For a moment, everything was still. Gray’s attention snagged on that paperweight on the floor, remaining there as I fumbled for what to do. For what to say. I wouldn’t apologize when he’d manipulated me so thoroughly.
But could I blame him? I’d been so convinced I had the upper hand that I hadn’t thought it through. I hadn’t considered that he may not have the same goals as I did. The fault was mine entirely, but I still hated him for it.
He turned to face me, his body moving so painfully slowly that I counted my breaths before his stare landed on me once again. His face was so carefully controlled, and somehow, I thought that might be worse than his rage.
I blinked.
He was gone.
My breath rattled in my lungs, and I pursed my lips together as I turned my head slowly. Looking over my shoulder. I didn’t dare move, didn’t dare to give him any reason to think I’d run. The hair on the back of my neck rose, and in this moment, I knew he was the predator and I was the prey.
His hand wrapped around my nape, shoving me forward as he appeared at my side. His other hand swept everything off his desk with a growl, sending it clattering to the floor with a crash I suspected everyone in Hollow’s Grove heard.
He shoved me toward the desk, bending me forward so harshly that I only just managed to catch myself with my hands and keep my face from smacking against the wood.
“Thorne!” I said, wincing when he pushed harder and shoved my cheek against it. He kept me pinned there, a low rumble vibrating in his chest.
“That is not my name. Not to you,” he warned, holding me still as I fought, pushing against his grip.
He leaned his body over mine, the fabric of his slacks rubbing against the bare skin of my thighs and my ass where his shirt had ridden up in the scuffle. His lips touched my cheek, his eyes so close to mine that it felt like nothing existed but him. His mouth brushed my skin as he spoke, sending a shiver through me.
“I think you’ve forgotten what I am, Witchling.”
“A mistake I won’t make again, you fucking—” I said, glaring at him as my nostrils flared with my anger. He was too fucking strong, keeping me pinned still without any effort on his part. I could exhaust myself, and he wouldn’t even break a sweat.
“I tolerate your mouth because you amuse me, Willow. Tread carefully, or you just might cease to be amusing,” he said, his voice stern as he pulled back slightly. He stared down at me, keeping me held still as I swallowed my retort. “I am a demon,” he growled, holding my gaze with blue eyes that seemed to shine from within. “I may be trapped within a body that resembles a man, but you would be a fool to mistake me for one. I am not human, and I will not behave as one.”
“There is a difference between expecting you to be human and expecting you not to lie to me,” I said, sinking my teeth into the inside of my cheek in an attempt to keep some of the venom from my voice.
“When have I lied to you?” he asked, his head tipping to the side with genuine curiosity.
“You said I was safe with you!” I hissed, struggling against his grip to prove my point.
“Are you hurt?” he asked, his voice a soft murmur.
I considered his words, analyzing my body from my fingers to my toes. In spite of his harsh treatment and the speed with which he’d moved me to the desk, I didn’t think I’d so much as bumped against it. I greatly doubted there would be so much as a bruise on me the next day.
“Or are you wet?” he asked, and the hand that didn’t pin me at the nape touched my bare hip. I halted against the desk, wincing as his fingers slid over the swell of my ass.
He cupped a single cheek in his palm, gripping it and digging his fingertips into it as I fought back my strangled whimper.
“Fuck you.”
“I do believe that’s what you want,” he said, his laughter sliding over my skin and making me feel too warm. The mixture of desire and rage burning in me was almost too much to handle, leaving me gasping on his desk as he leaned over me once again. “Do you want to come, Witchling?”
“I want you to release me,” I snarled, rearing back against his hand. I barely managed to push up at all before he shoved me back down, flattening my cheek against the desk.
“That is not going to happen,” he said, the smirk in his voice making me seethe. I searched for plants in his room, for anything I could use against him. I didn’t suspect it would end well, but it didn’t matter.
There were none.
I raised my foot, slamming it down upon the stone with a grunt. It cracked beneath the force of my heel, my magic echoing through it as the floor beneath us shook.