Chapter 11 A pathetic temper tantrum
A pathetic temper tantrum
ZARA
There’s not a chance I’m trusting that asshole. Not one single chance and he can go to hell if he thinks I’m going to obey him.
My eyes lock onto the rock that he bent me over before he fucked me, and I hate him even more.
I loathe him. Really loathe him. I’m trapped inside this cold, damp cave and I don’t know if it’s more miserable than I am.
Nothing is comforting about this place, and it’s the perfect setting for being trapped with someone I hate.
The shadows jump over the jagged walls and I stare at the fire, wondering how it got started and how long it’s been burning.
“You were cold.”
Kade stretches out in front of me, one arm tucked under his head and the other draped lazily across his stomach. He’s perfectly at ease and I doubt he feels the chill or tension humming between us. If he does, he doesn’t care about it.
That annoys me even more.
The ebon chain pulses faintly between us and I can’t ignore its maddening presence.
It’s a shackle that won’t break and it ties us together, no matter how much either of us wants to rip it apart.
It keeps tugging at my awareness, a constant reminder that I’m not free.
That I’ll never be free. And that it’s all his fault.
He shifts, and the small movement draws my attention. Kade’s watching me and every breath he draws is deliberate, measured, like he’s doing it just to piss me off.
I hate him.
But the longer we lie here in silence, the more the traitorous, welcome warmth curls inside my chest. It’s spreading to my limbs and invading my soul, and the more I try to shake it, the more I feel its presence.
It’s the bond. It has to be the bond. It’s the only reason I notice the way the firelight dances across his cheekbones or the way his lashes cast shadows over his sharp, infuriatingly perfect face.
I press my nails into my palms, willing the thoughts away.
It doesn’t matter how good he looks lying there, or how his voice sometimes softens when he’s not thinking about controlling me.
He’s still a warlock. A cold, calculating warlock who will never see me as anything but a tool.
A thing to be controlled and bent to his will.
And I’m not going to let him use me.
I destroyed the sigil and the warlocks’ hold on my coven. I was strong and cunning enough to manage that feat of magic, which means I’m more than capable of withstanding Kade. More than that, I can beat him at his own game and if anyone’s going to be used here, it’s him.
My magic stirs faintly, like a spark catching wind. It’s been creeping back in bits and pieces since he found me and fucked me. Kade doesn’t know yet. I’ve been keeping it hidden and this morning I’ve fought to keep it under control. I’ll have to contain my power and make him believe I’m weak.
Delaying will give my magic time to grow. Time to return. It’s a twinge right now, but soon it’ll build and I’ll be able to use it when it matters. When Kade’s least expecting it and I stand the best chance of destroying him.
For now, I let him think I’m powerless. Let him believe I’m cooperating because I have no choice.
I shift and pull a blanket up over my shoulder. My eyes meet his ebony ones and the asshole smirks as I feign surprise morphing into shock. He moves his hand back to me and adjusts the wool, making damn sure I’ve noted the presence of the rug.
“You’re…”
He nods.
“My magic is returning.” Those eyes spark with light and their gleam is malicious. “Is yours, Zara?”
I shift under the blanket, letting the rough fabric scrape against my arms just enough to keep me grounded. I look away and he huffs, delighted he’s better than me.
“I see.” The asshole couldn’t sound more smug if he tried. His lips twitch, the barest hint of a smirk. “You’re welcome, by the way.”
“For what?”
“For keeping you warm,” he says simply, as though it’s the most obvious thing in the world. “For the best fuck you’ve ever had.”
My jaw tightens, and I clench the blanket in my fists.
I want to argue, to spit some cutting remark back at him, but the truth lodges in my throat like a stone.
He did keep me warm overnight. He did fuck me properly, but that doesn’t mean it was anything more than a fluke, and it doesn’t mean I liked it.
And it doesn’t mean I owe him.
His smirk grows, and he props himself up on one elbow, studying me like I’m some puzzle he’s trying to solve.
“You’re a fascinating little thing, Zara. So full of fire. So determined to pretend you don’t care.”
