“You’re a loner, Kieran. People surround us, and yet your posture is telling them to hold their distance. You don’t hate being around others, but you do prefer them to approach you on your terms. Where alphas and betas need strict and rigid schedules and rules, you are adaptable to most situations and easily handle changes. You lead without exerting command. You act, and they follow because they recognize you’re an excellent leader. You also don’t change who you are, ever. You show them who they’re dealing with and don’t care if they disapprove. You also don’t seek validation or attention, and alphas thrive off being given those things, be it male or female, as long as they get what they crave.” Kieran stared off at something in the distance, turning over everything I said inside his mind.
“I enjoy dominating you with my presence,” he admitted, and pink rushed to my cheeks.
“Yes, but if I chose to throw you down and ride your cock, you wouldn’t be afraid of me assuming control. You would watch me and allow me to do so. You wouldn’t feel the need to toss me on the floor and force me to submit. You would enjoy my dominance.” I glance at him briefly, noting the way he caught his lower lip, biting it to hide the smile curving his mouth. “But if I never submitted, you’d be okay with continuing to try for it. Therein lies the difference between a sigma and an alpha. One needs submission, the other desires it, but if they get off, they wouldn’t care. You’d slowly chisel my willpower down, piece by piece, until you got what you wanted. Conrad wouldn’t do that. He’d fight me to get me to give in to him.” Kieran’s eyes zeroed in on the male I’d just named.
“You’d enjoy it, though, right?” He pulled me with him through the open door onto the veranda. “You would let me chip away at your defenses and learn everything about you if I touched you like this,” he whispered, slowly dragging his nose over the curve of my shoulder. “You would permit me to devour you again, wouldn’t you?”
The cool evening air ruffled my hair, and the heat of his breath sent a shudder of desire rushing through me. Kieran was aware of what he was doing, and every touch was calculated, meant to seduce my body so that my mind would follow.
“Kieran,” I whimpered through the desire he created.
He turned me toward the cityscape, settling behind me as he slid his magical fingers past the slit of the dress. The other hand slid up around my throat as he kissed an inferno of heat on the back of my neck. He didn’t force his fingers into my body, but slowly drifted the tips over the inside of my sensitive thighs.
“This city is going to break your heart, Xariana,” he whispered against my neck. “You need to be more careful who you allow close to you.”
“Like you?” I returned, hearing the silky huskiness of his laughter like music to my ears.
“Those we love most can hurt us the deepest. We never see it coming until we’re bleeding out, and they’re holding the knife that cut us open.”
I blinked at what he’d said, uncertain of how to reply. I was still pondering a response when he stepped back, pulling me by the hand toward the party. Eryx was leaning against the balcony, watching us with a worried look in his expressive gaze. I stiffened when I noticed him studying us.
Eryx lifted his drink, twisting his lips into a bitter smile while Kieran paused, nodding to where he stood. Enzo and Ezekiel were also staring, blocking our path into the fundraiser.
“Interesting company you’re keeping tonight, Xariana,” Enzo snorted, stepping up as Kieran smiled coldly. “I doubt your father would approve of him.”
“He also probably wouldn’t have approved of her coming on my lips earlier either, but he isn’t here right now. Is he?” Kieran asked, without showing a shred of fear while facing off against one alpha and two demons. “Xariana is exquisite, isn’t she? I’m surprised none of you have tried to taste her delicious pussy yet. Scared of daddy? Or do you still think she’s too fucking young? I assure you, she is all women.”
“It’s called respect,” Rhys Van Helsing stated, and my attention swung to him.
I hadn’t even noticed him until he’d spoken. My brow furrowed at the reminder that they’d all thought I was too young and unworthy of holding my position at the guild. I tugged on Kieran’s hand, but he merely tightened his grip on my fingers.
“Xariana is young compared to the rest of us,” Cole grumbled, stepping up beside his brother. “That doesn’t mean we don’t respect her or Xavier. She’s one of us, Kieran. Do try to keep your cock out of where it doesn’t belong, yeah? Xari is nursing a broken heart, don’t add to it, asshole.” With that, they all turned, leaving Kieran and me to walk as one into the ballroom. My stomach somersaulted while I pondered what they’d said. They embarrassed me. Each had vocalized their feelings about my position, and none had stood up for me that night. Every time I closed my eyes, I’ve heard their words echoing inside my head.
“They never showed any interest in you?” Kieran asked, spinning me to face him as his hands slipped down my back.
“No,” I admitted. “We hunt together and fight against the same enemies. Nothing more has ever happened between us. My father wouldn’t have liked the idea of me taking one of his friends to my bed, and I don’t believe that would be a wise move to make. Even if it were a fleeting fling, it would cause hunting trips to be awkward.”
“Mmm,” he stated, lowering his forehead against mine. “You would be opposed to me murdering them all, wouldn’t you?” he chuckled, and I tensed beneath him. “I’m bringing you home with me tonight.”
“I don’t think so,” I snorted, pulling back to peer into his violet eyes that sparkled with a thousand diamonds trapped within their depths.
“Oh, but I assure you I am. I crave to see how you look with me buried in that tight body of yours,” he admitted with an intensity that caused the air to become thick around us.
“Xariana Anderson!” Missy, the sheriff’s wife, called out with a broad, friendly smile on her pink lips. Wide, cornflower blue eyes looked from Kieran to me and then over to Kieran once more. “You look amazing tonight, child. You’re all grown up into a beautiful woman. Your mother would have been proud,” she stated, hugging me into her bosom.
Kieran allowed it, stepping back to watch the display of affection. I’d known Missy since before I could remember. She was the sweetest woman I’d ever met and was always quick with a friendly smile and a refreshing, no-nonsense attitude.
“Thank you,” I supplied, hiding the pang of regret that her words drilled into my heart. “You look beautiful, Missy.” I silently took in her sapphire-colored dress that hugged her lithe, slender frame. “Where is that husband of yours tonight?”
“He’s mingling with the suits,” she snorted, waving her hand around the room before grabbing a drink from a server that passed by us. “And you would be?” she asked in a curious tone laced with steel.
“Kieran Knight, My Lady,” he stated, grasping her hand to place a gentle, chaste kiss on the back of it.
Missy’s eyes grew large and owl-like, and she mouthed ‘wow’ before he righted himself. Her eyes sparkled with wonder, and the hand not holding the drink fanned her face. Kieran stepped back into place at my side, slipping his hand around my waist.