Page 25

He shook his head, hissing through his teeth.

“Why are you here?”I fired at him again.

“Stop,” he growled.

I shoved his chest.“Or what?”

With a snarl, he jerked forward, looming over me, panting, vibrating.His fingers curled around the covers, and he snapped them back, so they were no longer covering me, then he slid his hand up my bare thigh.

I froze.“What are you doing?”

“What you want,” he said, lips peeled back.

“You’re going to mate with me?”I asked breathlessly.

He paused and snarled again, shaking his head like he was trying to clear it.“No, not that.”

I wanted to throw up.“You won’t make me your mate, but you’ll give me a pity fuck to shut me up?”Heat flushed through me, and my face burned with humiliation that quickly grew into anger.Slamming my hands against his chest I tried to shove him off.

He stayed where he was.“Just let me touch you, that’s all I was going to do.I’ll make you feel good.”

I blinked up at him.He was clueless.No, he was cruel.Twisted.“Feel good?”I choked out.“You make me feel utterly worthless.”

The look he gave me was one of utter confusion.“No, this is what you want.I know this is what you want.”

“You’ve lost your damn mind.What the hell is wrong with you?”

His hound shone from his red eyes, and his hand actually trembled as he reached for me again.“I’m just… I’m gonna make you feel good.”

I shoved at his chest.“I said, no.”Boo burst from his spot above us, chirping and swooping.

Jagger gave him no notice and shook his head, his chest heaving as his hands curled around my shoulders, holding me tightly.He was completely lost to animal instinct.“You need this.”

No, he was the one that needed this, and he was too deep in denial to see why.

He leaned in, a repetitive rumbling sound vibrating from him as he ran his nose along the side of my throat, causing goose bumps to lift all over my skin.“Fuck,” he groaned.“Submit to me.”

Pain filled my chest.I couldn’t take another moment of this, not one more second.“Jagger, I rescind all access to house Ashborne,” I choked out.

His head jerked back.“Don’t you fucking dare?—”

“Get the hell out of my house,” I said as magic wrapped around him.The combined power of the wards created by the witches who lived in this house, banded around him and forcibly dragged him off my bed, out the door, and down the stairs.Boo flew after him, diving at his head.

I climbed off the bed, grabbed his leather vest, and followed, making my way down to where he stood clinging to the doorframe, snarling and roaring my name.Rushing through the kitchen and into the laundry, I grabbed his jeans from the dryer, then strode back to the door.

“Don’t do this,” he bit out.

“You’ve given me no choice.”Lifting my hand, I used my power to give him one final shove, forcing him through the open door behind him.He ran back at the doorway, hitting the ward with force.I felt the magic shudder through me.

“Let me back in, Sutton.”

“You need to leave, and never come back.You can’t have it both ways.You can’t reject me as your mate and still demand access to my body.”Boo swooped down, landing on my shoulder.

“That’s not…that’s not what I’m doing.”He shook his head violently, like something was buzzing around in it.“That’s not, no… I would never…”

Holding his green gaze, I tossed his jeans at him.“If you batter the ward long enough with your strength and powers, you will weaken it, and you will eventually force your way inside.But if you do that, I will never forgive you.If you force your way back into this house and you try to touch me again, you need to get it through your head that it will beagainst my will.I don’t want your hands on me, Jagger.I don’t want you anywhere near me.As far as I’m concerned, the fates can go to hell right along with you, because this is done.This is over.”

Every muscle in his body heaved with his panted breaths.“Sutton, fuck…don’t—” He snarled, his upper lip peeling back, his canines flashing.