“No?”
“No.” He tapped her temple. “That psychic tag I put in here that bothers you so much … I could have planted that in your brain at any point and then taken away the memory of my doing it afterwards—you’d never have known the tag was there. I could have as easily embedded a compulsion in your mind that would force you to come to me whenever I called you. Kind of like a psychic bell. I’d ring it; you’d come … and you’d believe you were doing it because you wanted to. You’d believe the decision was yours and yours alone.”
Some of the color leached from her face. She stared up at him, her lips parted once more. He wasn’t surprised by the unease that flashed in her eyes. She hadn’t known until right then how psychically vulnerable she was to him. Most didn’t. Because despite the rumors of what he could do, people tended to believe that said rumors were either exaggerated or pure bullshit; that no demon could have that degree of psychic power. If it hadn’t been for his archangelic blood, he probably wouldn’t have.
She swallowed. “That sure would have made things a lot simpler for you, so why didn’t you do it?”
Finding that he didn’t like the wariness in her gaze at all, Maddox stroked his hand down her hair and made an effort to soften his voice. “I may be a cold bastard, but I wouldn’t turn my anchor into a puppet. So whatever you might think, I don’t view you as a toy. I might be mostly focused on my own wants, but not to the extent that yours don’t matter to me.” Which surprised him, to be truthful.
He edged a little more into her personal space. “You might not like it much, but you belong to me. I wanted a place in your life. I was set on getting it. But I also wanted you to come to me and grant me that place of your own free will. It quickly became apparent that you weren’t going to do that. So, yes, I took advantage of how desperate you were to save Khloë. I won’t apologize for that, because it would be a lie. I don’t regret it; never have, not even for a single moment. You wouldn’t have let me in your life any other way.”
She stared up at him again, her brow creased. “You outright baffle me at times. You have absolutely no wish to form the bond. At the same time, though, you’re so intent on having me around that you’ll stoop to wrenching deals out of me if it means getting what you want. I thought you might be firmly in the grip of a snare. But now … ”
“Now, what?” he prompted, whispering his fingertips along the side of her neck and down to the pulse beating there frantically, a temptation that made his mouth water.
“Now I’m seeing that you’re far too strong for one to trap you. Or even to be drawn in by the allure that sex demons exude.”
“And that unnerves you,” he sensed. “Maybe I’m not the only one here who likes control.”
Her frown deepened. “I don’t want to control people.”
“But you’ve always had the security of knowing that if you wanted to ensnare someone, you could,” he pointed out. “You could make them vulnerable to you. It gave you an edge. You don’t have it with me, and you don’t like it.” He half-expected her to go on the defensive and deny it. Instead, she went quiet, pensive.
Finally, she said, “Okay, maybe so. But I wouldn’t have tried to ensnare you.”
“And I wouldn’t have turned you into a puppet.” He cupped the side of her face and swept his thumb across her cheekbone. “What we can do and what we’re prepared to do aren’t always the same, are they?”
“N-no.” She licked her lips, making him think of biting them all over again. Maybe even biting hard enough to draw blood, just so he could have a little taste of her. Even the thought made his gut tighten.
He found his thumb brushing along her lower lip, following the path her tongue had taken. “I’m not claiming to be much of an ethical creature. I’ve done a lot of bad things. I’ll continue to do a lot of bad things.” He dipped his head, staring into those striking amber eyes. “But never to you. Okay?”
“Okay,” she said, her voice whisper-soft, but he wasn’t sure if she truly meant it.
“You don’t ever need to feel unsafe with me.” He lowered his head a little more, his mouth mere inches from hers, not hiding his intent. Satisfaction snaked through him when she didn’t push him away. “It doesn’t work, you know.”
Her brows met. “What?”
“Dressing down doesn’t make you blend. It definitely doesn’t make me want you any less. The more skin you cover, the more I want to see every inch of you bare.” He slid his hand from her cheek into her hair. He fisted the soft curls tight, tugging on her scalp enough to wrench a little gasp out of her. Her pupils swallowed the color of her eyes, and her plump lips parted. That was all the invitation he needed.