Page 34 of The Hunted
I feathered my lips over hers. “You won’t be able to stay away from me. In fact, you’ll be in my bed in two days, tops.”
Flustered, she skirted around me to engage the elevator. Little did she know, I was an empath and could read every emotion she was desperately trying to hide and failing miserably.
The car began to move.
“You’re so wrong, Sam Mason. The way I see it, you’ll be the one in my bed first.”
“Want to throw down a wager?” I loved a good game of cat and mouse.
She lifted a casual shoulder. “Why not?”
“If you’re not in my bed in two days, then you can do as you please with me.
“You mean I can kill you?”
“If that’s your pleasure.”
Her lips parted. “You’re that sure you’ll win.”
“I never lose. And if I win, I get to have my way with you.”
She pursed her lips. “I never lose either. And I’m looking forward to carving you into tiny pieces.”
It was becoming clear to me that I didn’t want anything as badly as I wanted her.
“Oh, and Layla, when I finally win, I warn you now. This place right here”—I rubbed a spot along her inner thigh—“is where I’ll take my first bite.”
She quivered, seemingly turned on by the idea.
Outwardly, Layla Aberdeen might be tough and strong and despise vampires, but inwardly, her desire to be with a vampire was more powerful than she would ever admit.
13
LAYLA
The minute the elevator doors opened, I raced out like a runner sprinting to the finish line. I was an idiot. Stupid. It wasn’t natural for me to like a vampire. I killed them for a living. But Sam had an incredible pull, as if we were polar opposites coming together like magnets.
I stopped short when the long and narrow hall blurred in front of me. Suddenly, dizziness made my head spin like I was riding a fast-moving merry-go-round.
Sam’s hand landed on my back, strong, hot, and urgent. “Something wrong? Still reeling from our bet?” His voice held too much excitement for my taste.
He was smoking some serious dope if he thought I would slip under the covers with him. Us naked was a recipe for one of us to die. Yet the thought of him biting me in that spot he marked on my thigh was sending riveting chills down my spine. Maybe that was the reason I felt dizzy and suddenly a tad queasy.
I inhaled and exhaled, wanting nothing more than to knee him in the nuts again. “I’m fine.”
We began our trek down the hall from hell. No doors. No people. No way out. Again, I wasn’t claustrophobic, but I felt like I wanted to puke as panic began to overtake my psyche.
Sam Mason was the very essence of what I hated about the world I lived in, yet I couldn’t get enough of how he was making me feel. In that elevator, I’d gotten lost in a world where the sun shone, the mountains soared, and evil was a thing of the past. There was no other place I’d wanted to be.
I scolded myself for wanting to feel what he offered, and guilt punched me square in the stomach for thinking I could defy my family’s belief that vampires didn’t belong on Earth. I’d allowed a vampire to play me like a puppet. I was the one who’d kissed him, but he hadn’t made it easy for me to walk away. Hell, I’d had no means of escape in that elevator and no weapons to boot.
Don’t blame your actions on the elevator.
He took one long stride to my two, and I was having a difficult time keeping up—then another wave of dizziness washed over me, and I listed to one side.
“Layla.” Sam sounded extremely concerned, which was a sharp contrast to his arrogance. “Are you okay?”
I stopped and bent over, inhaling and exhaling. “I don’t know.” I stared at the bright white floor that seemed blinding and hurt my eyes. “I’m dizzy all of a sudden.” After another breath, I straightened, and when I did, the floor rose up fast.
