Maybe I would bring him to the brink of death, and then allow him one breath to beg for his life… and then kill him anyway. Or I could rein in the poison a little and make him grovel the whole way to death’s doorstep instead. That might be even better. He’d have to do it all. Kneel, bow, kiss my feet, beg and plead with everything he had. And then, I might dig out a scrap of mercy and allow him the sweet release of death.
Afternoon sunlight played in the pale ceiling while I lay on the floor in the empty bedroom, planning Callan’s excruciatingly painful death in my head.
It had been hours since the bastard had locked me in this room, and I still had no idea what he was actually doing out there. I had searched for other ways out, but unfortunately there was only one door, and it was too far to the ground for me to jump out the window. So I’d been forced to stay put, plotting my revenge, while I waited for Callan to deign to let me out again.
The door rattled as someone gave it a light kick from the other side. I shot to my feet.
“So,” Callan drawled. “Have you reached a conclusion? About who’s in charge here?”
Saying nothing, I left my pack on the floor and snuck over to the wall.
“I might be persuaded to let you out,” he continued. “If you beg for it.”
I moved so that I stood halfway between the door and the outer wall, before drawing myself up against the smooth marble wall that separated this room from the corridor outside.
“You only get one chance, though. So make it pretty,” Callan finished.
Still not replying, I just stood there, pressed against the wall a short distance from the door, while I kept my eyes on the handle.
The wooden door rattled as he kicked it again. “Did you hear me?”
Green mist appeared between my hands as I touched my palms together.
“Audrey. You alive in there?”
I shifted my stance.
“Don’t tell me she fucking passed out or something,” he grumbled from the other side of the door.
The metallic clinking of keys joined Callan’s muttered curses as he unlocked the door. Slowly, the handle was pushed downwards. My muscles tensed. Then the door was shoved open.
Nothing else moved. From my position by the wall, I could only see the open door that hit the marble on the other side. No dark mage. The silence stretched. He was probably standing right outside the door, studying the room without going inside.
His head appeared in the doorway.
I struck.
A flash of glittering green magic shot straight at his face from the side. He whipped towards it, but it was too late.
Gasping in a choked breath, he crumpled to the floor. I kept forcing the poison magic down his throat while I moved away from the wall to stand in front of him. He was going to look me in the eye when he begged for my mercy.
Shock clanged through me as I was thrown off my feet. Slamming down on top of my pack, I rolled across the floor. Hell damn it. He’d already had a force wall ready to throw at me when he stuck his head through the door.
Dull pain pulsed through my shoulder as I tried to right myself again.
Something big sped towards me. Pushing myself into a sitting position, I touched my palms together and shot a poison cloud at it. A blast of force knocked it aside while Callan closed the final distance. I already had another attack ready, and shoved a swirl of poison right into his face.
He crumpled down right before he reached me, and I rolled to the side. But not far enough. Even though he was choking on my magic, he managed to time his fall so that he landed on top of my legs. I added more strength to the poison, but he had already called up a force blade.
While shifting his position so that he straddled my hips, he pressed the vibrating blade over my throat, forcing me down harder against the floor.
Because of my magic, he couldn’t speak. But his eyes said it for him. Pull back the poison or I’ll slit your throat.
For a moment, I considered whether I could get him to die from my poison before he could kill me. But in the end, I did still need him for this mission. Regrettably.
He pushed the vibrating force blade harder against my skin.
I blew out an irritated breath, but then gave him a nod.
While I let my poison cloud dissipate, he released his force blade and let it fade out.
Callan sucked in a deep breath. I raised a hand to check if he had managed to break the skin on my neck, but before I could, strong fingers wrapped around my wrist. Shifting his knees, he rolled me over onto my stomach and twisted my left hand up my back before he settled his weight firmly on my ass instead.
I pressed my other palm against the cold marble floor and used it to try to push myself up. Placing his free hand between my shoulder blades, Callan shoved me back down while forcing my left arm higher up my back.
