Page 287 of Hunters and Prey

And this one…she was not interested in him even the slightest bit from what he could tell. But Roman had to know.

He looked down at her and noticed her brown skin was quite a bit lighter than his own, but still lovely. Her lips were full and tempting, as was her dark hair. The long, silky strands begged to be touched.

When he got to her eyes he noticed Chiara was frowning at him, no doubt annoyed he was taking his time. Her eyes such a lovely shade of amber-red – a nice, warm burgundy. “I can simply run tests,” she told him. Her words were a bit shaky but she hid it well. “It will be much faster.”

That made him smile and Roman couldn’t help the way he tugged her closer to him, challenging her—testing her boundaries. “Yes, I’m sure blood tests against all the females and all the males will be much easier, quicker, and far less personal. But you would do the royal family of Anarr a disservice by denying us this one privilege.”

She tensed against him when he leaned down, nearly brushing his nose against the skin of her neck.

It was all to tease, to push her out of her comfort zone – because if they had to work together for the next however long, Roman wanted to break that wall of ice she kept between herself and everyone else.

Then a scent filtered through his senses unlike anything he’d ever smelled before. It was sweet like the flowers in his mother’s gardens, but it was also spicy like cloves. It called to every part of him in such a violent, intense way that Roman felt his knees buckle.

Suddenly he was kneeling before her and Chiara gasped, yanking her hand out of his.

But Roman was too lost in her scent to notice. He didn’t hear the murmurs or the sharp inhale from his brother. All he could do was stare up at her and breathe one word.

“Mate.”

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