On some level, I know he’s trying to scare me away, that he believes I will hate him, that it’s inevitable, and the sooner the better. He believes hating him protects me. And suddenly I know that my hating him would be exactly what destroys him.
Heat rushes over me with the nearness of his body, with the promise of dark, erotic things to follow, that will surely test my limits, but this is Adrian. That statement to me says it all and I dare to whisper, “Show me.”
He pulls back, his eyes lit with just a hint of surprise, as I add, “I’m not afraid of you.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
ADRIAN
I stare down at Pri, too beautiful, brave, and smart for her own good, and mine, too. She thinks she knows evil but seeing it from a distance, even a close distance, is not the same as living it.
There is a pulse in the air between us, a dark, demanding pulse that is more about me than her, but she doesn’t see that. Because as smart as she is, and she is, she wears blinders with me. She simply can’t see that there is a part of me that is far from gentle, a part of me that I discovered when I was a Devil. A part of me I can never fully erase.
I want to fuck her.
I want to fuck her so damn hard and right that she never wants to leave me.
But I don’t think she can handle what that means. And if she can’t handle that side of me, and if she can’t handle that dark, hungry, far-from-gentle part of me, then she can’t handle the rest of my story.
Any other time, that would be enough for me to pull back.
But not tonight. Tonight, I need her to understand everything is not roses and chocolates. It’s fucking, just to get a high that makes you forget the blood and pain, and that is not even a little bit gentle. That’s not lovemaking. That is grinding it out, roughing it up, until nothing exists but pleasure. And it’s about control. It’s about the world stripping it away and my need to claim it again, which is what I’m trying to do with Waters. But she isn’t listening. She has to listen.
I now know that means no turning back. It means I need to show her how a Devil fucks.
“You trust me?” I challenge softly.
Her lips part and she whispers, “You know I do.”
“Show me and I’ll tell you anything you want.”
“I’ve already shown you,” she says. “You know I trust you.”
She doesn’t understand but she will. “Show me again,” I say.
“All right,” she says. “What do you want right now, Adrian? Tell me.”
Her. I want her for the rest of my life, but even above that, I want her alive and happy. Her life over my life. That’s what this is about. The room darkens, the cloud just behind Pri outside the window is heavy with the promise of rain, ready to burst. An ominous reminder of how explosive and ready to burst our situation has become.
“Let’s see how much you really do trust me, Pri,” I say. “I’m in charge. You are not. You do as I say when I say it.”
Her rebellion is instant. “And if I don’t?”
“I’ll punish you,” I say, my voice absolute.
Her eyes go wide. “How?”
I leave that question unanswered. “Undress,” I order softly.
I step backward and sit on the couch that faces the window, leaving two oversized—and perhaps useful before this is over—chairs free. I’m now in a position to watch her, to dominate her, and there is a flicker of uncertainty in her eyes that tells me she’s aware of this fact. She’s a woman who prefers control. Giving it away will not be easy for her. Giving it away is a sign of ultimate trust.
Her eyes narrow on me and for a moment I see rebellion, but then there’s a softening of her expression that I know to be the first hints of submission. Only with Pri, I’m not sure it’s actual submission. And while submission isn’t what I want from Pri, not normally, not outside of the bedroom, at least there’s a part of me that needs certain things.
She’s going to meet that part of me now.
She chooses the least intimate move next. She toes off her shoes and then pulls off her socks. Her bare feet and pink painted toes draw my attention, and it seems my cock is alive and well, with the idea that more skin will soon follow. My gaze lifts to hers, a push in its depths. I expect her to push back, to hesitate again before removing her clothing, but she doesn’t. She reaches for the hem of her T-shirt. The tee hits the floor and she gives me only a moment to appreciate her high, full breasts, cupped by the silk of the black bra before she’s unhooked it and tossed it aside.