Page 26 of Sold to the Devil
My hands drop my shorts, letting them fall to the floor as I clench my fists. His irises sweep shamelessly over my body and darken. I giggle in disbelief at how filled with desire they are.
Oh, the fucking nerve of that man!
In a few strides, he's in front of me, our chests practically touching as he looks at me intensely. I frown, silently daring him to try anything. The fear he inspired in me last night vanished the instant I realized where he'd spent the night, rage taking its place.
I'm officially done with his bullshit. I won't let him treat me like shit or humiliate me with his deception anymore. If he wants to play this game, then we'll play.
We'll see who laughs last, Rigast.
His hand pushes a strand of hair behind my ear, then he cups my cheek, brushing his thumb against my skin in a surprisingly tender gesture. I immediately curse my body for the way it reacts to his touch.
How I shiver after just a touch. His dark eyes are still full of desire, but something else shines in his irises, and I can't place what it is.
Vulnerability? No. Probably not.
Slowly, his thumb strokes my lower lip as his gaze follows the movement, and that's when I snap back to reality. I'm not going to let him touch me when just hours before, he was touching someone else.
I may be a surrogate for the Rigast heir, but I'll never be his fucking toy.
I push his hand away, watching in delight as his face contorts in confusion. He opens his mouth, ready to speak, but instinctively, my hand lands on his chest and I push him, so hard that he flies out of the bathroom and into the bedroom. He lands on his back with a groan of pain.
He lifts his head to look at me in utter disbelief as I quickly shut the door and lock it this time. I rest my forehead against the wooden door as I take a shaky breath. I don't know where this reflex or this strength came from. The the words of my blood in the silver cup from yesterday come back to me.
Your lineage is interesting. Really very interesting.
A wizard and a shapeshifter…
I jump when he starts to bang aggressively on the bathroom door, ordering me to let him in. I tell him to fuck off in a voice more cheerful than how I’m feeling and strip off my underwear before running myself under the hot water. I push back my now-damp hair and grab some shampoo. I can still hear him banging on the door as I wash my long brown hair and my body.
‘Darling, are you okay? Nancy told me he's back. Please tell me he didn't touch you…’
I smile as Tom's voice echoes in my head.
‘I'm fine. Don't worry, he didn't do anything and he'll never get the chance to do it again, I guarantee you.’
I hear his sigh of relief in my mind and I laugh softly, amused by the telepathic magic. I've read all about how it works, but I've never had the opportunity to try it before. It's fun.
I rinse off and then step out of the shower, wrapping a towel around my body. I ignore Mattheo, who is still knocking on the door, and begin drying myself off before putting on my clothes. I put on a black skirt and white blouse, the typical colors of the Academy's required uniform. I tie the gray tie my cousin gave me the day before so that my uniform is complete. She also explained to me that boys wear black ties—as I noticed with Mattheo the day before—while girls wear gray ones.
“Open the fucking door, Aelys!”
“Fuck you, Mattheo,” I reply in a sing-song voice.
“I swear I'll break it down if you don't open the door!”
It took him a while to think of this solution.
I roll my eyes, brush my hair and teeth. I head to the door after. I open it, seeing him ready to deliver a hard kick that would likely have shattered the door, as he'd threatened. He fumes, his jaw clenched so tightly it hurts me, his eyes darker than ever.
Within seconds I am pinned hard against the wall, his hand around my throat and his wand pressed painfully against my stomach. His face is inches from mine, his eyes burning with rage never leaving mine as he seems to be watching me curiously despite his anger.
“What was that?” He thunders, his voice vibrating with rage.
“I don't know what you're talking about,” I reply calmly, knowing that this only increases his fury.
He squeezes my throat tighter, and I feel proud when I don't flinch. I'm not afraid anymore, it's over.
His nose brushes against mine and I curse my traitorous body for shuddering in pleasure. It screams for his touch, for him. Meanwhile, my mind and instinct tell me to fight, to push him away like I did earlier. He grins devilishly and chuckles darkly when he notices the reaction on my skin, before hovering his lips over mine. My breath catches as my eyes widen slightly.
