“No,” he admitted. His vibrant stare ran down my body and back up to meet mine. Then his hand shot out and slid over my cheek, up into my hair. He grabbed a handful tightly. “Do you want to hear how my blood boiled as I watched him mate you? How my claws sprung forth and my fangs ached to tear him apart even as my rod rose for your beauty? Is that what you're after, Amaranthine? You want me to admit how I nearly risked everything to leap across that room and take you from him? Or how I've stroked my cock as I imagined your naked body spread beneath mine? How I've thought of little else than you for all of these months? Is that what you want me to confess?”
“If it's the truth.” I held his stare. “But what I really want you to admit is that this has nothing to do with punishing me and everything to do with possessing me.”
“No.” He pushed me away. “It's about both. I want you and so I will have you, Amara. But I also crave justice for my brothers. And that leaves me with a dilemma.”
“How to punish me without hurting me?” I asked.
“Oh, no, Iwillhurt you for what you did,” Braxis vowed. “You took the right to fight away from my men and denied them honor.”
“And now you've taken it from me.”
“But you also made them turn on each other—you raped their minds.” His pale-mint eyes glittered. “That requires more than your subjugation.”
I sighed. “And you think that raping me in return is justice?”
“Perhaps.” He stalked over to me. “But I don't want to force you ever again, Amara. I don't like the way it mademefeel and I really don't like the way you looked at me when it was over.”
“Then what will you do?” I whispered.
Braxis turned and went to the closet. He took his time retrieving a fresh set of clothing and pulling it on. I watched impassively, refusing to allow his stalling to unnerve me. Finally, he turned and walked to the bed.
“I have a bargain for you.” Braxis sat down on the foot of the bed; I had a feeling that he did it specifically to make himself appear less threatening. “I will not use the Silver Tongue on you if you will obey me willingly.”
“I can't promise that,” I said immediately.
“I will not demand sex from you,” he swore.
“What will you demand?”
“That you attend me like a mvarra in allotherways.”
“Be more specific,” I growled and narrowed my eyes at him.
Braxis grinned. “I will touch you but I won't have sex with you. Not until you desire it.”
Until. He thought that he could seduce me. Oh, this was just perfect. He was already playing my game. We were competing for each other's hearts and to the winner would go the spoils. But this wasn't your usual romantic challenge and there was much more than our hearts on the line.
“So, you want me to play the role of a mvarra outside of bed?” I clarified. “No sex of any kind?”
“No sex unless you agree to it,” he amended. “But you will be my mvarra in bed as well.”
“I don't understand.”
“You will sleep beside me and allow me to hold you and touch you. And you will touch me in return.”
“Braxis, I can't...”
“Not like that,” he cut me off. “I want you to give me a chance to win you, Amara. Do you understand? I need to be able to touch you to do that.”
Braxis really was delusional if he thought there was any chance that I'd willingly have sex with him. But this confirmed my theories about him and part of me was proud of myself for analyzing him correctly. Now, I just had to win him over while he thought he was winning me. I thought it unlikely that an alpha male like Braxis would fall in love when he thought he was losing. Which meant that I'd have to throw the game a bit and let him have a few triumphs before I take it all. Of course, as I mentioned earlier, I don't know a lot about love and I could be completely wrong.
“I understand,” I said at last. “I'll accept your terms on one condition.”
“What?” He narrowed his eyes at me.
“That you don't drink my blood.”
Bleiten didn't need blood to survive as the Ungaru did, but they enjoyed the taste of it and could use it as fuel. Bleiten men often drank from their women—it was considered an intimate and erotic act. It was also how I'd originally made Malik immortal. He'd been about to die but then I gave him my blood. His body was able to process my blood and absorb the Amaranthine Elixir inside it. It was how we knew that the elixir was still viable inside me and could be transferred to others. And the last thing I wanted to do was transfer it to Braxis.
