Before the dragon could answer, she heard the snap of a twig behind her. She turned on her heel to see a shadow coming at her from the darkness.
“You,” Fox said, voice low and rough as his body met hers. Shewasn’t sure what she expected, but it wasn’t for him to throw her against a tree, a hand at her throat. His grip was soft, but his body was rigid. “You promised you wouldn’t break the connection.”
She glared at him, his face deep in shadow.
“I told Chalia. I didn’t realize I’d lost connection until I already had.”
“So you just keep going?”
She pulled her dagger, resting it against his side, pressing just hard enough he could feel it.
“I found Vato—Ian. I followed through with the damned plan. Now let me go.”
“I was fucking worried,” he said, words gravel.
She flipped the dagger around, jabbing the hilt into his side hard. He stumbled back a step, and she kicked out her leg, hooking it behind his knee. He went down hard onto the ground, and she straddled him, the dagger now against his neck.
“You weren’t supposed to leave camp. You could have ruined the plan. You could have gotten caught by a faery or a shifter.”
“Were you worried?” his teeth flashed in the firelight filtering out from the rocks.
“No,” she lied. It wasn’t a good one, but she didn’t want to see the satisfaction on his face.
“You’re getting weak, my captor,” Fox said, smiling wider.
“What?” she asked, narrowing her eyes. As the words slipped from her lips, he bucked, throwing her off balance. She caught herself before she fell off, but his hand twisted her wrist, and he threw the dagger away from them. “Fuck?—”
She couldn’t finish. He surged up, tangling a hand through her curls as he brought her lips down to his, kissing her as if he wanted to drown in her. Or drown her.
CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
FOX
Fox’s heart was thundering in his chest—his body still vibrating with anxiety. He’d imagined a hundred different ways their plan had gone wrong. A thousand images of Sofia being hurt or killed had flashed through his mind in a matter of seconds. He knew he shouldn’t have gone after her, but he felt like he was about to jump out of his skin if he didn’t move ordosomething.
So, when she’d come walking back into the clearing acting like nothing was wrong…
Fox pushed her harder into the soil with his hips, tasting her moan on his lips as she pressed back, fighting him more than kissing him. He nipped at her lower lip, pulling it into his mouth.
“You could have died,” he said, whispering the words against her skin.
“I didn’t,” she said.
“You should have turned back immediately. You made a promise.”
“I’m sorry.”
“I don’t believe you,” he said, his voice low.
Her eyes flashed, and she bit his lip hard. He cursed, fumbling with her shirt and pushing it up, baring her stomach and chest. He pinched her nipple between his fingers, drawing out a moan from her as her hipsstuttered up against his. He was achingly hard already, breathless as she arched into him.
She tried to reach out, her hand moving to his waist. He grabbed her, tutting as he maneuvered until he had both her wrists pinned above her head in his grip.
“Not this time, my captor.”
With her hands pinned above her head, he licked and nipped his way down her neck, breathing in the scent of her and driving himself crazy in the process. She smelled of wood smoke from the fires of the camp, and it only made him angrier.
“You could have been caught, and I wouldn’t have known.”