Chapter 4: The Edge of Temptation

POV RUBY

The silence in the cabin was a physical presence, heavy and electric. Nevan had sat down by the fire again, but this time he wasn't cleaning his gun. He was just watching me. His steel-blue eyes scanned every inch of my body under my gray T-shirt, lingering on my bare legs with a fixity that made me feel as if he were undressing me with his gaze.

I tried to ignore him. I lay down on the narrow bed, turning my back to him, but every hair on the back of my neck stood on end. I couldn't stop thinking about the camera, about his hands on my chin, about the way his scent seemed to have seeped into my pores. Desire was a dull, wet throbbing between my thighs, a shameful secret burning inside me.

I waited for the fire to die down. I waited for his breathing to become rhythmic. When the only sound was the crackling of dying wood, I moved.

My bare feet made no sound on the wooden floorboards. I approached the table where I had left the car keys. They weren't just keys; they were my freedom. Nevan was leaning back in his chair, his head resting against the wall and his eyes closed. He looked asleep, but the tension in his jaw said otherwise.

I reached for the metal ring. My fingers were shaking so much that the keys jingled slightly.

"Don't do it, Ruby," his voice, a low, dangerous baritone, cut through the darkness.

I froze, but the panic was replaced by sudden fury. I grabbed the keys and ran for the door. I didn't even touch the doorknob.

In a couple of strides, Nevan caught up with me. His hand slammed against the door just above my head, blocking my way. I spun around violently, trying to hit him, but he grabbed my wrists and slammed them against the wood above my head.

"Let go of me!" I hissed, struggling.

Nevan didn't move an inch. He used his weight, his massive, rock-hard body, to pin me against the door. I felt his chest crushing my hardened nipples, and his pelvis pressing directly against mine. The contact was like an electric shock. A treacherous moan died in my throat.

"I gave you rules," he growled. He was so close that his warm breath caressed my lips. "I told you not to touch the door. Do you want us both to get killed?"

"I'd rather die outside than be here with you!" I shouted, even though my body told a different story. My back arched involuntarily toward him, seeking more of that forbidden contact.

Nevan released my wrists, but not to let me go. His hands moved down to my waist, squeezing the flesh with a force that bordered on pain, and he pulled me even closer to him. I could feel it: he was as hard as the steel of his gun, a massive, demanding presence pressing against my belly.

"Liar," he whispered, his voice pure, wicked silk. "You say you hate me, but you're trembling in my hands. Your heart is about to leap out of your chest, and it's not from fear, Ruby. I know the difference between terror and arousal."

"You have no idea how I feel," I lied, panting. My T-shirt had ridden up slightly, letting the skin of my abdomen brush against the cold buckle of his belt. The friction was delicious torture.

Nevan lowered one of his hands. Slowly, his fingers traced my thigh, sliding up beneath the fabric of my T-shirt until his palm brushed the silk of my panties. I closed my eyes, my head falling back against the door. I was wet, so wet that I was sure he could feel it through the fabric.

"You're wet for me," he rasped in my ear, his tongue tracing the curve of my earlobe. You're dying to know what it feels like to have me inside you. You're dying to see if I'm as cruel in bed as I am in the rest of my life."

"Stop... please," I begged, though my hand dug into his shoulder, pulling him toward me instead of pushing him away.

He slipped a finger under the elastic of my panties, barely grazing my clit. The spasm that ran through my body was so violent that my legs almost gave way. I let out a loud gasp, my breathing becoming erratic. I wanted him to take me right there, against the door, roughly and primitively. I wanted him to make me forget Julian Vane's name and the taste of blood.

Nevan pulled back a few inches, just enough to look me in the eyes. The blue of his pupils had been devoured by the darkness of his desire. His hand was still there, torturing me with slow, circular movements that were driving me crazy.

"Say it," he ordered, his voice laden with an authority that made me shiver. "Say you want me." Say you want me to fuck you against this door until you can't remember your own name."

I looked at his lips, so close to mine, and for a second I was about to give in. My hand moved down to the back of his neck, pulling his hair, my lips brushing against his. The taste of tobacco and desire was intoxicating.

But then, the image of the hidden camera flashed in my mind. The idea of being a spectacle for someone else, of being the prey that falls in love with the hunter in front of an invisible audience, hit me like a bucket of cold water.

Summoning all the willpower I had left, I turned my face away, breaking the contact.

"No," I whispered, my voice broken but firm. "I'm not going to give you that pleasure. I'm not one of your missions, Nevan. And I'm not going to be entertainment for whoever is behind that camera."

I felt his body tense. The hand that was between my legs stopped, and then withdrew with a slowness that felt like a physical loss. Nevan moved away, the cold space he left between us feeling like an abyss.

He stood there, watching me as I tried to catch my breath and pull my shirt down to cover myself. His face was once again that stone mask, but his eyes still burned with a fire that promised this wasn't over.

"Almost," he said, his voice cold again, though a little hoarser than usual. "You were this close to begging me, Ruby. And we both know that next time, you won't stop."

"There won't be a next time," I replied, trying to sound dignified while my legs were still shaking.

Nevan let out a dry, humorless laugh and picked up the keys from the floor. He put them in his pocket and pointed to the bed with a curt gesture.

"Go to sleep. We have a lot to do tomorrow. And Ruby..." He paused before returning to his chair. "You can try to convince yourself that you hate me all you want. But your body already belongs to me. It's only a matter of time before your mind surrenders."

I lay down on the bed, covering myself up to my chin. My body ached with unsatisfied desire, an empty throbbing that kept me awake all night. I looked toward the corner where the camera was, hating whoever was watching, hating Nevan, and most of all, hating myself for knowing that he was right.

I was giving in. And the worst part was that part of me couldn't wait for it to happen.