Page 26 of Thane's Demon
WARNING
ALORA
His words lingered in the air between us, low and rough and dangerously intimate. And for a moment, time stood still. The way he looked at me made the world around us fade into nothing, as if the trees, the path, even the sunlight had all pulled back to give him room to exist. My heart slammed so hard against my ribs that I was certain he could hear it, the sound loud enough to drown out everything else.
I should have taken a step away from him.
I should have been afraid.
I should have at least pretended to be more cautious.
But instead, I stood frozen, staring up at him like someone caught at a crossroads they were certain would change everything and this, right now…was my moment to take the right path.
Now that I could see him clearly in the daylight, really see him, the breath I tried to draw refused to steady. He was impossibly tall, his shoulders broad enough to blot out the dappled sunlight filtering through the branches overhead. Hisdark hair fell in messy, effortless waves that looked both wild and controlled at the same time.
His face was all sharp lines and harsh beauty. Cheekbones sculpted in a way that made my stomach twist with something warm and fluttering. But it was his eyes that trapped me completely. They were deep and dark, with hints of blue like the night sky that swirled within them. They were intense enough to make my breath falter, intense enough to make me forget every reasonable thought I had ever had.
He looked like danger wrapped in something heartbreakingly human. Like he could ruin me or save me with the same amount of effort. And somehow, neither option scared me as much as it should have.
I swallowed hard, trying to wet my suddenly dry throat.
“You… called me, little prey,” I managed, my voice sounding far steadier than I felt.
His lips curved, not into a smile exactly, but something sharper, something that should have brought dread but instead made heat unfurl low in my stomach.
“Because that’s exactly what you are.”
I shook my head and braved to argue.
“Yet you haven’t hurt me,” I replied, forcing myself to lift my chin.
“Not yet, no,” he replied, making me suck back a quick breath.
“So, you intend to? Is that why you’re here, stalking me? You intend to finish what that asshole in the alleyway was going to…”
“I suggest you not finish that sentence, little prey,”he warned in a growl, taking a threatening step toward me and making me wisely take one away from him. He dipped his head, looking down at me before scoffing.
“Well, it’s nice to see you have some good sense, after all.”
“Some self-preservation, you mean.”
“Call it what you will, little fluff, but it is fear all the same,” he snapped, making me flinch.
“And why should I be afraid of the man that saved me?” I tested, instead of asking him why he called me this. As well as asking myself why the nickname sounded cute rather than insulting when coming from his lips.
He lowered his head, getting closer, as if to make his point when he told me, “Because if man can’t kill a demon, the devil will.”
I frowned at that, confused by what he meant until my brain had time to make sense of it.
“So, you’re trying to tell me that you are worse than him, is that it?”
He narrowed his deep-set eyes, the slash of his brows tilting as he took another step toward me, this time pinning me on the spot as he warned, “Not worse, but far more dangerous, yes. Which is why you should stay away from me.”
“Says the man who is stalking me,” I snapped back, making my own point.
“Something that won’t happen again,” he replied sternly, making me wonder if he was trying to convince me of this fact or himself.
“So, you admit it, you were following me?” His gaze flicked over my face, lingering for a breath too long on my eyes, then my mouth, before reaching the curls that framed my cheeks like a halo of chaos. The warmth of his stare made my skin tingle as though he had touched me rather than looked.
