Anger crackled through me as I stalked back and forth across the dining room, trying to work off some of the impatience bouncing around inside my body. I had sent word to Violet to inquire about where to find a skilled chef on such short notice, and she would get back to us in the morning. But that wasn’t what was fueling my restlessness.
What the hell had Sam and the others been thinking when they suggested this mission? Audrey and I were like oil and flame. Put us too close together and we’d burn the world down.
It was absolutely infuriating how she seemed to somehow always be one step ahead, knowing exactly when I gave in to the temptation of letting my eyes linger on her a bit longer. She had known that I was watching her through the gap in the curtain and had undressed like that on purpose. Did the damn poisoner have eyes in the back of her head or what?
I was always in control of everything and everyone around me, but she had a way of unsettling me. Of throwing me off balance. And that made her dangerous.
The sound of her footsteps slowly became audible from the corridor beyond the doorway. My hand brushed the hilt of the knife I kept strapped to the small of my back, but instead of drawing it, I stopped my pacing and quickly leaned down over the dining room table as if I was perusing the documents scattered there. I had been reading up on the intel we had gotten from Sam earlier, but I had already finished that now. However, I didn’t want Audrey to see me pacing like that. It made me look uncertain.
“Violet said she’d get back to us in the morning,” I said without turning to look as Audrey’s footsteps rounded the open doorway and sounded from inside the room.
“Great,” she answered. “We need to make a good impression on them if we’re going to get them to invite us to that ball. That means we need to dress the part too. I was thinking I could wear this.”
With my back still turned, I rolled my eyes at her obvious attempt to pick up where we had left off in that shop earlier today. But I knew her tricks now. Steeling myself against her gorgeous body in another well-cut dress, I turned around and raised my eyebrows while I let a look of disinterest slide across my features.
I opened my mouth to tell her to wear whatever the hell she wanted, but the words got stuck in my throat as my eyes landed on her.
“Under the dress, I mean,” she finished, and flashed me a sly smile.
My gaze flicked up and down her body. The damn poison mage was standing there wearing nothing but a pair of lacy black undergarments. She swayed her hips slightly as she sauntered up to me with that knowing glint in her green eyes.
“I bought a few of these at the shop too,” she said. “That Elise Dawson looked like she could spot un-classy people from a mile away, so I figured it’s best to go all out for this dinner. And these match that black and gold dress rather well, don’t they?”
She moved until she was standing next to me by the long dining room table. I turned so that our eyes met again. There was a cocky tilt to her chin as she looked up at me, and it made me want to dominate her even more.
A lethal smile spread across my lips as I made a decision. Fine. If this was the game she wanted to play, then I would show her exactly what I could make her do.
“Maybe,” I answered with a nonchalant shrug before jerking my chin at her. “Let me see the back.”
Smug satisfaction swirled in her eyes as she turned while I moved a step behind her. She really thought she was winning.
I struck.
Before she had even finished turning fully, I grabbed her wrist to twist her arm up her back and slam her down chest first onto the tabletop. A surprised huff ripped from her throat at the impact, and I used her stunned moment to yank the knife from under my shirt.
It had only taken a matter of moments, but when Audrey finished blinking in shock, she found herself bent over the table with my blade resting against the side of her neck.
“Oh Audrey, if you’re that desperate,” I mocked, “then let me show you what it really feels like to be at my mercy.”
She slid her free hand across the smooth tabletop, as if to grab my wrist and pull the knife aside, so I forced her other arm higher up her back. A low snarl escaped her lips, but she stopped moving her hand. I stepped closer until my knees dug into the back of her legs and my thighs pressed against her ass, keeping her pinned to the tabletop. Then I shifted the grip on my blade.
Keeping the pressure enough to be felt but not enough to break the skin, I trailed the point of my knife down her neck and towards her shoulder. “You got a glimpse of the way I can make people fall apart underneath me when you showed up unannounced at my mansion. Are you trying to tell me that you want to experience it firsthand?”
“What I saw was an actress faking it for your pleasure,” she retorted.
“Whatever you need to tell yourself.”
I drew the knife over her shoulder blade and then down towards her side. Pushing my body forward, I forced her hips harder against the table while I traced the edge of her brassiere with the blade. A low moan rolled from her throat, and her eyes fluttered as a shudder coursed through her body.
Shock clanged through me. I had expected her to be angry. To spit insults at me and swear her revenge. Or maybe even scared as she realized that she was completely at my mercy and that I could end her life with one cut of the blade. But she didn’t look angry or scared. She looked turned on. Blood rushed to my cock as I stared down at her. She was enjoying this.
