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Warm shower raining over me, exhilarated in the steam, and fully drunk on the male kissing my mouth, I melted.
Just as he knew I would.
There was power in understanding, in grasping just how much control he could wield. That knowledge was mine—the awareness that he would use everything he could think of to draw me in.
It gave me something to work with, made him—at least in that small matter—predictable.
Temper cooling, my dread faded under a wave of longing. The tricks he could use….
Every touch was a weapon, every sigh a small act of violence against my aversion.
Water vapor sweet with his scent tasted almost as good as my beloved fog. The sounds he could make forced muscles to unknot along my spine. Languid, slow kisses as I was rinsed clean of my sins stirred me. Strong male hands caressed where I was soft as he purred for me… yet the one whose chest rattled the loudest was mine.
I preferred the shower immensely over the bed, loved the way the steam danced atop whatever part of me he wasn’t touching. That I could stand, shift my weight, shove him off if I needed to.
Yet, when he pulled away at last, my mouth followed. Drowsy, I blinked after the male.
How he smiled as he reached for the soap to wash his body with rich lather, watching me measure him and try to remember why I had been angry.
“I think… the space is too enclosed,” I hummed, dragging in a deep breath. “Your scent is heavy in the steam.”
With a devilish chuckle, he said, “It wasn’t intentional, but I’d be lying if I claimed I don’t enjoy when you forget to hate me and realize deep down you want a mate strong enough to steal you away.”
Shaking my head, mesmerized by the way lather ran down his hard body, I disagreed. “When I was in the city with Maeve, I saw couples walking together holding hands. I had never seen a man and woman touch or smile at one another in that way. It was the first time I was even marginally tempted to consider the list. But you didn’t hold my hand. You grabbed me by the throat.”
Rinsed fully, his blond hair was darkened by the water, but his gaze was darker. “Deep down, you would never be satisfied by a pedestrian mate. Not a woman like you. You run the show without anyone the wiser, dance circles around your instructors, steal pretty rocks from dangerous men, and would be bored to tears with the kind of mate who wasn’t willing to rip your precious dress and fuck you on the floor of his office.”
“You have an unfair advantage right now.” It was hard to get angry when I was trying very hard not to sink my claws into him and pull him closer. “Say that again when my head is clear and I can respond properly.”
“See? You have mouthed off to me throughout our entire acquaintance. Do you know how many little girls would dare castigate a general? Only someone worthy of their attention. I don’t want a weak, whimpering thing any more than you desire a male too gutless to rein you in.”
The arrogant man grinned all the more. “Imagine the hellions our children will be.”
No. I would not. Not even that mind-altering scent could get me to agree to such a nightmare. “I’m not giving the academy any children.”
“My love, since you have made it clear you do not want to spend your days in leisure locked safely in this house—” Seduction was set aside for reassurance. He pulled me closer, held me tight, and whispered in my ear. “—you will be assigned a position within the academy. So, you’ll need to come to terms with what the future holds.”
The very idea seemed like an unwelcome knife to the gut. “You wouldn’t do that to me. I hate it there!”
Massaging my back as he nuzzled my cheek, he reminded, “You hate me too. Perhaps, in time, you can learn to love both.”
How was I possibly to escape such a fate? First, he had taken the fog from me. Now this? Why couldn’t I apply for positions that suited my ambition?
“I know that look.” Subtly threatening, he traced the bone of my cheek and measured what he found in my gaze. “We will discuss your future at another time, when your head is clear and your education complete.”
“I won’t waste my time as another decoration in your pretty office. That isn’t what I want.” And I would make him pay for it if he dared.
“Would you rather be locked in the house?” Not an ounce of his question was playful.
Incredulous, I fought the drowsy pull to press against him, growling, “Are you really threatening me with this?”
“You will be appointed as the new weapons instructor for the youngest recruits.” With an expression of command I knew all too well, he added with a stern tongue, “There will be no access to the elder girls. So, don’t go getting ideas in your head that you can confuse them.”
Because of course I would! I would warn them to flee while they could, to avoid males at all costs, tell them every last thing I had experienced regarding sex and male trickery. But deeper still, I was wounded a man who claimed to love me could be so cruel. “You would keep me away from my friends?”
“For their own good? Yes.” Intentional additional sweetness thickened in the air, the man clearly manipulating my mind while saying things that would otherwise move me to violence. “Until they are mated, it seems unwise to mix you with the general unmated-female population. You would cause a panic, as you still do not have clarity on what you’re living through in this transition. You’re still scared, still belligerent, and we have much to sort out between us. Any advice you might give now would come from a place of a difficult adjustment to your involuntary position at my side, not natural female submission.”
He had gone too far with the scent, my eyes and limbs so heavy I wanted to curl up in his arms and let him carry my weight.
