Page 40 of Pushed

You really don't want me to explain or say one damn word even if we're alone?

I couldn't look away from him. His eyes blazed in anger and destruction as his fingers tightened around my arms and the tips of my toes brushed over the floor.

“We're about to walk into the fucking lions den, so this is my final warning. Do what I say, listen like you've never listened before, and hopefully, I won't have do something you'll regret. You're already treading water after you're little outburst last night, I won't allow that to happen again. I'm not going to let you fuck up everything.”

Sucking in a gulp of air, I bit my bottom lip and nodded. I didn't want to cause more problems for myself, I just wanted to go home. Nodding again, I made my eyes lower to the floor and forced them to stay there.

“Good.” Dropping my arms, I wobbled on my feet. But he didn't let me fall, Machi scooped his arms around my waist and held me up. “There's too much you don't know about this place, you realize that, right?”

Shaking my head yes, I lifted my hands to his forearms and steadied myself. Staring at my fingers, I winced with apprehension. I wasn't sure if he was going to get pissed because I had touched him when he hadn't told me to.

Is touching allowed?

Looking up, I waited for him to reprimand me for the small amount of contact my hands had taken without his permission.

He never did, he continued to talk, disregarding my hands on his arms and my eyes set on his face.

Sucking in a rush of air, his chest pressed mine as his fingers curled into the center of my back, and the thick bulge of his cock teased the warmth between my thighs.

Our eyes connected and a strange feeling settled over me. I felt charged, like he was negative and I was positive. The energy was instant, flowing from skin to skin, vibrant and alive.

Lightly, his tongue dragged over his bottom lip as his gaze held steady. I watched his iris' flicker like the tip of a flame, refusing to break the trance he had over me. The deep green flashed, twinkling with blue flecks and gold highlights.

Despite the anger painting his face, I didn't feel afraid. His touch was too gentle, his lips were too sultry. I had forgotten what we were doing, lost in a moment of delusion and untamed desire.

Is he going to kiss me?

A piece of my brain was hoping he would and I wasn't sure why. How could my body betray me like that? It created lust when it should feel hate, it created need and unwanted tingles when it should have wanted nothing but to be far away from his hands.

His head shook slightly, eyes drawing back in, focusing on the wall behind my head. It was gone, the feeling had dissipated, muzzling my lips and smothering my heart.

“Here's what's going to happen next—we're going to go have breakfast, you're going to sit by my side and keep your eyes off the men at the table. Can you do that?”

Thinning my lips, I nodded yes.

“No matter what they say, no matter how disgusting, how degrading, how downright awful it might be, you never speak, and you never look up.”

Dropping my head into my chest, I nodded again. I broke, I couldn't look at him anymore. Temptation to lean in and feel his lips on mine had crossed from thought to urge.

An invisible tether was tugging on me, causing my body to sway. The muscles in my face twitched, while my lips pushed out and my tongue touched the back of my teeth, ready to tempt him inside.

What is wrong with me?

No. It's not real, the emotions you feel are fake, it's black magic.

It was natural for your mind and body to not want to feel what it should when reality was a nightmare. . .Right?

Dropping to flat feet, I took a step back and let my arms slide off of his.

“Imperial,” he said softly, bringing his finger to my chin and cupping my jaw. “I'm not lying when I tell you this is the way.” The doors opened wide and Machi yanked himself free of my skin, raking his fingers through his hair and looking around anxiously.

There was worry on his face as his head darted back and forth, eyes wide, studying the room. His muscles tensed up and loosened as he realized no one was outside the door. “Alright, let's go.”

Another long hall entombed me like a mouse in a maze. There were less rooms in this hall than upstairs, and to my surprise, none of the same sounds trickled from the doors we passed.

I wanted to embrace the silence, I wanted it to stop the white noise that was set on repeat inside my head.

Curling my toes into the floor, the soft carpet was a surprise to my feet. The area he had taken me to looked nicer, cleaner, brighter. The paint was actually white, the walls were whole, and decorated in paintings of risque dressed women from the twenties.

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