I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror as I walked past the dresser, prodding at the bite marks on each side of my neck. The lacy bralette I wore beneath an off-shoulder black sweater did nothing to disguise them, leaving them open to view. I had a feeling it was intentional, since Gray had chosen what to leave out and what to pack away.
He wasn’t in the bedroom, giving me a few moments to contemplate my next move. Ending up back here after running was the worst-case scenario. He would know something was wrong, and I didn’t know how much I could lie and insinuate that I’d been afraid of Susannah when she didn’t turn up after our altercation.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
I moved to the door, pulling it open and stepping into the sitting area. There was no sign of Gray on the sofa, so I ducked my head low and kept my gaze fixated on the floor in front of me. Making my way to the door to the hallway, I considered my options for escape.
The woods weren’t an option, clearly.
“Where are you sneaking off to?” he asked, stopping me as I approached the door.
I dropped the hand that had started to reach for the doorknob, letting it fall to my side as I turned to face him at his desk with a sad, pathetic smile I knew would do nothing to appease his curiosity.
“I was just going to go grab something to eat,” I said, picking at my fingers with the hand that stayed by my side. My hand rubbed against the fabric of my leggings, and I fought to still the motion. “Do you want me to bring you anything?”
“I hardly think you’re in any position to give me the only nourishment I’m interested in right now,” he said, the smirk that transformed his face playful. Something in it didn’t reach his eyes in the same way it normally would have, and I couldn’t decide if what had changed was him or just my perception of him. “Sit, please. I have something I’d like to discuss with you first.”
I smiled, pursing my lips as I took the seat in front of his desk. He stood from his seat the moment my ass touched the chair, walking around to my side and leaning against the desk. He’d stripped off his suit jacket, but his white shirt was still stained with the blood of the werewolves he’d slaughtered. He didn’t seem to mind as he undid his cufflinks, rolling his sleeves up to reveal his forearms.
“Ooo… we’re using good manners. Am I in trouble?” I asked, forcing a playful smile to my face.
He stared at me with the slightest of smirks, a tiny huff of humorless breath escaping him as he saw right through my bullshit.
“That depends. Do you want me to punish you, Witchling?” he asked, reaching down to grip the edge of his desk. His grip tightened until the wood groaned, and I shifted in my chair.
“Am I going to enjoy it?” I asked, my breath shuddering with fake laughter.
He tipped his head to the side as he watched me, releasing the desk with a single hand to pick up the knife he must have taken from the werewolf I’d thrown it at. He toyed with the blade, using it to poke the thumb of his other hand. Blood welled from the wound, and he reached forward to drag it over my lip. I swallowed, resisting the urge to lick my lips.
“Why wouldn’t you?” he asked.
I swallowed, choking on my laughter. “You’re holding a knife,” I said pointedly, my gaze dropping to the sharp, pointy thing I very much feared would be heading for my heart soon enough.
He chuckled, placing it on the desk behind him as he leaned toward me. “When have I ever hurt you? We both know I’m far more likely to bend you over this desk and fuck you until you cannot breathe. Maybe then you will understand the fear I felt when Kairos informed me you’d gone into the woods,” he growled, his voice dropping lower as all pretense of civility dropped off his face. That guarded mask of humanity that he so carefully wore fled, revealing the brutal monster waiting beneath his skin.
“Is that the part I would enjoy?” I asked, placing my hands in my lap.
He studied the motion, the reserved action that was supposed to be how I’d behaved during the entirety of our seduction. According to my father, men preferred subservient, quiet women.
Then there was me.
Gray sighed, leaning forward with a hand on each arm of the chair I sat in. He moved fluidly, his body sliding through the space between us until he stood, leaning into my face as I sat back fully. He bent at the waist, caging me into my seat until all I could see was him.
“Would you like to find out, love?”
I swallowed, drawing my bottom lip between my teeth. I couldn’t function with him so close, with the way his gaze examined every corner of my face, as if he could see inside me.