The spiteful part of me wanted to stop what I was doing, because hell damn it all if I ever did anything that filled Audrey with pleasure. That orgasm she had manipulated me into giving her at the Yellow Duck was already far more than she deserved. But another part of me really wanted to watch her gasp and tremble and come apart underneath me.
Leaning down over her, I ground my hard cock against her ass while tracing the point of the blade over her ribs. She drew in a shuddering breath. I released my grip on the wrist I had been forcing up her back.
She could summon magic now. All she had to do was touch her palms together in front of her and she could throw a cloud of poison at me. But she didn’t. Her hands were splayed against the tabletop on either side of her face as she arched her back while I dragged the knife over her hip. I straightened slightly so that I could trace it over her ass. A soft moan came from her chest.
I kicked her legs apart, widening her stance. Then I paused, staring down at her. Waiting for her to say or do anything to indicate that this wasn’t something she wanted. I might be planning a violent death for this damn poison mage, but I would never force myself on her sexually. Her or anyone else, for that matter. When I wanted to engage in that particular kind of stress relief, I wanted people who begged me to fuck them. Nothing less.
When she only bucked her hips to brush her ass against my crotch, I drew the knife over her hip and down towards her toned leg. After tracing it across the back of her knee, I dragged the blade up the inside of her thigh. A shudder coursed through her body.
Drawing it up to her ass, I slid the blade underneath the black lace fabric and pulled the knife upwards. A faint tearing sound filled the air as I cut her panties off. She sucked in a gasp as they tumbled to the pale marble floor below, leaving her completely exposed to me. But she kept her legs spread in that wide stance I had shifted her into. I lifted my knife hand from her ass and quickly touched my palms together.
Force magic sprung to life around the fingers of my left hand. When Audrey did nothing to push herself off the table, despite the lack of both my hands and my knife, I stepped closer again and brought my fingers to her pussy.
She sucked in another shuddering breath as the vibrations from my magic skimmed her clit. Wicked satisfaction swirled inside me as my fingers brushed her core and found her completely soaked. I increased the intensity of the vibrations while I used my other hand to drag the knife across the small of her back.
A whimper spilled from her lips.
I trailed the point of the blade up along her spine while I continued teasing her with my magic, making her squirm against the tabletop underneath me. Her long black hair rippled as she changed between pressing her forehead and pressing her cheek against the smooth wood. I upped the vibrations again.
She gasped.
With the same efficient moves as before, I slid my knife underneath the black lace of her brassiere and expertly cut the sheer fabric from her trembling body. Using the side of my hand, I brushed the strips off her back, leaving her completely naked and bent over the table before me.
A dark moan tore from her throat as I shifted my fingers while strengthening the vibrations again. She bit her lip and curled her fingers against the tabletop. I did the same thing again. It drew a pitiful whimper from her chest as she squirmed underneath me once more. Sliding the blade along her neck, I positioned the edge against the exposed skin of her throat while she was busy squeezing her eyes shut and pressing her forehead against the table. She stilled.
Her chest heaved as I continued sending pulses of force magic against her clit, but with the blade to her neck, she was forced to keep her body in the same position. She bit her lip again, and I wanted to run my thumb over that luscious mouth of hers. Instead, I heightened the vibrations.
She released a long shuddering breath that transformed into a dark moan halfway through, and then she clenched her fists against the table. I shifted the blade to the front of her throat while she turned her head, allowing her to rest her cheek against the tabletop instead of pressing her forehead into it. Dark desire swirled in her eyes. I pushed my fingers harder against her wet core. A pleading groan tore from her throat. I kept my magic in place.
Pleasure exploded behind her eyes. A string of unintelligible moans rolled from her mouth and her whole body shook against the table as she came all over my fingers. Leaning forward, I pushed my legs into the back of hers to keep her hips firmly against the tabletop when her knees buckled. She sucked in a desperate breath and arched her back as I continued sending pulsing magic against her throbbing clit, prolonging the wave of pleasure.
When the last of the tremors had left her body, I removed the knife from her throat and let my force magic fade out. Audrey just lay there, slumped against the tabletop. Her chest heaved and her eyes were slightly unfocused. Smug victory burned inside me.
Bracing an arm against the table, I leaned down over her.
“See,” I began in a dark whisper. “Every time you play this game with me, you always lose.”
