His jaw hardened. “You can’t honestly want to live here.”
“Not all of us can afford to live in swanky condos.”
“And not all of Knox’s buildings are ‘swanky,’ nor are they out of your price range. More importantly, they’re secure.”
She lifted her chin. “I’m not moving.”
His growl was low and deep. “Kitten—”
“Didn’t I say that your marking me doesn’t mean you have rights to me? I don’t need you interfering in my life, Tanner, and I won’t fucking allow it.” She pointed toward the door. “Go.”
“I’m not trying to hurt your pride, kitten—”
“My name is Devon. Now get out.”
He swore, low and vicious. “It’s so bad that I want you safe?”
“Why are you still here? Go home, go to your Primes, go to your girlfriend—I don’t care, just go.”
His brow hiked up. “My girlfriend? I didn’t realize I had one.”
“That’s not what Eleanor Owens believes.” And, just as Devon had expected, she was unable to keep a bitter note out of her voice when she spoke the bitch’s name.
His shoulders went stiff. “She talked to you? When?”
“A few weeks ago. She came here. She said that you’re hers, and that I needed to back off. She seemed to be under the impression that I was a threat to your little fling. I’ll bet she’s not happy that you marked me, huh?”
“I don’t care, it’s got nothing to fucking do with her. I never so much as kissed her, let alone slept with her.”
“Then why did she warn me off?”
“She must think you’re the reason why I refuse to father the baby she plans to have, despite that I’ve told her several times I’m simply not fucking interested. Did she touch you?”
Pushing back the shock and pain she’d felt at hearing what Eleanor was offering him—something Devon could probably never offer any male—she replied, “No, she didn’t. Now, seriously, Tanner, get out.”
“Kitten.”
And then she’d had enough. “Just fucking go.” She sent out a wave of dark, thick energy that knocked him so hard he staggered back a few steps.
The weird bastard smiled. “Well, well, well. My kitty’s got sharp claws.”
Fury whipped through her, and her upper lip curled. “I’m not your anything, pooch. You’d better get that through your head, because this possessiveness isn’t going to fly with me. And my demon’s not going to take kindly to it either, considering it’s on the hunt for a mate.”
Devon had seen people stiffen. Seen them freeze on the spot. But she’d never seen someone go literally as still as a statue until right then. He didn’t even look like he was breathing.
His power swept out in a wave that purred against her skin and, oh God, she could feel the depth of his anger. Finally, his muscles unlocked, and he prowled toward her, all menace and intensity. The air felt thick and oppressive with the power that continued to pour off him. It took everything she had to stand tall and not back away, especially while his golden eyes stared down at her, glittering with something dark and dangerous.
A long, low growl rumbled out of him. “What did you just say?”
CHAPTER SIX
She hadn’t just said the word “mate,” Tanner told himself. She hadn’t. No fucking way. That was not what—
“It’s on the hunt for a mate.”
Rage exploded in Tanner’s gut and rushed through his veins. A thread of something that suspiciously felt like panic tightened around his chest, squeezing until he felt like he couldn’t quite get enough air.
His hound let out a furious snarl as a dark jealousy clouded the edges of its vision. The demon didn’t want to stake a claim on her, but it didn’t want anyone else to have her either.
“Is that so?” Tanner bit out, nostrils flaring. He took a long breath, trying to find some measure of calm. It eluded him. His pulse just kept on elevating faster and faster. His anger just kept on burning hotter and hotter. A pounding filled his ears, and adrenaline coursed through his veins as if preparing him for battle.
Looking somewhat nervous, she licked her bottom lip. “Yes, it is.”
Another growl vibrated his chest—one that came from both him and his demon. A sick feeling took hold in his gut, and the pounding in his ears seemed louder.
His muscles quivered with the urge to lunge. Take. Taste. Bite. And no matter how hard and deep he dug for calm, he couldn’t fucking find it.
Brow wrinkling, she swallowed again. “Are you okay?”
Not in the slightest. Because he’d soon have to watch the first thing that he’d wanted for himself in a very long time bind herself to someone else. It was going to happen right in fucking front of him—all of it, from the first date to the decision to mate. He’d have a front row seat to every goddamn phase of it.
Desperation hammered at him, feeding his anger, driving him to do something—anything—that would shut this finding-a-mate shit down. “You’re young, you’ve got a lot of years ahead of you, there’s no rush to take such a big step.”
“My feline has made up its mind; it won’t change it.”
“So it’s just your demon that wants this, not you?”
“No, it’s both of us.” She shrugged. “I want to mean something to someone, Tanner.”
Was the woman fucking blind? He put his face closer to hers and growled, “You mean something to me. And that goes both ways, doesn’t it?”
“Look, I—”
“Doesn’t it?” If she denied it, he was going to lose it.
“Considering nothing could come of it, it doesn’t really matter, does it?”
Fisting her hair, he dragged her closer and snarled. “It fucking matters to me.” He slammed his mouth down on hers and boldly sank his tongue inside. Taken aback, she froze. No, he wasn’t having that. He kissed her hard, deep, demanding a response. A soft, broken moan of surrender poured down his throat, and then she was kissing him back.
Tanner growled, tightening his grip on her hair as he feasted on the mouth he’d fantasized about for too long. His demon would intervene any second now; would rise with a snarl of distaste. Tanner would have to pull back to be sure it didn’t lash out at her—it might not like the idea of her mated, but it would have no interest in taking what it viewed as a lesser demon to its bed. But until his demon made its move, he’d make the most of every second he could get with her.
He licked and nipped and consumed her mouth as he skimmed his hands over her, shaping and clutching and squeezing. Her little moans spurred him on, stroking his throbbing cock like slick fingers.
Gripping his hair, she arched into him and whispered his name. With a low growl, he cinched her hip and yanked her closer, grinding his dick against her. The scent of her need spiced the air, and he ached to slide his fingers into that pussy and feel just how hot and wet she was. Ached to strip her naked and shove his cock so deep inside her she’d feel him in her throat.
He tensed as his hound stirred. It didn’t barge to the surface. It moved slowly, edging its way close until, finally, it was pressing against his skin. It let out a chuff of disapproval. Snapped its teeth at Tanner in annoyance … and then it retreated, uninterested in interfering. He stilled for a few seconds, stunned. And then he lost all control.