Chapter 9
CHAPTER NINE
DAPHNE
Magical cuffs. I sighed as I jerked within my bonds.
There were different iterations of cuffs throughout the magical world, but these were tuned to dampen my magic.
I still didn’t understand how magic dampening cuffs were legal when blocking magic permanently was a high crime.
Or maybe I was ticked off that I was caught in the crossfire.
I never wanted to be in this place. No charms, no spells, no chants, nothing could fight these cuffs.
Two henchmen led me to his lair and shoved me into a room.
For now, I was pretty confident he wouldn’t kill me.
If I were them, I would blame me for all of this and turn me into the council.
Then my life would be forfeited. I kicked at the door as I waited for the end to happen.
The council would pick me up and then all was lost. I couldn’t help spinning back to this spot.
The door opened, and it hit me in the face.
I fell forward, clutching my face as pain rushed through me.
“Idiot!” I screamed.
The man grabbed me and pushed me into the hallway. “The boss wants you.”
“I don’t want you.”
“That’s a pretty rock on your hand,” the other hissed.
“Fuck off. Maybe if you had a good job, you’d know what it’s like to have a woman that actually wants you.” I was babbling. This guy could be the best guy ever, but I wanted to seem tough. I didn’t want them to think I was weak, even though I was.
He lifted me off my feet and shoved me into the wall. I grunted but tried to stifle my tears. “Asshole.”
The doors opened, and they pushed me into a conference room. My eyes looked around the room, and I looked at Ryder. I lunged forward, but the guard tripped me. I fell face-first onto the floor. Tears welled in my eyes as I looked up.
“Help her up! Uncuff her!” Ryder screamed. He rushed forward, but someone stopped him before he could help me up.
The henchman pulled me to my feet roughly. “So, how long have you been dating the human?” Mr. Carville demanded. Even through the cuffs, I could feel the magic pulsing in this room.
I sucked in a breath and closed my eyes. “A few weeks. Met at a coffee shop. Coffee is my love language.”
“And you’re already engaged?”
I rolled my eyes. “If I were a wolf, you wouldn’t question any of this.”
“But you’re not.”
“No, I’m not. So it was that natural type of instant love. Even humans can do it, ya know, love at first sight.”
“Is that what you think?” Mr. Carville said with suspicion, lacing his eyes.
“Yeah. I accepted his proposal, correct?” I said.
“Why should I believe you?”
“It’s not like you knew who I was before he came on your radar—”
“Then why didn’t I know about you till this morning? That’s interesting—”
Ryder interrupted, “It was my fault. I told her that her idea was stupid the other day. I wasn’t being very supportive.”
“What idea?”
“Her idea for a shop. I was an asshole.”
My eyes narrowed as I watched Ryder make up a story.
“We were fighting. And I realized I had made a mistake. I fucked up. We met this morning. She was still giving me the cold shoulder. But I figured if I apologized enough, she would reconsider. I fucked up. We made up when I told her what happened to me and how I screwed up. But the thing is, before the fight, I started carrying the ring. I wanted to do it soon. It stayed tucked away in my wallet, a constant reminder of the ‘what if?’ scenarios that could arise at any moment. And . . . I fucked up so bad. I knew we talked earlier, Daphne. But can you forgive me?” he said.
The speech moved me. Even I couldn’t tell if he was lying.
In a nervous gesture, I swallowed and blinked. I wished that someone loved me like he pretended. “I wouldn’t have said yes if I was still mad.”
“Your idea isn’t stupid. I was afraid you’d fail, and I didn’t want you to get hurt.”
I couldn’t cover my mouth because of the stupid cuffs. “Don’t make me cry, stupid,” I whispered.
“I never want to make you cry. I never have,” he replied.
“Enough! Stop with the emotions. Fine. I believe you. Let her go.”
The henchman uncuffed me, and Ryder ran to me. His fingers caressed my wrists. “Are you okay? Did they hurt you?”
I laughed uneasily. “I’m fine, stupid.”
He grabbed my face with his hands and pulled me closer.
His lips crashed into mine. In the shock of the moment, I stilled until I relaxed into the kiss and opened my mouth for his probing tongue.
A flame erupted inside me as his hands slid down my body and pulled me closer.
If we didn’t have an audience, I could see myself going further in this kiss.
“Enough! Let them go home! If I hear anything about what you saw, I will kill you both and I’ll be watching,” he said.
Ryder pulled away and nodded. “So, we need to talk about the wedding and all that?”
I laughed uncomfortably as the henchmen walked us out of the conference room. “Yeah, I guess we need to talk about that. Do you want to go to my place?” I asked.
“Sounds good.”
Inside the elevator, he leaned closer to me. “Do you think he’s serious?”
I sucked in a breath. “Knowing him, yes. Someone will be watching us at all times until he believes we are a couple.”
“Can you stand me?”
I sighed and smiled weakly. I could see myself falling for him, and I wanted it. “Yes. It will be perfect.”
“I’ll help you set up that shop, if you want. We can get you a little handmade witchery business.”
“Sounds great.”
When the henchmen stepped out of the elevator, he looked at me. “What if things get real?”
I shrugged off the flurry of emotions welling up inside me. “Oh, well. Ya know, I’m single, you’re single. What if?”
He smiled as he grabbed my hand. “Perfect.”