“Yes,”
Madden
answered as he lo
oked along some of her shelves,
“
but
unmistakably
you and I do not read the same things.”
He was holding one of
Layla’s
books with a scantily dressed cowboy on the front
,
clearly teasing her.
His smirk brought light to his pale face and made her laugh aloud.
Delight showed in
Madden’s
silver eyes as he watched her.
They flashed green as she looked away.
Layla’s
heart thundered for a brief second before she regained her composure.
She was not going to let
Madden
control this mating.
Who was stronger would be determined tonight.
She walked over to the
wet
bar
she had installed for her convenience
and grabbed two bottles of beer
.
She
handed one to him and sat in the chair closest to the fireplace.
“How old are you?” Layla asked him
.
“Is it important?”
Still perusing her bookshelves,
Madden
didn’t bother to turn to her as he answered.
However,
when she didn’t answer him, he turned to her.
“To me, it is.
I want to know everything about you,” Layla
acknowledg
ed
,
hoping to lure him in to answering her questions.
“I’d prefer not to sit in an interrogation.”
“And I’d prefer not to be mated with a man I don’t know
just because I lusted after him.
Guess
neither of us
is
going to be happy
tonight.” She scrunched up her nose in
a
way only her father thought was endearing
,
b
ut Madden didn’t even blink
as he walked closer to her
.
He chuckled once and leaned down to str
oke his finger along her nose.
“Not going to work, Layla Love.”
He laughed again as she just stared up at him.
How’d he know?
And why exactly didn’t it work?
Would none of her powers work on him?
Crap
.
S
he never did see her mother use magic on her father.
He shook his head and smiled.
“I think I like you,” he said as he turned
and
mov
ed
to sit in the chair across from her.
“What a beautiful thing to say to the woman you’re trying to seduce.”
“Oh, but aren’t you mistaken
?
There is no seduction necessary.
We are destined.”
“Are you calling me easy?” she blurted out
without thinking
.
He was messing with her senses
again
.
Madden
laughed loudly at that, a full belly laugh.
His laugh echoed into
every
corner of the room.
Layla
liked how she could make him laugh.
She actually thought she might like this man
, too
.
Though
he was no pushover
—
on the contrary, he seemed like an alpha hero she liked to write into her books
—
the challenge
he presented her with would
be quite frustrating, she was certain.
Once he stopped laughing
and
realiz
ed
that she sat stoically waiting for his teasing to
end
, he said, “I truly do like you, Layla, smart mouth and all.”
She rolled her eyes but kept her smile.
“I think I could try to like you,” she teased.
Madden
smiled a
nd nodded his head, taking a sip of his beer and watching
Layla
over the bottle.
It seemed that he never really took his eyes off her and it was unnerving.
S
he felt naked or at least like he was picturing her naked.
Flushed with rosy cheeks,
Layla
couldn’t decide which was worse.
She adjusted herself in her chair, uncomfortable with such intense attention.
“Are you picturing me naked?” she squealed, her voice sounding high
even to her.
He raised his
eyebrows
, which
made him look even sexier.
“Why would you ask that?”
He sounded so innocent
;
though his emotions w
ere
still new to Layla she could read Madden well enough to know innocence was not a word to describe this man.
“I feel different when you look at me.”
“Hmm.
Different how?”
He was stalling. She knew it. Why must he
answer all her questions with questions? That had to stop.
“You answer me first.”
He considered her, licked his upper lip and answered,
“
seventy-
seven
.
”
“What?”
“I’m answering your first question.
I am
seventy-
seven
years
,
but
with the Valendite
Breed,
we
mature to mating age after the first
fifty years
.
So in your terms, I am still just twenty seven which makes me five years
older than you
.”
Layla
heard him talking
.
S
he was
listening to his answer but couldn’t figure out how they’d gotten back here.
She wanted her other question answered and she could tell
Madden
was going to make her ask again.
“Do you want to know anything else?
I believe you very much wanted to play th
e
interrogation game with me.”
His grin taunted her
—
he was playing
—
and she was
willing to play along
.
Having six sisters had taught her the fine art of bantering.
