A whimper nearly escaped her lips, but she quickly choked it back. Why, God, why must he boast such forbidden beauty and perfection on the outside while he possessed such blackness on the inside? How could he, as cruel and cold as he was, still whittle away at the defenses she fought to erect and maintain?
Why would their Goddess curse her with a monster that created a cacophony of sensations, a storm of emotions, yet conducted a symphony that her soul recognized and needed simply to survive?
It wasn’t fair!
Realizing her current state, Rori swiped her hands over her face, drying her tears in haste. She pressed to the door and inched herself up, keeping as much of the small distance between them as she could until she was straight on her feet. He mirrored her with immense grace, rising at the same pace. Yet he towered over her, forcing her to tip her head to look up into his striking face.
Without warning, she reached for the doorknob.
Thaddeus splayed his hand against the door and the jamb, holding it shut before she could twist the knob.
“They haven’t heard you.” His voice was calm, soothing. No threat laced his words. It was a simple statement, an assurance, if she dared to believe it. “Nor can they hear us.”
Rori’s hand fell away from the doorknob. She rolled her back flat to the door once more. Staring at him hurt. His beauty hurt. His fancy clothes, it allhurtbecause she had seen how heartless the man within could be.
His gaze lowered to her arm, then lifted to her face. His silence should have made her uncomfortable, but his presencecloaked her with a sense of security. Thaddeus, the Fae who could snuff out her life with a pinch of his fingers, or heal her wounds behind a threatening farce. The irony.
Speaking of…
“Why did you heal me yesterday?” she asked, her voice just above a whisper.
“You prefer to suffer with injuries, I suppose?”
Rori’s lips parted, eyes widening slightly with realization. “You admit to healing me then.”
Thaddeus watched her closely, revealing nothing as seconds passed in silence. She refused to break their gaze. Refused to indulge in his presence more than she already had. He didn’t deserve her attention, and yet with each breath that filled her lungs with his soothing scent, she found it harder and harder to fight the lure to admire the creature presented to her, hovering so close and yet still so far.
Rori released a frustrated breath. “Why are you here? To stare? To try and make my life a living hell? You’ll have to get in line for that.”
His placid expression cracked. She swore she witnessed a darkness that contradicted every angelic feature that created him on the outside. The inner beast rising to the surface, showing its true form. As quickly as it came, it was gone, once more replaced by a perfectly emotionless mask.
He continued to maintain his silence. Rori groaned. “Stop wasting my time. Get out of my way.” When she pushed off the door toward the bathroom, he threw his other arm up, caging her between the door and his body. Rori cut her attention to him, burned her irritation into his pretty face, and scowled. “Let. Me. Go.”
“Tell me—who is it you fear?”
“Didn’t we play this game yesterday?” She scoffed. “My answer hasn’t changed. I don’t fear anyone.” She shoved athis arm. Solid muscle and steel that did not budge. “Especially you.” She tried again with the same result. “And I’d be a fucking fool to tell you if Ididfear someone.”
She briefly considered trying to shove him back, but the idea of touching his shoulders, chest, any part of him other than his arm left her a heated mess as it had since their first encounter. The memory of how solid he had been made her face warm. Instead, she ducked beneath his arm and escaped his cage. She made it a whole two steps before he grabbed her arm and spun her back.
“Do you believe I won’t figure it out?”
Rori tugged at her arm, but he refused to release her. She stopped the futile fight, stepped into him, chin raised, and drilled every ounce of loathing into his startling blue eyes. “Don’t take me as a fool, beast. I may be a weak little mortal to you, but I’m not daft or blind. I’m not obsessed with torturing people beneath me to pet my ego and make me feel better about myself. You should really reconsider who is truly the weaker between us.”
As she stepped back, he tugged her into him, hand cupping the base of her skull, fingers tangling in her hair. She caught him by the shoulder to keep a modicum of space between them, but she’d already been dealt the blow of her body slamming flush against his. The full-length contact shook her mind and made her crave everything she knew she shouldn’t want.
Him.
“Mm.” He pressed his thumb beneath her jaw, tipping her head to the side. His gaze slid beneath hers, burning a fiery path along her cheek to come and linger at her mouth. As he angled her head how he wanted it, those glacial eyes skimmed lower, to her neck. “You impress me, little human.”
Was she supposed to take that as a compliment comingfrom the arrogant monster? She didn’t care if she impressed him. He wasn’t worth her efforts, her time, or her thoughts.
But he fills your head and keeps you hoping for encounters like these, as degrading as they may be.
“I don’t care,” she hissed.
As his gaze slid back to hers, the corner of his mouth lifted. A haughty half-grin that dried her mouth and made the room around them fade. A cruel gesture that transformed him from a cold, unreadable monster to a creature who possessed another layer beneath his marble façade, an unbearable sensuality and godforsaken sexiness, even if it was condescending. Her fingers bit deeper into his shoulder, her grip turning desperate as her knees warmed and weakened. The silky strands of hair not captured in the braid caressed her knuckles as he tilted his head and took a slow, deep breath.
“Nor do I. Pity, aye? Alas.”
