Eternal Prey by Nina Bangs

chance so far with so much happening.”
    She could almost see him trying to reconcile what she was saying with his own experiences. Everything would’ve been fine if she hadn’t taken that one step too far. “You’re not really the raptor you think you are. You’re something better.”
    Was that a flash of hurt in his eyes? It was hard to tell. Not much light.
    “You’re wrong, sweetheart. I’m exactly that raptor.” He was fierce in defense of his soul.
    Maybe she should try keeping her mouth shut occasionally. Lia felt the crack widen into a chasm, dumping her into icy water. About the same temperature as his voice right now.
    He leaned closer, invading her space, daring her not to move away from him. “I might not remember some things, but I do remember the life I lived as a Utahraptor. With this soul. Everything else is just guessing. And if an animal soul offends your human sensibilities, too bad.”
    His beast was close to the surface. Excitement rippled through her. Excitement? Whoa, that was not the right response.
    Utah reached out to skim his fingers along her jaw. Suddenly, the epicenter of all possible pleasure relocated to that small patch of skin. She gasped.
    Lia gazed into his eyes, watched them flare with heat, and slowly slid her tongue across her bottom lip. Provocative? Tempting? Guilty. The woman reflected in his eyes wasn’t anyone she recognized.
    She watched his anger become something else. The “something else” caught at her throat and made her heart kick into a frantic drumroll.
    “You know, I was ready to tear Kione’s head off. I thought he was causing all those feelings. I owe him an apology.” His voice was a husky murmur as he slid his hand behind her neck and pulled her to him.
    Utah kissed her. Not a gentle first kiss. It was a kiss filled with tangled emotions he thought he’d need a lifetime to unravel—the savagery of his beast, the need built up over his short human lifetime, the anger at her rejection of his soul, and the desire to please her.
    He wanted it to be only about his anger. His raptor wasn’t good enough for her. But even as he dived into all the sensory pleasure enhanced by his animal nature, he knew it could never be about only one thing with her.
    Tracing her lips with his tongue, he tasted her. He stored the essence of citrus and vanilla away to compare with the rest of her body. And Utah had no doubt he’d get the chance to do exactly that.
    Because as he deepened the kiss, fighting his soul’s demand that he abandon human behavior in favor of ripping her clothes from her luscious body right now, he felt something waken in her. It stretched, flexed its claws, and looked at him.
    She wrapped her arms around him and met his ferocity with her own. Opening her mouth, she welcomed him in. He tangled his tongue with hers, explored her heat, and tasted her building excitement. And all the reasons in the world that he shouldn’t be doing this went to hell. This was what he wanted, what his beast wanted. And neither one would be denied.
    Lia pulled at his shirt, working her fingers underneath it, then splaying her hands across his back. Each point of contact was a searing promise of what was to come.
    He kissed a path down her neck, losing himself in the warmth and smoothness of her skin. And as he lifted her top and pushed her bra out of the way so that he could reach her breasts, she transferred her hands from back to front.
    Lia touched him. She pressed down on his arousal, gently massaging. He was so hard he thought he’d explode, and when she fumbled with his zipper, his beast roared to life. He leaned forward, sliding his tongue over her breast before drawing her nipple into his mouth. Her small moan drove him on.
    But things were starting to spiral out of control. She’d managed to get his zipper down and was reaching for him. She didn’t notice any change in him.
    Utah abandoned her nipple to lay his head between her breasts. He breathed in deeply,