The Hunger Read Free

she’d made the right choice.
            “You might as well get this over with, because I’ve had a long day and don’t have time for bullshit.”
            She infused her statement with as much bravado as she could muster. Mia really was tired; she hadn’t slept the night before, as her dreams were plagued with dreams of submission. They were torturous, promising fulfillment but never taking her where she needed to be. She’d woken several times in the night after the sensation of the cool press of leather against her skin or the tingle of her hair being pulled by familiar, strong hands sent her body into a frenzy only to have her mind squelch the pleasure with reality. Mia was grumpy, and if the family wanted a fight, she felt obliged to give them one tonight.
            “Oh, piss off!”
    She screamed into the dark alley and turned to continue on her way only to be stopped by a whimpering plea for help. Mia knew it was a mistake, but the siren song of that plea drew her forward and caused her dark half to rise out of the deep, dark place where she’d been sequestered. Someone was possibly injured, weak, and vulnerable inside that alley, and Mia’s darker half salivated in anticipation. She was just at the lip of the alley and held herself back from making that final crossing. Clenching her fists, she took a deep breath and shook her body sharply, displacing some of the need that had overcome her.
    “I’m going to call 911. Just stay calm,” she called out as she fumbled in her bag with numb fingers.
    Calling for help was so counter to who she was that she focused on who she wanted to be, a person that didn’t prey on the weak, or she would falter in her decision. If there was someone injured inside the alley, there was nothing she could do for him or her without the aid of medical professionals. She would only tempt the tenuous hold she had on her control after her sleep-deprived night, and if she was going to beat her inherent drive to conquer by subduing the predator that resided inside her, she had to avoid all opportunities for temptation.
    “You really aren’t any fun anymore.”
    Mia almost dropped her phone at the sound of Galen’s voice. This was the second time he’d caught her unaware, and she wanted to kick herself for being so stupid. Growling with frustration, she shoved her phone back into her purse and stared into the smug face of her tormentor.
    “Don’t you have anything better to do?”
    “Yes, but the person I want to do better with isn’t willing to play,” he said with a lecherous grin.
    She wanted to knock out those perfect white, too-sharp teeth. Not only that--she want to shave off that rakish mop of wavy raven hair and mess up the perfect angles of his strong jaw. Mia wanted to shake him until he fell apart and wasn’t such an archetype of sex and sin taunting her back into the life she’d chosen to step away from. Giving him the bird, she pulled her hobo bag closer and walked away. His husky laugh should have irritated her but instead it strummed a primitive tempo against her clit.
    “If you are committed to being a part of the herd, I insist that I walk you home,” he said as moved alongside her.
    “I don’t need anything from you,” she answered tersely.
    Her hardened nipples called her a liar, but she knew they were confusing the brisk night air for the promise of his fingertip caress. Grinding her teeth, she ignored her wayward nipples and the incessant throbbing of her neglected clit and looked at Galen from the corner of her eye, scowling more at how he seemed so at ease, her bad-boy predator. The crooked smile he gave her when he caught her staring only infuriated her more, causing her to speed up her pace in order to get to the sanctuary of her home. She would need a calming lavender- and jasmine-scented bath again tonight, and possibly the expertise of her newest electric toy.
    “I’ve missed you.”
    She hunched her shoulders at his