I couldn’t trust him.
Just as Zephyrus said—I’d be wise to develop a similar armor. One outlined in distrust.
My limbs began to shake.
Tears slid from my eyes.
The world rumbled around me, and I couldn’t make it stop, even while an inferno built inside me, begging to be released.
It terrified me.
Enthralled me.
Owned me.
Shade’s tongue dominated mine, his cock a thick presence against my core, pushing me to the precipice of something terrifying. I clung to him with all my strength, horrified and captivated at the same time. Nothing I could do would stop this. I felt it in my very blood, an unerring compulsion to give in to Shade’s ministrations.
A part of me rebelled.
The other part… rejoiced.
I hated him more in that moment than anyone else in my entire existence. Yet my craving for him won.
Ecstasy erupted inside me, drawing a scream from my throat that was filled with self-loathing and pain. And also represented the most powerful orgasm of my life.
I wasn’t a complete innocent.
I’d played with Glacier countless times, and while the Water Fae was good in bed, he never made me feel quite like this.
Like liquid ice.
Hot on the inside, frozen on the outside.
A tremor rocked me from head to toe, my rapture subsiding beneath a fresh wave of horror.
I couldn’t discern up from down, right from wrong, or passion from hate. Shade’s lips were at my neck, his kiss far too tender for my liking. I’d prefer his bite so I could hate him more. Only, he held me with worship in his touch, his warm body wrapped around me in a false blanket of protection.
“I hate you,” I whispered, my eyes wet. “I hate you. I hate you. I hate you.”
“I know,” he replied softly. “I hate myself, too.” He nuzzled my throat, sighing. “I’m not supposed to be here, but I wanted to make sure you were okay.”
“I’m not okay,” I told him, shuddering. “Not okay at all.”
He kissed my jaw before pulling back to meet my gaze. “You’re strong, little rose,” he said softly, the new nickname underlined in a deep caress. “We’ll both be okay in the end. You’ll see.” He pressed his lips to mine once more as he carried me to the chair. Lowering me into it, he hovered over me with a sinful look. “I need to go before Guardian Zephyrus finishes his spell. But I’ll see you again soon. In your dreams.”
Shade vanished into a cloud of smoke that seemed to take up the entire room, his existence touching every article of clothing and all the walls, until all I could see was darkness.
“Aflora!” Zephyrus’s furious voice slapped me across the face, jolting me from the chair. He stood before me with a livid expression, his wand in his hand.
I frowned at him, then whirled around the unfamiliar room. Wait… I glanced down to find myself fully clothed and wrapped up in a cloak like a blanket.
My skirt looked brand new, my blouse fully buttoned, and I even had on knee-high boots.
I blinked. “What…?”
“A sleep enchantment,” Zephyrus hissed. “That little prick.” He shook his head, a curse falling from his full lips. “He’s circumventing the rules with mind play. I’d be impressed if he wasn’t breaking a hundred protocols to do it.”
“So he wasn’t… That didn’t… I…” My cheeks heated, unable to finish. My damp panties were the only thing on me that matched my supposed dream. So either I’d woken up turned on or I’d orgasmed in my sleep.