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  Dage nodded. “I think you’re safe there for the night, but you really have to get out of Seattle.”

  “I’ve been called before the Council in Ireland in two days anyway,” Adam said, his plan starting to take shape.

  Dage’s eyebrows rose. “You’re not really considering attending?”

  “I am.” He held up a hand when Dage started to argue. “I’m an Enforcer for the Council of the Coven Nine, King. That means something to me. I’m going to take the evidence I have and hopefully what else we discover, and I’m going to defend my family in chambers. It’s who I am.”

  “They’ll cut off your head,” Dage said grimly.

  There was enough truth to the statement that Adam’s muscles tensed. The car finally reached the cabin and rolled to a stop. “I have people looking for Parker Monzelle and those who helped him to escape, as I’m sure you do as well. Let’s coordinate efforts,” Adam said.

  Dage nodded. “I’m not hiding your suicide plan from your brothers.”

  Adam sighed. “I didn’t think you would.” He reached out and shook his friend’s hand. “Thank you for teleporting here so quickly and for the governmental documents. I owe you another one.”

  The king held his gaze. “Someday I’ll collect.”

  Of that, Adam had no doubt. “I know.”

  Dage glanced at his watch again. “Any surveillance at the DEA office as well as in the surrounding neighborhoods just experienced a little glitch due to solar activity.” The king grinned. “There’s no record of us being there.”

  Adam returned the smile. “Excellent. Thanks.” He turned to assist Victoria from the car. “It’s time you and I had a little chat.”

  * * *

  Thunder cracked across the sky, and Tori jumped. Wind bit into her. She’d been at the DEA office long enough that the weather had turned from nice and sunny to pissed off. Just like the male currently all but dragging her across the wet grass and up the steps of the cabin. The expensive black car turned around and sped down the driveway.

  It was too late to ask the king if she could leave with him.

  Lightning cracked, and the smell of ozone filled the air. The trees around them swayed violently, throwing pine needles like darts.

  Adam shoved open the door and pulled her inside. “Bear owns this cabin, and nobody knows we’re renting it from him. It’s safe for us until I leave for Ireland.” He shut the door, his innocuous words at complete odds with the hard thread of anger in his tone. He left her at the door and strode over to the stone fireplace to set logs in place. Fire crackled down his arms, and he held out his hands, shooting flames to ignite the logs.

  Apparently he wasn’t worried about anybody sensing his fire. They must truly be alone in the middle of nowhere. She shivered.

  Soon a fire crackled, sending soft light across the darkened space.

  He turned, a powerful man standing in front of his open fire. The thunder and lightning outside added slashing rain to the mix, pushing energy into the cabin that was no match for the fury pouring off the witch. “You still haven’t answered my question,” he said.

  Her chin lifted, but butterflies zinged inside her abdomen. Her breath came in short bursts. “I believe I did answer your question,” she whispered, not backing down. He had no right to be angry with her. Not really. “If you’ve forgotten, I think I said something about not following orders from you. I also used the F-word, if I remember correctly.”

  “You are such a smart-ass,” he noted, no amusement on his impossibly rugged features.

  So she’d heard. More than once, actually. The look he was giving her, all determination and arrogance, pulsed excitement through her entire body. Oh, she wanted to defy him, wanted to put him in his place. But she wanted something else more. Something that was all Adam Dunne. An elusive element of raw power that she’d only just glimpsed. Could she push him to that place?

  Did she truly want to?

  His nostrils flared, and something wild glimmered in his eyes. “I see. Well, then. Apparently, you need it spelled out for you.” He didn’t move a muscle, but his very essence rolled through the room, owning it. Owning everything. “When I tell you to stay put, you will do exactly that. When I tell you to move, you move. Until we’re cleared by the Council, if I tell you to stop breathing, you fucking hold your lungs still.”

  She gaped at him. There were words of rebuttal, and she should say them, but her mind blanked. Adam in full temper was a sight to see.

  He gave a short nod. “Now, you are to stay here. I’m going to scout around and make sure my alarms are in place.” He took a step toward the door.

