Venom And Vice

17

My heart disappeared down into my stomach in a nauseating game of hide-and-seek on my way to the basement. My hands trembled, and I’d licked my parched lips at least a dozen times on my way downstairs. I’d had less nerves as a teen going out on my first date. Get your s**t together, Moore, before you make a fool of yourself again. I took a long, deep breath, then opened the gym door. Casek was mid-pull-up, his legs bent at the knees and muscled arms lifting him effortlessly to the bar and back down in smooth rhythmic motions. He wore a T-shirt and joggers—nothing particularly special—but I’d never seen anything more goddamn sexy in my life. For a second, I forgot my own name. When his feet hit the ground and his eyes collided with mine, I had to force my brain back into action. “Uh, hey. I appreciate you being here. I want to say that I’m really sorry. I know you probably don’t want to talk about it, and I totally understand, but I wanted to apologize. I had no idea what I was doing … or that I was doing anything. I never meant to … do what I did. So … yeah.” f*****g phenomenal, Ash. Way to ramble incoherently. At least it was done. I toyed with the hem of my shirt, unable to contain my nervous energy. Casek strolled closer. “I know you didn’t mean to do it. Let’s just move on.” He grabbed a hand towel from a nearby bench and wiped his forehead. “We can go straight to testing your magic since that obviously needs attention, and we didn’t get to it yesterday.” His cool tone was perfectly calm and businesslike. He was showing me in no uncertain terms that he preferred to pretend nothing happened and move on. Okay, I could do that. “I tried twice earlier today to summon my magic but couldn’t make it budge. I’m not sure what’s wrong.” “Could you sense the power at all?” “Yes, I just couldn’t call it to the surface like Merlin had taught me.” He nodded. “I’m sure it’s a natural part of the process. Control takes time.” “Yeah, but it seems so weird since it came easily the other day. I don’t know why things are different today.” As I voiced my concerns, an idea took root. I’d used my magic several times since unlocking it with Merlin. Could those few exercises have depleted my power enough that it needed charging? “Do you think I might need to feed my magic?” Casek stiffened. “No, not yet. It’s only been a couple of days since you started using it.” “Yeah, but what if it’s like when kids are growing, and they need extra food and sleep? Maybe the first few uses depleted it more than I realized.” That had to be it. A deluge of relief came crashing over me. I’d tried to keep myself from getting worked up all day, but subconsciously, I’d been terrified that I’d regressed back to being powerless. “There’s no way you need to feed already, okay? Just let it rest.” The normally impassive Huntsman was showing signs of irritation. Why? Did it bother him to think of me needing him to feed my magic? The possibility stung a little. “It’s not like it has to be you,” I shot back. “I’m certainly not meaning to force you into something you don’t want to do.” “What the f**k is that supposed to mean?” Casek stalked closer, his movements as predatory as a jungle cat. Alarm bells began to ring in my head that I’d somehow triggered a ticking time bomb. “I’m not trying to upset you. I just feel strongly that my magic probably needs refueling, and there’s no reason you have to do that for me. I can go take care of it tonight, and we can try to train again tomorrow once I’m more able.” “Over my f*****g dead body,” he growled, walking us backward until my back was against the wall, his large frame caging me in. “Why do you always have to be so damn stubborn?” His murmured question felt rhetorical, so I didn’t answer. Not that I could have. His violent reaction had rendered me speechless. Over his dead body? What the hell did that mean? Why would he be so adamant against me feeding from someone else? There was no mistaking his irritation and animosity around me. I had no delusions about his feelings for me. But if that was the case, why would he say something that rang of jealousy and possession? I was starting to think I’d never understand this complicated man. “I take it you know what this entails?” he asked, face inches from mine. I nodded, having already learned the foundations of feeding Fae magic with s****l energy. Seelie Fae siphoned the energy created during the s****l release of another person, which meant we could feed from other Fae or humans since the source didn’t have to have magic themselves. However, it was impossible to feed from yourself. A partner was required, though penetrative s*x was not. I’d explored the possibility early on that my magic simply needed to be fed, but without being able to sense the magic at all, my efforts had been pointless. But now, I knew how the energy felt. It was there inside me. All I had to do was give it a little fuel to bring it back to life. Casek stripped off his shirt and tossed it to the ground but kept the hand towel draped over his shoulder. “Hands on my shoulders.” His voice was a husky command that warmed my insides. I couldn’t believe this was happening. I didn’t know what I expected from our training session, but this had not been it. Hell, I wasn’t even sure what exactly we were doing. Was he planning to f**k me? He clearly had some sort of plan, and I wasn’t going to object, whatever it was.