His hands were planted firmly on either side of her head, his long fingers sinking deep into the mattress.
Lin Wan's breath was completely knocked out of her chest. She lay frozen beneath him, her small hands pressing weakly against his broad, solid shoulders. He felt like a wall of iron, completely unmovable and terrifyingly strong.
"A toy?" Cassian growled, his voice dropping into a deep, raspy register that vibrated straight through her ribs into her aching core.
"If I looked at you as a toy, little master, you would already be dead. If I wanted to break your pride, I would have stripped those ragged clothes from your body on the very first night and forced you to crawl to my feet in front of the entire court."
He leaned down further, his sharp nose brushing against the soft, sensitive skin of her neck, right over the pulsing black manticore crest. The mark flared with a sudden, agonizingly sweet heat that made her entire body shiver against her will.
