“And?”
“There’s no further and. We simply share a bed. That’s all I’m asking for.”
“You mean you’re not insistent that I, you know . . .”
A devilish smile curved his lips. “Whatever are you referring to, Ms. Davenport?”
My cheeks flamed. “You’re insufferable.”
“You wouldn’t have me any other way.”
My breath caught at his words, because he was right. Dammit. As much as I didn’t want to admit it, I liked his company. I liked bantering with him. I liked when his demon side made him entirely unpredictable. It put me on edge and set my nerves ablaze, and excited me. There was never a dull or ordinary moment around him—well, usually there wasn’t. Our walk this morning had been relatively normal, but I’d enjoyed that too. He was wild and unpredictable, yet interesting and layered. And he was caring when needed, and oh-so fucking fuckable.
Crap. So I liked his company. I liked him. There, I’d admitted it to myself. And, gods, it would be so much easier to just give in to this desire to be with him. To let myself get swept up in the Fire Wolf’s molten desire and heated promises.
But then Carlos’s warning flitted to the front of my mind. Can’t be a normal mate instinct.
If only I had a crystal ball. If only I could know what would happen if I did give in to these urges and took the hunter up on all of the tantalizing things he wanted to do in the bedroom. If my sister were in this position, she would do it in a second, never once thinking about the consequences or fallout of her actions.
But I wasn’t her. I’d always been the more sensible, the more pragmatic. The one to carefully weigh the options and analyze the pros and cons, before making a decision that carefully balanced mitigated risk with a high yield. It was those traits that had resulted in Practically Perfect being a successful business.
With a firm press of my lips, I made up my mind. Nope. I wasn’t going to have a mindless fling with the hunter. While the sex would no doubt be mind-blowing, I wasn’t going to risk losing my heart to a man who’d never genuinely wanted me before his wolf caught my true scent. Because Carlos could be right. Even if I decided to ignore the hunter’s initial lack of interest, and trust that he would still want me just as desperately after fucking me senseless because of the mate instinct, I had to remember that the hunter wasn’t just a wolf.
He was a demon too.
And demons loved to fuck and forget.
Besides, even if the mate instinct didn’t disappear after he banged my brains out, it would never change the reality of our situation. The truth was he’d never once wanted me before his wolf did. The man—the supernatural underneath all of his magic and power—hadn’t wanted me. Only I had wanted him.
Pain again flared in my heart when I remembered that. It is what it is, Tala. Don’t dwell on it. As long as I kept reality firmly in mind, I could meet his end of the bargain while finally learning what I’d been wondering about since we’d met. I could do this.
I squared my shoulders. “Okay, fine. You tell me what you are, and I’ll sleep in your bed with you tonight, but all we’re doing is sleeping.”
A swell of triumph graced his features, smugness glittering in his amber-hued eyes.
I glowered. “You’re doing it again.”
“Doing what?” he asked with mocking innocence.
“Gloating.”
“You can hardly blame me. Having you in my bed is something I’ve craved since the first moment we met.”
Since the first moment we met? But that would mean . . .
I shook my head. No, he was mind-fucking with me. Manipulative demony wolf hunter. Don’t fall for it. You saw his amusement. He found your attraction to him comical, hardly sexy.
Keeping that reminder firmly in the center of my thoughts, I said, “All right, I agreed to your terms, so tell me. What are you?”
“It’s not a simple explanation.”
I raised my hands. “Then good thing I’m not busy at the moment.”
“Well, you should be busy. You should be training.”
I rolled my eyes. “Just tell me already.”
His brow furrowed. “It has to do with what happened to me after my father brought me here.” He waved to the mat. “Do you want to sit down? This won’t be a quick story.”
Chapter 17
I settled on the mat beside the hunter, being careful to keep a few feet of distance between us. I didn’t want him getting any ideas. Now that I’d agreed to spend the night in his bed—even though I’d made it clear we were not having sex—I also knew that I needed to keep my wits about me.
He leveled me with those amber eyes, his chiseled features growing carefully blank. “I’m half werewolf and half demon, but I also have sorcerer magic. My magic comes from a sorcerer that my father commissioned when I was young. After my father brought me back from the underworld, things were difficult, so now I have that particular sorcerer’s magic inside me.”
I sat up straighter. “How?”
He gazed at me, his expression turning deviously innocent. “I believe our deal was that I simply told you what I am. I just did. I’m a demon werewolf who possesses a sorcerer’s magic. I’ve upheld my end of the bargain, and now it’s your turn to uphold yours. Tonight, I expect you in my bed, beside me, until morning.”
My core clenched at just the thought. Dammit, that wasn’t a good sign. Remember reality, Tala.
A sizzling heat grew in his eyes. “I very much look forward to this evening. It’s only a few short hours away.” He inhaled, his pupils dilating when my true scent hit him. I hadn’t put my cloaking spell back in place, and with a start, I realized it was the longest I’d gone without it since I was a child. “You smell so delicious, colantha. I can’t wait to taste you again.”
“There will be no tasting. Just sleeping!” Okay, so my voice sounded a bit breathless there, but I couldn’t believe what I’d agreed to. Worse, I wanted to know more. Even though the hunter had revealed what he was, all that did was elicit even more curious questions in me.
He made a move to stand, and my hand shot out, locking around his wrist. I forced myself to ignore the feel of his hard muscles bunching beneath my grip, or the way his entire body grew still and ready, as if he were just waiting to pounce. “Why did you tell me to sit down? That was hardly a long story.”
He settled back beside me, his large body moving with cat-like grace.
I inched back a foot. Funny how the hunter hadn’t seated himself where he’d been a second ago. Oh no, he’d seated himself right beside me so our thighs brushed.
“You’re right. That wasn’t a long story.” He grinned wickedly. “But it could be. I could tell you everything. Everything from the time I was born to now. Then you would know exactly what I am and why I turned out this way.”
“I have a feeling that information comes with a price.”
His grin grew. “You know me so well.”
I rolled my eyes. “How many people know your story?”
“Only one.”
“Who?”
“My father.”
“What about your brothers and sister? Your non-pack? Your friends?”
“They know some of the details but not all.”