Chapter 3 #2
"Do you have any idea what you look like right now?" he whispered.
"I look like a college student at a party," I defended, though my cheeks burned.
"No," Leo corrected. He leaned down, his voice a rough scrape against my senses. "You look like a sacrifice. You look like something soft that wandered into a cage full of starving animals."
"Are you starving, Leo?"
The question slipped out before I could stop it. It was bold. reckless.
Leo froze. His nostrils flared. He inhaled sharply, dragging my scent deep into his lungs. His hand twitched at his side, his fingers flexing as if he was physically restraining himself from reaching out.
"You have no idea," he rasped. "Come with me."
"Where?"
"Somewhere I don't have to watch every other man in this room undress you with their eyes."
He didn't wait for an answer. He turned and started walking toward a dark hallway off the main room. He didn't look back to see if I was following. He knew I would.
I followed.
He led me into a library.
It was a massive room lined with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, smelling of old leather and cedar wood. A fire was dying in the hearth, casting long, dancing shadows across the Persian rug.
Leo slammed the heavy double doors shut and locked them. The click of the lock was loud in the sudden silence.
He turned to face me. The mask of the "Hockey Captain" dropped. He looked wild.
"Why do you keep pushing me?" he demanded, stalking toward me. "I returned your music. I gave you an out. I told you to stay away."
"I'm not pushing you," I said, stepping back until my legs hit a leather armchair. "I'm just living my life, Leo. You don't own the campus."
"I own this," he gestured to the room, to the house. "You are in my house, Maya. Do you know what that means?"
"Tell me."
He stopped two feet in front of me. "It means my scent is all over you now. It means when you leave here, every wolf in this pack is going to know you were in the Alpha's private study. It means I've put a mark on you without even touching you."
My breath hitched. "Is that what you want? To mark me?"
Leo closed his eyes for a second, looking pained.
"I want," he said, his voice strained, "to rip that green dress off you and see if your skin tastes as sweet as it smells.
I want to put you on this desk and ruin you for anyone else.
I want to hear you make the sounds you were making with that cello, but I want you to make them for me. "
The confession hung in the air, explicit and scorching.
My knees actually gave out. I sank onto the arm of the chair, my heart pounding so hard I thought it might bruise my ribs.
"Leo," I whispered.
He opened his eyes. "But I can't. Because you are good. And you are fragile. And I am..." He gestured to himself, to the tension vibrating in his frame. "I am a disaster waiting to happen."
"You're not a disaster," I said softy. I stood up, closing the distance between us. I was terrified, yes, but the pull was stronger than the fear.
I reached out. My hand hovered over the scar on his chest, visible through the thin fabric of his shirt.
"Can I?" I asked.
He stopped breathing. He stared at my hand, then at my face. He looked like a man on the scaffold, waiting for the drop.
"If you touch me," he warned, his voice a broken growl, "I won't be able to stop."
"I don't want you to stop."
I pressed my palm against his chest.
His heart was beating like a jackhammer. It was erratic, powerful, thumping against my palm. Under his skin, I felt a strange heat, a fever that seemed to burn hotter than normal human physiology.
Leo shuddered. His head dropped forward, his forehead resting against mine. He was shaking.
"Maya," he groaned. "You are playing with fire."
"I'm cold," I whispered. "I've been cold for a long time."
His hands came up. He didn't grab me. He hovered them over my waist, his large palms radiating heat through the silk of my dress. He was boxing me in, consuming me without making contact.
"I could break you," he murmured against my lips. We were sharing breath now. Carbon dioxide and desire. "I have... urges. Dark ones. I need control. You take my control away just by standing there."
"Maybe you don't need control," I challenged. "Maybe you need to let go."
"If I let go," he said, his lips brushing mine—a feather-light touch that sent a bolt of lightning straight to my core, "I will devour you."
I tilted my head back, offering him my throat. It was an instinct I didn't understand, a submission I had never given to anyone. "Okay."
Leo made a sound—half-whimper, half-snarl. His hands slammed onto my waist, gripping me hard, bruisingly possessive. He pulled me flush against his body. I felt the hard ridge of his erection against my stomach.
He buried his face in my neck, inhaling deeply, his teeth grazing the sensitive skin over my pulse point.
"Mine," he whispered against my skin. "You are mine. Say it."
"I'm yours," I gasped.
He was about to bite. I could feel the pressure of his teeth. I wanted it. I wanted the pain and the claim.
BANG. BANG. BANG.
Someone pounded on the library doors.
"Leo! You in there?"
It was Silas. His voice was urgent. "Leo! We have a problem. The Sheriff is at the gate. Noise complaint. We need to clear the civilians."
Leo froze.
The growl that ripped out of his chest this time was pure frustration. He pulled back, his eyes wild, his chest heaving. He looked at me—at my flushed face, my swollen lips, the way I was clinging to his shirt.
He looked like he was in physical pain.
"Don't move," he commanded.
He stepped back, running a hand through his hair, forcing the beast back into the cage. He took a deep breath, and I watched the gold fade from his eyes, replaced by a duller, human hazel.
He walked to the door, unlocked it, and yanked it open.
Silas was standing there, looking apologetic. "Sorry, Cap. But seriously. Cops."
Leo turned back to me. The mask was back in place. He was the Captain again. Cold. Distant. Controlled.
"Take her out the back," Leo ordered Silas, not looking at me. "Make sure she gets back to her dorm safely."
"Leo—" I started.
"Go, Maya," he said, his voice flat. "Before I change my mind and decide to keep you here regardless of the consequences."
Silas gestured for me to follow. "Come on, Cello Girl. Let's get you out of here."
I walked out of the library, my legs trembling.
I paused at the door and looked back.
Leo was standing by the fireplace, staring into the flames. He looked lonely. He looked dangerous.
And I knew, with a terrifying certainty, that I was already in too deep to ever get out. I didn't just want the musician; I wanted the monster.
I turned and followed Silas into the shadows. The game had changed. It wasn't just attraction anymore.
It was a hunt. And I had just volunteered to be the prey.