Prepare to get… wet.
Katee Robert knows how to capture romance readers' hearts.
With her upcoming title,Hunt on Dark Waters,she’s taking them captive literally.
Hunt on Dark Waters and author Katee Robert.Berkley; Bethany Chamberlin
The longer they spend together, the more their attraction grows.
Read more below and get ready to set sail on the high seas.
I twist and flail, my hair making it nearly impossible to see.
“Where are you, you asshole?”
“That’s a bold statement coming from a vow breaker.”
His voice sounds near me, but not too near.
On one hand, it means he anticipated my escape and was out here laying a trap for me.
On the other hand, it’s not some new enemy to contend with.
For better or worse, Bowen is somewhat of a known factor.
At least in theory.
“Let me go.”
“So you’ve got the option to run again?”
He scoffs out of sight.
“I don’t think so.
You and I are going to have a frank conversation.”
Yes, I’ve been a bit of a liar.
But all that is out in the open now.
He’s silent for several moments too long.
For fuck’s sake.
How am I supposed to talk to this man?
I drag in a deep breath and strive for patience.
“Bowen, put me down.”
Instead of listening, his magic turns me to face him and gathers my hair away from my face.
That, more than anything else he’s done since I’ve met him, terrifies me.
It’s the small, delicate tasks that require the most control.
Bowen doesn’t hurt me.
He doesn’t snag even a single strand of hair.
“I understand you aren’t the kind of person whose nature it is to take threats seriously.”
Gods, but he’s a handsome f—er.
He snaps his fingers in front of my face, forcing me to focus on him.
“Take me seriously now, Evelyn.
You say you know the reputation of the Cwn Annwn.
What do we do?”
I’m still too freaked out by his display of control to come up with a smart-ass comment.
“You hunt.”
I say through numb lips.
“Yes, we hunt.”
He leans forward, his dark eyes devastatingly serious.
“If you run, you will force us to hunt you.
You will force me to hunt you.”
“I am”
He keeps going as if I hadn’t tried to speak.
“Leaving Threshold won’t be enough to save you.
A rogue member of our group is one of them.
This isn’t something you might outrun, Evelyn.
Hunting is what we do.
We will rip you limb from limb and paint the ground bloody.
Do you understand me?”
I can’t catch my breath.
Because he’s not blustering.
He’s not yelling or making ostentatious threats.
He’s merely stating a future as if it’s a given.
If I run, they will kill me.
Tomorrow, I will tell myself that I wasn’t about to piss my pants in terror.
Tomorrow, I will start thinking of a future where I can work around this inevitability.
Right now, all thoughts have fled from my brain.
“Why are you doing this to me?”
“I am trying to protect you.”
Bowen doesn’t want to hurt me.
I think I knew that, but it’s never been clearer than it is in this moment.
By all rights, my sneaking off the ship should count as breaking my vow.
I certainly intended for it to.
And yet he’s not ripping my limbs from my body and painting the forest with my blood.
Yes, he’s holding me captive.
But he sounds so f—ing exhausted that I have the strangest urge to give him a hug.
I don’t know what the hell that’s about.
“I need you to tell me that you understand me, Evelyn.”
Just like that, whatever fight I have left drains away.
At least for now.
Who is this man?
Because he’s not bluffing.
He threatens the same way Lizzie does: A statement of fact.
An explanation of consequences.
I don’t know if I’m going to get out of this one.
“I understand,” I finally managed.
Bowen’s magic moves around me as he turns me right side up and sets me on my feet.
My blood immediately rushes from my head and I stumble.
When he catches me, it’s not with his magic this time.
It’s with his hands.
They’re very nice hands.
Wide and rough in a way I can feel through my thin shirt.
It must be tangling my senses and confusing my instincts.
That’s the only explanation, and not even a good one at that.
Because instead of stepping away and putting some necessary distance between us, I lean in closer.
Worse still, I grab the front of his shirt and yank him toward me.
And then I kiss Bowen.
