Page 192 of Dare
Taking advantage of Jeryn’s surprise, I wiggled from his arms. Shimmying to the ground and hopping out of reach, I sidled past him. He needed only a moment for understanding to dawn, a famished light honing his irises.
This, we’d always done well. As slow as a wolf, the king turned on his heel. Those predatory eyes targeted me as I sashayed backward and crooked my finger.
“Come and get what you want,” I taunted.
From then to now, this hunt had never ended. He’d chased me across nations, and I had chased him back across the sea. Until the last sunset, this would be our own kind of sacred hunt.
The king prowled my way, possessiveness stretching his features taut. The blades of his cheekbones sharpened. Those clear eyes fixed on me.
For my viewing pleasure, Jeryn stripped out of his shirt. His sculpted abdomen and whipcord arms contorting with his movements, the sexy vision parching my tongue.
Matching his gesture, I plucked the waistband of my skirt, the material trembling down my legs and puddling to the floor.
Jeryn swore under his breath, his black pupils flashing like knives. I wore nothing beneath the skirt. Metallic whorls of ink danced up my calves. At the crux of my thighs, my slit glistened, the folds shaven clean, as Summer women sometimes preferred. Because he’d never seen my pussy this bare, I relished his furious reaction. Those eyes reflected mayhem, devotion, and worship.
His gaze conveyed a dozen things. That I’d stolen his breath. That I was protected. That I was his.
That he was mine.
At a leisurely pace, the king’s lips tipped into a cold grin. “Run.”
With a giddy shriek, I flipped around and raced past the cupola. Bypassing the stairwell facade, my toes slapped the parapet as I bled into the shadows. Heart clattering, breathing shallow, I darted through swatches of darkness.
Plumerias glinted. The sultry air glossed my skin in sweat.
How I’d missed this. The wild. The chase. Him, coming after me, seeking me, ravenous for me.
Run from me, Little Beast.
Catch me, Villain King.
Because the ruins’ highest level extended from one end of the palace to the other, there were plenty of crevices in which to get lost, to stash myself. Through drooping tails of foliage, I rounded a pillar. Colorful sprays of flora illuminated the space, gold and emerald and ruby dappling my flesh.
At the sound of footfalls, I whirled to evade his approach. At another bend, his silhouette appeared, forcing me to whip around and sprint in the opposite direction.
I could have jetted down the stairs, into one of the corridors. Yet there was time for that later. From this day forward, we would have so much time.
Plastering myself behind a column, I stalled. Nervousness wrangled a smile across my lips. My chest heaved with antsy breaths, the sounds audible to him, regardless of the fauna calls pushing through the trees.
Rapt with anticipation, I twisted and peeked. He stepped into view like a specter. Loose pants gripped his waist, the V of his hips a primal temptation.
Those lucid eyes probed the expanse. And they landed on me.
I bounded from my hiding spot, letting my expression speak for itself. He may have spotted his quarry, but she’d spotted him first.
The king’s mouth twitched, the faintest hint of amusement. As he stalked forward, I backed away with a naughty, joyful, beaming smile.
Despite the dark lust carving across his face, Jeryn’s eyes gleamed. “Going somewhere?” he wondered, his gaze raking down my frame while unbuckling the clasps of his pants. “Think again.”
“It’s a big forest,” I reminded him. “Plenty of areas to escape to.”
“Good. Because when I catch you, I’m going to make you come for years on end. In every corner, on every surface, in every chamber, and in every fucking pool of water.”
My knees quivered. “Only if I let you catch me.”
Skirting the column, I untethered the knot of my shirt and let the hem tremble down my hips. Then I picked open the first closure, then the second, then the third. My breasts lifted from the material, the dusky points of my nipples hard and tight.
“Fuck,” Jeryn hissed again. “Come here.”