The Predator (Dark Verse #1)

by RuNyx

she finally let her eyes wander to the man who stood silently beside Dante. Tristan Caine. He was an anomaly.

Tristan 'The Predator' Caine. They called him the predator. His reputation preceded him. He rarely went on the hunt but when he did, it was over. When he did, he went straight for the jugular. No distractions. No playing around. For all his unruffled attitude, the man was more lethal than the knife cutting into her thigh.

And you should know never to sneak up on a predator. Once we catch the scent of your blood, it's a matter of the hunt."

"Never make the mistake of thinking you scare me. It will be your last."

Tristan Caine turned his eyes to her, the force of his gaze knocking the breath out of her lungs. "You won't come to any harm tonight," he told her, the conviction in his voice hard. "Stay."

In that moment, the enemy had done what no one had ever even tried to do for her. He had made her feel a little less lonely.

"We've been honest so far, Ms. Vitalio," he murmured. "I'll be honest now. I despise you but I want you. Fuck it, I do. And I want you out of my system."

"Don't you know not to run away from predators, sweetheart? We like the hunt."

She tilted her chubby little head in wonder. And then she smiled. A completely toothless, completely adorable smile that just knocked him in the stomach. Tristan felt his own lips move.

Saving her had destroyed him. One day, he vowed as he watched a man pick up the little girl and take her away, his eyes on her, he would collect his debt.

The scent of wood and musk. The warmth of a breath over her face. And then she felt it. Lips. Soft, tender lips settling upon hers. Her heart stopped. It fucking stopped as her stomach bottomed out.