“Don’t,” I snap, sitting up abruptly. “And I don’t care. About you, or your blood weave, or whatever twisted plan you’re conjuring up.”
His eyes darken, a flicker of something dangerous passing over his face. “Oh, you care, all right. You care so much it’s eating you alive. You just don’t know what to do with it.”
The tension between us stretches taut, the air in the cave growing thick and heavy. I’m breathing harder than I should be, and I hate that he’s the reason why. My heart’s racing and my arousal’s soaring again and the heaving of his chest isn’t helping.
Gods and Goddesses, this is vile.
He’s vile.
And all I can think about is what his hands would feel like on me again. What it would feel like to have him manhandle me again. I shouldn’t want it, and I definitely shouldn’t want him. But his hands and his cock are almost all I can think of and I have got to pull myself together.
“You don’t know anything about me,” I whisper, the words more venomous than I intend.
Kade leans closer, his voice dropping to a low murmur. “Don’t I?”
He’s too close.
I can feel the heat radiating off him, feel the pull of the bond thrumming in my chest. It’s suffocating and overwhelming, and for a split second, I can’t move.
My heart judders as he reaches out, brushing a strand of my freshly cleaned hair from my face.
His touch is light, almost tender, and it sends a jolt through me, my magic sparking in response.
I jerk back, glaring at him. “Don’t touch me.”
His smirk returns, but there’s something in his expression now. I don’t like it and I definitely don’t want to name it. Not when it might change everything. Not when it’s him and he killed my sisters.
“Keep telling yourself you hate me, Zara. Maybe one day you’ll believe it.”
I don’t respond. I can’t. My chest feels too tight, my thoughts too jumbled. I stare at him and his pupils dilate, watching me as I lose myself in those almost ebony eyes. Kade threatens to inch his head forward and I snatch a flustered breath, more shaken than I want to admit.
I push away from him, scrambling to my feet.
The air in the cave is too thick, and I need space—desperately.
The fire flickers and the shadows distort into ominous, gnarly shapes that flit across the cave’s walls, shattering the last shards of calm that I have left.
The little heat from the burning embers is suddenly too oppressive and I curse myself for feeling anything at all.
Kade doesn’t move, but I feel his eyes on me, burning into my back as I stand. He sighs and I stop, certain he’s going to follow me even if I leave.
“What’s the plan, Kade?” I snap, my voice echoing off the stone. “Are we just going to rot in this cave until one of us keels over? Or are you going to tell me what the hell you want from me?”
He shifts behind me, the sound of his movements grating on my already frayed nerves.
I tense as I hear him stand and screw my eyes shut as he closes the distance between us.
Kade’s too close and yet not nearly close enough, and I don’t know if the ache I’m feeling is because I’m wanting or fearing his touch.
“Patience, kitten,” he says so smoothly that it grates on my already frayed nerves. “The finer details can wait until later.”
His hands grip my shoulders and I exhale; my question answered in a way that isn’t satisfactory.
I don’t like his touch, but I need it more than I need its absence, and the only thing I’m afraid of is how far this will go.
Kade isn’t kind, he isn’t good, and he’ll take anything he thinks he can, no matter what it costs me.
“You dragged me into this mess,” I snarl, spinning to face him. My fists clench at my sides and I push my magic down, hiding it as it hums under my skin. “Your magic shackled me to you. You owe me answers.”
Kade doesn’t say anything and his expression is unreadable.
He draws himself up, impossibly even bigger now.
Even more imposing, and unfortunately, more attractive.
His presence fills the space like an abyss, vast, daring me to fall even though I know better.
His darkness flickers with an intensity that pulls me closer and even my resolve wavers in the face of his quiet menace and undeniable confidence.
“I didn’t shackle you to me, darling,” he murmurs, his ebony eyes locking onto mine.
“You think I’m the villain in your story, and maybe I am one.
But you’re not the hero, Zara.” His fingers brush my face and my lip trembles.
