Page 126 of Scourged
And twisted.
Her eyes found his the moment the door swung open. Tanzanite blazed in the dimness, ice and fire and light and shadow dancing between them.
Her rage, though, was still an unstoppable force.
“What thefuckare you doing?” Her words were hissed, gasped through clenched teeth, her vision fuzzy, and her ears ringing.
But as she held his gaze for a few heartbeats longer, something briefly settled, before snapping into place. A wave of clarity washed over her, lifting the fog and replacing it with a predatory focus.
The first thing she noticed was that he was most certainly alone. No one was in the small room but him. And her.
The second thing she noticed washim.
Frozen, slouched back on the couch. Hair messy and tousled, cheeks flushed, and eyes much too bright. Shirtless, his only clothing a pair of dark-gray cotton pants.
The waistband pushed down. His hand?—
She snapped her gaze back to his. Where he was still as a statue, watching her.
Waiting for her.
Her grip on her dagger tightened as she swallowed, blood flushing to her cheeks, to her chest, all that rage and heat dropping right back to her core.
“What,” she repeated, this time much lower, “are you doing?”
Andrian’s throat bobbed as he, too, swallowed.
“What are you doing here?” he growled, his voice so deep, husky and warm.
“What amIdoing here? I could fuckingfeelyou. All the way across the palace. I couldn’tsleep.”
He watched her, eyes narrowing, something she recognized twisting his mouth. “So … you came to pay me a visit?” He glanced at her hand, still clutching her dagger.
She felt the path his eyes took as they skimmed her bare legs before returning to her face.
“Good to see you came armed, at least.”
“Gods, you’re an asshole.” Mariah whirled. She was frustrated, and her blood raged. She couldn’t do this. Not with him. Not right now. Not yet.
She heard rustling behind her. “No—shit. Mariah, wait.” Just as she took a step towards the still-open door, a hand wrapped around her free wrist, yanking her back into a chest of hot, solid muscle.
Despite the wave of want that ripped through her, she whirled on her toes, her dagger whipping up and pressing into the hollow of his throat.
And, of course, Andrian was grinning, the side of his mouth cocked up into a smile, white teeth flashing as his eyes blazed.
Mariah locked him with a glare, but she worried the heat licking at her spine, the flush she knew saturated her neck and face, softened its burn.
“Gods,” he murmured, leaning into her. Her dagger bit further into his neck, a wordless warning. He froze but didn’t draw back, that cursed smile still on his face.
“I forgot how pretty it is when you blush like that.”
More flames surged into her cheeks. “I’m notblushing.”
His grin widened. “Sure, you’re not.”
She inhaled once, through her nose, eyes fluttering closed before snapping open and pinning him with her stare. “Let go of me.”
“I’m not touching you, princess. That’s all you.”