Page 93 of Mated
He takes a step toward me and Tanner blurs as he moves into his path.
My arms cinch around his waist, attempting to hold back an over six-feet-three mountain of alpha muscle. My feet skid over the grass.
I glare at Caine. “A little help?”
The demon raises a brow. “Personally, kitten, I would like to watch the show.”
I growl and haul back on Tanner’s muscular frame. When that doesn’t work, I slip in front of him and lay my hands on his chest. “T. Don’t.”
His lips are pulled back in a truly feral snarl, and his teeth are already elongating.
Shit.
I grip his face and wrench with all the strength I can muster. It barely moves him. “Look at me, damn it.”
His silver irises flick to me.
“He’s not worth it,” I say softly as my thumbs idly stroke the chiseled lines of his cheekbones. “He cheated and now he is pissed because I’m not crying over him. That’s it. And I don’t even care. But if you go alpha on me, I will be seriously ticked atyou.”
Little by little, the glow in his irises fades and his lips close back over those deadly teeth.
I don’t let go.
He straightens a bit and draws me to him. I gasp as his hands clench into my hips. He plants me at his side and under his arm, the motion very clear to anyone watching.
Those amazing eyes of his glitter in the sunlight as he looks at Chuck.
The other man takes a step back.
“I advise you to go,” Caine says as he crowds my other side, his hellfire gaze rolling with devilish flames. “And maybe you should consider staying far away from the kitten. See … her cat has rather wicked claws.”
Tanner’s free hand flexes and his claws elongate in one fluid, practiced motion.
I stare up at the hard line of his jaw and the promise of pain swimming in his steel gaze before turning back to Chuck with a cool smile of my own.
I’ve never been one to go for the possessive alpha type, but Tanner pushes every button I didn’t know I had.
My fellow firefighter backs up and keeps going until he reaches his truck. He climbs inside and peels out of the parking lot in a cloud of smoke and burnt rubber.
The silence stretches for a beat and I grip the back of Tanner’s head and pull his face down to mine.
My teeth snare his bottom lip and he growls as his hands find my ass to lift me against him. I wrap my arms around his neck and kiss him hard.
His smile is harsh when he pulls back. “Still not pissed?” he asks.
I rock my hips over the hard line of his cock and his eyes glint with need. “Not pissed. But I am damn sure something.”
His dark head lifts and he scans the lot and the trees around us.
“Caine …”
The demon chuckles but leans against a nearby oak. “You’re good still.”
For a moment, I don’t understand. And then Tanner turns on his heel and walks me deeper into the narrow forest.
Chapter 40
Tanner
