Chapter 37
Nelle
I’d never seen Graysen so angry, ever.
Sage’s barking drowned out my startled shriek as I kicked my legs, trying to wrench free.
But Graysen’s hand planted between my shoulder blades pinned me with infuriating ease.
Strands of hair flipped about as I twisted to glare up at him.
He looked utterly unhinged—damp hair sticking up in wild tufts, deep stress lines carved across his face.
One eye twitched erratically while a muscle in his jaw went tic, tic, tic.
I’d pushed Graysen too far with my spitefulness. I’d kicked his sorry ass into the deep well of insanity, and he was floundering in its depths.
“You wouldn’t dare!” Even trapped, I was safely cocooned in a fluffy cloud of knowledge that he’d never physically hurt me. He didn’t have it in him.
“Try me!” he roared back, hand hovering high, ready to strike. Fury burned his cheeks to a red almost as bright as his rash-inflamed body.
Graysen’s movement was swift and accurate.
I didn’t realize what he’d done until well after the sharp edge of stinging pain flared over my ass cheek. “OOOOW!”
Holy hells!
He smacked me again, his fingers leaving a burning imprint on my ass.
My mouth fell open. I couldn’t believe it. This wasn’t the fun kind of spanking either. This was an old-fashioned spanking like I was a disobedient child. Though the pain was shy of cruelty, he still delivered a solid smack, and it fucking hurt!
“You know your mother’s blood gift will cure the poison oak, you big baby!” A few of the blisters were already fading away.
“I can’t take it any longer!” he bellowed, the sound of his derangement vibrating through the room. “You’re wicked mean and cruel and I’ve FUCKING. HAD. IT!”
—spank—
I shrieked in outrage as my ass burned with building pain.
What could I do?
“Attack, Sage, attack!”
Graysen threw his head back with a manic laugh that shuddered right through his body. He jerked his head down, eye twitching as he hissed, “Your wraith-wolf can’t save you!”
He was right, the godsdamned collar wouldn’t allow him to, but Sage could attack something else. My gaze swept the room like a hawk. “Sage, go for his clothes!”
My wraith-wolf bayed with wild enthusiasm.
“His precious boots! His laptop! His books!”
Sage barreled into the bookshelves, sending books flying, then plunged straight into the shirts hanging from the rack. Fangs and claws shredded Graysen’s neatly ordered wardrobe.
“GO SAGE, GO!”
“NO SAGE, NO!” Graysen paused for a moment in the delivery of discipline. One of his dress shirts tore into shreds, white fabric fluttering in the air. And then he completely lost it and strangled out, “Aaaarrrgggggghhhhh!”
After a deep inhale, he heaved his breath out between clenched teeth. “Do your worst, Sage.”
Coat hangers snapped. Sage chomped and slashed. Jackets, shirts, and pants were obliterated into scraps that drifted down like dirty snow while I howled against the blows raining down on my ass as Graysen meted out justice.
“This is for fucking up my laptop and super-gluing my mouse to the desk!”
—spank—
“Mocking my cock with your t-shirt slogans!”
—spank—
“Rubbing poison oak in my armor!”
—spank—
“Replacing my toothpaste with wasabi. Attacking me with sharpened spoons. Spiking my shampoo with glitter glue. Treating my home like a fucking frat house!”
—spank—
—spank—
—spank—
“And using my godsdamned toothbrush to clean the toilet bowl!”
—spank—
Gods, my throbbing ass was on fire. All I wanted to do was fling myself into an ice bucket.
I knew I’d been pushing him too far with my cruel pranks, but it was the only way I knew how to fight back.
Childish and fun, but also wrong. Deep down, I knew I at least owed it to him to be honest about the toothbrush incident.
“I didn’t use your toothbrush to clean the toilet!” I roared.
“Yes, you did!”
“NO. I. DIDN’T!”
He halted mid-stroke. “Huh?”
The pressure on my back eased with his bewilderment. I wriggled free and clambered around to straddle his thighs so we were face to face.
Graysen’s nose was scrunched and his lips pouted like a petulant child.
His narrowed gaze fixed on mine, blazing with anger.
Yet there was a sliver of doubt beginning to crest when he realized I was telling the truth.
Damp hair slithered sideways as he slowly tilted his head, brows rising. “You didn’t?”
HA! “I did use it!”
“You did? You didn’t?” His eyes bounced between mine. “I can’t tell if you’re lying.”
My hand whipped forward. I clamped my fingers around his jawline, squeezing in a crushing grip to squish his pouty lips out even further. Yanking him closer, I hissed right into his face, “I knooooow!”