Page 20 of Wicked Chains (Serpentine Academy #2)

Eighteen

Rose

I push through the crowd of students filing out of the assembly hall, keeping my head down.

I just want to get back to my room, back to Drake, to forget about Helena Wickersly and the whole Family Day horror show I’m going to be forced to endure tomorrow.

But the universe, as usual, has other plans for me.

I sense him before I see him. The subtle throb of the mark on my arm like an early warning alert system—Ashhole incoming.

Ash stands at the end of the hallway, leaning against the wall with casual arrogance, his green eyes finding me immediately in the sea of students flowing out of the room.

There's no way around him, and I'm not giving him the satisfaction of watching me turn tail and go back into the assembly hall.

"Rose." The way he says my name makes it sound dirty. "Just the witch I was hoping to see."

"Sorry, can't stop," I say, trying to brush past him. "Places to be, people to see, you know how it is."

His hand shoots out, gripping my upper arm, not painfully but firmly enough that I can't easily pull away. "Your schedule just cleared up," he informs me, steering me toward an alcove away from the flow of students. "We need to talk."

I wrench my arm free once we're out of the main hallway. "We have nothing to talk about."

"On the contrary," he says, his eyes glinting. "I thought we might discuss your little collection of boyfriends. It's quite impressive, really."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"No?" His smile is unnerving. "Let's see, there's the world’s dullest vampire.

" He ticks off a finger. "Then there's our resident incubus professor, with his hands-on teaching methods.

" Another finger. "And now you've managed to reclaim your ghost. Quite the accomplishment, bringing him back from wherever I sent him. "

The blood drains from my face.

"Oh, did you think I didn’t know?" He steps closer. ”Nothing you do is hidden from me, Rose.”

"It's none of your business who I do or don’t spend my time with."

Ash laughs, the sound full of disdain. "Oh, but it is. Everything about you is my business. Your magic, your body, all of it belongs to me."

His eyes rake over me, lingering in places that make my skin heat with anger and something else I absolutely refuse to acknowledge. Why oh why would a guy this evil look like a dark angel? Talk about false advertising.

"Tell me, does your ghost lover satisfy you? Can he even feel it when you come, or is he just playing pretend, acting like he’s alive?"

"Fuck you."

"Language," he tuts, clearly enjoying my reaction.

"But no, Rose, I think it's you who needs to be fucked. You’ve surrounded yourself with creatures who can't possibly satisfy you.

A ghost who can barely maintain corporeal form, a boring vampire who's probably too afraid of his own desire to properly take you, and a demon who feeds on others' pleasure selfishly. "

"You don't know anything about them. Or me."

"I know more than you think." His voice drops to a more intimate level. "I know that none of them can give you what you really need."

"And what's that?" I say, hating that I'm even engaging with this conversation.

"Control." His eyes bore into mine. "The sweet surrender of giving yourself completely to someone powerful enough to handle all that untamed wildness inside you."

I laugh. "And you think that's you? You’re not just evil, you're also delusional."

"Am I?" He moves closer still, and I have nowhere left to retreat with the wall firmly at my back. "When you come to me—and you will come to me, Rose—when I finally fuck that tempting pussy of yours, you'll find an ecstasy you've never known. The kind that comes from complete surrender."

My cheeks burn with rage and humiliation. "That's never going to happen. You'd have to control my body like a puppet to get me to touch you willingly."

Something dangerous flashes in his eyes. "Is that an invitation? Because we both know I could. I could make you walk to my room right now, strip you bare, spread those pretty thighs, and watch you fight against your own body's response as I take what belongs to me."

"I'd rather die," I say through gritted teeth.

Ash smiles, lifting a hand to trace a finger down the side of my face, my neck, across my collarbone, down my side, stopping at my waist. Each point of contact leaves a trail of fire. I want to slap his hand away, but some primitive instinct warns me that might provoke something worse.

"But you won't die," he says softly, his finger now tracing the curve of my waist, resting on my hip. "You'll live, and you'll serve, and eventually, you'll beg."

I force myself to meet his gaze, refusing to show fear. "I will never beg you for anything."

His smile widens. "The time will come, sweet Rose, when you will beg for my control.

When all this defiance and anger burns away, and you're left with nothing but need.

And I'll be there, waiting." His finger traces back up, brushing the side of my breast so lightly I could almost imagine it, before he steps back.

"Until then, enjoy your little collection of lovers. Three placeholders."

The mark hurts, as if responding to his mood. I resist the urge to rub it.

"Are we done here?" I ask, trying to keep my voice steady. "Or did you have more threats and harassment to add to your daily quota?"

Ash's laugh is soft and dangerous. "Go on, then. Run back to your ghost. Just remember what I said." He leans in. "When you finally give yourself to me, I won't be gentle. That’s not what you need from me."

He steps away, gesturing for me to pass as if he's doing me a favor.

I walk away as calmly as I can manage, refusing to run even though every instinct screams at me to get as far from him as possible.

I can feel his eyes on me until I turn the corner, and only then do I let my shoulders slump, my hand coming up to press against my racing heart.