Page 25 of Stone Seduction
“In here,” Carissa ordered, not putting Luke down.
He stayed silent, like me. I didn’t know what to say to him, tempted to snatch him from my boss and make a run for it.
“Seth will be along in a little while,” she said. “Make yourselves comfortable.”
In a room with a big table, plastic chairs, and no fun colors? Yeah. Alright.
“There are refreshments provided.” She nodded at another table laden with a variety of beverages. Including a bottle of scotch and a box of green tea—my favorite combination. Which also meant this whole situation was planned. We were going to be called into a meeting at this hour irrespective of the attack.
Shit.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
She glowered at me. “Be patient. Relax.”
Man, this bollocks did not help manage my anger. “How can I relax with all this hush-hush shit going on?”
Her glower darkened, the lines on her forehead creasing. “Don’t test me, Asher.”
Ditto,I wanted to throw back. But I got in line, accepted my place.
Sort of.
“Can I have my mark now?” I asked.
She shook her head, moving toward the door. “You have your orders. Wait here. Both of you.”
Dane threw me a curious look and decided to press his luck. “Asher needs his mark, boss. That’s his?—”
Her posture changed, body growing in size as the stone raced across her skin. She lashed out with her tail, the end of it coiling around my neck.
“Don’t fucking test me!” she bellowed, lifting me off my feet.
“Carissa, please!” Dane moved forward, hands in the air. “I said it. Don’t punish Asher.”
“You said it because of him,” she countered. “Because he disobeys me now. Because he thinks having a mark exempts him from following my command.” She tightened her grip, applying strain on my windpipe. My heart thundered in my chest, the ridges of her tail cutting into my flesh.
Shit.
Despite the raging urge to wrestle her tail off me, I kept my arms by my sides and let her do her scolding thing, exerting her dominance over me. She held all the cards by holding Luke, and he came first.
No more pissing on her authority. Go with the flow, listen to her and Seth waffle some bullshit, and get Luke back.
“Step back,” she warned Dane. “Or I’ll have you sent to a labor camp.”
Bit extreme.
Dane backed off, offering up a shit load of apologies.
Carissa sighed, shaking her head as her stone skin vanished. Her tail slid away, dumping me on the floor. My knees cracked on the stone with an unpleasant crunch, but I stayed on them. Ignored the pain, in full kneeling mode.
“I’m sorry for my insolence,” I said, the skin on my throat burning. “Please forgive me.”
She sighed again, her footsteps approaching. “Stand.”
I stood, a tad wobbly, knees like ‘Why the fuck do we have to move, knobhead?’
Carissa’s eyes were full of sadness. “This is new territory for us all. I’ve never needed to slap you down like this before because you’ve never given me reason to.”
