He glared at her.

“Fine, whatever. I won’t drink so much ever again.”

He nuzzled her neck, drawing a groan from deep in her throat. “Good girl.”

Her eyes closed as she savored the sensations. “Mmm, that feels amazing.”

“My lips, or will anyone’s do tonight?”

“Yours. Only yours. How many times do I have to tell you?”

“As many as it takes.” He sucked on the wild thump of her pulse, and a lance of nearly unbearable pleasure shot through her. “Gorgons can hypnotize with a glance. Never again look one in the eye.”

Took her a moment to look past her desire and concentrate on his words. “But you did. You looked him in the eye.”

“My mind isn’t...right.”

“What do you mean?”

He sighed. “You said it yourself. It’s full of weeds. Not as many as before, but some are still there. After Kendra...”

“Oh...oh, Thane.”

“I’m more guarded than ever, which means it will be difficult for anyone to hypnotize me. But somehow,” he added softly, “you have managed it.”

She cupped his jaw and forced him to meet her gaze. “Another romantic proclamation. What am I going to do with you, baby cakes?”

“I know what I would like you to do,” he muttered.

“Does it involve rolling around naked?”

“Several times. But, Elin? In the spirit of honesty, I have to warn you. I’m not romantic.”

“Are you kidding? Multiple times you’ve sent me books and flowers and chocolates. And your note! Do you remember your note? I almost died from romantic-overload when I read it.”

He looked boyish and shy as he asked, “So romantic-overload is a good thing?”

Her heart clenched. “Very. It’s like a Valentine’s Day parade in my heart.”

He straightened out, keeping her snuggled against him. “We’re here.” A second later, he came to rest on the roof of the Downfall so gently there was barely a jolt.

“To your room!” she commanded.

He moved forward at a swift pace, bypassing the vampires and double doors. The hallway seemed to stretch for miles, but he finally entered the suite...and the barren room he’d taken her to last time.

She pouted. “Why do you keep bringing me here? Why aren’t I good enough for the fancy hobag room?”

“Good enough?” He tenderly placed her on the mattress. “Elin, that room isn’t good enough for you. This one is mine, and I have never shared it with another.”

“Oh.” He’d just given her the best. Response. Ever. “I’m special, then?”

“Beyond.” He settled beside her and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “You arouse me, amuse me, anger me, frustrate me, challenge me, and did I mention you arouse me?”

She almost melted. Almost. “But can I satisfy you?” she asked, putting the rest of her fears out there. “What do you do to them, your lovers? Besides chain them up and, I’m guessing, spank.”

A blank mask covered his features. “Be specific with your questions.”

“Do you hit?”

“Did I. Yes. Sometimes.”

“And that arouses you?”

“Aroused. Past tense. I think it eased something in me, and that aroused me.”

“But you could have hit other men instead. Like you did with the gorgon.”

“Yes. I’m a skilled fighter, and I enjoy that, too, but it comes with a different kind of satisfaction. A muted version, like tasting a cake—that someone other than you baked—instead of eating the entire thing. More than that, it can get me into trouble. My opponents tend to...die.”

Oh. “Yes. That’s best to avoid. So...will you get into trouble for the gorgon?”

“No. He’ll survive. Barely.”

Good. But back to what she really wanted to know. “Did you maim them?”

Strain pulled his body taut, making her think of a rubber band ready to snap. “Nothing permanent,” he admitted quietly.

So, yes. He had. But because they were immortals, they’d healed. “Forgive my curiosity. I’m just having a hard time understanding the pleasure in pain.” When Elin had been looking for a bang-and-bail candidate, and she’d considered letting Thane hurt her, she hadn’t actually expected to feel pleasure. “Especially when it springs from an angry pain.”

“I wasn’t angry when I did it.”

“I disagree. I think you did it because you were seething with anger over something.”

He frowned.

“But we don’t have to discuss that now,” she rushed to say. “I’m more interested in whether or not your desires have changed again. Do you now want to hurt me?”

His relief was palpable, his determination so strong it vibrated from him. “No.”

“Do you want to chain me?”

“No.”

“But not too long ago, you wanted to do those things to the siren.”

Guilt replaced the relief in his eyes. “I brought this on myself. I really did. The past is colliding with the present, trying to make a mess of my future.” He breathed in, out. “She was a last-ditch effort to forget you, and I’m so sorry I took things so far. But I swear to you, I didn’t want her, and nothing like that will ever happen again. You are the only woman I desire.”

If he doesn’t stop, I’m going to do more than fall under his enchantment. Feeling suddenly bashful, she fiddled with the collar of his robe. “Then what do you want to do with me?”

“Tomorrow, I’ll show you,” he said, husky promise in his voice.

She tried to pull him down for a kiss. “Show me now, too.”

He resisted, gently breaking her hold. “No, kulta. Not now.”

But...why not? To leave her hungry, the way she’d left him? “We only have a limited time together, and I want us to make the most of every second of it.”

He went still, not even seeming to breathe. “Limited time?”

“Yeah. You’re getting me an ID, remember, and I’m going to go back to the human world, where I’ll have a semi-human life. I’ve even got new goals! I’ve abandoned my bakery plan, because let’s be serious, that was never going to work, and now plan to help others, halflings just like me. No one will ever be unwanted again.” It was going to be legend—wait for it—dary.