Heat rushed to my face. I wanted to pull away from him, but a thought struck me. What if I played into his game?
I knew it was dangerous, but it couldn't be more dangerous than being the victim every time, waiting for him to do something. What if, even for once became his headache and not the opposite?
The thought itself was tantalizing enough for me to try. Taking a long breath, I locked into the personality of the one in charge. The role of a seductress/ manipulator. With this, the corner of my lips lifted into a small yet knowing grin.
Lifting my eyes up to his level, I looked back into his orbs. His playful smirk had long gone since I made eye contact. Of course, he was not expecting it, which made him straighten his position, standing there like a tower.
Taking in all the darkness from his eyes was not easy, but looking at his stilled expression gave me a sense of confidence to proceed. Though he acted like a tall, unaffected statue, somewhere we both knew that it was a white lie.
The grin on my lips grew wider as I took a step ahead, slow and deliberate, watching his reaction, and to my utter surprise, this beast walked back as hesitation flashed over his face.
Ding, ding, ding! Hit just the right spot. Biting down my smile, I again shifted my attention to him, "Yes, your highness. You are right, but can you blame me after you just invited me into your chamber, alone and underdressed? I might be a little naive, but not enough to not understand your hints."
I was about to place my hand on his chest when his hand gripped mine in a swift move, stopping me in mid-air. I did not let this affect me, at least not on my face. I wanted to see his reaction. The extent to which he could go to win this game.
"You..." The word mostly came like a mere whisper as if he was talking to himself, trying to find whatever was going on in my mind, but before he could do that, I might just enjoy seeing him in such a condition.
"Yes, my lord. I..." I replied in the same manner as I got my hand off his grip. Tracing my finger on his face, as if I wanted to outline his face into a sketch. The touch was light, almost like a feather, but hard enough to shake him to his core because the next second, he spun me.
Pinning to one wall, he breathed out ragging, almost like he was trying not to lose his control, and it kinda make me poke him again. Leaning a bit, I let my lips brush against his skin.
The air in the room didn't just go cold; it went dead. My lips were still tingling from the touch of his skin, but the victory I felt vanished the moment his fingers locked around my neck.
It wasn't a squeeze that meant to kill, but it was a grip that meant to own. His hand was like a collar of ice, firm and unyielding, pinning me against the stone wall until I had to tilt my head back just to look at him. The "beast" I thought I had scared off hadn't retreated—he had just been offended.
His aura shifted from surprised to lethal. The playful game was over, and in its place was something much darker, something that made the hair on my arms stand up.
He leaned in until our foreheads almost touched, but there was no fun in it now. His eyes were like two hollow pits, swallowing every bit of light left in the chamber.
"You thought you could play me? You thought because I backed away, you had won this little game of yours?" he rasped, his voice dropping into a low, dangerous growl that vibrated against my skin.
He let out a short, dark chuckle that didn't reach his eyes. His grip tightened just a fraction like a warning.
"I was being kind...My lady. I was giving you a chance to run, but since you chose to reach out and touch the flame."
I tried to maintain my in charge look, but it was slipping with each passing second of him almost choking me. My heart was thumping so hard against my ribs I was sure he could feel it through his other hand, which was now pressed flat against the wall beside my head.
"You wanted to see me? Be with me? Well, congratulations. You finally got my full attention. Now... let's see how long you can last before you beg me to stop," he whispered, his lips brushing against my ear, sending a shiver of pure dread down my spine.
The confidence I had just moments ago was gone. I had poked the monster to see if it would flinch, and instead, it had decided to bite.
The pressure on my windpipe was enough to make my vision swim at the edges, but I forced my eyes to stay wide, locking onto his. Xander's face was a mask of coldness and pure mania, his lips pulled back in a sneer as he watched me struggle like a deer within the claw of a lion.
"What happened, Irene? Where did that brave little seductress go?" he mocked, his voice a low hum against my ear.
My heart hammered against my ribs like a trapped bird. I could feel the heat of his body, but his touch was pure cold and ruthless. As his grip tightened just a fraction more, I knew I had to play my final card, or I would not leave this room alive.
I forced the panic down, burying it under a layer of ice. I stopped clawing at his wrist and let my hands fall to my sides, signaling a terrifying kind of surrender. With the last bit of air I had, I looked him dead in the eye.
"I know... why you are really here," I rasped out with utter courage and difficulty.
This time, the air didn't just get colder but died. It felt like the shadows in the room suddenly stood still, and the temperature fell so fast that I could see a faint mist from my own ragged breath.
Xander didn't move, nor did he blink, but the look in his eyes changed from cruel amusement to something lethal and promising. A promise that could change the trajectory of our lives. Forever.