Into Their Woods (The Eerie, #1)(76)

Gannon rolls his eyes and crosses his arms over his chest.

I do everything I can to keep my eyes from wandering lower.

It’s harder than it should be.

“We’re not roomies,” Gannon irritably contends.

“Don’t fight this,” I counter dramatically, lifting a hand like I’m reaching for him but he’s just too far away. “Besides, if we don’t bump uglies, then I can’t justify the screwvenir I’ve got my eye on in your room. And that dragon snow globe is really calling to me.”

His nostrils flare and his brow furrows as indignation creeps into his eyes and drips down into his words. “I’m too tired for this shit,” he grumbles as he turns to walk into the house.

“Is that a no then?” I taunt, and then the next thing I know, he’s right in front of my face.

Pissed is an understatement for the fury radiating from him.

I jerk back at the physical jump-scare, but I’m already up against the railing of the deck and there’s nowhere for me to go.

“Is this all a fucking joke to you?” he snarls, his ire pinning me in place and calling to my own.

“Not one little bit,” I snap back, and the venom in that statement seems to take him by surprise.

“That’s right, wolf, I can give as good as I get.”

A savage little smile starts to spread across Gannon’s face, and I suspect I didn’t keep my last thought to myself like I intended. I picture a vault in my mind and quickly shove all my thoughts inside before things like why is this turning me on and what would that big dick feel like inside of me slip out and blow my unbothered cover. I slam the door, turn the crank to lock the vault, and focus back on Gannon, who’s way too naked and way too close.

“So you’re done tucking your tail between your legs, kitten?” he challenges, towering over me as he presses even closer, calling my bluff. “You’re ready to let me fuck you right here, for us to bite each other, and then march you upstairs and let each of my brothers do the same?”

Holy fuck.

Let the thigh drenching commence.

But also, no.

I hesitate and Gannon’s grin morphs into a full blown sneer. “That’s what I thought,” he mocks, leaning back. “You can’t handle this.”

Like he just threw down an invisible gauntlet, something wild rises in me demanding that I snatch it the fuck back up. “Oh, Ace,” I purr, assigning him my own condescending little nickname. “You don’t have the first clue about what I can handle.”

The black of his pupils almost blots out the light gray of his irises completely. The heat coming off his smooth, sculpted frame laps at me, and a heady scent I can’t identify has me feeling light and untethered. One side of his lush lips tilts in a needling grin as he leans forward, his large arms caging me in against the banister.

“Tell me more about what you can handle then, kitten.”

Mayday. Mayday. The ship is going down. I’ve officially lost control. A crash is imminent.

I try not to go brain-dead, not to gape at his proximity or the suggestion soaking his words and my panties. He’s so damn brazen, so annoyingly insolent. He’s pushy where the others have given me space. He’s assertive when they’ve been understanding. And I hate that I like it.

The wind brushes a few strands of my hair into my face, and I reach up to sweep them back. Gannon’s hand twitches as though he wants to be the one putting the wayward strands in their place.

We stand there, on the precipice of something. Both of us pushing and nipping at one another, neither willing to back off even if it means we go careening off a cliff—at least we’ll take the other one with.

My eyes flit back and forth between his challenging gaze. I could back off. Admit that he might be right, that I’m not ready for where this road most definitely leads. But that’s the thing—I think I am.

Maybe not right this minute, because I could just as easily punch Gannon in the throat as fuck him. But even that’s not the deterrent it was days ago, because this back and forth is doing things for me. No, where this connection with the den is heading, my being here, what it could mean and turn into, it doesn’t freak me out like it did.

It’s gone from what the fucking hell to hmmm…

The smug glint in his eyes and the cocksure way Gannon is leering at me, like he knows he’s backed me into a corner I can’t escape from, make the decision for me.

“Fuck it,” I declare, and then I press up on my tiptoes and kiss him.

He does nothing for a split second when my lips meet his. His mouth is soft and pillowy, and his body is both hard and pliant against mine. And then it’s like a crackle of lightning shoots through him, shocking him from his stunned stupor. He kisses me back.

The hands that were gripped on the railing, boxing me in, lift, and Gannon’s long fingers thread through my hair. He takes control and I gladly hand it over as he angles my mouth and deepens our kiss. His tongue teases mine, dipping in and tangling. Desperate passion floods my senses, as we nip, and suck, and fight to dominate one another.

His thick thigh presses between mine, and tendrils of need skate down my skin, pebbling my nipples and pooling between my thighs. The stubble on his cheeks tickles my palms as I cup his face and take what I want from him.

Gannon groans, and I lap it up, thirsty for more, eager to dine on his desire. He kisses me into a floating, breathless place. He ignites my soul and holds me like my place in this world was always supposed to be in his arms.