“What you are is mine. Mine to tease. Mine to torment. Mine to fuck and use as I see fit.” He hums and I hate the way his words make my clit burn so damn hot it hurts.
“My perfect little fucktoy. Almost as if you were made for me. As if I were made for you.”
I wrench one arm free, glaring up at him.
“We’d better hope there’s a way to undo this blood weave,” he says, his head dipping dangerously close to mine. “Or else we’re both completely and utterly fucked.”
His lips crash onto mine and my tiptoes lift me into him, demanding more from him as his tongue slips into my mouth.
Kade’s on fire and he doesn’t give me a chance to breathe, taking everything he wants and more from me.
I pant and try to keep up with him, but it’s damn near impossible when he presses into me and pushes me into the wall behind me.
Kade’s cock digs into me as he grinds against me, and my clit throbs and begs his wandering hands to find it and release the agony. I moan and gasp as his fingers dig into my ass and lift me off the floor, his body holding me in place as we move against each other.
The relief is palpable.
The pleasure is undeniable.
The agony is excruciating—and I’d do almost anything for more.
“Such a needy little thing,” Kade growls against my lips. “Your cunt’s dripping for my cock. You’re practically begging me to fuck you. Ask me nicely and I’ll oblige, Zara. I’ll fill you so fucking full of my come that you’ll be leaking for days.”
I shake my head and he grins.
“Beg, kitten,” he growls. “I’ll even let you choose which hole my cock fills first.”
“No fucking way,” I hiss.
Kade laughs low and I don’t like it. “Pretend you don’t want me, Zara.
The blood weave will keep building until you can’t take more of its demands.
It’ll drive you wild with need and want and by the time you cave, you’ll be ready to do anything I want.
Any-fucking-thing. No matter how degrading.
No matter how depraved.” His fingernail trails down my face and I shudder as he lowers me onto the floor.
“You’ll get off on it too. Do you want that, darling? ”
I shake my head frantically, and he laughs again.
“Then I suggest you give in to me before our bond overwhelms you.” His finger slides down my neck and down my center. “And for the last time, darling, my magic didn’t create this. All of this is your fault, and you’re going to suffer the consequences of your actions.”
Kade pulls away and leaves me panting, almost collapsing as my body craves everything his offers. My fingers grip the rocks behind me as I cling on, refusing to throw myself at the man who refuses to give me what I need but don’t want.
“We should get going if we’re not going to fuck,” he sighs, adjusting his cock. “We’ve got a long way to travel.”
I groan and dig my weight into my heels.
“I’m not going anywhere with you,” I push onto the wall behind me. “Not until you tell me where we’re going.”
Kade’s head tips back and he laughs until the cave is filled with its riotous sound.
His smile is wide and his features carefree and far too easy on the eyes.
The warlock’s still dark, still dangerous, still everything I shouldn’t want or let myself have, but somehow he’s impossibly beautiful.
It’s as if evil sent him to me and decided to stun me into submission, and I hate myself for lusting after him.
“Follow me,” he says, curling his finger seductively. “I’ll reward you if you’re good.”
My hands curl into fists and I scream, infuriated by his sheer damn nerve.
Kade stares at me as I go for it, pretending to be the helpless and hysterical woman he’s so desperate to believe I am.
He’s already decided I’m pathetic, and maybe I should be insulted, but I’m not.
If he underestimates me, he won’t see the knife coming when I shove it between his ribs.
My screams fade, leaving only the sound of my ragged breathing, and Kade’s lips twitch in the barest hint of a smirk.
He doesn’t budge. Doesn’t flinch. He just stares at me, his dark eyes steady and infuriatingly calm, as if none of this affects him at all.
His presence fills the space, suffocating and undeniable, and I hate how much I feel it.
“Feel better?”
“Not while I’m stuck here with you,” I snap, my voice sharp and venomous.
“Then I suggest we leave,” he snarls. “At least you won’t be losing your shit and stuck in this miserable cave. You can degenerate to your heart’s content while we’re moving—preferably in the opposite direction of civilization, so no one else has to witness a pathetic temper tantrum.”