Page 118 of A Bond Beyond Blood

When he stopped in front of me this time, he leaned forward, pressing one forearm against the wall above my head.With his free hand, he pressed a knuckle beneath my chin and tilted my head up.

My mouth went dry as all the moisture in my body raced south to pool between my legs.

Eli’s tongue traced a slow line across his lower lip, then he leaned forward and I froze.

Don’t.I shook my head.I can’t.

Eli’s eyes narrowed.“Can’t or won’t, love?”

“Won’t,” I said aloud, my voice firm even as I trembled with need.

He gripped my chin and dragged his thumb across my bottom lip.I shivered in response to the intimacy of that simple touch, and Eli smirked.

“Hm,” he purred.“Can’t or won’t indeed.”He leaned forward and nudged my nose with his own, breathing me in as he whispered, “Why deny yourself, butcher?”He dragged his nose along my jaw, to my ear, breathing deeply as he left tingling numbness and goosebumps in his wake.“Why pretend your body isn’t begging for me right now?”

I shuddered as his tongue flicked out against my pulse point.

“You’ve consumed my every thought,petit colibri.”He brushed his lips gently over the place he just licked, then opened his mouth to suck my flesh between his lips.

I jerked as pleasure raced through my veins.My hands flew out to grip his shoulders.When Eli chuckled against my throat, a dark, almost threatening sound, my body shuddered with pleasure.

He notched one solid thigh between my legs and my hips jerked forward without permission, wantonly seeking friction.He growled, a low, sensual purr deep in his throat, and my pussy throbbed with need.

I ached in ways I shouldn’t.

InplacesI shouldn’t.

He licked his full lips as he assessed me with those impossibly blue eyes.

My breathing was fast and loud in the quiet of the empty shop.My pulse thundered loudly in my ears, my heart banging so forcefully against the cage of my ribs I feared it might burst free at any moment.

“A siren call,” he murmured, gaze dropping to my chest.He flattened his palm over my heart and I held my breath.

My body burned from within, veins aflame with desire and vibrating from a heady mix of dread and adrenaline.

But Ihadto resist him.

I’d finally found a rhythm with Gannon.I didn’t know what that meant, but we were friends again, maybe moving toward more...

And Vinny and I were so good together—

The leg Eli had between mine rose higher, lifting me to my toes, then he shook his head.Eyes focused on my mouth, he leaned forward, then he slanted his lips over mine and I whimpered at the first searching flick of his tongue.The hand resting over my heart dropped to grip my hip, and his other hand snaked around my neck once more, holding me to him with effortless ease.

Trapped.His earlier word floated back into my mind.

Like a bird in a cage.

Ahummingbirdin a cage.

I sealed my lips together to keep him out.What little control I had, I could use.

The hand on the back of my neck flexed and he titled my head back with ease.“Open,petit colibri,” he murmured against my lips, “give me what is rightfully mine.”

I shuddered at the possessiveness in his tone, the searing grip of his hand at the back of my neck.The way his arrogance should have angered me but only managed to light me up in other, delicious ways.Eli hummed appreciatively as he followed my thoughts, sending a thrill down my spine.

“That’s where you’re mistaken,” Vinny said, and my body trembled for entirely different reasons as worry sliced ice through my veins.

Eli chuckled, the sound a low cadence in his throat.“Ah, there’s the good puppy now.”He met my gaze and said, “Next time, love,” then spun around and strode toward Vinny as if he hadn’t just had me pinned against the wall and moments away from giving into him.

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