Page 37 of Monsters Wear Crowns
“Yours?” I raised a brow. “Like, your girlfriend?”
His gaze bounced between my eyes and lips before sweeping over my body. “Whatever you want. But no other man touches you. That’s the rule.”
I snorted, glancing out over the city. “Fine. The same goes for you. I cannot allow you to make another woman feel good.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it,” he murmured.
I turned then, facing him head-on. “Okay, so what is thefirstthing I can do for you, Rafe?”
“Everything.” The word was soft. “But for now, I have a shipment coming in. Sensitive. Valuable. And I need to know thatno one…” his hand lifted, brushing a loose wave from my face “Will touch what belongs to me.”
The air between us turned tense.
“And what happens when someone does?” I whispered.
His smile was slow, wicked, as he brushed another strand of dark hair from my face. “They bleed.”
My throat tightened, though my gaze remained set. I wondered how many men he’d killed. Probably far too many. “You’re asking me to get in bed with a dangerous man, then.”
His eyes darkened. “You already have.”
“Wasn’t technically abed,” I huffed, going to turn. But his hand caught my arm when I moved, tugging me back against his perfectly clad body and igniting a sudden fire in my core.
“You’restillstarving, little doe,” he whispered against my ear. “Why keep pretending otherwise?”
His breath skimmed my skin, a warm, wicked caress that made my pulse stutter. I hated that my body reacted before my mind did–the sharp inhale, the way my fingers curled against his chest when I should have shoved him away. But Rafe had a way of making restraint feel impossible. This man wastrulyobsessed with me. Once he had me, he couldn’t stop. And, well, I couldn’t deny that I felt the exact same.
“I’m not pretending,” I said, my voice low and steady despite the fire beneath it. “But you’re mistaken if you think I’ll beso easily bought.”
Rafe chuckled. “I have no interest inbuyingyou...” His hand skimmed down my wrist, fingers tracing the delicate line of my pulse. “When I plan ontakingyou.”
The word rippled through me, piercing me somewhere deep. But I didn’t let him see how it landed. “Say I help you,” I said carefully. “What precisely am I protecting on it?”
Rafe’s smile didn’t waver, but something sharpened in his eyes. “Primarily drugs. Ketamine, MDMA. Things your system ismorethan capable of shielding.”
“And if I say no?”
He leaned in, his voice a whisper against my skin. “All you need to do is keep prying eyes out of our discussions. You don’t have tophysicallydo anything. Just do what you’re best at.” His eyes darkened, and for the briefest second, darkness flickered across his face. “Also, you should know that I don’t destroy the things I intend to keep.”
His words smacked me hard across my face, momentarily stunning me.How the hell did I just happen across my literal dream man?Tall, dark, handsome, dangerous, powerful, naughty.
“Give me one reason,” I challenged, holding a playful finger up. “One reason I should step into this fire with you.”
Rafe’s eyes blazed as he leaned closer, his lips just a breath from mine. “Because no one else will ever know you the way I do. No one will ever fuck you how I will. And none of these other men would kill for you.”
I clenched my jaw. “Why would you kill for me? You hardly know me.”
He huffed a laugh. “I know quite a bit. And I also know that you’re the woman to want.”
I sighed, finding it nearly impossible to avoid my bubbling attraction. “Fine.”
The slow curve of his mouth made my stomach flip. “Good girl.”
Heat flooded my veins, pooled low, and a deep ache blossomed. Rafe saw it all. And when his fingers brushed my jaw, his eyes darkened with unmistakable satisfaction. Before I could respond, he shifted closer, and every coherent thought I had dissolved. His body pressed against mine, his heat sinking into my skin. And when he dipped his head, his breath fanning against my ear, I couldn’t stop the shiver that ran through me.
“Come to the office tomorrow to set everything up,” I said quickly, willing myself to leave. I turned on my heel, ready to walk away from him and put some much-needed distance between myself and the man who was too good at unraveling my composure.
But Rafe’s hand shot out, his fingers wrapping around my wrist with a grip that brooked no argument. Before I could snap at him, he yanked me back, pulling me into a shadowed stretch of hallway, away from the glittering noise of the party. My back hit the cool wall, and his body followed–close enough that the heat rolling off him made my breath quicken.
