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I sneered, not that he could see while he stomped ahead of me. “Aren’t you his best friend?”
His answer came in the form of an incoherent grunt.
Fane had been a virtual block of ice all day and had barely looked at me while we holed up in the house until he deemed it safe to sneak out of the Underworld. If anything,Ishould be the one freaking out about the shower where I let him wash my hair and hold me while I cried. I’d been the vulnerable one, spilling my guts about some of the grim secrets riddling my past.
What did he have to be worried about? That he kissed me? That he actually wanted me?
While I contemplated all the reasons Fane Maverick was a dick, my boot slipped on a patch of wet grass, and I grabbed a marble angel statue to keep from falling. In doing so, I overextended my side, and a flare of white-hot pain lashed at the stab wound.
Ringing filled my ears, and I gritted my teeth, waiting for it to pass. Fane appeared in front of me, resting his hand on my arm. The pain slowly ebbed.
“Are you okay?” he asked, his expression unreadable.
I shoved him off. “I told you not to do that.”
His jaw ticked. “Do what?”
“Whatever. We’ll just play that game.” He didn’t want to admit to taking my pain because that meant he felt enough for me to do it. Or maybe he didn’t even mean to do it, and this stupid link between us was solely responsible.
I stormed by him as the blood in my veins boiled. “You’ve barely looked at me since last night. Did my breakdown freak you out that much?”
“No.” He easily caught up with me, his long legs taking smaller steps to remain at my side. “Karn had you imprisoned and tortured for more than a day. Most would have been much worse. Most wouldn’t have made it out alive.”
“Thanks for the compliment.” Sarcasm dripped from every word. “If you’re not giving me the cold shoulder because of that, then it has to be because of what happened later.”
Fane palmed the back of his neck, his gaze avoiding mine like the plague. “I’m not giving you the cold shoulder. I’m trying to—”
“Oh, please,” I interrupted. “You’re freaked out because that was the first time you actually wanted me.”
A barking laugh burst out of Fane. “Is that what you think?”
“You were only screwing with me—until last night.” I tsked. “Last night, you wanted me. You kissed me like a starving man who had his first meal. You were ready to take me on that dresser, but something in that message stopped you. Did it remind you that I was the one who snuffed out your brother’s life?”
Fingers wrapped around my arm, and Fane slammed me against a tree, the trunk digging into my back. “You think you know everything, Teague, don’t you?” Fire flashed in his eyes, and he bared his teeth, snarling.
“I know that much.” I tried to shove him off. “You will always see me as a monster, a killer, and the sooner we get the Infernal Sol out of me, the better.”
Fane’s nostrils flared, and his flesh twitched as his beast within scratched at the surface. He gripped my chin hard enough to leave bruises. “You don’t know shit.”
I opened my mouth to argue, to insult him, to do anything to piss him off, but before I could utter a word, his lips crashed down on mine, stealing the air right out of me. His tongue forced its way inside, twisting and tangling with mine in a battle of wills and lust.
As my brain froze, my body didn’t miss a beat, instantly yielding to the welcomed storm he brought. Flames licked at my skin as his hips rocked against mine, eliciting a surge of fireworks low in my belly.
Fane’s hand glided from my waist, over my breasts, to my collarbone and then wrapped around my throat. He kissed me, that tongue undoing all my control and common sense. He applied more pressure to my neck as his phantom fingers drifted between my legs, slipping by the leggings and underwear, teasing my center.
I gasped at the flood of sensations.
He pulled back, his ragged breath filling my ears. “You really think I didn’t enjoy doing this to you, making you fucking melt under my hands every time?” His head dipped forward, and he licked the tattoo on my neck at the same time his invisible fingers entered me.
A broken moan tore from my lips as fire raged in my core. “Maybe you liked it because it made you feel in control.”
His wicked laugh dripped with sin and darkness. “I’ve never felt moreoutof control.”
“You’re lying.”
“I will rip your clothes off and screw you right now in this cemetery.” Fane dragged his teeth across the tattoo, delivering another sharp stab of pleasure. “Just ask for it, Tate, and I’ll do it. I swear.”
My hips bucked, and I bit my lip so hard a droplet of blood spilled over my tongue. Fane was serious. He’d do it. And hewantedme to ask for it. I could feel the need, the desire, tearing at him.