“Not funny, Madden.
You’re avoiding my question,” Layla gave hi
m a pointed look.
Any decent man would cower
.
N
ot Madden,
though. H
e just
continued to
grin at her.
“And I know you are aware of all my powers
,
so spill it.
I want to know yours.”
“Not going to happen.”
Layla decided to change her tactics.
Her hands went to the buttons on her shirt
.
“How about one button for one power?” she asked.
Madden’s eyebrows lifted.
She got him.
Yep, he was definitely interested in this game.
“You start,” he said.
Layla
popped one button.
He could see the pulse point near her
collarbone
.
“I can block any witchy mindreading you try on me
,
or that anyone else tries, for that matter
,”
Madden admitted
.
“Bummer
.
Ok, that’s one.”
Layla
popped another button.
He could see the top swells of her breasts
and
swallowed.
She was fairly certain he’d seen her
Circle of Magdalena
sign just above her right breast, the tiny symbol for lust. Every woman had a sign on her body to symbolize the soul sin she embodied.
He shook his head, clearing his thoughts before giving another answer,
“I can use telekinesis.
But not on people, just objects.”
“Cool.
I’m impressed,”
Layla
taunted and continued, “That’s two.”
She popped another button.
The lace of her bra was showing now.
She watched him lick his lips
as she ran her fingers along the swell of her breast
.
His eyes were turning
a
deeper
shade of green again.
“I’m strong.
I’m durable.
Please let’s stop this game.
I know you’re ready for me.
I can smell it.”
Madden
moved quickly so that he was kneeling in front of her chair, his
gaze
on her chest.
“Hmm…another of your powers…that pesky smelling thing,”
Layla
teased.
Maybe
later,
she might tell him how much she loved
that
he could smell her.
“I have double jointed fingers,” he said placing his hand on her calf and slowly moving it up under her skirt.
I
t felt good.
Layla
knew she couldn’t hold out much longer
, b
ut she wasn’t willing to give in so quickly.
She popped her final button and shrugged
out of the blouse
to
bare her chest, her
laci
demi
-cup not more than an adornment
.
She heard
Madden
gasp
.
H
is
eyes were blazing.
“One
more,” she prompted, “about that seeing me naked thing?”
Layla
lifted his chin with a finger so he was looking into her eyes instead of at her breasts.
She could feel
Madden’s gaze like heat on her flesh.
S
he loved it
,
but she’d never be able to stay in control if he kept doing it.
“Yes, I was
visualizing, as you might say
,” he looked almost guilty
, “
b
ut it was entirely your fault.
You looked delicious.
It was simply unfair.”
“Did you just blame me for looking delicious?” Layla asked incredulously.
“Absolutely.”
Madden’s hand was now sweeping against her lacy panties.
Thank the Mother God
dess
she wore matching underwear tonight.
“I was thinking the same thing about you,” Layla admitted.
She licked her
bottom
lip and
bit down on it
, watching him.
When she felt
Madden’s
finger reach under her panties, she jumped.
“It’s ok, Layla
l
ove.
We will be perfect.
Let me show you.”
His mouth descended
to her breasts as he kissed her ripe nipples through the lace.
She ran her fingers through his soft, dark hair and let the feelings take her to
another place.
With just one bite
in the middle
, he tore her bra so that it fell to either side.
His stare heated her skin, his breath cooled it and then the feel of his lips on her nipples heated her all over again. Madden devoured
her breasts
, worshipped them. Never
had
Layla
felt something so tantalizing.
Madden’s
mouth and
tongue were warm
,
a striking difference against the cool touch of his lips.
She arched into his mouth, greedy for more
,
and he laughed.
“You like it,
l
ove,
just
as I knew you would,”
Madden’s
voice was devastatingly deep and rough.
He brushed his lips against hers, s
lowly at first but then deepening
the kiss.
Layla
sighed and opened to him
then
felt his tongue swipe inside her mouth.
She challenged him with her tongue
,
back and forth they play
ed
as she ran her fingers under his shirt
.
Oh, she loved this.
He really was delicious.