When I finished my perusal of the library, I popped my head into the dining hall, but there was no sign of Angel, so I just headed into the lair to shower and change. Len’s mention of their dinner tonight had stirred my curiosity, and I wanted to check it out. Mostly so I could learn by observing these powerful beings. Shadow knew way too much about me, and I knew way too little about him. It was an uneven balance of power and I hated that more than anything.
I wasn’t so stupidly naïve that I was unaware of Shadow and his greater plan at work here. He told me next to nothing about his actions behind the scenes, and whatever he was planning, it involved me. In a way I would probably not like.
He’d said he needed me to subdue the shadow creatures, and that was the reason I was still here and going out with him, but I was almost certain that was bullshit. He didn’t need me. He’d subdued and caged them basically on his own both times.
He was keeping me for another reason, and I needed more information to figure this shit out if I had even the smallest hope of surviving.
For this dinner, I didn’t bother dressing in a sexy cocktail number, instead pulling on leather pants, knee-high black boots with a decent heel to shoot my height up among the giants, and a skin-tight white tank that I covered with a short, black leather jacket. Damn, I was going to miss this closet more than anything when I left this place. Maybe I could take it and the lair with me because they were both the stuff of dreams.
I was alone when I stepped out of my room; even Inky was making itself sparse these days. Shadow was “trusting” me a lot more, and it felt like a trap I was about to get caught in. I also kinda missed the smoke blob, too. Especially when I had no idea where the dinner was.
“What are you doing, Sunshine?”
I didn’t jump because I was too cool for that shit. Especially in front of Shadow.
Hopefully, he couldn’t hear my heart pounding like a damn drum in my chest.
“Len invited me to your dinner,” I said shortly.
He replaced the books in his private shelves, turning as his gaze slowly caressed every leather-clad inch of my body. “And you’re dressed like that?”
It was impossible to tell what he meant by that, because his tone and facial expression gave me no context to go with those words. At a guess, he didn’t seem impressed, but you know what…
“Fuck you, buddy. No one dictates what I wear, and I’m a sight more covered than I was the last time you invited me to dinner.”
His jaw twitched, eyes blazing, but he didn’t push the subject. “Have you figured out how to touch the Shadow Realm?”
I swallowed hard. “I mean, you still want me to do that?”
Flames licked across his arms and I was surprised at how long it had been since I’d seen this sort of irritation in his expression. “Yes, I damn well want you to figure it out. This is legitimately your only task over the next few days while I track the next shadow creature.”
I crossed my arms. “I have no idea how I did it! Like, not a single fucking clue. My soul was broken, my heart aching, and I was being attacked. Unless we can replicate that…”
He grabbed the edge of my leather jacket, using it and it alone to hoist me up in the air so our faces were mere inches apart. His face that was eight freaking feet from the ground. “If I have to replicate the worst moment of your life, Sunshine, I will fucking do it. All day, every single day. There’s nothing more important than discovering how to… return the creatures to the realm.”
He’d changed track last minute on that sentence. We were back to his cover story of “needing to return the shadow creatures.” Not that they weren’t important, no doubt they were, but there was something more. Something that had to do with the reason his realm was closed off.
“You’ve had enough time to settle in here,” he said harshly. “I’ve given you more leeway than I would any other in my custody. Don’t push me further, and never forget that I own you, wolf. If I wanted, I could destroy you in a heartbeat.”
This was not the same Shadow who had taken me out to find the sprecker. That one had seemed lighter, open… like he’d been warming up to my presence. This Shadow was the scary fuckhead who’d stolen me from the Torma pack.
“I’ll add it to my to-do list,” I choked out before I kicked my legs, hoping he’d let me down.
Only he didn’t.
“Repeat the list to me.”
“Let me down, asshole,” I shot back.
He shook me, and the fucking strength this guy had was terrifying, but thankfully, so far, he wasn’t using it against me in any overt way. So far.
“List!”
Glaring with every fucking ounce of my glaring ability, I spat each word at him. “Figure. Out. How. To Touch. The Shadow Realm.”
He yanked me closer, and I could feel all the hard lines of his body. Not that he seemed to notice how close we were; he was too busy demonstrating his power over me. “What else is on your list?
I blinked rapidly. “Why does that matter? As long as what you want is number one, surely, you don’t give a fuck about my other goals.”
A low, dark laugh. “Correct, but I also need to know what is distracting you.”
Shadow had reached the end of his patience, and it was growing abundantly clear I probably should have spent more than five seconds trying to figure out how I’d touched the Shadow Realm.
