Page 70 of Happily Ever Witch
“Pray you never get what you deserve, dickhead. It’ll be painful and grisly.”
His head dipped down to whisper into her ear. “Submit to the inevitable and I’ll show you how very wicked I can be, my darling. You don’t have to do anything but say yes. I’ll holdyou down, and make you come, and we can pretend you had no choice, at all.”
His adorable little witch liked that threat. He could tell by the way her breathing changed. How very,veryinteresting.
“Ofcourseyou’re into dominance games.” She complained, just to be contrary.
He was into all games and he flat outadoredthis one. Adored having Esmeralda’s undivided attention. Adored her bantering with him, like she enjoyed his company. Adored trying to lure her into Badness. Adored her helpless arousal, as he stroked her exquisite green skin. His thumb grazed the cleft of her body, through her dampening underwear. Esmeralda gazed up at him in virtuous pleasure.
He adored that part most of all.
Trevelyan’s hands had done so many violent things to so many screaming people, but the witch trusted them against her delicate flesh. She wasn’t scared of him, at all. She believed he wouldn’t break her. …And he believed it, too.
Thathadto count as a third impossible thing.
In his shrunken heart and twisted soul, Trevelyan knew he’d die himself before he harmed his mate. Despite his history of endless selfish cruelty, he believed it without question. He might delight in the suffering of the rest of the universe, butneverthe witch. Esmeralda was the one person who was forever safe in a dragon’s claws. He knew it as deeply as magic.
“I canalwaystop myself in depravity.” He told her anyway.
“It does seem to be a particular gift of yours.”
He shrugged with arrogant assurance. “Let me show you myrealgift.” His fingers pressed higher, his touch gentle. “Say yes and we can play any game you want.”
She bit down on her glorious bottom lip, like she was actually considering it.
Trevelyan almost had her. “Would it help at all, if I owned a record store?” He offered, wanting to push her over the edge and into his bed. “Because I’m sure I can steal one.”
“No, but it would help if you weren’t such a despicable…”
Someone else entered the castle.
Trevelyan stopped playing, as a new presence vibrated along all his senses. His head snapped around, knowing a strange male had just crossed into his domain. His hands instinctively tightened on Esmeralda. Inside of him, the dragon snarled in lethal warning, hating another man near their mate. Trevelyan couldn’t agree more.
Esmeralda blinked, seeing his lethal shift in focus. “Trev?”
“Somebody’s here.” He pushed off the counter and faced the door, wondering if he had enough energy to kill the newcomer at a distance. Best not to risk it. There was only a lone man approaching. He’d just wait for the intruder to draw near and thenstrike. One-on-one, Trevelyan could kill anybody, weakened magic or not. “We’re the only two trapped by the barrier. Someone else just walked right through it.”
“Who would want to comehere?” Esmeralda asked in confusion.
“Knowing Wonderland? Someone ridiculous and horrible.”
“We have days before the Queen of Clubs arrives and everyone else is a hog. Maybe it’s Bluebeard. Itoldyou he was around here someplace.”
Trevelyan waited, saying nothing.
“Yoo-hoo!” The visitor poked his head into the kitchen. He was an anthropomorphized lizard in a morning coat. “Ah!Thereyou are.” His gaze was on Esmeralda. “You must be the Queen of Hearts. …For now, at least.” He chuckled like that was quite witty.
Trevelyan’s head tilted. “Who are you?”
“I’m William. Not Bill. Not Will.William.” He strolled into the room, absently twirling a walking stick, like he owned the castle. “Since you’re new, I thought I’d pop by and give you the what’s-what on how we run things here in Wonderland.”
“Howyourun things?” Esmeralda crossed her arms over her chest, in a distinctly unwelcoming way.
Apparently, William wasn’t used to dealing with any real villains, because he didn’t make a hasty exit at her tone. Instead, he smirked in a condescending way, still thinking he could direct this conversation. “Well, the Tea-Partier setisWonderland. Surely you’ve heard of us. Everyone who’sanyonehas heard of us.”
“I haven’t heard of you.” Trevelyan intoned.
That earned him an imperious glare. “And you are…?”
