Chapter 19 · Price of Taming

"Sit. Down."

Sloane didn't sit. She didn't even blink. She kept her hand hovering over the obsidian vial on the workbench, her fingers trembling just enough to be annoying.

Kaelen didn't move from the doorway. He just watched her, his gaze heavy, tracking the pulse jumping in her neck. He wasn't the boy she'd woken up in that vat anymore. He was something leaner, harder, and far more dangerous.

"I said sit, Sloane," he repeated. His voice had dropped an octave, vibrating with a low, predatory hum that made the hair on her arms stand up. "You're shaking. Why are you shaking?"

"I'm not shaking. I'm calculating," she snapped, finally stepping back from the table. "And you're overstepping. I created you. I defined your parameters. You don't tell me where to sit."

Kaelen moved then. He didn't walk; he blurred. Before she could even gasp, he was there, his chest slamming into hers, pinning her back against the cold stone of the workbench. The impact knocked the wind out of her, and her wrist was suddenly locked in a grip that felt like iron bands.

"Parameters," he whispered, his breath hot against her ear.