Page 50 of Imbalance
“I understand wanting a distraction, Amare—someone to entertain you and pass the time. I didn’t like it, of course, but I understood it, especially considering our circumstances. Although, truthfully, I hated the idea of a man’s hands on you, and it made me burn with enough rage that— “
He stopped himself, exhaling roughly before seeming to flip a switch. He moved his hands up to my jaw, affection infusing his gaze. The abrupt shift making me recognize that there was a different side to this imaginary man I knew nothing about, and I didn’t know what to think of that.
When his fingers brushed over my mark from Damien, my entire body lit up, and my skin flushed bright red, I’m sure, making him smile as if I was amusing him. Then, his expression went completely serious.
“A Hellhound mate, Little Temptress? Why? Why would you let another man physically mark you?”
I blinked, realizing that he was upset. No, more than upset...he was hurt. I could see it in his eyes, and I instantly felt guilt that totally did not belong in my head, considering the circumstances. As if recognizing that he was being vulnerable, he completely switched on me again, his eyes lighting up with a possessive edge as his hand on my jaw slid down to my neck and held it firmly. It wasn’t enough to feel threatening, but my entire body tightened as desire pooled in my center.
Oh, this was bad.
“I could kill him for that,” he growled softly. “Marking, my Ama? No. That’s unacceptable. I will have to kill the boy.”
Fuck.
“I... I am really confused right now. If you’re in my head, you shouldn’t be pissed that Damien marked me because you’d know both that it happened and that I was one hundred percent into— “
His lips slammed against mine, and my mind blanked. My words faltered, his taste against my lips causing my knees to go completely weak.Holy crap.I pulled away sharply, remembering myself and pushing my hand against his chest to get some space. Not that he let me go far.
“You have to stop that,” I explained breathlessly as he continued to stare at my lips.
His eyes flashed up to mine, his lips tilting, “You would deny me?”
“Yes,” I tried to pull back, but he kept me plastered to him, a soft rumble coming from his chest.
“Tell me, Ama, what would it take for you to believe that I’m real?” His eyes were filled with challenge and wicked light. I narrowed my eyes, feeling like I was somehow becoming ensnared in a web of his making.
“I don’t know...” I muttered, “appear outside of these dreams, or— “
A dark shadow passed behind his gaze, and he interrupted me, “Okay.”
“Okay, what?” I stepped back, and this time, he let me.
Something shook the ground beneath me, making me look up at the large cave ceiling. I feared that it might give out, considering the force of the movement. I gasped, finding him back in my space, gripping my face and sealing our lips together once again. My knees gave out from the power surging through me. Everything went black, his last words echoing in my head.
“I’m coming for you, Little Temptress.”
* * *
“Ama!”Damien’s voice echoed through the room as I sprang up in bed, my heart racing and feeling out of breath. I tried to clear the black spots from my vision as the man’s words echoed in my head.
I’m coming for you, Little Temptress.
What the hell did that mean? I mean, that was impossible, right? Was my mind that insistent on messing with me? Because, if so, it was completely working. I ran my hands through my hair, finally clueing in to the space around me. More so,whowas around me.
“It smells like another male in here,” Damien noted quietly, his voice strained. I could feel his Hellhound under the surface of his skin, almost begging to be let out as his hands tightened on me.
“It’s not any of our magic,” Finias nearly growled. I immediately looked around, finding the two of them on the bed with me, staring at me like I was about to pass out. Which, to be fair, was probably pretty accurate.
“What?” I asked, rubbing a hand over my face and feeling another wave of dizziness.
“It smells like another man in here. Not one I recognize,” Damien repeated his concern quietly, looking both possessive and worried.
“What? That’s impossible,” I stated hesitantly.
A knock sounded on the door, and it opened to reveal Jace. If he was surprised to see the other men in my room, he didn’t show it. He did pause in the doorway, though, his eyes flaring with a ring of what appeared to be orange hellfire before looking at my bed. I made a surprised sound as the man moved absurdly fast, disappearing then reappearing next to my bed in a split second. I leaned back as he crawled onto the bed, ignoring the other men, and dipped his nose against my neck, making my breath catch.
“Jace,” I whispered, “what are you doing?”