A small groan of pain ripped from my throat.
“You ever try something like that again,” Callan began in a voice dripping with authority, “and I’ll tie you up and keep you on a leash while we finish this mission.”
“If you try to lock me in a room again, you won’t wake up the next morning,” I spit back at him.
He leaned down, putting more of his weight on me, and placed his lips next to my ear. “Keep telling yourself that if it helps you sleep at night.”
Pushing against the floor with all my strength, I tried to force him off me. He only twisted my arm again, and a treacherous whimper escaped my lips. I slammed my palm into the floor.
“We agreed to pull our magic back,” I snarled, my cheek still pressed against the cold marble.
“Yes, we did. And now, you’re completely at my mercy. You might be skilled with your poison magic, but never forget that in every other way, you will always be thoroughly outclassed against me.”
I curled my fingers into a fist. Callan kept me pinned to the floor for a little while longer, as if to truly rub it in my face. Then he gave me one final shove between the shoulder blades and stood up.
Shooting to my feet, I rolled my aching shoulder while staring daggers at the arrogant force mage. He raised his eyebrows in a silent challenge.
The seconds stretched by.
When I didn’t do anything else, he let out a mocking laugh and started towards the door.
“Go unpack,” he ordered with a lazy wave of his hand. “I’m going to take a bath.”
Narrowing my eyes, I watched him disappear into the hallway. Take a bath, huh? Oh, I knew just how to get my revenge on him for his little power play. He thought he was the one calling the shots, but I knew exactly how to mess with his head. And by all hell, it was so much fun watching that battle behind his eyes.
After grabbing my pack, I slunk into the hallway. One glance was enough to confirm that Callan had claimed the master bedroom, and I didn’t feel like fighting him over it. Yet. So I just dumped my things in the second room and then got ready before striding towards the bathroom at the end of the hall. The sound of sloshing water came from the other side of the door. I pushed it open and strode inside.
An incredibly luxurious bathroom met me as I stepped across the threshold. Not only was there a spacious open shower in the corner, but the whole back half of the room was taken up by a massive sunken bath. Since we were on the second floor, there were steps leading up to the bath, which had then been sunk into the raised platform of marble. Two lounge chairs were waiting by the wall and white drapes fluttered slightly in the breeze from the window that Callan had cracked open. The force mage himself turned his head to scowl at me as I sauntered into the room.
His gaze drifted over the towel wrapped around my body before dipping down to my bare legs. Drawing his brows down deeper, he met my eyes again.
“There’s a bathroom downstairs,” he announced as I came to a halt in the middle of the room.
“I know.” I lifted one shoulder in a nonchalant shrug. “But that one doesn’t have a bath.”
“Then wait your turn.”
“Oh darling, don’t you know?” A sly smile tugged at my lips as I removed the small piece of string and let my long black hair tumble down my back. “People who wait their turn never get anywhere in life.”
Callan opened his mouth to retort, but right before he could, I released my towel and let it flutter to the floor. The words died on his tongue. Before he could recover, I sauntered up the steps to the sunken bath.
When I reached the top, I stopped and drew my fingers through my hair, shaking it out while letting him get a good look at my body. I knew that I was attractive, and I intended to use that to the fullest. Just like I used my magic and my mind and everything else about me.
Warm water lapped around my ankles as I at last moved down the steps on the other side and into the bath. Callan’s eyes tracked me.
He was seated on the stone ledge that had been set into the walls of the bath. Since the water only reached waist or chest level, depending on how tall you were, it was meant as a sort of bench where people could sit so that they would be more thoroughly submerged. The top half of Callan’s muscular chest was visible above the surface where he sat, but the water was so clear that I could see his body quite well underneath it too.
Damn. I had forgotten how ridiculously hot he looked naked.
“How’s your arm?” he asked when I reached the end of the steps.
