I stepped into the elevator when the doors opened, and turned to face him with challenge lit inside my eyes. His smirk was gone and in its place was tension. He was already trying to figure out how to lock me into another contract. “I won't sign another one. Not even to save myself or anyone else. So, before you go threatening anyone I love—know this. I will not be owned by you anymore. I'm not a fucking pet, so stop trying to own me like one. If you want me, you need to start thinking like a human male and stop thinking like a fucking Fairy.”
“Keep in mind a few things. You will need to feed every few days for the first couple months following Transition or you can quickly starve and die—that is a fact. I will not allow that to happen while you are under my protection, either; not when it’s so easily fixed. You are a casteless Fae; by rights I can claim you. Unless you know where your family is, or where they come from. Hell, I might even be able to broker a deal to buy you.”
“Why the fuck would you?” I leveled an angry stare at him.
“Maybe I like fucking you,” he purred, letting his eyes trail down my body slowly.
“You have a hand, Ryder. I suggest you use it. I promise you won't like fucking me if you force anything else on me. I might be Fae now, but I'm still myself, and I still won't be your toy.”
He stepped forward and forced my back up against the glass wall of the elevator. His hands landed on either side of my head, and his face lowered to mine. “If I want you, nothing in this world or any other one will stop me. And, right now, I want you.”
“I want someone who actually wants me for who I am. Not someone who just wants to fuck me. You don’t want me, you want control of me. I’m not sure why you fail to see the difference. It’s an easy thing for me to see, but then I’m still thinking human,” I shot back at him.
“You have me, Synthia. What’s wrong with wanting beautiful things? All men want something beautiful in their lives. What’s wrong with controlling your body when we both know you like what I do to it?”
“Because, I don’t have you. Why won’t you let me see beyond your shields if I have you? You think I can’t see that you’re holding me at arm’s length? I’m not an idiot. I know you have secrets that you don’t allow anyone else to see. I know you think you’re good at hiding them, but eventually all secrets come to light, and we all have skeletons in our closet. The only difference between yours and mine is that you forced mine onto the table, and you don’t trust me enough to let me see yours.”
“Careful, Syn,” he warned.
“Careful, my ass. You keep taking from me, and in return I get owned! I’m not a dog that you can just chain up like a fucking pet. Eventually, I’m going to be done with the contract, and you’re going to see me walk away.”
“And if I let you in, and show you all my secrets? What if I’m the exact thing you hate most? What if my past is bathed in blood and my deeds are so evil that you end up hating me; what then?”
“It’s in the past, unless you are still doing it. Whatever it is you did, it’s in the past as far as I’m concerned. It’s what we do with the future that matters. If you plan on continuing to do whatever it is…you know what? This is stupid, because I don’t even know what the hell it is you did. I’m not asking for marriage. I’m just saying I won’t be owned. You want me, ask me. Stop demanding it, expecting it, or eliminating the competition.”
“You’re thinking like a human again. Fae take what we want and always look to see how we can stack the odds in our favor.”
“So, I should club you over the head and drag you to my room and chain you? Ya know, since I turned all Fae cavewoman and shit.”
He smiled. “Interesting idea, Pet.”
I snorted and shook my head. The man was impossible, but that was the problem. He wasn’t a human and I kept expecting him to act like one. “Can I borrow your club?” I asked, smirking up at him.
“I don’t need a club,” he replied.
“Of course not, you just write up a contract and I end up signing it. I guess I’ll have to put my new brain to use and figure out a riddle that ends with me owning you this time.”
“Is that so?” he growled smiling.
“It is.”
“You couldn’t handle me,” he challenged.
“Is that so?” I shot back at him.
He growled throatily.
I licked my small fangs and rolled my eyes. “Any news on the group that are killing Fae?” I changed the subject. Yes, it was chicken shit of me, but it was getting way too deep, too fast.
“Not that you need to know about,” he said, searching my face. “You need to concentrate on figuring out how to sift and what powers, if any, you acquired. I’ll handle what’s going on with my men.”
“People are dying, Ryder. I’m not going to sit on my fucking thumbs while they do so. I’m not that girl.”
“You really are the most infuriating woman on this entire fucking planet!”
“And you’re the most annoying fucking Fairy on this planet,” I shot back with a twisted smile on my lips.