She just continued forcing breaths in and out of her lungs. I straightened. Finally, I had reset the power balance to its proper place. She was the one who came apart underneath me, and I was the one who chose whether or not she would be allowed to experience such ecstasy again.
A smirk tugged at my lips as I took a step back from the table so that I could saunter out the door while she was still trying to piece her mind back together.
Green flashed at the corner of my vision. I blinked in surprise as Audrey shot upright, a cloud of poison magic already hovering in front of my face. Her cheeks were flushed and her naked skin practically glowed from the orgasm I had given her, but there was a lethal look in her eyes as she took a step forward.
“It’s funny how you think I can’t tell how hard you are for me,” she said while sweet venom dripped from her smile.
My back connected with the wall as she pushed forward, keeping that poison cloud between us.
She swept her long dark hair over her shoulders so that it tumbled down her back while she came to a halt in front of me. “Now stand there like a good boy and let me show you who really holds the power here.”
I could summon a force wall and send her flying across the room if I wanted to, but I had to admit, I was intrigued. So I spread my arms in a cocky gesture and arched my eyebrows at her. With that challenging smirk still on her pretty lips, she let the glittering poison dissipate. For a moment, she only continued staring up at me, as if testing to see what I would do when her magic was gone. I only looked back at her expectantly.
Her tongue skimmed her teeth as her lips curled in a sharp smile.
Closing the distance between us, she rose up on her toes and brushed her lips along my jaw while her hands traced over my stomach. My heart gave a couple of violent beats and blood shot down to my cock as Audrey started unbuttoning my pants. Wickedness glittered in those bright eyes of hers as she let out a dark laugh. Her breath caressed my skin, making it prickle from the soft brush of her lips.
My cock strained against my underwear as she shifted my now unbuttoned pants, creating a space at just the right place. I kept my spine straight and my chin raised in a pose of complete disinterest while she slid the final layer of fabric down, making my already hard length spring free. A small but very treacherous breath ripped from my throat as she wrapped her fingers around my cock.
She released another dark chuckle. “You men might have a lot of advantages that we don’t, but at least you can’t hide your arousal the way we can.”
“It’s—” I began, but she drew her hand up and down, making me inhale another sharp breath.
After tracing her lips over my jaw one final time, she slowly lowered herself to her knees before me.
My heart started thumping hard behind my ribs. Hell damn it all. I had fucked lots of people before. Why was I reacting like a little virgin boy still in his damn teens? Tipping my head back, I rested it against the cool marble wall and blew out a steadying breath. With my resolve back in place like an iron wall, I returned my attention to the poison mage who had now reached the floor. I refused to let her believe that she was capable of affecting me in any way. Apart from making me want to kill her, of course.
She swirled her tongue over my tip and I damn near came right then.
Squeezing my hand into a fist, I clenched my jaw and tried to pull that resolve back as Audrey slid her lips over my cock, taking it into her mouth. My heart stampeded in my chest as she took me deeper before slowly pulling back. Her tongue flicked over my tip again. I ground my teeth so hard they almost cracked. She pushed forward again.
It took all my self-control to keep breathing normally as Audrey worked her lips and that damn tongue of hers until I thought my whole body was going to explode. Clenching and unclenching my fist, I kept blowing out measured breaths while she pushed me closer and closer towards the edge.
Her teeth grazed my skin, making a violent tremor course through my body. My hand shot out and grabbed her hair. Before I could recover, she followed it up with a move that involved both her lips and her tongue that made all of my control snap.
Release exploded through me.
While fisting her hair, I sucked in a gasp as waves of pleasure rolled over my body and my vision flashed. Audrey’s lips were still wrapped around my cock, and she took it all. When the last pulses of pleasure had faded, I realized that I was still gripping her hair. I snatched my hand back.
With her head now free to move again, she slid my cock out of her mouth and wiped her bottom lip with her thumb as she rose to her feet again.
Arrogant victory glittered in her eyes. She opened her mouth to say something, but before she could, my hand flashed up and I took her jaw in a punishing grip.
“So, apparently that tongue of yours is good for something other than spitting disrespect in my face,” I said in a low and vicious voice as I stared her down.
“Told you.” She reached up, but not to wrench my hand off her jaw. Instead, she lifted her palm higher and gave my cheek a couple of brisk pats. “You’re not the one in control here, pretty boy.”
“Whatever you need to tell yourself, sweetheart.”
But that smug satisfaction still shone in her eyes.
I had done this to make her understand that I called the shots here. Not her.
But as I looked down at that wicked smirk on her pretty little lips, I couldn’t help but feel that I was in deep shit now.
