Chapter Twenty Three #2
“Elara,” he murmured, sensing my presence without even turning around. I stopped my breath stilling in my chest as I watched him turn to face me. The first thing I felt was his fury.
It rolled off him in waves, thick and suffocating, filling the small room until it pressed against my skin like a physical thing.
He remained a few paces away. His chest rising and falling too hard, too fast. The air was thick with the smell of iron and smoke, the finality of the fate of the body before me lingering like a reminder of something much more final.
His eyes found me and I knew instantly that this had been a mistake. They were black, the colour almost completely gone, replaced by voids of nothingness.
“You think it is wise to disobey me?” he questioned, the words controlled, quiet.
Which made them even more terrifying. I would have preferred for him to scream at me, to banish me from space.
Instead, he just stood still, blood drying already down his chest leaving brown and red smudges over tanned skin.
“You locked me in that room like a prisoner.” I swallowed, forcing my spine to straighten even as every instinct inside me screamed to back away.
“You were under guard for a reason. You do not get to decide when my orders no longer apply,” he frowned, taking a step towards me.
Fear clawed up my throat with every menacing step he took, but I refused to let it show.
Instead, I curled my fists at my sides, nails biting into my palms, grounding myself in the pain.
“You act as if I have ever been the obedient dog you try to make me.” I said, my voice shaking despite the effort.
The low lighting casting shadows across his face, hiding one side.
I could see then why people called him a monster, because in that moment I forgot all his promises and truly believed this man could kill me if he wanted to.
“Your defiance will be your downfall. You don't understand enough to put yourself in these positions.” Rhael smirked, his mouth twisting as something dark flickering behind his eyes.
“I understand enough. You are not the only monster in this world Rhael.” I shot back, glancing briefly at the remains of the body lying on the floor before forcing myself to look at his face again.
That did it, he crossed the distance between us in a heartbeat. One moment he was standing in front of me, the next his hand was around my throat.
Holding me in place against the stone wall behind me. The cold pressed into my skin as his weight caged me in, his presence overwhelming. His hand on my throat didn't hurt, instead it just held me there. A clear threat he wasn't yet ready to carry out.
“You should be scared. Especially now,” he said slowly. My heart pounded so hard I thought it might shatter my ribs, but I lifted my chin anyway, meeting his gaze head on.
“Is that what you want? Fear?” I ask my voice a whisper in the dark room. Now he was up close I could see every mark on his skin, every drop of blood mixing with sweat. His eyes were wild like a caged animal who has just earnt its release.
“I want you to remember who holds the power here,” he ground out, his fingers flexed once, betraying him.
“Then why do you look like you're the one losing it?” A bitter laugh tore out of my throat before I could stop it. His eyes darkened whilst his hand squeezed my throat, once then twice.
“That mouth is going to get you hurt.” Rhael growled but something in his look made me feel brave, that underlying current of desire clear before he could hide it behind his anger.
“You won't hurt me. Many men have tried, but no one has been able to break me yet.” I whispered, pressing my neck into his grasp, as if daring him to hold tighter.
“I should make you beg for your life, for betraying me. For consorting with my enemy.” He snarled, his lips upturned as he leant closer to me.
“Except I didn't consort with anyone. They offered me freedom. Something which you cannot guarantee. You were just too angry to hear me out!” I argued, finally having a moment to get my point across.
I knew what I should have been doing was apologising, but I couldn't make the words form. Not yet, not with his hands around my throat as if he intended to take my life.
“You think after all I've done I will not guarantee your safety.” He sneered, his breath warm over my face as he looked at me.
“You said it yourself. People die in war. It’s fact.” I stated, keeping my voice steady, repeating his own words back to him.
“Elara, do you ever know when to stop testing me?” he questioned, his voice turning into almost a laugh, only the joy did not reach his eyes.
“Do you?” I asked back, it was childish, but it didn’t stop me. The old defiance I had worked so hard overriding the fear I had felt moments before.
“This is not defiance. This is stupidity” he told me, one hand pushing hair back from his face as if trying to maintain composure.
“So, punish me.” I whisper, not knowing where the words came from in my mind or how they ended up falling so carelessly from my mouth but there they were all the same. Lingering between us, filling the cold air with electricity.
I watched almost in slow motion as something inside him snapped. His hand tightened and his lips crashed into mine with brutal intent as he stole the breath from my lungs. The whole motion felt raw, his lips claiming mine as if he had been holding back for far too long.
The sound that left me was soft and involuntary, swallowed instantly as he deepened the kiss, his grip tightening, moving from my throat to my jaw. His thumb pressed beneath my chin, making sure I couldn't look away, even if I had wanted to.
I tasted blood, probably from the smears and droplets that had been on his face, but I still didn't attempt to pull away.
Instead, I moved my arms, wrapping them around him to draw him closer.
Feeling the way his body trembled just slightly, how his breath shuddered against my lips.
The feeling of his control leaving him with every second that passed.
His other hand came to my waist, fingers digging into the fabric of my dress as if he needed something solid to hold on to.
His actions threatened to tear him apart if he did not anchor some part of him to me.
The kiss shifted, not softer, but deeper, hungrier. Less about punishment more about want.
It felt like he was pouring years of restraint into my mouth.
Every second he had denied himself, every moment he had told himself I was a distraction he could not afford.
I should have pushed him away, told him I didn't want this.
However, I welcomed him, keeping my arms tight around his neck whilst my legs wound around his waist. Every single moment burning between us.
My lips parted without thought, without permission, and the quiet sound of approval that left his throat sent a shiver straight through me. His forehead dropped briefly against mine for him to draw in a breath, just long enough to see him stop fighting himself before he kissed me again.
It was slower this time, still intense, but deliberate. As if he were memorising the shape of my mouth, the way my body responded to him. His thumb loosened its grip, brushing against my jaw now almost reverent.
The dungeon disappeared. There was no blood, no war, no crowns and no chains. There was only the way he held me up in his arms. As if he had chosen me, giving in to the idea that he wanted me far more than he would ever admit.
When he finally pulled his mouth from mine, his breath was ragged, his eyes dark looking over my face taking in each feature, every detail burned into his mind. He didn't release me right away, instead keeping me pinned to the wall, wrapped around him like a vine.
“Do you have any idea what you do to me? How much I fight myself for you? You change everything Elara. And I cannot afford change.” Rhael murmured, his voice rough and low.
I couldn't answer, because the truth was I was asking myself the same thing.