Isabella
I'm nervous.
Dane is chopping onions at superhuman speeds inside his kitchen. His broad, brawny back is turned against me. Still, I can see the tuxedo struggling to contain his muscles. Dane is a behemoth of a man.
Shit.
My heart beats faster, and sweat coats my back already.
Does Dane have to be so aggressive when he chops everything?
I can't help but feel like he is being passively aggressive. My mistake? I didn't hand him my schedule when he asked for it.
I didn't think it was a tremendous deal, but I was clearly wrong.
Dane is furious with me. And I'm a damn fool. I thought the hybrid was out of character when he nicely invited me over for dinner. I'm such a fool! I shouldn't have jumped happily into his car.
Those killer eyes and his handsome smile blinded me and annihilated my judgment. I cheerfully jumped into his car, thinking Dane was finally letting himself be nice to me.
But now I understand I was only invited to his apartment so he could indulge fear in my heart.
And how is he doing that?
By chopping vegetables like his life depended on it. The sick bastard probably imagines those carrot heads are my toes or something equally frightening.
His sole purpose tonight is to terrify me.
"Dane?" I ask in an apprehensive tone. I'm hoping not to hit a nerve since I'm already scared of the giant. "Are you mad at me?"
"Mad?" Dane turns around with a twitching smile, making me resist the urge to scream. If there is anything scarier than pouty, irritable Dane, it's the beaming version of the man. "Why would I be mad? Have you done something to upset me, Isabella?"
Chills crawl up my spine. "Um... Is that a trick question?"
His eyes narrow, and he returns to chopping, but he is more forceful this time. Scarier. "I don't know, Isabella. You tell me."
"Well, I don't know the answer to that..."
"Have. You. Done. Something. To. Upset. Me?"
Holy shit, that tone is frightening!
My throat turns drier than the Sahara Desert, and my heart pounds quicker. I'm even shaking a little when Dane glimpses over his shoulder. His eyes are intense, waiting for my answer.
"Well?" Dane's lips slightly curl. "I'm waiting, Isabella."
I gulp and then sputter it out. "I'm so sorry I didn't send you my schedule on time! I mean it! I'm really sorry, I promise! Please don't kill me, Dane! I deserve to live. Please put down the damn knife!"
Dane inhales but slowly does what I ask of him. The knife is shoved away from him on the counter, and I relax.
For a minute there, I feared for my life. Nothing is scarier than having a behemoth of a man wanting to murder your ass.
"Next time, send me what I ask for without delay," Dane's red eyes are narrowing on mine. "You made me worry that something had happened to you, and then you didn't even answer my phone calls."
"I was training with my pack."
"You should still answer your goddamn phone..." Dane rakes his fingers through his dark hair, muttering something in another language.
All I'm doing is checking out his biceps. I've said it before, but a girl could get in trouble with that body. Dane is so big. Experienced. And did I mention sexier than the devil?
"I will be better," I promise him and smile. "I'm excited about dinner. What are you making besides vegetables?"
The last thing on my mind is food, but I'm trying to be polite. It's not like I can tell Dane that I rather have his sausage in my mouth than the food he is cooking on the stove.
"There will only be vegetables for you..."
"What?!" I pout. "You're no fun!"
"I was worried about you, goddamn it!"
The tone is his voice makes an evil smile spread over my lips. It's not often I see Dane this upset, which means it's time to tease him.
"I'm safe, Dane. Completed fine. But if you worry so much about me, maybe you should rethink not being with me? If you did, you could be hugging me right now. And I would ALWAYS reply to the text messages of a boyfriend, Dane."
Dane pauses and glares at me. "Rejecting you was not a mistake, and deep inside, you realize that too."
Hurt flares up in my chest. I'm usually chasing Dane and pursuing him, flirting with him.
Still, there is only so much negativity a girl can take. The idiot obviously cares about me. So why can't he just embrace it rather than fight his emotions all the goddamn time?
He is living in denial!
We have sparks and chemistry, and the bastard knows it!
