Warrior Enchanted: The Sons of the Zodiac Read Free

a leg over both of hers, anxious to keep her there, even as he knew it was a futile exercise.
    Emerson Carano danced to no one’s tune, least of all his. As she’d proven all too often over the past year, she’d come and go as she pleased.
    And the going always came far too soon for his tastes.
    With a swift slap against his thigh, she struggled against his hold, scrambling toward the edge of the bed. “All right, Sweet Cheeks, enough cuddling.”
    He let her go, fisting his hands to keep from reaching for her. “We’re back to Sweet Cheeks?”
    She shifted and shot him a sideways glance out ofstormy gray eyes. “You preferred last week’s nickname?”
    “Hell no.” He shuddered at the thought. Although he might like what it suggested, Lord Pantymelter was too twisted, even for her and her endless series of nicknames.
    On a devilish grin, she leaned in. “You’re right. Sweet Cheeks is so uninspired. I think I’ll switch back to Wonder Stud.”
    “Emerson.”
    When she looked at him with a wide-eyed, mischievous gaze, he couldn’t stop the words. “How about my name? Just my name.”
    “I use your name.”
    “No, you don’t.”
    “I use it when I come.”
    Why the hell was this so important to him? He was getting no-strings-attached sex. So why did that simple fact chafe so badly? “That’s the only time you use it.”
    “That’s enough.”
    “No, it’s not enough.”
    She thrust a leg into a pair of jeans, the storm clouds immediately evident in her gray gaze. “You know the rules, Ace. This has to be enough.”
    “Well, it’s not, damn it.”
    “Too bad. My body, my rules. Take it or leave it.”
    She dragged a navy blue tank top over her head, the tight points of her nipples visible through the cotton, and damn it if his gaze didn’t laser in on that fact. Anger balled in his stomach at his helpless reaction to her.
    He had control.
    A great deal of it, truth be told.
    So what was it about this one pixie-sized woman that made him lose every last bit of it?
    Dragging his gaze away from her chest, he focused on her face and the wry quirk of her lips. “I know it may come as a surprise to you, but I actually enjoy your company.”
    The slight smile fell as she gave him a nearly imperceptible shrug, the tight set of her slim shoulders a direct opposite to the casual gesture. “Every man enjoys getting laid.”
    “Fuck, Emerson. Don’t insult me or yourself. I like you. The person you are. And I like spending time with you.”
    “Fine.” She ran a hand through the short spikes that covered her head in a soft cap of black. The tribal tattoo on her inner arm flashed, the dark ink exotic against her pale white skin. “You want to talk to me. Fine. Talk to me. Tell me about your day.”
    “That’s not what I’m talking about.”
    Moonlight reflected off of her form and he didn’t miss the sly grin that lit up her face. “Then what are you talking about?”
    “Shared conversation and interests. Time spent together.
Intimacy
.”
    “It takes an intimate relationship to have intimate conversation. We have sex, Ace. Don’t tell me you haven’t been paying attention.”
    Drake fought the urge to fist the sheet in his hands. He had been paying attention, damn it. With his dick most often, but more and more with his head.
    And the sex wasn’t enough.
    The sat phone on his night table lit up and he reachedfor it as the ringtone—“Under the Sea”—offered a dead giveaway as to who it was.
    “Ah, saved by the bell.” Emerson leaned in and pressed a loud, smacking kiss to his lips. “Or Walt Disney.”
    He didn’t disavow her of the notion, even as he cursed Brody and his damn idiot sense of humor with the ringtone.
    Although she knew what he and his brothers were, he refrained from discussing what he did for a living in too much depth.
    Or his immortality.
    She was prickly enough about a relationship; he didn’t need to complicate it with information that would send the average woman