2. ~Ariana~ #3
Instead of answering, he reached out and curled a lock of my golden hair around his finger as he studied me in that creepy, invasive way of his.
“You’re more than meets the eye after all, aren’t you?
More than just a puppet whose strings are operated by everybody else.
I thought you’d lost that ability long ago when we were kids. ”
“Shut up,” I bit back, before I could stop myself.
Arguing with Kai Hunter was a big fucking mistake.
He decimated any opponent in a verbal sparring match with ease. And absolutely mercilessly at that. He was an arrogant intellectual and he used that to the fullest.
That was why it was all the more surprising when he merely smiled, albeit devilishly, and didn’t speak to my biting—and ridiculous—response.
“Have you ever been fucked like that?”
I jolted at his brazen and completely out-there question.
“Excuse me?”
“You heard me.”
“That’s none of your business.”
As if I hadn’t even spoken, he went on, “Or, perhaps, you can’t entertain anything but abstinence? You’re afraid that in the throes of it, you’ll accidentally smite any cock that you invite into that little celestial cunt of yours?”
“You’re disgusting.”
“Nyx isn’t scenting you as a virgin, so you’ve at least tried. So, what happened?” he pushed.
“Son of a bitch, why the fuck do you care?”
“I’m a seeker of knowledge. Everybody knows that.” He stroked his thumb over my jawline, making me suck in a breath at the unexpected intimacy of it. “But nobody knows about you. Anything about you, really.”
“And now, because I saw what I did tonight, you think this is your chance to open up that kind of dialog?”
“Perhaps.”
“That’s demented.”
His hard muscular body pushed into my softness, his appetizing sandalwood scent infusing me.
I moved back, but smacked against a tree trunk behind me, inadvertently giving him the in to crowd me completely against it.
His hands came down either side of my head, caging me in.
I should be fuming. I should be disgusted. I should be insulted.
But the heat from him was suffocating everything else around me and drawing too much of my attention, alongside the questions he’d been asking me, of someone actually wanting to know anything resembling the truth when it came to me.
“Demented, hmm? I can go in for that.”
“I got that message earlier.”
“Yeah? Was it the dirty talk? Stirring my saliva in his tight little ass? Making him chafe his beautiful cock against your beloved gazebo and paint it with his glorious, sticky cum?”
“ Stop,” I said, slapping my hand to his chest.
The moment I made contact, the mistake in my reaction was made instantly clear.
His eyes flamed. “Go on. Do what you really want to.”
I shoved him away.
But as I went to push off the tree, he knocked me back against it with jarring force.
Before I could catch my breath from the shock of it, he was there, caging me in again with his palms either side of my head.
“That’s not it. Try again.”
“What the hell is your problem?” I blurted out, frustration bursting out of me. “I’m not going to tell anyone about what I saw tonight, so there’s no need for—”
“Oh, I know you’re not going to. Don’t worry about that.”
“What does that mean?”
He lifted his left palm from beside my head and held it between us.
It began glowing with his rose-gold magic.
“This that you saw me using with Nyx can help you as well. The only thing that can. If you report me, the Academy and your Pops will outlaw it going forward. Bad for me. Bad for Nyx. Bad for you.”
“It wasn’t pleasure magic.”
“Inducement.”
“What?”
“The true name of what you’re referring to is inducement. An outlawed brand of magic that’s essentially a form of sexual assault because consent is far too blurred when that’s in play. I’ve never performed that, nor would I ever.”
It hit me then. “You nullified his Incubus allure.”
He smiled like a proud professor. “Well done. Precisely.”
“I don’t… that’s an unheard of form of magic.”
“Like Ryker Morgan’s defensive magic was up until twenty years ago?”
Damn him. “Yes, I suppose.”
“The point is, it’s more than just able to nullify Nyx’s allure. I have the ability to counteract the magical mental influence of anyone.”
“And you think that extends to me?”
“There’s only one way to know for certain. Something you’ve put yourself in the position tonight for me to finally experiment with.”
“I’m not going to be your plaything.”
“Oh, you most certainly are.”
I pushed against him, but he grasped my arms and pinned me more firmly to the tree.
The bastard smirked while he was doing it, knowing that I was too concerned about employing my angelic strength and the dangerous ramifications that it could have if I couldn’t maintain absolute control, to actually respond in a way that would get him off me.
