Once a Myth

My hackles rose.

I wanted to throw the bottle to the floor and smash it.

I went to tip if from my palm, but he murmured, “If you damage, destroy, or do anything to that elixir, you will severely regret it.”

I paused. “Elixir?”

He nodded, holding me prisoner with his stare, just daring me to ruin whatever he’d given me. “An elixir guaranteed to make your life here far more bearable.”

Frowning, I studied the miniature bottle. It couldn’t have held much. Thirty millilitres at the most. “What does it do?”

He chuckled, far more in control of himself than before. “Take it and find out.”

“Elixir means a magical or medical potion. I don’t take drugs, and this isn’t a storybook. So, I politely decline.”

His chuckle tapered off into a scowl. “You’re forgetting that you no longer have free will.” Pushing off from the desk, he ripped his hands from his pockets, snatched the bottle, twisted off the lid, and grabbed my chin. “The first thing you should know about me is…I’m not a patient man. When I tell you to do something, you do it. Immediately.”

His eyes pinned me to the floor as he pulled my bottom lip down with his thumb and tipped the bottle into my mouth.

I fought to repel backward, but he just walked with me, dumping the contents onto my tongue. The second the last droplet entered, he tossed the bottle away, grabbed me in a bone-crushing embrace and planted his hand over my mouth and nose. Pinching my nostrils, he took away my air, clutching me close as I wriggled and squirmed.

I begged with my eyes for him to let me breathe.

I kicked at his shins to get away.

But he just held on with unnerving, unyielding strength. “Swallow and I’ll release you.”

I shook my head, tasting the sweet, rose-infused liquid. Hating the slight numbness on my tongue and the tingle in my cheeks. Already it affected me. What would it do if I let it slide down my throat?

My lungs clawed for air.

My mouth tried to open beneath his large, heavy palm.

I gasped and choked, and still, he didn’t let me go. He moved with me when I backed away, patiently allowing me to come to the conclusion that I had no choice.

I do. I do have a choice.

Die or swallow?

That wasn’t a choice at all.

We danced a little more. I tripped over the woven flax mat, and he kept me upright, tutting under his breath. “Swallow.”

I fought one last time, moaning and trying to get my arms free from his vise-like hold. But blackness feathered my eyesight, and my lungs ached as if they’d filled with poison.

I stumbled again, unable to coordinate my legs.

He showed no signs of mercy. No flicker of indecision or clemency. Just ruthless behest to win.

The pain of no air became unbearable. The instinct to survive overrode my need not to drink.

I swallowed.

I stumbled.

He let me go.

I fell to my knees, bouncing hard on the hardwood floor. Little grains of sand stuck to my bare legs as I planted my hands into the ground and breathed.

Breathed

And breathed.

Gasping and grateful for sweet, sweet oxygen.

The taste from his elixir still lingered on my tongue. Fragrant and subtle. Sugary and potent.

Moving toward me, he slid to his haunches. Stabbing one finger onto the floor for balance and using his other hand to tip my chin to face him, he waited until I stopped panting before he smiled.

The feral glitter in his blue eyes terrified me. “Now listen to me. Pay attention…you don’t have much time.”

Chapter Eight

I SHOULDN’T HAVE FED her the elixir.

Especially the upgraded version.

Normally, my goddesses didn’t receive a dose until the night of their first client. I might expect their servitude and offered no sway in following my strict rules, but I wasn’t above humanity—if it suited my purpose.

I wasn’t such a monster that I didn’t offer a small rehabilitation period. A settling in time, as it were. By now, the girl I’d purchased would have heard my terms, realised I wasn’t such a bad guy after all, understood that as far as bastards went to be sold to, I was the best they could’ve ended up with, and agreed to behave.

They were escorted to their villa.

They were left alone to acclimatise.

They were free…or as free as an owned possession could be.

But no.

This fucking girl had to intrigue me.

She had to stand up against me even though I’d treated her with respect and decorum. She’d turned a simple conversation into a war, and that was something you should never do with me.

I didn’t lose.

To anyone.

And now…fuck, she’d pay the price.

I didn’t let the thought linger that I might’ve broken her by making her drink. I didn’t worry that such a prime, highly sellable product might not make it to the shelf. All I’d cared about was she’d defied me, and the price for that was great.

It was time to ruin that aggravating pride, smudge out that bold elegance, and destroy that goddamn grace by any means necessary—before it became a problem and ruined the obedience upon my island.

She scrambled away, ripping her chin from my knuckles. “What do you mean…I don’t have much time?”

Standing, I smirked at her clueless on the floor. “You probably have about ten minutes…fifteen tops.”

She crawled to her feet, pushing unsteadily upright to face me. Nervousness painted her beautiful features. “What will happen in ten minutes?”

“You’ll find out.” Turning my back on her, I returned to my desk, collected my pen, and began the meeting all over again. This time, the girl drifted to stand demurely in front of me. No fire burned in her gaze. No hate tainted the air. She’d turned inward, assessing her reactions, doing her best to guess what her system would do and racking her brain on how to save herself.

There was no saving her.

She would be in a personal hell for quite a few hours.

Swallowing any remaining animosity, she balled her hands. “Is there an antidote?”

I laughed a single bark before I could stop myself.

An antidote?

Ha!

There was an antidote…of a kind.

But she wouldn’t be getting it from me.

No matter how much she begged. And, oh, she’d beg. She’d offer me her soul in perpetuity in about nine and a half minutes.

“Normally, I take my time explaining what your future holds. But…seeing as I lost my temper and have done something rather unfortunate, I will have to rush, to ensure you hear what I say before….” I looked her up and down, eyeing her closely for signs that she could no longer coherently follow my voice.

She still stood quietly. Still focused on me.

Her tongue licked her bottom lip just once, her eyes flaring at the sensation. Her chest rose as she inhaled, a lightning shiver shooting down her spine.

Shit, that stuff was strong.

Wrenching out a contract, I slapped it onto the desk, the fine-print facing her.

She shivered again as she moved forward, her clothing rubbing on skin that was steadily turning into overly sensitive sandpaper. “What’s that?”

“That is binding and already signed by me.” Scooting my limited-edition Mont Blanc to her, I added, “Sign it and it’s done.”