Excerpt of Death Defying by Nina Croft

She’d never done this before, but there was a first time for
everything. She lowered her lashes and peeped at him through
half-closed eyes. Her tongue flicked out, and she moistened
her lower lip. His gaze followed the movement, and his eyes
darkened.

Good.

She moved a little closer and put her hands in the pockets
of her pants pushing her small breasts forward. His gaze
dropped.

Even better.

“Callum!” Venna’s tone was impatient, but he waved her away
with a careless gesture of his hand, his gaze never leaving
Tannis.

“Could I talk to you a minute?” Tannis murmured.

“Of course.”

Her gaze flicked to Venna. “Alone.”

He almost jumped to his feet. “Definitely.”

She pivoted and walked from the room, trying to make her
hips sway the way Janey’s always seemed to do. She sensed
Callum coming up behind her. Casting a quick glance over her
shoulder, she saw Venna still seated, her mouth open. Then
she dismissed the woman from her mind. Her time would come.
Once out of the room, she turned to Callum and placed a hand
on his chest. His heart rate was fast beneath her palm.

She leaned in close. “Let’s go to your room,” she whispered
the words against his throat, then stepped back and looked
up into his face.
“Why not yours?” he asked.

“Because yours is nearer.” She stroked her fingertips down
his chest and over his belly, to hook in the waistband of
his pants. “And I really don’t want to wait.”

His breath caught in his throat with an audible groan. He
grabbed hold of her hand and almost dragged her along the
corridor. They were at his door in seconds, and he slammed
his palm to the panel and hustled her in as the door slid open.

Once inside, he crowded her against the wall so she could
feel the cool metal through her shirt at the back, and his
hot body pressed the length of her front. She gasped as she
felt the hard length of his erection prodding her belly.

“Were you jealous?” he asked, his tone smug.

She had to bite back a bitter laugh at the question. Of
course, that’s what the egotistical bastard would think.

“I didn’t like seeing you with her.” Well that was the
goddamn truth.

“She’s an employee, that’s all. No need for you to be
jealous. It’s you I want.”

“And I want you.” Yeah, she wanted him all right. Wanted him
rolling about on the floor in agony.

She reached up and stroked her fingers over the rough skin
of his cheek, then curled her hand around his neck and
pulled him toward her. Her mouth opened for his kiss and his
tongue thrust inside. His lips hardened on hers, deepening
the kiss. For a few seconds, she allowed herself to relax
against him. Then she took his lower lip between her teeth
and bit down hard. The warm, metallic taste of blood flooded
her mouth. Callum made to pull away, but she held him tight
with the hand at the back of his neck, while she pumped him
full of the venom from the glands at the base of her incisors.

He went still, and then the first spasm racked his body.
Tannis released her hold and shoved him away. He stumbled as
she leaned against the wall to observe. She’d never seen the
full effects of her venom before, and she watched with interest.

“What have you—” He broke off as another spasm ran through
his body. Swaying, he put out a hand, then stumbled again
and gripped onto the back of a nearby chair. His face
leached of color, his legs buckled, and he crashed to the
floor, dragging the chair with him. He landed on his wings
and rolled so he came up on all fours.

His head hung down and he retched, vomiting up a mixture of
blood and his stomach contents, and she grimaced.

“Nasty,” she said. “You see, that’s why I didn’t want to go to my room.”