He was so incredibly tempting. More so in that he never really insulted anyone. Not even Dariana. Rather, he had a teasing, fun-loving way of looking at others’ shortcomings and actions.

“I still don’t feel right leaving you to guard us after what you’ve been through, and what you’ve already done for us.”

“Then sit with me and keep me company.” He sank down in front of the small outcropping of rocks so that he could lean against them.

The sight of him there, like that… was more than a mere woman could turn away from. She sat down beside him and made sure to keep a little distance between them.

Dancer gave her a chiding stare. “I don’t bite, Sumi.”

“I know.” She was more afraid she might start nibbling on some of that lush tawny skin. Especially his jaw. It was the sexiest thing she’d ever seen on any male.

Against her better judgment, she leaned into his arms and let him hold her like he’d done Darice earlier. He rested his chin on the top of her head as his warmth enveloped her. As promised, he kept his hands to himself while they sat there, listening to the quiet desert breeze.

Hauk smiled as he felt Sumi fall asleep in a matter of heartbeats. Only then did he adjust her weight slightly so that she wasn’t pressing so much on the part of him that was most desperate for her. His senses light, he brushed his face against the softest hair he’d ever felt and inhaled her unique scent.

She was the sweetest heaven.

And the most torturous hell.

As he held her, he was rock hard and aching for a taste of her soft, voluptuous body. His back and side throbbed, but he welcomed the distraction from the heavy need in his groin that he could do nothing about.

Closing his eyes, he let her scent wash over him as stupid fantasies tormented him with things he knew he couldn’t have.

Fantasies of her touching him that made no sense. He was an Andarion, fully pledged. She was a human League assassin. Both of them were forbidden to have relations with anyone. Both were hunted by enemies and had a death sentence hanging over them.

Yet as he felt her breath on his skin, none of that mattered. All he wanted was to offer himself to her.

To have her claim him as her mate before everyone. Just once he wanted to know what it was like to be inside a female’s body, and have her hold him while they made love.

Every year since he’d turned nineteen, he’d gone to Dariana in his ancestral temple, in full faith and before his family and hers, for unification. And every year, she’d brutally denied him in front of them all. As if he was defective or unworthy of her.