“Sabina, I’m trying here.” He runs a hand through his hair. “I don’t know what to do with you. You don’t listen to me. You’re not afraid of me. And gods help me I hate that you’re in love with another man.”
“Why would you care about that?” I ask.
“I don’t know.” He chuckles. “It shouldn’t bother me, but it does.”
“It’s because you want to own me. Because you don’t like sharing your toys. You’re a spoiled child.”
He closes the gap between us until we’re nearly touching. “You are infuriating.”
“So are you,” I bite out.
He slides his hand around the back of my head and leans forward until his lips are against mine and he’s kissing me. His other arm is around my waist, pulling me tighter against him. It happens so fast, I don’t have time to move away.
Twenty-Three
Sabina
For a moment, I’m too surprised to react. Then I shove him and step back. My lower lip trembles and my eyes blur. I blink away the unshed tears. I can’t let him know he got to me.
“Fuck, Sabina. I don’t know why I did that. I just can’t with you.”
He makes a frustrated growl, then returns to the table. With his back to me, he fills his wine glass to the brim, then knocks it back in a few large gulps. He fills it again and does the same. Then he starts opening a new bottle.
I’m still standing there, trembling slightly, trying to catch my breath as I watch him. What the fuck just happened? He wasn’t drunk. He wasn’t trying to seduce me.
Caiden lost control.
And I’m the one who made him lose it.
That’s useful but I’m not sure I want to have that power. I don’t think I can follow that to where it leads. A few months ago, I was prepared to do anything it took to complete my mission.After I met Brevan, the thought of being with anyone else, even to meet my goals, felt like too great a betrayal.
But it’s not just that.
There’s something there. Something in Caiden that wasn’t in his father. It terrifies me that I’m doubting his intentions.
He turns around slowly, a newly filled glass in his hands. “Why are you still here?”
“You wanted to see my mark.” I don’t know why I say it. Why I haven’t left. What the fuck is wrong with me? I continue to make the stupidest decisions. I’m playing a game with no rules. No goals. No winners.
I point to the table. “You stay over there. You don’t move. Then I’ll show you.”
He’s silent so long I think he might have just blocked me and the rest of the world out completely. Finally, he nods. “I’ll sit.”
“Good idea.”
I wait until he’s seated, then I turn around and lower the top of my underclothes, letting them bunch around my waist while I cover my breasts with my arms.
Glancing over my shoulder, I check that he’s still in his chair. He’s sipping the wine, studying me as if I’m a work of art.
Chills run down my spine and I hate to admit that they aren’t accompanied by the usual revulsion. Something between us has shifted.
“Did you know that the more elaborate the design, the stronger the magic?”
“No, I didn’t.”
“I should probably be more concerned about you.”
I pull my top up, then step over to my abandoned dress. “What is yours? How have I never seen it before?”
