29
Everything goes dark
ZARA
Kade stares at me and I don’t know what to do. I don’t know what to think. I’m not sure I even know what to believe anymore and my instincts tell me I need to run. I should put as much space between the two of us as possible and pull my shit together.
This has to stop.
He wants me to choose him, but I don’t know if I can. I’m not sure if I have any free will anymore, between the blood weave and those chiseled cheekbones and the way his eyes look at me with an intensity that makes me shudder.
The warlock watching my every move is a problem, and he’s trying to make me think he isn’t one.
“Kitten?” His voice is soft, but that only makes this worse.
I should laugh. I should sneer and remind him that I don’t need anyone. I’ve broken a sigil, and I’ve fought my way through worse than this. But I can’t summon the words, and Ihate myself for it.
Instead, my silence stretches on, and I see the victory gleaming in his eyes.
Damn.
I cross my arms, stepping back just enough to put space between us, though not nearly enough to feel safe. He doesn’t follow, but I can still feel the ghost of his fingers against my arm. My skin tingles where he touched me, and I can’t decide if I want him to do it again or if I want to rip his hand off next time he tries.
“I didn’t ask for your help,” I finally say, though my voice sounds weaker than I intended. “I’m not starting now.”
He looks undeterred. Amused. Smug.
It’s infuriating.
He walks toward me and I back up into the wall. Kade lifts his arm and places it above me, resting his weight on it as he leans in. The heat from him spreads through my core and it doesn’t feel wrong. It feels right, and I shudder again, desperately clinging to the belief I can make this choice.
The blood weave ties me to him, but it also makes him mine. It gives me an edge, a way to monitor his thoughts and motives, even if it costs me my freedom. He can use it against me, but he’s forgotten I can manipulate him as well, and it means he cannot hurt me. If we destroy it, I lose that connection. I’ll lose that advantage. I’ll lose the chance to know what he’s hiding, and what he wants.
“You think you’ve got it all figured out, don’t you?” I say, finally meeting his gaze with as much steel as I can muster.
He smirks. “I think we both know how this ends, Zara.”
My heart stumbles, and I force myself not to look away. I want to hate him for being right. I want to hate him for making me feel like my world is spinning out of control, and he’s theonly thing keeping me tethered. But most of all, I hate that a small, treacherous part of me doesn’t want it to stop.
His fingertip glides down my center like a fire burning through a winter’s night.
“Such a pretty fucktoy,” he muses.
I grit my teeth and push against his chest, my hand trembling with the effort to keep him at bay. His words cut through me like a blade, reminding me of the tangled mess we were caught in. The ebon chain may hold us together, but I don’t want it to dictate my choices. I don’t want to be a pawn in this game, no matter how tempting it seems.
And Kade is a world of temptation wrapped in anger, every glance and word designed to pull me deeper. His dark eyes hold promises I don’t want to decipher, and his smirk is a weapon aimed straight at my resolve.
“You can push all you want, Zara,” he says softly, his voice a low, velvet murmur that dances along my nerves. “But you and I both know we’re going to fuck.”
My chest tightens, and for a moment, the air between us feels too thin, like I’m drowning in him. The lines between enemy and ally have blurred, and I feel the pull of his magic lacing with mine, creating something more potent than any drug. This is more than physical attraction, and my anger slips through my fingers like sand on a beach as his hand glides over me. His touch is a promise and a threat, a reminder of his power and control.
And as much as I want to deny it, part of me revels in the danger, and the thrill and rush of losing myself to him. He isn’t safe but he offers me safety, and I can’t resist him.
I gasp as his words reverberate through me. It’s a confession, a warning, and a challenge all in one. Kade’s eyes remain locked on mine as they darken and hunger floods through them. He’s as overcome with desire and need as I am,and knowing he wants me as much as I want him scares me more than anything.
“Crawl to my bed.”
I shudder and shake my head.
