Silly tactic. ‘I’m not easily manipulated.’
‘And I wouldn’t dare manipulate you,’ he claimed in a low tone before continuing the trek and jumping over a massive crater, then looking back in challenge. ‘Don’t wreck your hair, darkling.’
Feeling pressured to prove my competence and strength without making a fool out of myself if I misjudged and fell down, I filled the puddle with my shadows before stepping through it like a bridge.
The man before me gasped, eyes lighting up like I had performed a miracle. ‘That’s awesome. What else can you do with them?’
‘Wouldn’t you like to know, fire boy?’ I replied without missing a beat.
He edged closer. ‘Are you into me or something?’
‘Excuse me?’
‘You keep calling me a boy. I can only assume you’re thinking of turning me into a man?’ he insinuated, scratching his stubble.
Of course. ‘That’s where your dirty mind went?’
‘You’re the dirty-minded one, darkling.’ The deep snigger he released reverberated through my bones, unsettling me. ‘How old do you think I am?’
‘Guessing is pointless isn’t it?’ My arms crossed over my chest. ‘Judging by the fact you’re a spy, I would say at least forty.’
A huff escaped him. ‘That young?’
‘How old are you then?’ I demanded, getting irritated yet again.
‘Ninety-two,’ he said, boasting and straightening his back like a proud peacock.
‘You’re still a boy to me then,’ I shot back, determined to humble him a little. That much confidence in a male never served anyone any good.
Walking away, I sensed the wheels of his mind turning even if I couldn’t see his face. Riling him up was entertaining; I just wished he wasn’t so good at paying me back.
A few feet behind me, he hollered, ‘Are you that old?’
I whirled back, gasping. ‘Don’t you know, you’re not supposed to call ladies that?’
‘And calling men boys is emasculating, unless it’s some sort of kink…’
My blood boiled. He needed to get himself in check, or I would enjoy making him squirm. ‘My nightmares itch to meet you.’
‘Your what? Do you have kids?’ Michael smiled kindly, feigning innocence. I was inches away from drowning him in his biggest fear.
Control yourself. You can’t. He’s Ava’s friend. One, two, three…
‘No,’ Igrumbled, walking past him and intentionally bumping his shoulder. Reinforced with my power, I made him stumble, which he obviously didn’t expect.
‘Tell me your age then,’ he commanded from behind me, the hair on my back raising from the proximity as he hovered just behind.
I laughed. ‘So I take your orders now?’
A deep sigh. ‘No, but I told you mine so return the favour.’
‘And what kind of favour is that, boy?’
A crooked smile curved his mouth as his gaze fell to my lips. ‘It sounds so passionate when you say it to me. Do it one more time.’
Gods, what a pervert. I walked away.
‘Chickening out?’ he teased, once again catching up to me. I considered throwing my shadows at his feet to watch him fall. Humiliation went a long way in character development, and boy did he need some.