The warm water skimmed the bottom of my breasts where I stood. Turning slowly, I met Callan’s gaze. The lethal smile on his lips informed me that he was referring to the arm he had been forcing up my back not ten minutes ago. I let a thoughtful expression descend on my features.
“I’m not sure.” I rolled my shoulder. “I should probably test out the range of movement.”
He frowned. That was probably not the reply he had been expecting. While keeping that thoughtful look on my face, I moved my left arm so that I drew my hand over my collarbones. It took all my self-control not to smirk as his eyes widened slightly in surprise. I dragged my hand downwards, kneading my tits before continuing down my stomach.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” he demanded.
“I already told you. I’m testing the range of movement to make sure nothing is damaged.”
He huffed out an irritated breath and looked away. Since I had no plans to let him off the hook that easily, I started towards him while my hand made its way over my breasts again. Water sloshed around my chest. Callan’s eyes slid back to me. Indecision flickered in them.
If he moved away from me, he would be as good as telling me that what I was doing was affecting him. But if he stayed…
Keeping my eyes on him, I closed the final distance between us. Where he sat on the marble ledge, his face was almost level with mine. Water rolled against my tits as I moved, and it took him a second to shift his eyes back to mine. He was sitting with his legs spread wide on the bench, and I moved closer until I stood between them, getting in his face as much as I could without our bodies actually touching.
At last, I dropped the innocent and thoughtful look I’d kept on my features and instead let a wicked smile decorate my mouth. Callan remained firmly in his seat, looking back at me with thunder brewing in his eyes.
I drew both of my hands over my stomach. While I let one of them continue down my hip, I ran the other over my tits. Callan’s eyes darkened. Holding his gaze, I traced my fingers over my thigh on their way towards my center. I let out a small moan from the back of my throat as I let them skim across my entrance.
Callan clenched his jaw.
While continuing to tease my pussy, I moved my other hand from my breasts and drew it up my throat. Water ran down my skin as my wet hand reached my chin. I released another moan and let my eyes flutter closed as I rolled my clit between my fingers. Tracing my other hand over my lips, I stuck two fingers into my mouth and bit down as if to suppress a groan of pleasure.
My stomach lurched.
I drew in a startled breath and my eyes flew open as I was yanked off my feet. Water slapped against the marble walls of the bath as Callan shot to his feet and grabbed me before spinning me around and slamming me down on the ledge he had been sitting on. The force as my ass met the ledge sent a jolt through my body. Water rippled around me, reaching all the way up to my collarbones. I snapped my gaze up to the dark mage before me.
Callan Blackwell released his grip on my arms, but his hands quickly appeared on my legs instead. His strong fingers dug into my skin as he took my thighs in a firm grip and spread my legs wide. I smirked up at him.
Bracing a knee on the ledge between my legs, he leaned forward until I could feel his hot breath on my skin. His kneecap was pressed against my entrance and his hard cock brushed my hip as he leaned down the final bit. Drops of water ran down his lean muscled chest and lightning flashed in his eyes. When he spoke, his voice was like rumbling thunder.
“I hate you more than I have ever hated anything or anyone in my entire life.”
I let out a dark laugh. “You want to fuck me so badly, don’t you?”
His hand shot up. Taking my jaw in a punishing grip, he forced my head back against the wall behind me while he stared me down. War raged behind his eyes, and for a moment, I thought he might actually kiss me.
Then he released my jaw with a force that made my head snap to the side. Pushing off from the ledge, he rose to his full formidable height above me. I turned my head back so that I faced him, and found death swirling in his dark eyes. A victorious smile slid across my lips.
Callan let out a low snarl. Whirling around, he stalked out of the bath and down the steps. After wrapping a towel around his hips and the very telling state of his cock, he strode out of the bathroom without a second look back.
A smug laugh bubbled from my throat. Leaning back against the wall, I smiled up at the pale ceiling above me.
If I had known that baiting Callan like this to mess with his head was this much fun, I would have done it ages ago.
And now I had even more weapons to draw from when we started our war back up again.
