Page 83 of What did you do?

“Beverycareful, little hellhound. I haven’t a thread of control left, and I’m contemplating killing you as we speak. If I am unable to have you all to myself, then maybe no one should have you,” he rasped.

“You know I’m tied to Eli?” I breathed.

He smiled a cruel smile before he roughly lifted me up and over his shoulder, carrying me out of the bathroom. The door slammed against the bedroom wall, knocking the painting down as he carried me through the room and into the hallway.

“Where are you taking me?” I snapped.

I was a little frightened of him like this. He was coming undone, and he wasn’t just anyone. He was a Smoke Slayer with the ability to slither inside of your mind. At his core, he was a predator, and he always would be. When you are at the top of the food chain, everyone else is prey. The question was simply whenhewould get tired of playing with you, not if—never if.

I didn’t know if he was about to fuck me or kill me, and at this point, one might cause the other. Regardless, I wasn’t going to go down easily—for either of them. What fun was that?

I reeled back and punched him in the back as hard as I could.

“If you’re thinking about fighting me, don’t. I am not Aurelius. Iwillhurt you, and Iwilllike it. Be a good girl, and later I’ll give you a knife to stab me with. You know how much that turns me on, hellhound,” his husky voice rumbled.

That was where I had stabbed him before. The thought sent a shiver coursing down my spine. I knew Mendax felt it too by the way his hand tightened over the back of my thigh.

Not once had I ever truly wanted him dead, but that didn’t mean I wouldn’t kill him. There were a lot of people dead who I wished were still alive and with me. What I really wanted wasto tell him all my dirty little secrets and light the heavens on fire after he handed me the lighter—but I couldn’t. I wouldn’t.

I just couldn’t trust him. That was the problem with villains: you couldnevertrust them.

Muffled groans and cries caught my attention.

What the hell?

A hazy wall at both ends of the hallway blocked a small army of Seelie guards from stepping any closer, but they were trying. Shouts and bangs echoed back and forth as each end fought to break down the barricade.

My stomach dropped. “They know you’re here? What—what happened? Where is Eli?” I asked, gripping his wings in a panic.

He stilled immediately.

Smoke, barely visible, rose from my palms and melted into the smoke of his wings, which had begun to whorl and coil over my hands and arms like a sensual caress.

Somehow time stopped.

The next moment I blinked, and my thighs were wrapped around Mendax’s waist, my back pressed against the hall wall. The Unseelie prince shackled just below my jaw with his large hand.

He was fast.

“What happened is you infectedmy soul and placed yourself in an exceedingly dangerous position. The sole person I would ignite the entire world for is tied to the one person I would give an entire world to burn.”

He pressed his body into me so hard, it was difficult to think. Icy-blue eyes glowered down at me, causing the small scar above his brow to crease slightly.

Like always with Mendax, tension pulsed low in my stomach as I homed in on the feel of him pressed against me. It was impossible to think about anything but how deep he could fuck me at this angle.

I was broken and dark, and that just proved it.

Horror washed over me when I saw the Seelie guards again. Every one of them paused to watch the dark prince pin me against the wall. They would think we were working together to betray Seelie.

“Get off of me. Is this all payback for what happened in Unseelie? Well, congratulations, you have just ruined everything. All that I’ve worked for is ruined because of you. They’ll kill me before I can get even get to him. You have no idea what you’ve just cost me!” I screamed, pushing my throat against this hand as hard as I could.

His face showed no hint of remorse as the creases of his eyes wrinkled slightly. “Pet, if you think I’ve ruined your life, you don’t give me enough credit. Things are just getting started.” Mendax tightened his grip around my throat, squeezing out air as he leaned down to brush my ear with his mouth. “And I promise you, there is no other threat to your life. I will be the only one that kills you.”

My eyes ping-ponged between his face and the guards to my left.

“What’s the matter? Afraid they’ll see me do this? You belong to me now. You are my possession.” He moved the tips of his fingers over my mandible and angled it toward him. The hand not on my jaw squeezed my ass.

My eyes darted to the guards. There was no getting out of this alive.

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