Page 24 of The Huntress
Her breath caught, and she shot glances at the doors. One of them had to lead out of here.
“Gabe?” She stiffened, preparing to struggle at the possibility she was as trapped as Val. “Am I a prisoner too?”
He frowned before he pinned her against him to nuzzle her hair. The gesture was so unexpected she could do nothing but grab onto his forearms for stability. “You are mine, Callista.”
Shit, that didn’t sound good. Like she was his pet. An animal. She’d heard of a few suckbloods whoownedhumans. The fucking balls on this sexy…um,annoyingman. Part of her exploded in tingles at his dominant nature. The detective part wanted to shoot him where he stood.
She’d have lost her virginity years ago if any man had shown such audacity. That it was him left her torn. A suckblood as hot as this one, with the capability to seduce her with his scent alone? How could she stand against that? Did she want to? Damn it, yes. She hadn’t survived this long to succumb with such ease.
She lowered her gaze, tracing a water droplet’s path down to where their bodies met.
“Bymine, do you mean yourfeeder?” she asked. Images rose of those women with the bite marks, and she gulped.
Heat burned her cheeks, sudden and intense. Not from fear, but embarrassment. She didn’t mind in the least if Gabe fed from her. Oh, how the judgmental have fallen, but she could do it with her freedom intact, thank you very much.
“No,” he said, his tone hard, almost brutal. “You fed me your blood to heal me, and that was an admirable thing you did.”
She bit her lip as she searched his face. “Not a prisoner and not a feeder. Then what? Can I leave? Will you hurt me if I try?”
His gray eyes darkened, and the shadow crawling across his face reminded her that he was a predator.
There was no fear, and her instincts stayed silent. Odd. He was a suckblood. Yet…
“I’d like you to stay, as my guest.” He brushed escaped curls off her temple, his touch gentle. “You’re a mystery, Callista. One I need to solve.”
Mysteries she understood. How they delved into one’s psyche, demanding resolution and often becoming obsessions. Saving lives and sharing blood had bypassed formality, but she had to admit the way his name or nickname rolled off her tongue felt sinful.Great. So much for her impartiality, and all it had taken was a pair of gray eyes.
She avoided suckbloods and beasts because of their innate sensuality. This was dangerous territory. Sleeping with either meant she’d pick a side, and the law had to remain neutral. She smothered a snort. One sensual look from him and she became a blushing sixteen-year-old girl, all aflutter.
She was still a detective, and someone who’d resented, feared—if not hated—suckbloods for over a decade. Trust didn’t come easy to her, and she wouldn’t change just because her dormant ovaries had broken into applause.
“You can call me Callie,” she said. “I’d like to see Val now…please.” She met his gaze with hers. Stubborn, demanding, expectant. The same one she used on her fellow officers. “I don’t know you, so I have no reason to trust you.”
He nodded, and his hold tightened, raising her suspicions as if he had something to hide. At this point, she needed him to find Val whatever his agenda was.
“I like when you call me Gabe.” His deep voice rumbled as he pressed his mouth to her temple, his breath hot.
She gasped when he buried his face in her neck, pressing his lips to her pulse. She clenched her thighs together, fighting a throbbing, growing need. He stiffened, his breathing deepened, and a hoarse sound tore from him. Her body’s reaction ought to embarrass her. If that had been his intent, to embarrass her, then it only proved she was susceptible to him, which was a new experience for her.
“Are you using your pheromones on me?” she asked.
He leaned back to meet her gaze. His eyes widened before he laughed. The sound of his humor was rich, enticing…unexpected.
Oh, scales of justice, please say yes.She’d like something to blame for the weakness in her knees and the loss of her mental processes.
“No. Do you want me to?”
She stared, chewing on her bottom lip. If he wasn’t enticing her, then all of him was for real? Her reactions were her own and not some chemical-induced lust tainted with shame? She’d liked to succumb to pheromones at least once, though, out of curiosity.
“Yes, please. I need to know the difference.”
She fought a snort. What she wanted was to prove him a liar. All suckbloods were. If she succumbed to him, then none of what she felt was her fault or within her control. She needed to know—something in her soul demanded she make certain.
“Very well.”
He drew in a deep breath, his chest expanding enough to close the distance between them. Her fingers itched to touch him, to learn his every ridge of muscle, to follow the trail of hair that dipped below his towel.
She licked her lips. She’d never encountered a man this sexy.
