Page 63 of Rapunzel Unchained
“You didn’t have to kill her,” Adam said quietly.
“Yes, I did.” I finished my orange and proceeded to suck the juices from my fingers.
Adam’s eyes dipped to the motion, memorized. I languidly sucked on it, letting my tongue slide up and down the digit before pushing it all the way in. I closed my eyes and hummed a moan.
Adam cleared his throat.
My eyes opened, and I grinned at his back as he pretended to be interested in cleaning.
The fact that he still found me attractive even after seeing me end someone’s life shouldn’t have made me happy, but it did.
A wet cloth sailed across the room and smacked me in the face. I grabbed it, glaring at Gage. His eyes were on the hole, but they were crinkled at the edges.
I wiped my fingers off and crossed one leg over the other. “Instead of yelling at me for killing her, you should ask yourself how she even found me. You can’t protect me if the council members know where I am.”
“They weren’t supposed to find out,” Adam tried to reassure me. “We didn’t tell anyone about where we set this up and assumed they’d stay away.”
I snorted. “You give them too little credit. Just like you give them too much credit as reasonable beings. They won’t ever agree to let the humans free, no matter what you offer them. The only way to fix the problem is to destroy them.”
For once, Adam didn’t argue with me. He exchanged a look with Gage, a silent message I couldn’t read in their eyes.
What was that about?
Not commenting on their exchange, I returned to the issue at hand. “What’s to stop the others from showing up and trying tokill me? I’m a sitting duck here. They might not be easily tricked like Beatriz. Knowing those cowards, they’ll try to kill me from the other side of the barrier.”
“That’s not going to happen,” Gage announced, his hand over the hole as it filled in until it was a smooth shimmering surface again.
I shoved out of my chair and stalked over to him. “How do you know that? You obviously made the barrier to hold me and my magic in, but other things can go out. You can go in and out as you please. And since I was able to pull Beatriz in, you didn’t guard against others from coming in if they want. Tell me exactly how I’m going to be protected in all this.”
“I’ll alter the barrier to keep them out.”
I cocked my head to the side. “And how exactly are you going to do that?” I lifted my head, peering up at the barrier with a thoughtful expression. “If your barrier is the kind I think, you can’t just pick and choose who can pass and who can’t. This barrier was created from part of my essence.” I lifted a brow at Adam, who had the decency to look guilty.
“Hair from your brush.”
“So unless you have Jetta’s and Carisa’s essence on hand, I don’t see how you’re going to make it so they can’t get in.”
“Let me worry about that,” Gage muttered, stepping through the barrier to push me back from the edge, but paused before touching me. A flicker of uncertainty crossed his eyes.
“You’re afraid of me now, aren’t you?” I couldn’t help the gleeful tone in my voice.
Some might call me crazy for being turned on by the fact that the men I was involved with loved and feared me equally, but I didn’t care.
What was a little excitement without a little fear? It was why I’d always been able to toe that line with Zane’s demon. He couldkill me at any moment, and the uncertainty that he just might made me come harder than I’d ever come before.
“No,” Gage snapped, dropping his arm. “I won’t make the mistake of underestimating you again.”
Adam shoved the trash can out of the cell. His eyes bobbed between the two of us. “I’m missing something here. You’ve seen her kill someone before. At least this time, there’s no pieces to pick up.” A shudder went through him as he grimaced.
I smirked at Gage, lifting a hand to trace along his jawline. He kept himself still, stubbornness shining in his eyes. It was clear he wanted to keep me from touching him, and yet he refused to give in to that fear.
“Gage didn’t like the trick I played on him.” I stepped closer until my front brushed against him, my hand landing on his chest. The rapid beating of his heart thudded under my fingertips.
“No one likes to be controlled.”
I giggled, pushing up on my tip toes until I could feel his breath on my face. “And fucking me with your fingers wasn’t you trying to control me? Don’t be mad because I outmaneuvered you.”
His hands grabbed my arms in a biting grip. “You didn’t outmaneuver me, you used magic to take over my body. Thenyoufucked yourself on my fingers.”