  “No.”

  He stopped mid-stride. His gaze, lava hot, slashed to her. His lips pressed shut as if he was the one who couldn’t find words now. For several long tension-filled seconds, they just looked at each other.

  The bite marks on her neck burned and pulsed. An iron fist gripped her lungs. Hunger tormented her along with a warning she didn’t know how to heed.

  Finally, he spoke. “What did you say?”

  There was an out. She could take it and back down. Get a breather from all the tension. “I said no.”

  He was on her then, faster than she could take that breath. Clamping his hands on her hips, he lifted her onto the table, setting her down none too gently. His face lowered to hers. “What in the hell are you doing?”

  “Pushing you,” she said, the tingling along her butt spreading inward from the rough treatment.

  “Why?” he bit out, his expression fierce.

  Now that was the question. Was there an answer? There had to be an answer. Her gaze dropped to his full lips. “Because I can.” It struck her then—the truth of that statement. How many people on earth could push Adam Dunne to the edge of his control? Not many, she’d bet. He needed this. He needed to get out of his own head, to step back from the war going on inside him between family and duty, and she was the woman to take him away. She tilted her head to the side, her entire body lighting on fire from within. “What are you going to do about it?” She flattened her palm against the hard ridge of his erection.

  He growled.

  She shivered, the low timber echoing inside her body. “I like that sound.”

  His chest moved as if he was fighting something. Himself. So she stroked him, base to tip, squeezing at the end.

  He grabbed her shoulders, partially yanking her up to meet his mouth. The noise he made, in the back of his throat, was all male hunger. His fingers curled around her shoulders, holding her in place, his mouth consuming hers. The ice of Adam, the sheer deliberation of the man, merely masked the inferno deep inside.

  With only his kiss, he gave her that. Heat and light and raw power. He was hot enough to burn her, and she found herself wanting nothing more than to be surrounded by flames. She could taste a wild edge, almost desperation, in his kiss.

  She’d done that. Little Victoria Monzelle, the wild child, the lost one. She’d brought this hunger to such an amazing male.

  He set her down, his mouth hot and firm, taking everything she had. Rough hands ripped her shirt open, and he grasped her breasts, pinching hard enough she gasped into his mouth. He twisted his head away and shredded her bra, dropping it to the floor. Grabbing the back of her neck, he pulled her down, laying her flat on the table.

  Her jeans joined the bra.

  What the hell had she done? His fingers found her and she arched, so much pleasure rippling through her she couldn’t breathe.

  “You’re wet. For me,” he murmured, driving her crazy. “You shouldn’t push, Victoria.”

  She lifted up on her elbows, her lids heavy and her body on fire. “Why not?”

  “Because.” Grasping her thighs, he flipped her over.

  She landed on her hands and knees, facing the sink. “Hey.”

  Fabric rustled. Hard hands clamped on her hips. The wide ridge of his cock pressed at her entrance. She gasped and shut her eyes as streaks of lightning flashed behind her e
yelids. “Adam,” she gasped, needing more. So much more. How easily he’d grabbed control from her. Or so he thought. She looked over her shoulder, almost stunned by the ferocity on his angled face. “You want me?”

  “Aye,” he said, his eyes burning.

  “Then take me.”

  Chapter 25

  As she looked over her shoulder, the stunning blue of her eyes intrigued him, and the defiance glowing so fully there claimed him. That spirit, that very edge, called to the primitive hunter inside him and drove his hunger to a level that should scare him. But it didn’t. He had no choice but to give in to the beast deep down. He gripped her hair, keeping her head turned toward him and her face visible.

  Then he pushed inside her, slowly, feeling her body accept him. Her eyelids started to close and he jerked his wrist, tugging her hair. Her eyes opened wide and a little wary.

  He smiled, allowing his fangs to drop.

