Chapter 10 Knight Moves #4
I lift my chin, refusing to flinch. “You lost the ability to intimidate me the moment you gave me your umbrella, Orion.”
A knowing grin twists his mouth, challenge sparking in the depths of his eyes as he removes one hand from the desk.
He settles his palm along my jawline, fingers pressed to my neck.
His glove is a cool kiss to my overheated skin, sending a sinister chill through my flesh as his thumb glides beneath my lower lip.
The distinct scent of leather coils my stomach, dredging a flash of terror to my surface. An icy trickle of fear leaks into my veins.
A predatory intent hones his gaze, the corner of his mouth curving upward with wicked satisfaction. “There it is,” he whispers, his dexterous fingers tracing the column of my spine. “That exquisite scent of yours, fear laced with fury.”
Past the panic clawing at my chest, a shockwave of desire steals my breath at his possessive tone.
As he straightens, a mocking smile cuts across his face. “The fact is, you were an easy pawn. Perfectly positioned to give me what I needed about Leo’s intentions. Now? You’re just a distraction. A fucking sexy one—but one I don’t have time for.”
“I don’t believe you.”
I don’t believe him.
“Here’s what you can believe,” he says, the gravel in his voice scraping over me in threat.
“One of us is afraid I’ll act on my intrusive thoughts, and I’m fairly certain it’s not me.
” A menacing smile hitches the edge of his mouth.
“So, forgive me if your exposure therapy feels like it’d be an ineffective waste of my limited time, Dr. Holbrook. ”
For the male species, deprivation of carnal desires can leave them vulnerable, susceptible to a more dangerous predator.
Backed into a corner as I am now, I’m that predator.
Channeling all my fear and fury, I brazenly toss my hair off my shoulder, deliberately revealing the bruises along my throat.
It’s only a flash, but I see the deviant monster stir beneath his rigidly controlled surface.
His gaze heats as it lingers on my throat, and I can sense his fraying restraint.
“Only one way to prove how ineffective.” In a defiant move, I brace the heels of my hands on the edge of the desk and lift myself onto the surface, bringing my face within inches of his.
“I may or may not be wearing panties, Dr. Night,” I say, my bold words a breathy tremble.
“How bad do you want to find out? Bad enough to remove your glove and slip your hand beneath my skirt and touch me—or was that all just talk?”
I part my thighs in blatant challenge.
“Jesus—fuck,” he mutters coarsely, barely constrained. A crazed spark ignites behind his eyes, and I’m met with six years’ worth of raw need, almost wilting under the intensity of it.
“Make your next move,” I dare, my voice unsteady with adrenaline.
His nostrils flare, jaw strained until a muscle jumps. Something volatile and prohibited sweeps over me, claiming. This dark current reaches out, hungrily probing, testing.
Wanting.
With a fierce groan, Orion pushes away from the desk.
My heart thunders as I watch him storm from the office. My body is so primed, I don’t even flinch at the slam of the door.
“Check,” I mutter to myself.
I’m only given a moment to breathe, to fill my constricted lungs, before the door opens again and he charges right toward me, a blaze torching his eyes. “Oh, shit.”
Then he’s on me, pushing me down against the desk, his body hovering dangerously over mine. His legs invade between my parted thighs, and I scrape in a breath, anticipating the rough feel of his hand up my skirt—
He presses a gloved finger to my mouth, silencing a desperate sound as it escapes my lips.
“You’re the danger,” he says, his voice lowered to a guttural pitch.
“You have no idea what you’re tempting to the surface.
” His jaw works, the blue-green of his eyes lit with a furious flame, his body prying my thighs apart.
“Sign the fucking resignation or not, but you’re leaving, Collins.
I’m giving you one chance to run as far as you can. ”
His eyes burn into me, the leather trapping my breath.
Slowly, he drops his finger from my mouth, trailing down my throat, down the center of my chest. Those fiery embers smolder as his eyes track the progression, then his gaze flicks up to trap mine.
Voice lost, all I can do is nod a shaky response.
A shadow falls across his features as he presses something cool into my hand before he draws upward. “Checkmate.”
He lifts his chin, his eyes cast down to stay locked with mine as he takes a purposeful step backward. “Forgot my jacket,” he mutters as he snags it from the hook and turns, striding through the door.
I wait until I hear the soft click of the latch before I allow myself to drag in a shuddering breath. The aching pressure in my chest releases with a whimper. “Shit. Shit shit shit.”
I roll onto my side and slam my laptop shut, anger welling. With trembling fingers, I touch the aching valley between my breasts, searching out the uneven rhythm of my heart before I uncurl my other hand from around the chess piece.
My thumb rubs over the smooth marble of the knight.
As I push myself off the desk, I feel the slick heat slip along my inner thighs, and I should be mortified, ashamed—but those emotions abandoned me long ago.
A surge of fury rises so quickly, I hurl the chess piece across the room. It cracks sharp against the door before hitting the floor.
Fuck. Him.
Orion Night doesn’t get to frighten me off.
I reach into my pocket for my pill case, and my fingers brush the brass object there, triggering images of his last crime scene.
I may have overlooked something critical in his profile, a sexual deviance I couldn’t have uncovered until I got this close.
A grave miscalculation on my part. But that just means I have to adjust my strategy.
I’ve opened a door I can’t close.
When it comes to the mind, there is no region untouched by shadows—only varying depths of darkness.
For the sexual sadist, some regions definitely run too deep to tread.
And yet, to overcome what we fear most, we have to be willing to wade into the muck of those dark waters.