“No coffee,” Ian said and took a step toward me, leaving only a small gap between us.
I put my hand against his chest to keep a little distance between us. Just the feel of him sent a jolt of nervous energy through me. Where the hell was Annabel?
I tried to focus and open myself up to my Magic so I could see something, anything, from him, but I got nothing.
“Tisk, tisk. You really think I wouldn’t be prepared for your little tricks?” Ian said, tapping his forehead.
“What tricks?” My voice squeaked and my stomach hollowed out. I stepped back toward the kitchen. Without missing a beat, Ian stepped forward and followed me as if we were a pair of dancers. He couldn’t possibly know what I was capable of. The last time I saw him I didn’t even know what I was capable of.
“Don’t play dumb with me. It really doesn’t suit you.” He followed me as I kept trying to put some distance between us.
“Really, I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said as my nerves crept into my voice, making it sound like I’d swallowed a butterfly. I took another few steps away from him, placing the kitchen island between us. I could see the back door from where I stood and tried to think of a way to reach it before he reached me.
“Please,” Ian sneered and circled the island. I made a dash for the sliding door at the back of the house but he was on me in an instant. He grabbed me by the arm and turned me around to face him before shoving me against the cold, hard glass of the sliding door.
“You think I don’t know who you really are, Violet?” Ian whispered, his nose brushing against my cheek and his breath hot on my neck. I suppressed a shudder, determined not to let him see how terrified I really was. The smell of his cologne and body odor was so thick it choked me and left me fighting for clean air.
“What do you want from me?” I asked. The words barely escaped my lips as I tried to push myself closer to the glass and away from his invading body.
My right hand slowly made its way to the lock on the handle. Chills ran all over my body, along with a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. He’d somehow blocked my ability to see, but I wasn’t completely blind. I could still feel the tenor of his future and it was surrounded by darkness and death. It wasn’t something I wanted to be a part of.
“Well, I want you, my dear,” he said, pulling back to look at me. He caught my wrist just as I flicked the latch to the unlock position.
“Don’t bother,” Ian said. The latch clicked back down into place without him touching it.
“You… you’re,” I tried to say, the words caught in my throat. He was Magical. Panic consumed me and left me frozen against the glass door.
“Yes, that’s right,” he interrupted. “Now you see why there’s no reason to bullshit me. I know all about you and the Prophecy.” He emphasized the last word with disgust. “I told you you’re different.” He smiled, reminding me of our blind date.
“What do you want with me?” I asked, trying to sound calm and in control but my voice barely came out as a whisper. My pulse raced and the sting of tears forming blurred my vision.
“Let’s not rush things. It’ll all be over soon and it’d be such a shame to fight the whole time.” He pushed himself against me, his hand still tight on my wrist and a disgusting smile across his face. “We had such a wonderful evening when I was in town. I think it’s time we move forward in our relationship, don’t you?” He pushed his lips hard against mine.
Rage and disgust replaced the panic and I hit him across the face as hard as I could with my free hand. His lips pulled back and his grip loosened on my wrist for a split second. I took the opportunity to knee him in the stomach and make a run for it. I got halfway to the door when Ian’s hands wrapped around my waist and he tackled me to the floor, pinning my arms down and pushing his body hard against mine. I couldn’t move.
“Don’t fight me, love. You’re on the losing end,” he promised as he pushed his hips harder into mine. “Now where were we?” His revolting lips landed on my neck and slowly made their way down the v-cut of my shirt. I squirmed under him, trying to free myself, but it was no use. He pinned me down with too strong a hold.
“Why are you doing this?” I begged, trying to free my arms as tears streamed down the side of my face. I just needed to keep him talking until Robert or Annabel showed up. There was no way Robert couldn’t be on his way with all the emotions running through me right now.
“Don’t you think we should finish up where we left off?” Ian asked, flicking his tongue against my ear.
“Where we left off? We never started anything,” I managed to yell as I tried to push him off of me with my hips. This couldn’t be happening; I had to get away from him!
“Didn’t we, though? After the wedding?” he whispered into my ear.
Fear and darkness surrounded me. For a split second, Ian’s mental guard slipped and everything around me changed. The world grew dark and foggy. I heard music playing in the distance. My eyes focused and I saw myself walking across the street to my car. I gasped, recognizing the scenery. I was seeing the night I was attacked! A man came out from behind a car and headed toward me. But it wasn’t just any man: it was Ian. Ian was my attacker! The scene shifted and I saw myself on the ground with him on top of me, my voice begging him to stop. I moved up close to make sure of what I saw, only to see the enjoyment and satisfaction on Ian’s face as he slid the knife into my helpless body. Blue light crashed into Ian and tossed him off of me.
I closed my eyes and when I opened them again, I was back in the living room with Ian on top of me.
“That… that was you?” I squeaked, terrified. The man who attacked me and left me living in fear that he might return was… was Ian. My body rejected what my brain told it and I went numb. Everything came rushing back to me, the emptiness in his eyes at the Cantina, the detailed questions about my life. He’d been planning his next move all along. “But why didn’t… why didn’t you…”
“Why didn’t I finish you off then?” Ian asked, finishing the words caught in my throat. “I wanted to, but that filthy healer attacked me, before I could finish the job.” He brushed the hair tenderly off my face.
The blue light, I thought. It was Robert attacking Ian with Magic.
My body finally caught back up with my brain and started thrashing against his, violently trying to get away. My elbow caught on the wooden floors and gave me a little leverage. Before I could push myself up though, Ian regained his hold on my arms and pressed me back against the floor. Our hip bones crushed together and it took all the strength I had not to cry out in pain.
“Why didn’t you just kill me when you drove me home after dinner?” I spat at him.
“I wanted to so badly,” he whispered, his breath hot on my face. “But once I reported that you didn’t have Magic, my orders changed. I was to find out as much as I could about you.” He bit down on my bottom lip, drawing blood as I tried to pull free. The warm, copper taste turned my stomach upside down and brought bile to the back of my throat. I fought to keep myself from throwing up and swallowed a mouthful of blood. “By the time I returned to finish what I started, Robert was all over you, protecting his little pet.” He seethed and scowled at me.
I pulled one hand free from his grasp and pushed on his shoulder, trying to force him off of me. Without skipping a beat, he grabbed my arm right as I swung to hit him, slamming it back to the floor. He slapped me across the face with his other hand. My eyes watered and I felt the blood from my lips trickle down my chin.