  Her sex clenched around him. Yeah. He kept his hold firm and shoved all the way inside her. The sound she made was one of need. Tremors shook her body, cascading around him, claiming him in a way he’d never imagined. His body might be burning, but his heart, maybe deeper, was pulling her in completely. There was no turning back for him now. “You wanted this,” he reminded her, his voice hoarse.

  “Still do,” she said, a siren’s dare in her smile.

  He reluctantly released her hair, not wanting to hurt her neck. She slowly turned away, shaking the luscious mass down her back. With her skin bare, her ass against him, and the long line of her back revealed, she was pretty much perfection. He reached around and tweaked a nipple. She moaned and pressed into his hand, pushing the globes of her ass against his groin.

  The mating brand on his palm burned with a demand that clawed through his entire body. He pressed it against her right buttock, and a rush of power scoured him, stealing his very breath. So long as he kept his fangs in his mouth, she was safe from a mating she had yet to agree to.

  For now, it was time to earn her trust. He’d been with many women through his long life. Some had even liked it rough, and he’d been happy to comply. But Victoria was different.

  He wanted to take her in every way possible. Burn himself on her, keep his scent on her for the rest of her life. Wanted to strip her down, take everything, make her feel the raw and primitive feelings she brought out in him.

  Pulling out, he thrust back in. Hard.

  Her ragged moan licked along his balls, landing hard inside him. If she screamed, he wanted it to be his name. Her sex stretched around him, wet and tight, and oh so damn hot. She gasped and writhed against him. He grasped a nipple with unerring accuracy, pinching until she stilled. “You don’t get to move,” he whispered, leaning over and brushing her ear with his mouth. “Understand?”

  She tossed her head like a filly he’d broken to saddle in Ireland a century ago.

  Victoria had challenged him in no uncertain terms. But he didn’t want to break her. Not in the slightest. However, he saw much deeper than she probably realized.

  The little girl raised without a father had turned into a wild woman who didn’t trust men. He couldn’t blame her. When she’d thrown down the challenge, it had been for much more than a mere orgasm. He plucked harder, and she gasped, her back arching. “I can do this all night, baby.” He sank a fang into her earlobe, and her womb convulsed around him. “You just let me know when you’re ready to submit.”

  “Never,” she moaned, her head lowering.

  Ah, that was the key. Victoria wanted to submit more than any person he’d ever met. She wanted to put her trust in a man more than anything else, but she was going to make him work for it.

  He wouldn’t have it any other way.

  “Never is a long time.” He flicked her other nipple, and she sucked in a sharp breath. He sent fire to the tips of his fingers and ran them across both breasts.

  She gave a soft cry, both pleasure and frustration in the sound.

  “We’re just getting started,” he whispered, burning a path down her torso. He kept the fire light enough to keep her safe but sharp enough to bite.

  “No, Adam, please—”

  “Yes,” he corrected, reaching her clit. He spread his fingers wide, keeping the flame off her sensitive button, letting the sparks fly close enough for her to feel the crackle.

  Her sob was one of the sweetest sounds he’d ever heard. Her forehead rested on the table, even as her body pushed back into his while also reaching for the flames. Her legs trembled against the front of his. Humming softly, he increased the heat level and snapped the fire between her thighs.

  She cried out and spread her knees, instinctively trying to avoid being burned.

  “Isn’t that better?” he murmured, licking along the shell of her ear. “I wanted your legs spread wider, and they’re spread wider. See how this works?”

  “I’m going to kill you,” she ground out, her voice muffled with her mouth on the table.

  He flicked a flame up on her clit.

  She arched and cried out. Mini-explosions rippled along his cock inside her. That orgasm was hovering just out of her reach. He chuckled. “That was close.”

  She may have mewled. “You. Are. Such. A. Dick.”

  God, she was perfect. Just fucking perfect. “Ah, Victoria, you sweet woman. I just wanted to play a little. Make you needy. Now you’re going to beg, and it’s going to be the way I want. Not the measly little ‘please’ you gave me the other night.” He scraped the late-evening shadow on his jaw down her sensitive neck. “By the end of the night, I’ll fucking own you.”

