Hunter Betrayed by Nancy Corrigan Read Free Book Online Page B

changing the subject.”
    Yes, but the lust darkening her eyes suggested it wasn’t an
unwanted aversion. With the conversation steered in a different direction, he
wanted to explore it.
    “And you’re avoiding my question.”
    She slid her hands over the rough material of his shirt to
the leather twining at the neck. Her gaze dropped to the stitching. With
trembling fingers, she undid the binding. The fabric parted, revealing the
upper V of his chest. She skimmed her fingertips over the contours of his
muscles and settled her palm over his heart. Her skin met his and tingling
awareness spread. He dragged in a rough breath of oranges and spice.
    “Not a ghost. You’re real. I’m glad too.” She leaned closer.
“I’ve fantasized about you for years and this…” She pressed her fingertips to
his cheek. “This face is more captivating than any I could’ve imagined.”
    The rightness he’d experienced nine years ago returned,
stronger than before. He wanted Harley and he’d have her. “Kiss me.”
    She shook her head.
    “Harley.” He waited until she met his gaze. “Kiss me.”
    Hesitantly, she pressed her mouth to his. He nudged at the
seam of her lips with his tongue. She parted them and he slipped inside. Her
flavor hit him. She tasted of candy, a delectable treat he could easily become
addicted to. He moaned and kissed her harder. After a long moment where he led
her into passion, she dug her fingers into his hair, grabbing sections of the
short strands and tugging him closer.
    On a whimper, she linked her legs around his waist. Her heat
pressed against his stomach. He automatically arched his back to line his
erection to her sex. Her small stature and his tight bonds prevented him from
experiencing her tempting warmth along the length of his shaft. It didn’t dim
the lust consuming him. The scent of her arousal and her squirming body
intensified it.
    He took control of the kiss, needing her wild. She’d beg for
his manhood to fill her dripping center. He wouldn’t settle for anything else.
Their teeth banged as the melding of their mouths grew wicked. He swallowed her
moans and fed her his. Quicker, deeper he stroked his tongue with hers. She
tightened her grip on his hair. Her nails bit into his scalp. The sting pushed
his lusts higher.
    More. By the gods, more. He nipped at her lips. Blood
flavored the kiss, blood that held the tang of pure chaos. It was her taint, a
curse from her father and the reason she was turning into a monster.
    He turned his head, breaking the kiss. The evidence of the
stain working its way through her body and soul, infecting her slowly and
steadily, killed his runaway desire.
    She eased back. The weight of her stare forced his lids
open. Tears welled in her eyes, yet her expression remained neutral. “You can
taste it, can’t you? It’s not just me.”
    He nodded. “It acts as a disease. Dahm became infected when
he turned his back on the strict laws of the Seelie Court and opened himself up
to the chaos. It gave him strength, power, everything only the highest level
gods could achieve, but he was never meant to harness the uncontained raw
force. It corrupted him.”
    She swallowed hard. A single tear trailed down her flawless
cheek. “And he passed his infection to me.”
    Unable to lie to her, he met her gaze and let her see the
truth in his eyes. More drops added to the twin paths over her skin. She shoved
away from him and fell back on her rear. He stretched an arm out toward her.
She stared at it as if he would use it to strike her down. She scooted farther
out of reach.
    The desolate look on her face brought his rage to the
surface. The ache in his jaw warned him how far gone he was. He fought the slip
into his Huntsman form. The sight of his alternate shape would likely send her
running.
    “Be calm, Harley.” He reached out to her with his mind as
he’d done earlier today. She shoved him out.
    “Don’t try to pacify me.”
    “I’m not. I’m trying to help