Page 49 of Her Dark Promise

Bastian finally broke the dreaded silence. “You didn’t need to come with me. I meant what I said: hunting is not something a woman should be doing.” Then he teasingly said, “What if you were to scratch that perfect skin of yours.”

I smirked. “Oh darling, I have more scars than you would ever be able to count in your lifetime.” I stopped right before the clearing, using the shadows to our advantage. “And I don’t trust you not to do something idiotic that would surely get you killed.”

He had gone rigid and hissed, “I would never abandon my brother to the likes of you.” He walked a little closer than I would have expected, and I heard the sound of metal scraping against fabric. I sensed his movement and motives, which were all rather predictable.

The tip of a sharp blade was pressed tightly against my neck.

I sighed. “I thought we hadjusttalked about you not doing anything reckless.”

His hot breath was against my ear as he said, “I don’t trust you, witch.”

The way he said it, the hardness in his tone, reminded me too much of my father. His war on magic, on anyone different. The countless people he burned out of fear. Times had changed, but the hysteria remained. Good looks aside, I wanted to kill him right here and now. Spare myself the trouble of having to explain to Emilia that I had no choice. I had to keep these strays if I wanted to keep her safe.

“Is that the best insult you have? Come on, you can do better.”

“It’s the only insult I need.”

“You fear what you don’t understand, and you understand nothing.”

He pulled me against his body, his hand grabbed my stomach so tightly that I knew if I didn’t heal immediately then I wouldhave had a bruise. If I so much as moved my head, the blade would cut into my skin, causing me to bleed all over my already dirty dress.

I could kill him now, but my body betrayed me. I didn’t want him to stop. My skin had heated over our position. No one had ever treated me so callously, with such disdain that I could taste it whenever they were near me.Touchedme.

And I wanted more.

He was punishing me, hated me, and I liked it because punishing myself felt fitting.

“Shut. Up.”

He still hadn’t decided if he was going to kill me or not because my blood was still tucked safely away in my body.

I asked, “So, what was your plan here? Kill me and then run off into the sunset with your brother?”

“That about sums it up.”

“Then fucking do it, coward, if you think that will indeed break the spell that I cast on you both.” If I could have moved my hand I would have pointed when I said, “That scar on your chest proves that you now belong to me. Just ask Callum; he has the same one.”

“You already lied once, and I will try anything to get away from you. To protect my family.”

I couldn’t focus on his threat when I could feel his hard chest at my back and thought about how it would feel to be pressed beneath him once more. I couldn’t deny that I was attracted to him and wanted those large, calloused hands to roam over my body. I wanted more, oh, I wanted so much fucking more.

So, I gave in, and I moved my hips in small motions at first from side to side, grinding into him little by little.

I knew he wanted to fuck me, saw it in his eyes when I grazed that blade across his thigh. He was excited.

A shudder ran through my body as I thought about his hatred toward me and how rough he would be because of it. I welcomed it while he held my waist, his grip tightening, his cock hardening. I left him that night in the tower after getting him all worked up and he had yet to get a release. And something told me, something I didn’t quite understand yet about Bastian, that he needed this more than I did.

We were so different, and yet, the same. Did I want to break him? Would the fire leave his body as soon as I did?

At that moment I decided that he would be mine. Even if he was thrashing, tied to my bed, he’d be mine. And eventually, he’d learn to accept the part of him screaming for it.

I was brought back to reality when I could hear him trying to suppress a moan, but failed drastically. If it was even possible, the hold he had on me tightened and I sighed in bliss at the feeling. It was unbearable to continue our little dance, but I wanted to see if he would make the next move.

“Stop moving,” he breathed.

“That wasn’t very convincing.” I could feel his cock hardening the longer he had me in his arms, the longer I swayed. “You don’t want me to stop.”

He skimmed his nose along my neck, and it was my turn to suppress a moan as he said, “You think I don’t know what you’re doing?”

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