Chapter 30 The Bargain

Chapter 30 The Bargain
Chapter 30

Cael’s POV

The Bargain

Victory felt cold and sharp. That's how I liked it.

I watched Lira leave the training yard. Her shoulders were straight but I saw the defeat in her steps. Good. She needed to understand her place.

My room was quiet when I returned. I cleaned my practice sword and put it away. Everything in its place. I liked the order. She was the disorder. But I would bring her to order.

At exactly eight o'clock, a knock came. Soft but firm. I knew it was her.

I opened the door. She stood there, still in her dirty training clothes. Her silver hair was coming loose from its tie. Her storm-gray eyes burned with anger and something else... shame. She looked beautiful in her defeat.

"You came," I said.

"You didn't give me a choice," she said, walking past me into the room.

I closed the door. The lock clicked shut. She flinched at the sound.

"I always give choices," I said, leaning against the door. "You just don't like the options."

She turned to face me, her arms crossed over her chest. "What do you want, Cael? Just say it."

I pushed off the door and walked to my desk. I picked up the silver data chip. I made sure she saw it.

"Our deal," I said, tossing the chip in my hand. "You lost. I won. You obey."

Her eyes followed the chip. I saw the fear there. Good. Fear makes people manageable.

"You want me to undress?" she asked. Her voice was steady, but her hands were shaking.

"That was the offer," I said. I walked toward her slowly. "But first, take off my boots."

She stared at me. "What?"

"You heard me." I stopped in front of her. "You're here to serve me. Start with my boots."

For a moment, I thought she would refuse. I saw the rebellion in her eyes. Then her eyes dropped to the data chip in my hand. She remembered what was at stake.

Slowly, she knelt.

The sight of her on her knees before me sent a thrill through my blood. This proud, wild thing, brought low. By me.

Her fingers were clumsy as she untied my boots. She pulled them off and set them aside. She didn't look at me.

"Now my shirt," I said.

She stood up. Her hands went to the buttons of my training shirt. Her fingers brushed against my chest as she worked. I could feel how cold her hands were. Or maybe I was just that warm.

She got the shirt open and pushed it off my shoulders. It fell to the floor. Now I was bare-chested before her. She kept her eyes fixed on my collarbone, refusing to look lower.

"Your turn," I said softly.

Her eyes snapped to mine. "What?"

"The deal was you undressed," I said. "Or did you forget?"

"I didn't forget," she whispered.

"Then do it."

Her hands went to the hem of her own shirt. She pulled it over her head. It joined my clothes on the floor. She stood in just her pants and chest wrap. Her skin was pale and smooth in the dim light. I could see the rapid beat of her heart at the base of her throat.

I reached out and traced the line of her shoulder. She shivered but didn't pull away.

"All of it," I commanded.

Her fingers went to the tie of her chest wrap. It came undone and fell away. Then her pants. Soon she stood completely bare before me.

I let my eyes travel over her. She was perfect. Strong legs from training. Slim waist. The elegant line of her neck. And her face, proud even now, even like this.

"You're beautiful," I said. It wasn't a compliment. It was a fact.

She said nothing. Her arms hung at her sides, twitching. She was trying so hard not to cover herself. Trying to keep her dignity.

I stepped closer until we were almost touching. I could feel the heat coming off her bare skin. I reached out and wrapped a strand of her silver hair around my finger.

"Now you understand," I whispered. "This is what it means to lose to me."

She finally looked me in the eyes. "What happens now?"

I smiled. "Now I decide if I want more."

I leaned in close. My lips brushed her ear. I felt her shudder.

"I could take you right now," I whispered. "I could push you onto my bed,” My eyes dragged through her body as I struggled to maintain control of the urge not to really act on my words. “I could fuck you. Take what you've been giving Riven to see for myself how you really would feel against me.”

A strangled whimper left her lips as she trembled. I watched every tremor,  releasing the power I held right now. She took a deep breath and looked me in the eyes. “You're so wrong.”

“No. Don't fucking tell me I'm wrong because I know I'm right! I've seen you bitching around with him.” My wolf practically growled. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

“Lie on the bed, Lira.”

"You want me to obey?" she asked. Her voice was steady, but the air between us trembled.

"That was the deal," I said, closing the space between us. "You lost. You have to do everything I ask."

Her jaw tightened. "And if I don’t?"

I smiled faintly. "Then I teach you how."

I caught her chin between my fingers and tilted her face up to mine. She froze, her breath shallow, eyes defiant but unsteady. I could feel her pulse fluttering under my thumb fast.

"You don’t listen when I talk to you from a distance," I said softly. "So maybe you’ll listen when I’m this close."

Her lips parted, as if inviting me to take them in my lips. My wolf clawed through me, begging to be let out. I held myself back. I leaned in, close enough for my breath to brush her skin. The scent of her, sweat, metal, something wild, filled my head. She didn’t move away.

"You can hate me," I murmured, "but you’ll still listen when I speak."

Her throat worked, like she was swallowing the words she wanted to throw at me. I let my hand drop from her chin, sliding to the back of her neck, steady and sure. The contact wasn’t rough, but there was no mistaking who held control. Her breath shivered against my chest.

"Say it," I whispered. "Say you understand."

"I understand," she said, voice barely audible.

"Again."

"I understand."

"Good," I said quietly. My thumb brushed her jaw, tracing the line of it. "That’s all I wanted from you."

I stepped back, and the air between us snapped like a cut thread. She exhaled sharply, shoulders trembling with restraint. I threw a robe at her. “There. Put it on.”

"You think you’ve won," she said, voice hoarse.

I tilted my head. The mark on my wrist pulsed. It was time for a meeting with my father. "I don’t think. I know. Get out.”  I turned away to the mirror opening my closet to get a new shirt. 

“What was that?” She asked sharply. 

“Get out.”

“What was th..."

“I said, get the fuck out, Lira!” I growled, the walls of the room rattling.