“Why did you allow my grandson to violate you?” He stared at her, eyes narrowing, glowing now. Why wouldn’t he let that one go? She refused to blush as she wanted to and set her jaw, showing him that he wouldn’t get an answer to that question. “Did you do it so he would help you... or perhaps you wished to bear the child of a demon too?”
He took a step towards her, his gaze locked on her, assessing her.
Elissa trembled and said the one thing that sprang into her mind. “He is my mate.”
Arnaud threw his head back and laughed. Not the reaction she had hoped to gain from him. He snapped his head down and stared straight into her eyes.
“You believe that, don’t you? Poor child. No spawn of mine would tie themselves to a witch. Has he told you that you are his mate now and forever, that he will never be with another?”
She shook her head, cold creeping in again.
“He will leave you. He strung you along and made you believe you were special, and now he has you as his plaything... and when he grows bored of you, he will move on... and you will be left at the mercy of your coven.”
She knew he was playing on her fears and she told herself not to listen, but her heart didn’t heed her. It ached at the thought that he might be right and Payne would leave her as soon as he had the ring from his grandfather. She had given him no reason to stay with her. She had provoked him at every turn, using him to get her here, so she could take Luca home. She was no better than everyone else who had manipulated him or hurt him.
“You know I am right. I see it in your eyes. Come, child, console yourself.” He opened his arms to her and she felt the pull, a deep need to go to him and nestle in his arms. She wanted to cry in his embrace and let him comfort her. “I will make you forget my grandson.”
Elissa moved to the edge of the bed, nodding in agreement. She wanted to forget Payne and all the hurt he had caused her. She wanted Arnaud to take her in his arms and hold her close to him, making love to her until she no longer remembered his bastard grandson.
Arnaud took her hand and lifted it to his lips, pressing a long kiss to the back of it. She shivered, a hot rush racing through her blood, and stared up into his beautiful eyes.
“Give yourself to me and I will give you his true name, and you can take your revenge.”
Elissa froze and pulled back. “No.”
She shook her head to clear the fog of desire from it.
“No!” She tried to tug her hand free of his grip. She would never do that to Payne. She would never use his true name against him, never wanted to know it so she couldn’t be tempted to betray him just as his love had.
Elissa clawed at Arnaud’s hand and froze again. The ring that Payne wanted. The gold band encircled Arnaud’s little finger, the rubies set into it sparkling and taunting her. She could get it for him. She grabbed for it. Arnaud snatched his hand away.
“You won’t enslave me, little witch.” He shoved her hard onto her back on the bed and was on her before she could move. He grabbed her left wrist and she punched him hard with her other fist as he pulled the blanket off her, baring her to him.
He forced her knees apart and she wrestled with him, heart pounding and blood rushing. She fought harder but he was stronger than she was. Too strong.
His free hand went to his trousers.
“I will enslave you.” #p#分页标题#e#
Dark and Deadly: Eight Bad Boys of Paranormal Romance by Jennifer Ashley, Alyssa Day, Felicity Heaton, Erin Kellison, Laurie London, Erin Quinn, Bonnie Vanak and Caris Roane
CHAPTER 14
Payne stood in the middle of the blue room he had waited in with Elissa the night before when they had first arrived, surrounded by books and the sumptuous antique furniture. The dark-haired male who had escorted him down to the reception room had disappeared, leaving Payne alone to mull over what he had done. He had buttoned as much as he could of his shirt and tucked the rest into his jeans, trying to conceal the fact it had lost half of its buttons. He closed his eyes, hating the instant replay of Elissa’s wicked smile as she tore it open, passion flaring in her eyes. If only things had remained that way, harmless satisfaction of their desires, rather than taking a sharp downward turn.
Guilt gnawed at his heart and he wanted to head back upstairs to check on Elissa and try to repair the damage he had done, not that it was possible. He had condemned her. He had done his best to resist, had warned her to stop, but she hadn’t listened and he hadn’t been able to keep control of himself.
He scrubbed a hand over his hair, raking the blond strands back, tugging at them until it hurt. Pain that he deserved but that wasn’t enough. He should suffer a thousand times worse for what he had done tonight, to her. He had tried so hard to claw back control, had almost succeeded once or twice, horrified by what he was doing, by how far gone he had been in that moment. The combination of twin hungers, the constant thrum of sexual energy in the air of the mansion, and Elissa’s actions and his deep need for her had conspired to strip away all sense of control and push him firmly over the edge, beyond any hope of salvation.