"Okay, Dane, you know what? I give up. You rejected me without even giving me a chance. You thought age would come in the way and me being your best friend's daughter, but the moon goddess is seldom wrong! She knows what she is doing!"
Dane snorts. "Clearly not in our case..."
"Especially in our case, because you worry about me even if you have rejected me."
"Because I'm your fucking bodyguard, and you're a kid!"
"No!" I yell at him, not caring about my raised tone. "Don't even try to give me that shit! I've had bodyguards in the past, and none of them were as possessive and sullen as you when I didn't reply to a damn text message or a phone call! And I'm eighteen and perfectly legal!"
"They were terrible bodyguards then. A bodyguard should call and worry immediately when you're not responding. It's in our protocol. I had every right to worry, Isabella."
"Maybe!" I'm fighting tears, but it's impossible to keep them away. "But I think you are interested in me, Dane. I've had enough of this love game we are playing with each other. And call me stupid, but I think you only rejected me for selfish reasons."
"How am I selfish?!" Dane demands. "How? You're too young and naive, and I'm a fucking hybrid—"
"And I don't care!"
"You should care!"
"But I don't! I don't think us being mates is a mistake, and it hurts me that you never asked what I thought about us being mates! You just decided to reject me straight away, Dane!"
He stares at me, entirely dumbfounded. This is the first time I'm yelling at him, so he doesn't know how to react. It feels good. I'm finally cracking him open, so I continue to give him a piece of my mind.
Dane deserves to know how I'm really feeling.
"I might joke around, smile like a fool, and flirt with you, but it hurts every time you pretend you're not interested in me! And do you know why that is? Because I know that you're lying!"
Dane continues to gawk at me.
It makes me get up from the chair. "And I don't fucking care that you're a hybrid either. My brother is a fairy, and he frightens me too, yet I haven't abandoned his side, okay? I'm loyal, and I like you. But if you're going to continue acting like a dad whenever I don't answer—"
Suddenly Dane has closed the distance between us. He dips down, cups my cheeks, and kisses me.
What the hell?
The taste of his tongue shocks me to the point I don't kiss him back until he has me pinned against the wall inside his kitchen.
His body is strong, broad, and entirely engulfing my body; even if I wanted to, I couldn't put up a fight against him.
His large frame is hot, and I'm already aroused. I must be twisted because there is something so sexy being pushed up against the wall by such a larger, more experienced male.
I place my hands on his hard chest, and once I do taste Dane back, meet his tongue, it's hard not to moan.
He tastes like vanilla, cigars, and bourbon. It's a refined flavor, one I can't get enough of—I meet his warm tongue, and my knees nearly buckle under my sheer weight.
Luckily, Dane grips my sides and lifts me up. I automatically wrap my legs around his muscular frame and let my fingers wind up in his dark hair. My heart is beating so fast right now.
Is this truly happening?
Dane takes us into his bedroom and throws me on his mattress. I'm not sure what is happening, but once he sheds off his tuxedo, I have to pinch my cheek to ensure this isn't a dream.
It's not.
I wet my lips. "W-what are you doing?"
Dane smirks at me and throws off his shirt to reveal that insanely ripped-off chest of his. There are scars everywhere—it's so hot, and the image is like taken from a wet dream of mine.
Dane is getting naked with me.
And he is so large.
Immense.
Muscular.
I just want to touch every inch of his skin, squeeze his biceps and lick his v-lines until morning.
But is that what Dane wants?
I stare at him, waiting for him to speak.
"You obviously want me, Isabella. So I will give you exactly what you're asking for—me. But you're not going to like it."
"What are you talking about?" I'm already wet. The guy must be delusional to think I don't want him.
"Well, I'm a hybrid," Dane opens his mouth to hastily reveal his sharp canine teeth before smirking again. "And I won't be able to fuck you without drinking your blood. I will fill you with my toxins, and they will deliver you pleasure beyond your wildest dreams, my love. But sometimes, when I have too much blood, I lose control. Are you sure you want this? Your life would be put at risk."