Her Soul to Take (Souls Trilogy #1)(33)

I froze in my tracks. My heart thundered against my ribs, pumping me with adrenaline. Run, run, run.

I stood my ground, folded my arms, and waited. If I was going to confront him, this was as good a place as any. What could he do to me with so many witnesses? He was watching me, pale eyes bright. He wasn’t dressed in his guard uniform, but instead wore a gray knit beanie and black Converse with his casual jeans-and-hoodie ensemble.

“Well, well, well.” He stopped in front of me, smirking, a wicked gleam in his eyes. “Were you looking for me, Raelynn?”

“No,” I lied. “I thought you’d take a hint and stay away from me.”

“Aw, so mean.” He pouted. “I told you what you were in for. I told you I’d hunt you down and make you sorry for defying me. It’s been fun watching you looking over your shoulder for the past few hours, but…” He shrugged. “It’s time to get down to business. Where’s the grimoire?”

“Somewhere safe, away from you,” I said. “I’m not giving it to you. You need to leave. Be gone!”

He snorted, tweaking an eyebrow at me. “Be gone? Okay, Merlin, are you going to wave your magic wand at me next?” He shook his head, eyes scanning the campus. He was nervous. On the lookout for someone...or something. “What are you going to do, Rae? Are you going to run, add a little excitement to the game?” He was already standing close, well within my personal bubble. But then he reached out, nudging my chin teasingly with his knuckle. “Look at you, so big and brave now.”

“I know what you are,” I hissed. I waited to see a crack in his calm facade, hoping to see him twitch with fear.

Instead he said drily. “Do tell. We’ll see if you get it right.”

I blinked rapidly, suddenly doubting myself. Did I dare say it, here and now? I pulled out my phone, nervously looking around at the students passing us by. We were in the middle of the sidewalk alongside the quad, in the open. I opened my photos and held up the screenshot to him.

He narrowed his eyes. “What’s that?”

“That’s you,” I said softly. “Why do you have yellow eyes, Leon? And sharp teeth? Claws?” My hand shook, but I clenched my jaw and plowed on. “What the hell are you?”

“I thought you said you know what I am?” Mischievous sarcasm dripped from his words. “Looks like a good edit to me. I didn’t know you had so much time on your hands.” His fingers twitched, tapping impatiently where they were folded against his arm. “Your lack of cooperation is disappointing. I thought after a good night’s sleep you’d be thinking clearer. But apparently not.”

Suddenly, he slung his arm over my shoulder. I yelped, wiggling, but he squeezed me to his side and started walking, leaving me no choice but to stumble along with him. I fit neatly under his arm, squished into the warmth of his chest and surrounded by his intoxicating scent.

“You and I are going to have a problem, Rae,” he said softly, “if you don’t run home right this instant, get the book, and bring it back to me.” His voice was gentle, but a threat lingered in it: a threat that made tension swell in my abdomen, and made me feel small. All the while we kept walking casually, but I could see where he was going.

We were headed toward University Drive — off campus.

He cocked his head to look down at me, curiously.

“So tense, Raelynn,” he said. “Would it make you feel better to run? You could get all that nervous energy out.” He chuckled sadistically, as the thought of running from him made me gulp with trepidation. “I’ll catch you again, don’t worry. You can’t get away.”

I took a deep breath, and turned my head to look up at him. He was looking straight ahead, smiling, so damn pleased with himself. I squirmed, trying to remove myself from under his arm. “I’m not giving you shit. I’m not playing your game.”

“No?” He stopped abruptly, turning to me as if he were shocked. “Not in the mood to play? Fine then.”

I wriggled free of his arm — a lot of good it did. His hand whipped out and gripped my face, squeezing my cheeks as he pulled me close and bent down to look me straight in the eyes. “No more games then. We’re going to your house, you’re getting the grimoire, and you’re going to hand it over before this escalates any further.” His eyes were changing. They weren’t so pale green anymore, there was a glow of golden light to them. I was unable to look away, frozen in his gaze. His touch dug into my skin.

“More threats,” I said. We were right at the edge of campus, if I could just get away… “You don’t scare me, Leon. You’re not going to trick me into giving you the grimoire.”

He chuckled, bringing his face close to mine. He examined me, his eyes stroking over me. It was as if his gaze was peeling back my skin, laying bare my bones and all my wicked thoughts. “You don’t even know what tricks I have in store for you yet, Rae,” he said. His free hand tucked my hair back behind my ear, his fingers tracing down over the piercings in my cartilage and making me shiver despite myself. When his fingers reached that tender spot right below my ear, my eyelids fluttered as the overstimulating sensation prickled all the way down my spine.

“Mm, Raelynn...it’s going to be fun breaking that stubborn mask of yours. You have no idea…” Another shudder went over me at the caress of his breath on my ear. “...what absolutely filthy things I’m going to do to you.”