Page 30

I was silent as we took an Uber back and rode the elevator up to Kara’s apartment, ignoring her glances my way.

She didn’t understand how I felt. She’d grown up the focus of attention. I’d grown up trying to avoid it—not just because of my weak powers, but because of some instinctive desire to hide. That was what had drawn me to New Providence Uni in the first place.

Now all eyes were on me—even if only a few knew who I really was.

How long would that last? With the news showing those damn images and Reyes’ troops aware of the truth, the whole of SPAR would likely know by the end of the day.

There’d be no containing that.

Supes had come hunting as soon as they’d felt—how had Dacien put it?—the ‘ripple in the aether’ that came with my powers awakening.

I banged open the door to the living room, strode to the window, and pressed both hands to the glass. “ Fuck!”

I wanted my guitar. Playing helped relax me. Damn, I missed that thing. Even some music would’ve helped, but Kara never used her stereo.

She stilled behind me. “It’s not so bad, Master,” she said tentatively. “The imagery doesn’t show it’s clearly you.”

“Yeah?” I said, not bothering to turn around. “And how long do you think it’ll be before someone in SPAR shares that secret?”

“So what if they do? It’s not like facing Conrad—you’re not helpless anymore. No one can get to you anyway. They don’t know you live here, and SPAR is a fortress.”

“Three hundred supes died on Halloween in a rush to find and kill me. You think they’ll stop when they learn who I am?”

“That was before your powers came into strength. And it’s not just you. They have to get past me, too.”

I laughed, scathing and bitter. “Yeah, great. You have to defend me because of that fucking bond. It’s not like you’d want me dead at all, is it?”

“I already told you I don’t.” She sounded hurt.

“Well, excuse me if I don’t believe you. How can you know what you want at all when I’m controlling you?”

“You’re not, Ma—”

“ Don’t call me that.” I wheeled on her. “Every time, you’re just reinforcing the damn point. I’m your master . Of course you have no fucking choice.”

Tears glistened in her green eyes. “That’s not true. You gave me freewill. I can choose whatever I—”

“Bullshit. It’s all an illusion. Would you stand there and do nothing if a man burst in with a gun right now? No. You’d throw yourself in the path of the bullet.”

One cufflink vibrated against my skin, distracting me in my anger, but I ignored it. Dacien’s timing sucked. He could wait.

“No I wouldn’t,” she said, her chin coming up. “I’d have my whip around his neck before he had a chance, and if he kept trying, I’d cut through.”

I stared at her. “You don’t understand. How can you?”

“It’s you that doesn’t understand,” she said, taking a pace closer. “I want to be here with you. I want you to be safe.”

I slashed the air with my hand. “Meaningless,” I snapped, as the cufflink vibrated again, insistent. “You only think you want those things, because of the bond. And to top it all off, you’re goddamn dad is calling me.”

Kara jerked her head back in confusion until I pressed my thumb to the cufflink.

“What do you want, Dacien? This is not a good time.”

“Xan, my boy.” His usual rich, dulcet tones sounded tinny coming out of the cufflink. “You’re all over the news.”

“I’m aware,” I said through gritted teeth.

“I told you to find an informer, not get in a fight on television. With my daughter beside you, no less.”

“Let me guess. You’re disappointed I survived.”

He sighed, the sound coming through clearly despite the shit speakers. “You’re a key player in the supernatural conflict, but your value to me was as someone off the radar. I thought you’d want to keep it that way. You don’t want to lose your value, do you?”

Great. More threats, on top of everything else. “It’s been two days, Dacien. If you want results, I need longer. Is there a purpose to this call?”

“Not particularly,” he drawled. “Just letting you know that if you get my daughter killed and somehow survive, I’ll kill you anyway.”

“Last time you didn’t seem to care,” I said, conscious of Kara listening. “It’s touching that now you do.”

He chuckled. “Did I say I cared? Fond of you as I am, my boy, not killing you would simply be bad for business.”

The cufflink gave a small click and went dormant, Dacien having said his piece. I stared at them, tempted to rip them from my shirt and throw them in the trash. But it wouldn’t make any difference.

“He told you he doesn’t care about me?” Kara asked in a small voice.

“Hurts, doesn’t it?” I said. “Now you have some inkling of how I feel, every time you profess any interest.”

Her lips pressed thin, eyes flashing with hurt and anger. “It’s not the same at all.”

“Seems like it to me.” I wasn’t in the mood to cushion my words. “He’s pretending; you’re pretending.”

“I’m not pretending .”

“Call it what you want. It’s still not real.”

“It’s real if I mean it,” she said, glaring at me. “I’m my own person, bond or no bond. I do what I want. I can choose .”

I scoffed. “No, you can’t.”

“I absolutely can, Ma—Xan. And you’re being a jerk.”

“Fine. Prove it. Leave.” I’d had enough of this conversation. Of this day. Of Dacien … of her.

