Free Bitten By Magic by Kelliea Ashley Page A

beautiful—there was no argument there—but her beauty was cold, harsh in the artificial lighting of the Tri-Species conference rooms. He had taken an immediate dislike to the Keeper and that feeling had turned to hatred when she had blocked him from taking his revenge upon her cousin. He wanted her pain. Where was the satisfaction he should be feeling? He had her right where he wanted her, so why wasn’t he reveling in her torment?
    ***
    It was her premonition! Alexa’s dazed brain knew her gift was coming to light. He was standing in the shadows of the room, watching her as she struggled with the pain of a need so strong that it far surpassed the ache in her stomach. She could smell his darkness and it drew her as no other ever had. That mix of rich earth and sage was intoxicating. Oh, why was he hanging back in the shadows when she needed him so?
    “Please...” She reached out to him with a hand open in invitation. Shudders racked her body as he held back.
    “This was never my intention.” As he moved towards the bed, his handsome features were revealed by the soft lights. She had always thought him handsome, even when he was scowling, as he was now. A dark lock of hair fell over his forehead as he bent his head to study her. “You understand what this means, Keeper?”
    “No...yes...” She shook her head weakly. Her eyes widened as he sat down on the bed beside her. A big hand took hers, his strong fingers entwining with hers, causing her to moan at the contact.
    “It means you will truly be my wife, Alexa Carver Chambers. No other will touch you. Should you allow another to have what is mine, he will take you with his last breath.” The threat in his low voice was perfectly echoed in the cold glint of his dark eyes. She would have laughed at the thought if his other hand hadn’t moved to cup her cheek. His eyes flared red and narrowed as his thumb teasingly slid over her lower lip.
    “There is no going back once we begin, Keeper. Choose your poison wisely.”
    “Are you going to talk me to death, or are you going to take me?” Her frustration brought a twitch of humor to his hard mouth as he grabbed the silk sheet and yanked it off her body.
    “In a rush, are you, felesage ?”
    “I’m partial to the bandage approach. Yank it off and be done with it.” Her breath caught as his harsh features changed and he grinned down at her. The Elder had never looked so...approachable before.
    “Oh, Keeper. No wonder you always looked so icy cold. I take it the males of your kind share your view of sex.” Her eyes closed as he gripped the bottom of her silk tank top. They flew open again as he yanked the material up and over her head in one smooth motion. Her arms immediately crossed over her exposed chest as he flung the top to the bottom of the bed. Alexa felt her cheeks burn as he stared down at her with a raised brow.
    “I take it they don’t like to look, either. Well, you’ll just have to adjust to being looked at, Keeper. I like looking, touching, and tasting.” He gently captured her wrists and easily moved them beside her head, holding them there as he looked his fill. “Why would you need to cover such feminine beauty?”
    Alexa glared up at him, expecting to see sarcasm on his handsome face, but what she saw instead warmed her heart as well as her body. She blushed as those brown eyes studied her with a hunger and need to match her own. Her arms relaxed enough to cause his head to lift. When his eyes met hers she held his gaze with the strength of a woman who had finally found a man she could trust with her vulnerable body and fragile ego.
    “You are not what I expected.” She shuddered as his hands moved on a sensual path from her wrists to her shoulders. His long fingers massaged her tense shoulders with an expert touch.
    “What did you expect, felesage ? A cold-blooded killer intent on biting and bedding you?” He shook his head and his eyes narrowed as she looked away. “I thought so.”