“One,” he started to count. I would have laughed at the ridiculousness of a grown man counting down like I was some kind of petulant child, but it wasn’t funny. It was terrifying.
“Here’s how this is going to go, Reaver. I’m going to train you, and you’re going to pass your bar tests so I can keep my spot on primetime. We’re not friends, I don’t want to be friends, but Idowant you to treat me with respect. I will not be coming here to help you on my days off if you’re going to be an asshole.”
He stood up from the booth and moved to my side. I felt a thrill of fear rush through me as he towered over me. I looked up at him and swallowed as he leaned over, putting one hand on the wall and the other on the table, boxing me in.
His face was so close our noses were nearly touching, and I was drowning in the scent of frankincense and sandalwood.
“Two,”he continued. His voice was so low I felt it in my bones. My breath caught, and I had to admit to myself that maybe hewasa little scary. I shook my head, remembering again who I was. He couldn’t do shit to me. My demon would kill him if he touched me.
“What are you going to do, Reaver? Assault me? I’m a deathtrap, remember? Touch me, and you’ll fucking regret it.”
“Three.”
Suddenly, his hand was covering the entire bottom half of my face. He pinched my nose shut and covered my mouth, forcing me back to lie down in the booth. I squealed into his hand and squirmed as he straddled me. He snatched his phone out of myhands as I tried to use them to push him off of me. Whipping the phone into the other side of the booth, he grabbed my wrists with his free hand. In the same breath, he pinned my arms over my head, all while still cutting off my air supply.
He watched me calmly as I struggled beneath him. I was completely at his mercy.
“You like to take things that aren’t yours, don’t you, deathtrap?” he asked me, his voice cold and deadly. Why did he keep saying shit like that?
I was thrashing beneath him now. I couldn’t breathe at all, and I was worried I was going to pass out.
“Do you want to breathe?” he asked, staring at me intently, completely unconcerned that I was fighting for my fucking life beneath him. “I asked you a question. Do you want to fucking breathe, Lilith?”
I nodded against his hand, tears streaming from my eyes. I was going to pass out; it was too much. He leaned forward, and I felt his hot breath against my ear. His breath had a faint spearmint scent, and I wondered how someone so vile could smell so nice.
“Touch my shit again, and this is what happens. Do you fucking understand? Nod if you do.”
I nodded frantically against his hand. “Good girl,” he breathed into my ear, and my skin pebbled with revulsion as he finally let go of my face and wrists.
I gasped, sucking in mouthfuls of air, frantically sitting up and kicking away from him to the other side of the booth. I was shaking and panting while he stared at me with a slightly amused look on his face. He reached out and grabbed his coffee off the table, watching me try to recover as if nothing had happened.
“That was good for me. Was it good for you?” he asked, taking a sip from his to-go cup, his eyes never leaving mine.
“You’re a…monster,”I rasped. I had underestimated him. He was a fuckingpsychopath. I was getting the fuck out of here. I scrambled out of the booth.
“I’m done. You’re on your own, youcrazy fuck!”I moved to dart past him, but he casually grabbed my arm and flung me back into the booth like I weighed nothing. I squealed and caught myself on my elbows, bracing myself for him to attack me again, but he didn’t. Instead, he took another sip of his coffee and stepped forward so I couldn’t get up without touching him.
“Thisis how it’s going to go, deathtrap. We’re going to do this fucking training, but you’re going to listen tome.It’s going to be onmyterms. You’re right; we’re not friends. We’re never going tobefriends, and I will treat you however thefuckI want. Youwillbe coming here to train on your days off and any other fucking day I tell you to because you need this job, and we both know it.” He was leaning over the booth again, one hand resting on the table and one hand on the wall. We stared each other down, and I felt my eyes begin to burn with tears. I fought them as hardas I could. I didn’t want him to see that he had made me cry again. He noticed them anyway. His lip curled, and he sneered at me.
“Aww, are those for me?” he cooed, his voice taunting. He reached forward as if he were going to brush a tear away, but I jerked my head to the side. He laughed and grabbed my chin, forcing me to face him.
“Do what I tell you, and we won’t have a problem,” he said, and I narrowed my eyes on him. “I just showed you what happens if you piss me off.”
“Why are you doing this to me? What did I ever fucking do to you?” I asked quietly, and he snorted.
“Maybe I just like to see you cry,” he sneered. I glared up at him, and all I could think about was that he had fucking touched me, and now my demon was probably going to kill him. For once, I would be so fucking happy about it. As if he could see where my mind had gone, he chuckled.
“I don’t know how you’re killing everyone, but I can tell you right now, it’s not going to work on me. I’ve dealt with scarier shit than some little girl with an agenda. I’m not going anywhere, and since I’m stuck with you until this bullshit training is done, I might as well make it fun for me. You’re mine until the review. You’ll do what the fuck I say, or I’ll personally make sure you lose your precious little job. Are we clear?”
Every fiber of my being screamed at me to kick him in the dick and tell him to go to fucking hell, but he was right. I needed this job. I had worked so hard to get to where I was. I couldn’t let him take it all away from me.
He and Rafael were friends, and Reaver had already wiggled his way under Shem’s skin. I believed him when he said he would find a way to make sure I lost my job. As much as I hated it, he wasn’t leaving me much choice. Hopefully my demon would kill him soon, and everything would just go back to normal. I gritted my teeth and nodded.
“Crystal,” I growled, and he softened. The assholesoftened.
“Good girl, Lilith.” He smirked. “Now, you’re going to tell Rafael that I did all your stupid little exercises and passed them with flying colors. You’re also going to take my shift tonight.”
I glared at him, “I absolutely willnotbe taking your shift! What the fuck, Reaver?”