She blinked. “What?”

“Leave. Go on. Prove you can walk away.”

She folded her arms across her chest. “It’s my apartment.”

“Then I’ll leave.” I strode past her for the door.

“Maybe you should,” she said, her anger growing. “Go outside where the world is looking for you and get yourself killed. That’s what you want me to say, isn’t it?”

I hesitated with my hand on the handle. It wasn’t just the threat—she was right about that. It was that she hadn’t tried to stop me. That she hadn’t left when I’d told her to.

She laughed, cruel but laced with her own hurt.

“ Now you hesitate? You’ve been wanting rid of me since Halloween, I know you have.

” She took a step closer. “Go ahead. Run and hide. That’s all you know how to do, isn’t it Master ?

” Her voice curled mockingly around the word.

“You think I don’t know why you’re a lecturer and bar manager when you could be so much more ? ”

“You don’t know the first—”

“Yeah, I do,” she spat. “You want to pretend you’re free while you’re busy claiming I’m not. But the truth? You’re just as bound as I am—to your own fear .”

I stared at her, like I was seeing her for the first time. Not just a woman bound to me, but as her own person, with her own mind. Hell, I knew she was sharp—I’d seen enough signs of that. But to read me so accurately?

She knew me better than I knew her.

I hardly knew her at all.

“I’m not afraid,” I said, stepping away from the door. “I’m … practical.”

She laughed again. “ Practical ? Is that how you justify it? I’ve never met anyone as scared as you.

You’re scared of what you were, what you are, what you could be.

You’re scared to be a warlock, scared to embrace the power you’ve been given.

Scared to embrace me . Scared of my mother, of my father.

” She nodded to the cufflinks glinting on my wrists.

“You’re not the man I thought you were. You’re just a pet on a pretty leash.

Master? Hah! I know what a real master would do if I spoke to him like this, and you’re not capable. ”

I’d crossed the room without thinking and caught her wrist. “I should’ve done this a week ago.

” I dropped onto the couch, pulling her with me, over my lap.

She didn’t try to fight. Her skirt rode up, high on the back of her thighs.

“You’ve fought me every step of the way, but I am your master. You’re bound to me.”

I brought my hand down on her ass, once, twice.

The smacks thudding into the thin material of her skirt.

It wasn’t enough. I pulled it up, bunching it around her waist. She was wearing a lacy pair of pale blue boyshorts that hid little, the fabric so delicate as to be sheer.

I spanked her again, a sharp slap that echoed through her apartment.

She gasped this time, her bottom twitching across my lap.

“I told you what would happen. I warned you.” Another smack, another gasp. “You’ve been pushing for this.”

I hesitated, my hand raised for another blow which didn’t land. Through my own anger, I heard my own words. She had been pushing for this. She could’ve pulled away, but she didn’t. She’d let me put her here, despite being so much stronger than me.

Hell, was I even hurting her? Could I even mark her with only my human strength?

Her golden honeyed skin showed no signs of red. Her panties were stretched taut, near-transparent over the crack of her ass.

I swallowed. She’d manipulated me into this, and I’d let her. I’d threatened to spank her, but she was the one who’d thrown that back at me with her ‘real master’ jab. Like she wanted it.

I gave her a final blow, her ass rippling faintly with the impact, the round tightness of her bottom under my hand.

“We’re done here,” I said, pulling my hand away from her smooth skin with an effort. “Don’t push me again.”

I released her and leaned back against the sofa, wondering what would happen. She had a reason to be angry now.

For three long breaths, she stayed where she was.

Then she pushed herself up, kneeling on the sofa beside me, her skirt falling back into place. Her gaze found mine, her face strangely impassive, but her eyes full of something dark.

“Took you long enough,” she said.

Climbing off the sofa with slow, deliberate grace, she walked past me, letting her fingertips trail across both my knees—a fleeting, unexpected touch. Without a glance back, she left the room, her hips swaying subtly.

I stared at the sofa opposite, wondering what had just happened.

I’d been so keen to avoid treating her like a slave—giving her a command to avoid having to obey, not taking advantage of her, not even trusting she could think for herself—and now I’d spanked her.

Because she’d pushed me into it.

She’d wanted me to.

That was her, not the bond. It had to be. Right?

I needed space. Air. Time to think.

I got up, pulled my blazer off, threw it over the back of the sofa, and yanked my hoodie on. The images on the news didn’t show my face. I had time before everyone knew who I was. With my hood up, I could still hide.

Hide. Damn it, she’d been right about that—and not only that. Now I needed to hide more than ever. They’d come for me; I knew they would.

“Maybe you’re thinking about running. A smart man might, a coward would.”

Was I a coward, or a smart man? I must be one, because running sure sounded good right now.

But I knew I wouldn’t, and part of the reason had just walked to her room.

I took a step toward it, wondering what she was doing in there. It was tempting to follow her.

Then I shook my head, turned away, and went for the door.