Ice trickled through her veins as her purpose slowly reappeared. If she failed in her mission to give the edict to Osiris, the High Council would send someone else, and Caro would be reprimanded.

She shivered at the picture of what that would entail. Seraphim couldn’t be killed, but they could suffer. And that’s what would happen if she didn’t complete her task, especially if they learned about her evening in Sethios’s bed.

Caro needed to remove herself from his grasp—now—or she risked losing more of her intelligence. Because this could not continue. To even consider extending their time together broke all manner of rationality. It was bad enough that she agreed to this exchange in the first place.

She attempted to dislodge herself from his hold and yelped as the world shifted abruptly. Her back hit the mattress as he pinned both of her wrists above her head in one of his hands.

“Good morning,” he murmured as he settled on top of her. “Going somewhere?”

His intense green eyes smoldered, causing her pulse to jump. He’d given her that look last night right before biting her. She’d expected it to hurt, but instead it set her bloodstream on fire.

“I… Our…” She cleared her throat as she fought for control of her wayward mouth. “You owe me a location.”

“Do I?” His free hand went to her hip. “And you were going to request that from me after rolling out of my bed?”

She licked her lips while considering how to reply to that. “I, uh, planned to get dressed first.”

“Did you?” He arched a brow. “Interesting. Most women do not voluntarily leave my bed, nor do they do so without my express permission.”

The man possessed an arrogance that ruffled her invisible feathers. “If you require me to request permission, then you will be waiting a very long time.” She accepted his alpha tendencies last night out of pure enjoyment, but now they had her yearning for her knives.

Where did he put them?

He grinned. “Brilliant. I’m quite content to wait right here, angel.” His hot arousal punctuated the point against her intimate flesh. “Shall I find a way for us to pass the time in the interim?”

Her thighs flexed as she fought the urge to arch into him. He would accept it as an invitation, one her body readily gave while her brain worked through escape plans.

“I upheld my part of our deal,” she said while debating her next move. “You owe me a location.”

He dropped his head to her neck and kissed the spot where he’d bitten her the night before. Her innate reaction to such a degrading act still floored her. She had enjoyed it far too much.

“Your pulse is singing, Caro.” He breathed the words against her tender skin. “What has you so worked up, darling? The thought of another few hours in my bed, or the very real possibility that your mission will end badly?”

His tongue traced the column of her throat, eliciting a shudder from that dangerous part of her—the part that thought staying with him a few more days was the better plan.