That single word is like a bucket of cold water to the face. Though I should be relieved, I’m not. I’m the opposite. I’m so angered that my hand swings almost independently of my thoughts. Wolfe has the reflexes to stop me, but he doesn't bother. I slap him so hard that his head snaps to the side and his torso twists, just a fraction. He straightens slowly and looks down at me.
He takes a moment before he speaks, a moment for me to watch as my livid handprint makes its way across his cheek and grizzled jaw.
"You hit harder than you did a year ago," he says conversationally, as though I hadn't just hit him with all my strength. "That one was free. Don't hit me again."
I grit my teeth. "Then let me go."
"No." His answer is swift and uncompromising.
I send my fist slamming into his stomach, using every ounce of strength I have behind it. The air whooshes from him, but he doesn't move otherwise. He continues to stare at me, his body thrumming with an energy that mine answers. The air crackles around us and I can sense his intention before he acts. I try to escape, lunging to the side and hurtling away from the table.
He grabs the hair at the back of my head and yanks me into his chest. I gasp in pain and reach up to take hold of his wrist, digging my nails into the skin. He whirls me around, picks me up and slams me down on the table. My back hits hard and the breath rushes out of me in a whoosh.
I open my mouth to shout, but the sound is swallowed as he bends over me and slams his lips over mine. His kiss is fierce and painful, but intensely electric. Every nerve ending in my body stands up and screams as he kisses me, taking my jaw in his fist and forcing my mouth open before thrusting his tongue inside. It hurts, it dominates, it calls to me.
The moment he breaks the kiss, I slam my forehead into his nose. There isn't enough space between us for me to break his face, but I’m sure I got my point across. He grips me by the neck, slams me back down onto the table and covers my mouth with his. Blood is now flowing from his nose, trickling down his face and onto mine. I struggle to get away from him, trying to roll to the side, but his strength is so much greater than mine, I’m practically immobilized by his big body.
I choke as he thrusts his tongue back into my mouth. I try to snap my teeth shut, but again he grips my jaw and forces it open. I push on his chest and arms, but it's like a rabbit trying to escape a snare. Impossible. I'd have to chew off my own foot to get out.
After what feels like an eternity, he releases me and steps back. I roll off the table and fall to my knees. I only take a second to recover though, before I lunge to my feet and jump away from him. Using my sleeve, I swipe at the blood that dripped from his face onto mine. Wolfe stands staring at me passively, blood dripping slowly from his nose, over his lips and onto his chest. He doesn’t try to stop the flow.
"You done?" His voice sounds gravelly and bored.
I don't bother answering verbally; he gets the hint when I yank a dagger out of the sheath on my thigh and run at him. When he reaches for me, I grab his wrist and fly underneath his arm, whirling against his back. I lift the dagger, intending to sink it into his side. It’ll hurt like a bitch, but it won’t kill him. He needs to understand that he can't fuck with me.
As I attempt to drive the knife home, he whips around and shoves me back, then slams his fist into my wrist, forcing me to drop the knife.
I stumble backward, about to go down when he catches me, lifts me against his chest – one hand around my waist and one at the back of my head – and brings his face down to mine.
"No, no, no!"
I try to twist my head away, but the hand at the back of my neck grips so tightly that I can't move. I'm forced to take yet another brutal assault as his lips cover mine in the simulation of a kiss. It's not a real kiss, because kisses don't feel this way. Kisses shouldn't hurt.
I wait him out and the moment he lifts his head, I attempt to slam my forehead into his nose again. But he's learned, he grips me by the back of the hair and drags my head back. He leans down and sinks his teeth into my neck, biting hard enough to leave a mark, but not breaking the skin. I shriek in anger and slam my fist into his shoulder. He doesn't let me go so I reach up and take hold of his hair, yanking.
He lets go of me, but only for a second. Only long enough for me to let go of his hair. Then he takes my hands in his and shackles my wrists behind my back in one of his huge paws. He uses his other arm to grip me underneath my breasts and lift me off the ground against his chest, my back pressed to his body. He drops his head into my neck and licks me.
"Let me go!" I shriek, struggling in his arms.
He lifts his head and presses his lips against the shell of my ear. His breathing hitches a little as he whispers, "That will never happen."
"Then I will never stop fighting you." I kick back at him, but he shifts and my leg flies past him.
He drops me and steps away. I whirl around, bringing my hand up with a gun in it. If he so much as sneezes at me I'm going to fill him with holes.
"Do it," he says quietly, stepping toward me.
I wipe my face with the back of my arm, trying to catch the blood he keeps smearing on my skin. "Don’t think I won’t."
He continues to walk toward me, his honey gaze now heated. I want to look away, but I know he’ll use the opportunity to take me down again.
"Every time you try to fight me, I will kiss you." Even though he’s spent the past ten minutes proving this statement, I almost don't believe him. Wolfe is a fighter, not a lover. He’d as soon kill a person as kiss them.
"But why?" I demand. "You've never shown any interest in me before."
"We both know that isn't true." There's a slight curl to his lips as though he's annoyed by my lie. His gaze drops to my weapon. "Put it away or I’ll take it away, Skye. You aren’t going to shoot me."
I growl and shove it back into my holster, whirling away from him and crossing my arms. I don't want him to see my face right now as I struggle with the truth. I hate him, but he's right. Wolfe was interested in me from the moment I called this palace home. His sharp gaze followed my every movement for years. He never acted on whatever was going on in that brain, but it was obvious that he held me in some kind of regard. Which is why I don't understand why he left me a year ago. I don't want to admit it, but that moment, when he walked away from me, was even more painful than the death of my husband.
"Where is my team?" I abruptly change the subject, trying to blink away the tears that have formed.
"They’re my guests… for now."
"What does that mean?" I demand, turning back around to look at him.
"They’re safe for now but will soon be asked to leave the city. I have offered them Sanctuary for the night and explained to them that you will no longer be a member of their party. Tomorrow, they will continue their journey and you will remain here."
"No," I gasp in dismay, then straighten my shoulders and add with conviction. "They won’t leave without me."
He nods, unconcerned. "That seems to be the consensus among them. Regardless, they will leave tomorrow, and I will escort them personally. If they refuse to leave, then I’ll make an example of their most belligerent member, a man who demands to know your whereabouts with annoying frequency."