  * * *

  Dots gathered across Tori’s vision as she tried to focus on his words. What had he said? It was becoming way too hard to defy him, but it was so much damn fun. The lick of fire from his hand left a residual burning sensation, so everywhere he’d touched still tingled.

  And he’d touched her everywhere.

  The wooden table was cool beneath her cheek while the rest of her burned. His cock was hard and pulsing inside her, a constant reminder of his strength and control. She gripped him several times with her internal muscles, and, while he gave a seriously dangerous low growl, he didn’t move.

  The way he worked her body, her mind, stripped her bare. She should be terrified. Angry. Even embarrassed. But she wasn’t. She felt feminine and powerful . . . even though he’d taken control of them both. Not once in her entire life had she given up control to a man. This one had taken it.

  His whiskers against her neck made her shiver. One of his hands dropped to the table next to her face, and he licked down her throat, sinking his fangs into the same place he’d bitten her the other night. The dart of pain blended with a raw pleasure.

  The sensations streaked through her and made her entire body tremble. She blinked and saw the outline of the mating brand on his palm. Oh. He couldn’t touch her and bite her at the same time.

  As the thought hit her, his fangs slid deeper, showing no mercy.

  She cried out, her body aching, desperately needing to be fulfilled.

  “Now, my sweet Victoria, we’re going to try something.” He slid out and thrust inside her so hard, white spikes of light streaked behind her eyelids. He pulled her back up on her hands and knees. Her body trembled, wanting more. “Good girl.”

  She blinked. “Adam.”

  “You do speak.” He chuckled, the sound a little menacing. “Good.” The palm with the brand caressed down one of her arms, heating her, and then flattened over her hand. He nudged her with his hip, and she gasped. “All right. You don’t move now.”

  Releasing her hand, he grasped her hips and pounded inside her for five hard thrusts. Energy began to uncoil inside her. Then he stopped.

  She gasped and hung her head again. Her body vibrated with a tension that held the devastating calm before the storm broke—in her, all around her, on her. The tension tightened to the point of pain. How could he have stopped?

  “Did you like that?” he growled, his vo
ice gritty.

  “Yes,” she gasped, pushing back against him. “Do it again.”

  He gripped her hair and pulled, yanking her head up. The breath caught in her throat. “You’re not giving the orders, love.”

  Who the hell cared? “Please,” she added. At this point, she’d sing it for him. “I said please.”

  He chuckled again, his fangs scraping along her already sensitive neck. She tilted as much as his hold would allow to give him better access. “Please isn’t enough this time.” Fire crackled, although she couldn’t see it. The second it touched her clit, she cried out at the painful pleasure that didn’t quite send her over the edge, her thighs shaking hard enough to vibrate up her back. “Please, Adam.”

  He kissed beneath her jaw. “Not enough.”

  She barely had the energy to growl, she was so close to the edge. “Then what do you want?”

  He stilled, head to toe, fire and breath—and the world paused with him. “Everything, Victoria. Give it to me.”

  She blinked. God, she needed. “I don’t know how.” The words spilled out of her even as she wasn’t quite sure what she was saying. He needed to move inside her. Now.

  “Tell me the truth. Tell us both the truth.” Heat from his hand, from the blue fire, slashed up her body to glow in front of her face.

  She eyed the blue on his palm. “The truth?”

  “Aye. Tell me who owns you.”

  Her eyelids snapped open. Her heart and mind rioted at the same time. The blue fire looked back at her. “Wh-what?” He couldn’t be asking for so much.

  The fire lightened, and he pressed his palm against her neck. Heat flowed through her skin. She whimpered.

  He leaned in, his mouth at her ear. “Head to toe.” The heat increased, and he moved his hand down to her breasts. She panted, crying out. “Top to bottom.” He moved lower, burning along her abdomen. She sucked in her stomach, willing him to go lower. “Heart to mind,” he murmured, going lower and skimming heat along her clit to where they were joined.

  It was too much. Way too much. “Adam,” she moaned.

  “Say it.” He burned her thigh.