Chapter 16 · The Gilded Cage

"Don't move. Twitch, and I'm pinning you to the table," Cade snapped.

He wasn't looking at her. His eyes were locked on the jagged, glowing metal fused into the palm of Lorne's hand. It looked like a lightning bolt made of obsidian, etched right into her skin.

Lorne tried to jerk away, her breath coming in sharp, panicked hitches. "Get it off me! Cade, get this thing out of my skin!"

He didn't let go. He gripped her wrist tighter, his thumb pressing hard against her pulse point. His skin was searing, a brand against her cold flesh. He dragged her toward the center of the room—a sterile, white-walled vault that smelled of ozone and old blood.

"It's not coming out," Cade said. His voice dropped to a low, dangerous vibration. "It grew, Lorne. It didn't just appear. It's part of you now."

"I don't want it!" she yelled, struggling against him.

The movement slammed her chest flush against his arm. She felt the hard line of his muscle, the sudden, rigid tension in his frame. For a heartbeat, neither of them moved.