Eyes on the Pride (Awakening Pride Book 8) Read Free Page A

else? Someone who has no problem letting me do all those things you’ve merely imagined?”
    He growled, his chest seeming to expand with every breath he took. She wanted to reach out to him, to run her palm between his pecs to soothe him. She wanted to comb her fingers through his short black hair, to get lost in his eyes, which had always fascinated her. A dark blue circle outlined an iris that was mostly pale green. There were flecks of gold and brown toward the pupil, but at the moment, the gold seemed to be streaking out, overtaking the green and brown.
    “That idea doesn’t appeal to you?”
    His nostrils flared, bringing to mind an enraged bull and she was the bright red irritant waving in his face.
    “Calloway?”
    “I’m holding on by a very thin fucking strand right now, so choose your next step wisely, Darby.”
    “My next step is to head to the room I rented for the night for a long…hot…shower. Then the glide of cool sheets over my damp skin.” She knew what she was doing, painting the picture she wanted him to have in his head. She needed to know if she was his mate. She stepped into him again, running her fingers up his thigh, tracing over his fly, then caressing up his chest. She flattened her palm over his heart, enjoying the frantic rhythm she felt. “You’re more than welcome to join me.” She rose on tiptoes and brushed her lips softly over his, just a fleeting taste of what could be, something to tempt them both.
    He stood straight, hands clenched at his sides, so still he could have been carved from stone. She sighed, letting him feel her breath, patted his chest then turned and headed toward her door. Her nipples were tight, her sex damp with unsated desire she knew would fill his senses with every inhale. She hitched her pack higher on her shoulder, pulled her door card from her front pocket then slid it into the reader on her door. The light flicked from red to green, and she grabbed the handle, turning it and pushing the door open. Cool air washed over her, a sign the air had been left on, which would be a good thing considering the inferno suddenly burning at her back.
    He didn’t touch her this time. He didn’t need to. They both knew if he stepped in the door with her she would belong to him. She wasn’t sure he realized that would go both ways.
    “Be sure, Darby.” His voice was deep, gruff and as hard as the cock she’d felt pressed against her moments ago. “There’s no going back.”
    “So I won’t be a one-night stand?” she murmured in challenge, knowing the truth but needing him to confirm it just as much as she needed him.
    She felt his breath at her ear and turned, letting her hair fall behind her shoulder, exposing the smooth skin of her neck to him. She shuddered as his lips caressed just behind her ear then moaned at the slight scrape of his canines.
    “Move your bag,” he commanded.
    She pulled it off, placing it on the chair just inside the entryway, hoping he’d step closer and press against her back so she could feel every inch of him.
    His chuckle rasped over her skin instead. “Do you have any clue the beast you tempt?”
    “I know who you are, Calloway. You don’t scare me.”
    “I know, but you should be scared.”
    She went to turn, but he caught her, one big hand flattening over her stomach and pulling her back into him. She shuddered again, fighting the urge to rub against him like a cat in heat. His other hand cupped her throat, his thumb pressing her chin so she was glancing over her shoulder at him. His eyes were a smoldering mix of gold and brown. Glowing orbs that let her know just how close to the surface his beast was.
    “You should fear me,” he crooned.
    She blinked lust-laden lids. “Why?”
    “I’m going to own you,” he vowed. “Every inch of you will feel my possession. By the time we leave this room, you’ll be mine in every sense of the word. Mine, Darby. Not just this perfect body that’s had me salivating for four