Page 30 of Monsters Wear Crowns
The only thing I knew was that I was trapped between him and the window, the city lights flickering behind me, my reflection staring back at me in the glass–wide-eyed, lips parted, body trembling from the war waging inside me.
“I have an important question,” he coaxed, his fingers trailing up my throat, pressing lightly, just enough to make me aware of the power he held over me. “Does fear excite you?”
I swallowed hard, my pulse thrumming against his fingertips. “Yes,” I whispered.
He laughed, low and dark. “What is your safe word?”
I hesitated, unease clawing its way out of my chest. “Um...seriously.”
“Seriouslyis your word?” he huffed a laugh. “Alright, then. If we do this, and you evertrulywant me to stop, then say that word. But if you say anything else, I won’t. Got it?”
My stomach clenched.
I hated him.Yet he had done more than any man to find out what it was I truly craved. My hunger was far too volatile to attempt to tame. I’ve tried. Rafe must have seen it in my eyes, because his expression darkened with something possessive that sent a thrill down my spine.
And then–without another word–hekissed me.
It wasn’t soft or sweet. It was entirely claiming. His fingers tangled in my hair, his other hand pressing against my throat, not choking, justholding–like he wanted to feel my pulse against his palm, like he needed proof that I washisin this moment. He must have enjoyed feeling his affect on me.
And…Igave in. I kissed him back, heat surging through me like wildfire, a desperate, reckless thing.
I wanted to spit out something sharp to remind him–and myself–that I wasnotthe kind of woman to beowned. But as his mouth claimed mine, his fingers curling in my hair like he wanted todevourme–there was no stopping this.
Because some sick, secret part of me wanted to know what it felt like. I was not new to sleeping with men I barely knew, but he was different. He was…fascinating in the darkest kind of way. It was more than enticing that he knew of my darkness and evenwantedit. So I’d be stupidnotto indulge.
His lips dragged from my mouth to my jaw, then lower, his breath hot against my skin. “See?” he murmured, his voice like smoke curling inside my chest. “This is what you were made for.”
My nails dug into his arms, my breath shallow, my body betraying me with every passing second.
“I don’t belong to you.” The words left my lips, but they didn’t sound convincing–not when my pulse was pounding against his fingertips, not when I was still pressed between him and the glass.
Rafe chuckled, dark and seductive. His hand drifted lower, fingers skimming the curve of my waist, my hips, until hegrippedmy ass–possessive. “No,” he agreed, his mouth hovering over my ear. “Not yet. Once I fuck you, you will.”
I clenched my teeth, heat curling low in my stomach, shame and hunger tangling in a way I couldn’t control. Rafe had studied me like a predator stalking prey, like he had been waiting for the moment I’d stop running.
“You read them a lot, don’t you?” His voice was a slow taunt, his fingers tracing along my thigh, the fabric of my dress hiking just slightly. His fingers tightened on my hip, his lips grazing my throat. “All of those dirty books. You are a nasty little thing. ”
My stomachdropped.
My breath caught in my throat.
I tried to push him away, but he onlylaughedas he grabbed my wrists and pinned them above my head against the glass.
“You’re going to struggle?” He dipped his sharp chin closer. “I know how much you enjoy the idea of being a little doe beneath a wolf.”
I swallowed hard, the arousal between my thighs almost unbearable.
“God,” he whispered, lips brushing over my jaw. “I’d love to watch you touch yourself while you read them.”
Holy shit.
My cheeks flamed.
“I can give it to you,” he murmured, his voice a sinful promise. “Allof it. We can even recreate your favorite scenes.”
His fingers clamped over my throat, pressing just enough to make my pulse stutter. His other hand trailed up my arm, his touch featherlight but searing. My body reacted before my mind could catch up. He was reading me, attuned to every shallow inhale and every involuntary shift of my hips.
“Let me show you, little doe,” he whispered, his lips brushing my ear. “Let me show you what a wolf can do to you.”
