BITE ME

Chapter 7- I know your secret

"I know your secret, little mortal. I can see through you. I may be a powerless demon here on earth, but know that I'm still the prince. So what do you want now? I can carry you to one of the guest rooms here and wait, maybe to your own room. Shall I?" Xeon whispered more delicious luring words in her ears while he carried her unexpectedly, which made her gasp. Then the bastard ran so fast to the upstairs room that no mortal even saw them.

Valerio rolled his eyes and vanished with a puff of smoke.

Jesus! The excitement was killing her, but damn! Mathena, you should keep your senses up and not let the man lure you into something you will regret later.

Embarrassment roared through her though. Damn the arrogant, powerless demon-jerk. She had come to her mother’s party with a plan. Okay, not a good plan, but one that was supposed to trap Xeon and get her the trade she deserved, but now what? Everything was nothing but a joke.

Instead, she very much doubted that she had once again been played by this man. He had not been truthful with her about what happened to them at the party, on the balcony, something he was so keen on sharing. What the hell happened back there anyway? All she knew was that she woke up in her bed the next morning.

If there was a trap, she was the one who had fallen for the damn trick. And for her trouble, she had been nearly burned to death in her secret attic room without one answer to show for it.

God, she had been a dummy to ever come here.

Nothing good ever transpired when Xeon strolled into her life, but she nevertheless wasn't complaining. Maybe the hero needs a little bit more sugar and spice to make it interesting.

Xeon was like her own personal kryptonite. Her own damn weakness. Only cuter and hotter. With the sort of s*x appeal that set her body on fire and made her think of being pressed to the nearest wall and feeling his large, hard...

Not good!

Fuck!

No, Mathena, no.

He was bad news. He was a demon for a reason.

He was hot nonetheless.

And until he gave her a few answers, there would be no hot, sweaty, delicious s*x…

Stirring up the embers of her excitement, Mathena concentrated on the hard, male body that was carrying her with such aggravating solace. She had warned Xeon that she was not a vulnerable, innocent woman. It was time to prove her words were more than hot air.

"Stop," She commanded with fierce determination, forming the image of Xeon trapped in molasses. Thick, sticky, gooey molasses. "I said to stop now. Put me down Xeon! " Now! "

Xeon’s steps began to falter, his beautiful blue eyes widening in shock as the air clotted and wrapped around his body, forcing him to a halt.

"Damnation, how did you do that?" he muttered, heeding her with satisfying vigilance.

"Do what?" She asked while her hand still held his warm, beautiful broad shoulder. She loved being in his arms, she admitted.

"You made me stop!"

"Because I said so?"

"No, no, not that way... I can feel your power within me. I can feel your command."

"Oh, really now?"

"Yes, and I, the demon prince of the-"

"For bloody sake, stop! Jesus, for a minute, stop being an ass and put me down."

He did… carefully he put her down and Xeon was all the more confused. It was beyond him how this mortal was able to command him like he was kind of a mere puppet.

Was he really bound to her? Did she bind him to her?

Damn!

Ha. That would teach that disrespectful ass. "I have stopped, sweetheart. Release the command."

"Fine, but do you promise to stop pushing and carrying me around whenever you want me to do something?"

"I…" He whistled in apparent discomfort. "Mathena, you must release your power. My ribs are already fractured." How the woman managed it was something no one did to him. He was a damn prince, for f**k's sake.

Her smug amusement at having bested the demon evaporated beneath his agonized gaze.

Oh, hell... "Are you OK?" She had been so busy showing off that she hadn’t really considered the outcomes.

"Release me now. She finally acknowledged guilt.

"I'm not sure I can, I don’t exactly know how... well... uh-did it. I don't know how to release you."

Xeon's eyes widened! "Are you f*****g serious?"

She rolled her eyes. "Yes, oh mighty, Xeon Morningstar." Half expecting him to shake her senseless, or at least flash those demon shadows of death, Mathena was caught off guard when he did no more than gaze deep into her eyes. Like how Leonard stared at Rose... oh hell, she could almost hear the Titanic theme song playing in the f*****g background.

"Mathena, will you stop thinking whatever you …never mind… please… just concentrate, I'm in pain, lady." he murmured."

Concentrate on what?"

"Hell... OK. Loosen up your mind." His head eased so he could whisper directly into her ear. "Just relax. Don't think about anything. I'm about to die here."

"Really?" Mathena looked at him.

"Shhh…Shut up! Just relax. Just let it all go."

She did as he instructed and breathed heavily.

In and out… In and out.

"That’s it, sweetheart. You can do it." His sweet words poured through her body like soft, warm honey, easing her anxieties and making her feel as if she were drifting into nothingness. She allowed her senses to seek out the unseen bonds, struggling to create them in her mind. For a minute, there was nothing, and then, without warning, they materialized like deadly steel bands in her mind... Xeon gave another painful whine as the steel bands ruthlessly crushed his body. s**t!

With a surge of dread, she urged herself to break down these barriers with her thoughts before she panicked.

There was a soft whimper before she found herself being set roughly on her feet. For her, the early winter breeze returned to whipping happily outside the mansion. It was like everything halted and everything was bound for her, evidently as glad as Xeon to be released from her restraint.

"Woman! You almost killed me!" Xeon grumbled.

"Stop being a baby Xeon. It was just a simple band. Jesus!"

"Simple band?" He shook his head and added, "You almost cracked my ribs."

Gaining her balance, Mathena watched as Xeon pressed a hand to his chest.

She bit her lip. "Are you poorly hurt?" she teased more.

"Goodness me, woman! But don't worry, I’ll recover."

"I'm not at all worried... I told you to stop and you didn't… serve you right."

"You have a dead cold heart."

"Just like you did, mighty oh, prince of the under-"

"Will you stop teasing?"

"Whatever." Mathena went to open the door to her room and yawned. She suddenly felt like she had run a marathon.

With a grimace, Xeon lowered his hand. His brother warned him before that when his bride came to her age and her powers were a dangerous thing. Next time, I’ll pay more attention to him. He thought to himself.

"What did you do?" He inquired as he looked at her beautiful neck how he wished to touch her and kissed her.

She gave an uncomfortable shrug. "Well... As I told you, I don’t really know."

His dark brow arched. "Mathena ' I'm serious here…"

She met the piercing black gaze. She even managed to face it squarely for several long, embarrassing minutes before she blew out a resigned sigh.

"I'm serious." Dammit, why wouldn’t he let it be? She felt like an eccentric, boring gal without confessing her love of the Little Pony.

"I just…" She gave a shake of her head. "God, it sounds so foolish when I say it out loud, but sometimes if I concentrate hard enough I can control the things around me... like I can tell them what to do." He shrugged and yawned again before stretching her arms.

"Aside from touching someone else's soul, killing and healing abilities?"

"Yes, that sort of thing."

"Wow!" He looked more intrigued than horrified. "What sort of things?"

She gave a wave of her hands. "Like the weather..." I could make it warmer or colder. I can talk to animals too."

That made him raise his brows. "Or squeeze the hell out of a demon prince?" he confided, with visible awe.

"Maybe that is just a bonus, OK? I didn't mean it."

"I bet you did. Anyway… when did you know that you had this ability?"

"Since I was a kid?"

"And no one knew about this?" Xeon inquired and looked at her intently, trying not to stare at her red, full lips that seemed to be calling him to kiss her.

"Just my mother."