, unlocking it. I made sure to keep her on my left side so Knight and Kyan would not have a view of what she’d chosen to wear as I led her across the living room.

In a wild moment, I couldn’t believe I was doing this. How had this become the best option?

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