Page 38 of Wrongfully Magicked
“Stop that,” Anita snaps out, slapping his hands away, a scowl darkening her face. She backs away, then glances between us suspiciously. “What the hell is wrong with you?”
She turns, her fierce glare potent enough to wilt even the strongest man.
If I weren’t so preoccupied, I might have found it amusing. I scan her face, unsure that I’m even breathing…and find no aftereffects of my touch or gaze.
I’m so shocked that I glance at Soren for confirmation, my surroundings vanishing as I wait for his answer.
“Skin warm. Pulse normal. Pupil reaction normal.” A crooked smile tilts his lips. “Temper is normal.”
The world spins at the news, and I swallow against the lump in my throat. The only way to keep from infecting people is to avoid touching them. After years of practice, I can usually control the dosage and whether the poison is pleasurable or painful.
My gaze is different.
It only works two ways—I can hypnotize people or turn them to stone.
Through trial and error, I discovered that the only way to control my ability is to either keep my eyes covered or completely avoid looking at anyone altogether. I’m slowly learning control, but it’s hard to practice when, if I get it wrong, they could die.
Now, instead of turning them to stone instantly, I can slow it down enough that the process takes twenty minutes, but only if I concentrate.
Either Anita didn’t get the full effect…or she has a natural resistance.
While part of me is desperate to know which is true, I shudder at the idea of testing out my theory.
No, it’s best not to even mention it and get my hopes up.
I won’t risk her safety, even if she’s my only chance that someone might be able to finally see the real me.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
ANITA
Inarrow my eyes on the guys when they exchange secretive glances.
They are keeping something from me.
The longer they go without speaking, the more my distrust grows, despite my attraction to them, and my resolve to leave only intensifies. Flames start licking under my skin as I slowly inch away. While I don’t want to hurt them, I will if they don’t give me a choice.
Cassius and Soren instantly spot my retreat, their attention zeroing in on me, and twin scowls darken their faces. Maybe I would be intimidated if they didn’t have their dicks pressed against me and their hands all over my body a few minutes ago.
Okay, so they are still intimidating as fuck, but I no longer think they’ll physically harm me. They had a chance when we were fighting, and they opted to restrain me instead.
“You looked into my eyes.” Cassius’ expression is mutinous, almost like he’s pissed, which makes absolutely no sense.
I plop my hands on my hips, then huff, arching an eyebrow at the audacity. “So let me get this straight. It’s okay for you to pin me to the wall with your leg between my thighs, run your hands over me without permission, and grind your dick against my ass, but you’re upset that I looked you in the eye?”
I can’t contain my incredulousness.
Soren at least has the decency to wince, but Cassius doubles down. He takes a step toward me and honest-to-goodness fucking glowers down at me. If I were a weaker woman, I would take it personally.
Instead, his attitude just pisses me off, and the sexy moment between us is now tainted.
“I warned you about looking into my eyes, I warned you about the dangers of my touch, and yet you threw yourself at me anyway.” He stalks toward me as he rants, his anger increasing with each plodding thud until his fury practically vibrates in the air and lashes at me.
My eyebrows shoot up at the jerkoff’s absolute gall, and I battle to keep my anger in check. Fear makes people lash out. They say and do stupid shit. I’m trying to give him the benefit of the doubt, but the warm spark that burned so brightly when he ran his hands over me gradually dims and turns cold.
It feels like something precious slipped between my fingers before I could catch it, and the fight suddenly goes out of me. Soren scowls at Cassius, stepping forward as if to defend me, but I wave him away. “Sure, that won’t be a problem anymore. Next time, I’ll just pretend you don’t exist.”
I step toward him, noticing the way he suddenly stops, desperate to remain out of touching distance, and the edges of my heart fracture and crumble a little. “Some advice? Maybe don’t hover at the door, perving like some creep.”