And there was also something else keeping me from trying another tactic like teleporting away.
My skin was burning at the point of his contact.
I’d kept away from anything sexual for years on end, so witnessing that tonight had definitely gotten to me and… riled me up. Now, having him right up in my space, somebody who I may have had a crush on for a while was no small thing to digest and simply shove down like everything else.
It had sparked long before we’d joined Maven Academy together.
Kai Hunter was the son of esteemed magic-wielders Thomas and Louise Hunter who ran the Maven Coven, one of the most respected magical institutions across the realms. Before the advent of all the academies that were much more inclusive to other supernatural species and not just for magic-wielders, the Maven Coven had taught the likes of Pops and Mom.
It was a centuries-old institution. And Kai was the heir to that revered legacy.
His parents were close friends with my entire family.
But that attraction to Kai wasn’t the only thing tampering down my reactions in this situation. It was also the fact that I was secretly expending energy elsewhere, and a bout of magical violence could screw with the spell I had underway. And that would fuck up everything.
“You can be my plaything and succumb to what you clearly want to anyway, stop your weak denial, or I can reveal what I know about you.”
I jolted at his words. “What are you talking about?”
“I told you that I have the ability to counteract magical interference. With that a factor, did you really think I wouldn’t have been able to detect what you’ve done tonight?”
“I don’t know what—”
“The reality-warping spell you’re employing?”
Son of a bitch.
I swallowed hard. “You don’t understand.”
“Sure I do,” he said in a deceptively sympathetic tone.
“You hate this notoriety of the event tonight. Your magical maturity celebration masquerading as your birthday party. So you ensured that your family and everyone else here couldn’t discern your nerves, nor how much you revile all of it—and most of the guests in attendance who are treating you like a freak on a pedestal. ”
“I had no choice. I had to—”
“Shh,” he said, slapping his hand over my mouth.
“I know. I understand.” His eyes darkened and his tone became nasty as he said, “The problem is, no one else will. Not even your own family. You made a foolish mistake enacting this spell. You’re being watched by the entire supernatural world.
Everyone is afraid of you, especially now you’ve reached magical maturity.
They’re waiting for any excuse to lock you up in The Void and throw away the proverbial key.
Any excuse to exile you for good, so they never have to worry again about a being like you living among them.
This will be exactly the sort of excuse they’re counting on.
Warping everyone’s reality here. Sad, really, isn’t it?
I mean, you’re only masking what you’re feeling from all of them.
However, the way you went about it still impacts their reality directly in the process.
So it’s still a mad violation. Tsk tsk. So much to learn, Celestial Princess.
All because you bury your head in the sand. ”
He removed his hand and grinned at me in sadistic triumph.
“What do you want?”
“I already told you. Be my plaything. Give me ten more minutes of your time.” He traced his thumb over my bottom lip. “And quit pretending that you’re not enjoying me giving you my undivided and very much heated attention, like you’ve been dreaming about since we were teens.”
“You’re an arrogant piece of shit.”
“Nuh-uh. Not arrogant. Deservedly confident.” He gestured around us.
“Don’t worry about making too much noise.
I’ve ensured no one will hear us. Not even your daddies.
Nor will they be able to track you—thanks to that spell of yours, actually, because it has the knock-on-effect of screwing with a supernatural being’s intuition, which is how both Lucian and Jaxon track you.
I may have also had Nyx head inside to create a distraction so they won’t get the need to search you out magically either. ”
“You’re beyond even a puppet master,” I gritted out.
“Compliment accepted.” He gestured at my silver dress. “Now rip the skirt of that extravagant dress down the middle.”
“I’m not going to—”
With a flick of his hand, he did it himself, tearing it open so that my panties were visible, my legs in full view.
He raised an eyebrow at the black lace. “Not what I was expecting. White cotton was more like it. This is much better. Very nice.”
“Shut up with your fucking commentary.”
“Desperate to feel me pleasuring that long-neglected body?”
“That’s not—”
He grasped my jaw. “Stop lying to me and yourself. Admit it before I find out for myself anyway. You’re dripping at the prospect of being touched by me, aren’t you?”
“It could be anyone. It’s been a long time.”
“Hmm. Nice way around it. You’re still lying, but at least you’re giving me something. We’ll work on it.”
“You said ten minutes. After tonight, there’ll be no more—”