Just as quickly as he had wound his hand around my neck, he released me, only to grip the hair at the back of my head in a fierce show of his dominance over me. He manhandled me so that my face was angled up toward his before he kissed me hard. In a matter of seconds, he overpowered me; I could feel myself melting into his embrace and I abhorred myself for it. I kissed him back. His hold around me was strong and secure and I felt myself leaning into him. My body was calling for me to give in, but my mind was still telling me to fight back. I was caught within a war that was raging inside me and it was hard to focus on either side.
He was distracted. He thought he had me in his clutches.
He was wrong.
I slid the collar slowly into place, taking care not to touch him at all with it. Once it was situated around his throat, I swiftly clicked it closed with one hand and at once, it morphed into a seamless piece of metal. It would open for me, and me alone.
He stilled abruptly. Then he drew back and stared right into my gaze with more patience than I had expected. I had thought he would be furious. Right now, though, there was a certain levelheadedness in his expression that was equally as terrifying as his explosion of anger would have been.
“What have you done, my disobedient little vampire?”
I tried not to let his calmness get to me.
“I’ve sealed your magic. No longer will you be the most powerful between the two of us. Now, you’re just a monster, a simple beast. I have my magic and the strength of the vampire within me. I’ve leveled the playing field between us,” I answered. “I’m the strongest between us now.”
He stared into my eyes just as calmly as before. He didn’t seem annoyed or even surprised by my actions. Instead, he shrewdly assessed me for several terrifyingly long moments before his lips turned up in a smirk that was so confident, it threatened to undo me.
“You think I need my magic to subdue you?” he asked, his tone careful.
“Yes,” I responded, lifting my arms so that my palms faced up. I called upon my own magic and thunder rumbled all around us, clouds rolling in and blocking both the light of the moon and the stars.
“You do know that you cannot use your magic against me, don’t you?” he asked.
“I hadn’t yet tested it,” I replied curtly. I had every intention of doing exactly that. I wasn’t able to strike him physically, but maybe, my power would work against him.
“Why don’t you try it, little vampire, just to see what happens if you do,” he challenged me. I twitched with tension, trying to rein myself in before I reacted solely on instinct. He watched me carefully, likely seeing the battle occurring within me. He didn’t do or say anything at all, simply let me grapple with my own personal inner war.
I took a deep breath and called upon the hidden blaze within me. Like his demon’s fire, I could breathe life into flame too, only it went by another name. When a sorceress created it, they called it the Fire of Life. I gave everything in that moment, using every ounce of power at my disposal. There was no part of this that was halfhearted. I was going to show him that he didn’t control me, once and for all.
He simply waited, patiently watching me as I cast my magic. He didn’t even twitch when my spiral of flames rushed toward him and he stood calmly in place, just waiting for it to hit him.
Only it never did. It surrounded him, burning hot for several seconds before it reversed and rushed right back at me. The flames scalded my flesh, but they didn’t burn me. Instead, my body absorbed that magic and it punished me so intensely that I shrieked the moment it hit me.
It hurt. Oh, fuck, did it hurt.
Every inch of my body seared with pain. I screamed and he simply watched as I suffered before him. I felt like I was burning alive, only there wasn’t a hint of an injury or even a scratch anywhere on my body.
He cleared his throat and suddenly I was so very afraid.
“You cannot raise a hand against me, little vampire, nor can you use your magic in an effort to hurt me. The mark of Cain that binds you to me affords me a measure of such protection that nothing you do will stop me from taking what I want from you,” he began, and I moaned as pain continued to course through me.
I wasn’t afraid anymore. Now I was terrified.
The flames centered over my nipples and my ass and between my thighs. It burned hot, punishing me with its power and I tried to draw in a breath, but it was so hard. My core clamped down hard, the pain strong enough to bring me down to my knees. A strangled sound of agony escaped my throat and Cain moved in front of me, grasping my chin in his fingers. He forced me to look up at him.
“You’re strong, little girl, but you will never be in control. You see, you think I need my magic to keep you in line. I don’t. I never did and before I’m through with you today, you’re going to understand that I control you, mind, body and soul, and I don’t need even the slightest bit of my magic to teach you that lesson,” he said softly.
“Fuck you,” I retorted.
He smiled.
“I’m proud of you for your resourcefulness and your bravery. I can feel the power in the collar. It does exactly as you intended, but you underestimated me, little girl. You thought you could best me. You thought you would win, didn’t you?”
“Yes,” I spat.
“As defiant as ever,” he murmured. “I think this time, I’m going to have to be more thorough in your punishment than I have ever been. This time, I’m going to have to break you.”
My pussy quivered with need. I was aroused at his words. I tried to ignore my body’s traitorous responses. His grip tightened on my chin and I trembled before him, staring up into his dangerous eyes as I tried to guess what he would do next. I licked my lips, nervously waiting for what he might have in store for me.