There was no give at all on the hard lines of his face; I was not getting out of here without obeying his will. With a huff, I told him the truth. “Learn about the ten worlds, read all the books in the library, discover your secrets, and lose my virginity so I’m not the only twenty-two-year-old shifter virgin in the world.”
An extended pause. “You’re aiming to fuck someone in the library?”
That was what had caught his attention? Not the fact I was ready to ferret out all his secrets?
I shrugged. “I haven’t decided exactly who, but I’m perusing the selection for sure. I mean, a girl has needs.”
His eyes dropped to the way my breasts, barely caged in the skimpy white tank, were pushed up against his chest. “Is that right?”
Fuck. Me.
Was it hot in here? Had he burst into flames again?
“I forbid this,” he finally said.
Whoa, wait a freaking second…
“Not a chance, dude. My personal life is none of your business.”
His lips were so close to mine that I could almost taste him. If I darted my tongue out…
“What if your virginity is the reason you had the purity and innocence to make it past the blocks on the Shadow Realm?”
I scoffed. “Firstly, a virginity is not what makes someone innocent, and trust me, Shadow, I’m far from pure. Secondly, there’s no way you think my virgin status is a factor in this; you’re just trying to make life difficult for me.” I jabbed him in the chest, barely making a dent since we were so close. “Not gonna happen. I’ve waited long enough.”
A contemplative stare crossed his face and I wondered what bullshit he was thinking up now. “No one will even look at you twice if I give the order, you know that, right? You’d have more chance of losing your virginity on a deserted island with birds as the only inhabitants.”
I didn’t even want to touch that visual.
“Are you challenging me?” I burst out, all the while telling myself to just shut the hell up. I was giving him all the ammo to roadblock my plans. If I’d just kept it to myself, he’d have been none the wiser.
“You are no challenge,” he shot back. “You live on my fucking will alone. What makes you think you can best me in any way?”
That was it. “I bet I can lose my virginity in the next two weeks.”
You are the dumbest fuck, Mera.
Cruel amusement danced in his eyes, and I resisted the urge to gouge them out. “You bet? And what are the stakes?”
Abort, abort. “If I win, you let me go back to my pack and see my friends.”
“And when I win?”
Arrogant Shadow Bastard.
“On the small chance you win, what do you want?”
His smile was nothing short of freaking terrifying. “If I win, you will submit to me in a way you haven’t so far. No more fighting. No more research. You will return the books you think you’re hiding under your bed and accept your place here. At the bottom of the barrel.”
Jesus. The prospect of that sent a bone-deep chill through my body. My soul actually ached at the thought of losing my will to fight. He would take it from me, I saw that in his gaze, but I’d laid that bet out, and now I couldn’t back down.
“You’re asking too much,” I choked out. “The stakes are uneven. It’s not fair.”
His head angled to the right as he considered my words. “Who told you life was fair?”
I scoffed. “I know better than most that it’s not, but in this situation, I won’t take a bet that skewed in your favor.” I shook my head. “Nope. If you win, I will stop fighting as hard, but I won’t submit to you completely. Not the way you’re asking. You’ll just have to accept as much as I can give.”
His lips pressed together, thinning out their fullness, eyes still assessing me. “Fine. You’ll never win anyway, but I’m curious to see you in fight mode. Let the games begin.”
He released me, but I didn’t let him have the upper hand this time, wrapping my arms around his neck and jerking his face closer to mine. “You’re going down, asshole,” I seethed, my legs wrapped as tightly around his waist as my arms around his neck. I ground myself against him, feeling the hot pulse of pleasure inside. “I’m ready to fuck my way out of this state, and I won’t let anyone stop me.”
His growl was low and furious, and before I could think through my combative actions, he spun and crashed us into the shelves behind me, so his big body could completely engulf mine. My back ached, but not enough to stop the moan from emerging at the vibration in my pussy. His power was like a high-quality vibrator, especially when I was feeling it through every line of my body.
“You belong to me,” he rumbled. “Every single part of you. Until I decide it doesn’t.”
His hands were under my ass to jerk me harder against him, rubbing my clit in a way that I knew was deliberate. Another moan escaped, even as I wanted to rip his face off.
“Are you going to be the one who wins me the bet?” I gasped, on the verge of coming.
He laughed. Actually fucking laughed, and if it wasn’t for the hard cock pressed against my core, I might have thought him completely unaffected. Physically at least, he wasn’t as blasé as he often appeared.
Not that it mattered. He’d do everything in his power to stop me winning the bet, and I would do everything in my power to win it. As he’d just said: let the games begin.
