Page 86 of Hybrid Heroics

“It’s one of my favorites,” she replied, toying with the buttons between her breasts.

“Liar,” I accused, following her fingers as they bumped from one button to the next, not undoing them.

“Try me.”

I stepped toward her, and she backed away, grinning again. Though it quickly morphed into a smirk as she tilted her chin, prowling to the left. I tapped my fingers along the countertop as I stalked her.

“Your move, Wolf.”

I ran my tongue over my teeth, snagging a knife from the inset bamboo block at my hip. I’d left the drawer open, my tasks forgotten when she danced into the kitchen.

“Oh,” she sang, pouting her lips as her eyes glinted. “What will you do? Slice me up?”

“Thinking about it.”

“And then what?” she prompted.

But I didn’t answer.

I threw the knife at her, racing around the island as she plucked it from the air. She blinked in surprise, having been in her stasis when we discovered more about our growth in abilities.

I wrapped my hand around her throat, under her jaw, my thumb stroking above her steady pulse.

“How much do you like this dress?” I repeated.

She shrugged. “Not very much.”

I drew my hand down her chest, scratching her skin, as I popped the buttons off her dress, from her cleavage to her navel.

She held still, intense gaze locked on mine, the knife hanging limply at her side.

Until it wasn’t.

With one swift motion, she jabbed it into my thigh and danced out of my grip, cackling as she ran for the pantry.

I should have expected that.

Knew it was coming…

Especially after all the talk about how she treated us like glass.

She wasn’t doing that anymore.

And I was thinking about stabbing the fae as I yanked the knife out of my thigh muscle. A feral growl rumbled from my chest as I gave chase.

The spice rack hung open, leading me into the basement through the stinging wards. She lounged on the tabletop, legs crossed as she propped up on her elbows. A fucking siren, if I had ever seen one.

“You’re bleeding,” she murmured, nibbling on her bottom lip. “Who did that?”

“Accidents happen,” I reminded her. “Sometimes we slip. Sometimes our aim is off.”

When my lips popped with the last word, she disappeared. The scent of pine flowed around me before her heat hit my back, nails feather light as she traced my spine.

“Accident, you say?”

“I can’t imagine my mate stabbing me and not hitting anything vital,” I taunted. “Must have been an accident.”

She slunk around me, bare feet making no sound. I reached for her arm with my right hand and her hair with my left, smirking when she only blocked one. I tilted her head, running my nose along her jawline.