Page 9 of Harbinger

“Stop,” I said, slapping my hand to his chest.

The moment I made contact, the mistake in my reaction was made instantly clear.

His eyes flamed. “Go on. Do what you really want to.”

I shoved him away.

But as I went to push off the tree, he knocked me back against it with jarring force.

Before I could catch my breath from the shock of it, he was there, caging me in again with his palms either side of my head.

“That’s not it. Try again.”

“What the hell is your problem?” I blurted out, frustration bursting out of me. “I’m not going to tell anyone about what I saw tonight, so there’s no need for—”

“Oh, I know you’re not going to. Don’t worry about that.”

“What does that mean?”

He lifted his left palm from beside my head and held it between us. It began glowing with his rose-gold magic. “This that you saw me using with Nyx can help you as well. The only thing that can. If you report me, the Academy and your Pops will outlaw it going forward. Bad for me. Bad for Nyx. Bad foryou.”

“It wasn’t pleasure magic.”

“Inducement.”

“What?”

“The true name of what you’re referring to isinducement.An outlawed brand of magic that’s essentially a form of sexual assault because consent is far too blurred when that’s in play. I’ve never performed that, nor would I ever.”

It hit me then. “You nullified his Incubus allure.”

He smiled like a proud professor. “Well done. Precisely.”

“I don’t… that’s an unheard of form of magic.”

“Like Ryker Morgan’sdefensive magicwas up until twenty years ago?”

Damn him.“Yes, I suppose.”

“The point is, it’s more than just able to nullify Nyx’s allure. I have the ability to counteract the magical mental influence of anyone.”

“And you think that extends to me?”

“There’s only one way to know for certain. Something you’ve put yourself in the position tonight for me to finally experiment with.”

“I’m not going to be your plaything.”

“Oh, you most certainly are.”

I pushed against him, but he grasped my arms and pinned me more firmly to the tree.

The bastard smirked while he was doing it, knowing that I was too concerned about employing my angelic strength and the dangerous ramifications that it could have if I couldn’t maintain absolute control, to actually respond in a way that would get him off me.

And there was also something else keeping me from trying another tactic like teleporting away.

My skin was burning at the point of his contact.

I’d kept away from anything sexual for years on end, so witnessing that tonight had definitely gotten to me and… riled me up. Now, having him right up in my space, somebody who I may have had a crush on for a while was no small thing to digest and simply shove down like everything else.

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