Page 41 of Witch's Exile
"You really think I'd let that crazy old hag in your head if she could do permanent damage?" He leaned forward as far as he could, his voice starting to echo off the walls in his frustration. "She could never actually do shit to you, just glamour up some stupid imagery to play on your worst fears."
"I don't know that!" My voice reached a frantic pitch. "It felt so real. And I know you hate me--"
"I don't hate you, sweetheart." The pet name struck a nerve and I couldn't tell if it was genuine or sarcastic. "You know what I also don't hate? In fact, something I actually enjoy?" He stuck his chin out like a challenge. "I enjoy not being strung up by my balls by three demons for turning their woman’s mind into scrambled eggs."
"Yeah, I get it. You're all about saving your own skin." Arguing with this man made me intensely tired. I was over it.
"And again, I'd just never do that to anyone. I do have some morals. But here's the thing, Deja." He took a dramatic pause to ensure I was listening. "Diana's magic causes paper cuts compared to yours. Your magic is powerful but your mind is weak."
"Excuse me?" I cried, taken aback.
"She knew your weakness and how to exploit it," he went on. "She knew you'd be lost without your three boyfriends and that her and Juno's betrayal hurt you deeply. But all she could do was try to make you wallow in that fear until it consumed you. Her own power is so limited she couldn't touch your mind without me, and even once she was there, she couldn't do anything but put on a puppet show."
"I know she's a manipulative cunt," I seethed, fighting back tears. "She fooled me from the very beginning. That doesn't exactly make you a saint."
"Your mind is like a muscle, Deja," he went on without any indication that he heard me. "You need to break it down and make it hurt before it can get stronger. I could've shown you Air from the very beginning. But you weren't ready to connect that final piece. Your mind wasn't strong enough."
"And who the hell are you to decide that?" I demanded, knowing my temper was getting the better of me but I didn't care.
"Your shadow magic instructor." He just couldn't hold back the smug grin, which pissed me off even more. "Seriously, you need to quit your bitching. The one who taught me did have the power to break down my mind and he almost did. This whole tied up in the basement thing?" He rolled his shoulders and leaned back against the beam. "This is a walk in the park compared to what I've been through."
I rose to my feet, well and truly done with this man. But my pride wouldn't let him get the last word in.
"You have no idea what I've been through."
"Sure I have!" he barked as I ascended the staircase. "I've studied you extensively, Lilith! Your lives, accomplishments, and failures are well-documented. You got all the perks of Hell and you have no idea what suffering truly is."
Fuming at the top of the stairs, I fought the urge to run back down and make him suffer. But I knew I wouldn't hurt him, not really. I was ragingly pissed but I didn't have it in me to torture someone. And more importantly, I couldn't let him see he got a rise out of me.
Sal was in the kitchen when I returned from the basement. Various ingredients and mixing bowls spread out across the counter as he looked at me curiously.
"Hey beautiful," he greeted warmly. "How--"
My lips swallowed his question when I threw myself at him. I grabbed his shoulders and jumped. He caught me and my mouth crashed to his, my legs wrapped around his hips.
With a moan he perched me on the edge of the counter, his surprise and pleasure expressed in the smile I tasted in his kiss. I pulled him forward, holding nothing back as my tongue danced with his and my pelvis rolled against his thickening erection.
"What's gotten into you?" he growled into the sensitive spot on my neck.
"You." I outlined the shape of his thick shaft through his pants.
He groaned again, thrusting into my touch. "Not yet but I need to be."
Like a gentleman, he actually peeled off my leggings rather than savagely ripping them like Raum. But thankfully, that was where his sweetness ended.
He entered me in one fluid stroke, the sudden fullness making my hands shoot across the counter for stability. Bowls went crashing to the ground, flour or whatever spilled all over the place. Neither of us gave anything but each other a second glance.
"Harder," I begged, pushing back against him as he pushed into me. I needed to feel him in every pore, every cell. Anything to get those gray eyes out of my head.
"How are you so fucking wet already?" he moaned, holding my waist as he crashed into me, his abs flexing with effort.
"I want you so fucking bad." My fingers dug into his triceps. It wasn't really an answer to his question. I didn't want to think about the real answer. I wanted to lose myself in the ecstasy that only my men could give me.
"Hey!"
Raum came into the kitchen with a towel around his waist, droplets of water still clinging to his bronzed skin. A grin immediately spread across his face.
"I heard a crash. Shoulda known what was going on."
