Page 52 of Desert King

“Is that what this is about? …felt like you missed your chance with me, and you want to know what he has?”

“By the time I’m done with you, mouse, you’ll forget what his hands on you feels like…what he tastes like. I’m going to erase his every touch.”

A shudder rips through me as Edge bends down. His beautiful hazel eyes burn as they roam over my face. The pad of his fingertip skims my cheek. He laughs low in his throat. My nipples peaked under my thin shirt, betraying me. Tarak might have my heart but my body wants them both. Squeezing my eyes shut, I try to deny the desire singing through me.

His lips find the crook of my neck.

A moan escapes me.

“Please. I can’t. Don’t put me in the middle of your war.”

“You’ve been there since day one, babe.” The hairs on his beard scrape against my neck. My stomach clenches. “Smile.” I open my eyes, blinking them quickly after the flash on his phone goes off. “Perfect.”

“He’s going to kill me,” I whisper, feeling my throat close. My eyes are glassy—my dusky nipples, visible beneath my shirt. My cheeks flush with desire. Next to my face is his smirking one. He attaches it to a text and hits send.

My stomach drops.

Tarak will never touch me again if Edge seduces me. I know this deep in the marrow of my bones. He drags me closer against the hard planes of his body.

“What’s it gonna be, little mouse? Him or me?”

“Him. You know that.” I breathe.

“Liar. I saw you first. I kissed you first. Why did you go with him?” He stands suddenly, his balled fist popping right through the drywall.

“You never made a play for me.”

“Is that it? Did you need romance? Hearts and flowers and all that shit? Well, fuck that. I stole you, sugar. You’re my property now.”

Edge walks back over, jerking me to my feet.

“Am I worth a war?”

“I don’t know. But I’m willing to risk finding out,” he grinds out, capturing my lips. I scream against his kiss. It’s of no use. He’s just as unrelenting as the scorching desert sun. And I have a bad feeling I’m about to burn.

I’m not afraid of Edge. We have mad chemistry too. But I’m not Mandy. I won’t jerk around two men at once. And Tarak… that night in the desert that I stole… I want my own with him. Only him.

“Edge, please. Stop this insanity. Stop all of it. You could have your own great love. She’s out there waiting for you. In fact, I already know who she might be.”

He cups my chin, holding the bottle to my lips. “Drink. You need rest. I’m taking you’re blood tonight.”

“Let me go after.”

“Where? Crawling back to him? What’s he got anyway? Some magic dick?”

“I don’t know. We haven’t…”

He shudders. “Then you’re still fair game. Let me be the one.”

“I’m sorry. My heart wants him.”

Edge picks up a table, throwing it against a wall. “It’s always him! I’m sick of it!”

“But you have her. You have Elle. You have a piece of Mandy he can’t touch. He’ll never have…”

He grabs a knife off a dresser. Comes back to me, traces the flat side over my breasts, before cutting my hands free. “It’s only because I’m a father now that I won’t take you—make you love me and erase every memory of him. But I can’t let you go. I need your blood.”

“And I’ll gladly give it. That and nothing else.”

---