Lexi’s hand tightened on the door as Malakai rested his hand on the frame and leaned toward her. His brown eyes burned with an intensity that made her stomach churn. A cruel maliciousness burned in those eyes as he smiled at her.
It took everything she had not to step away from him, but she managed to hold her ground. The unraveling control of the dark fae prince made her a little uneasy, but Cole never made her skin crawl like Malakai did.
Malakai was smiling at her, in complete control of himself, and couldn’t make her one of the shadow kissed, but he was far more of a menace to her than Cole.
For one thing, Malakai wanted to marry her and rule over her life and lands. She’d rather be tied behind a horse and dragged naked over a field of glass before being dumped in a vat of rubbing alcohol than have such a thing happen, but staying free of him could become the biggest battle of her life.
She had a feeling he would make that life miserable until he got his way.
“Malakai,” she greeted flatly.
His eyes fell to her lips and narrowed. She almost touched them but stopped herself. Now that he’d drawn her attention to them, she realized how swollen Cole’s kisses had left her mouth.
“Is there something I can help you with?” she asked.
“I came by to speak with you about something. I thought we could take a walk.”
Lexi glanced at the sun and then the amulet at his throat. What did he do to earn it?
Knowing Malakai, it was something awful. She inwardly recoiled from him even as she remained standing where she was. He unnerved her more than a child speaking in tongues, but if she revealed that to him, he would use it to his advantage.
She suspected he knew he unnerved her, and he liked it.
“I’m too busy for a walk,” she said. “I’m sorry you wasted your time coming here.”
She started to shut the door, but he threw out his hand to keep it open. Leaning closer, his grin revealed all his perfect white teeth, but it didn’t reach his eyes.
If the eyes were the window to the soul, then Malakai’s soul was more rotten than meat left out in the summer sun for weeks on end.
“I’m sure you can spare a few minutes of your time, Elexiandra. I have some very important things to speak with you about,” he said.
She suspected some of those important things were marriage, and she was not in the mood to deal with that. Even before Cole entered her life, she was determined not to bind herself to this man. But now that she knew what it was like to desire another so completely and like them, she would never agree to marry Malakai.
Unfortunately, she might not have a choice.
“I can’t, Malakai,” she said. “You’ve come at a bad time.”
A flash of red ran through Malakai’s eyes before he managed to suppress it. Whereas the signs of Cole losing control excited her, this loss of restraint from Malakai caused her blood to run cold. Cole wouldn’t destroy her life; Malakai would.
“I have to go,” she said and tried to close the door again, but he refused to remove his hand.
He leaned closer as he hissed. “I’m not playing, Elexiandra.”
“Neither am I,” she grated out as she glared at him.
Yes, he terrified her, and he might force her into a loveless and most likely brutal marriage, but she would not let him push her around. She would not give in to him without a fight.
“Please leave,” she said.
This time when his eyes flashed red, Lexi braced herself for him to lash out at her, but before he could hit her, an arm enveloped her waist. Cole tugged at the door, and she released it to him.
As he opened the door further, he pulled her possessively against his chest. His posture was casual, but hostility coursed through his coiled muscles.
Malakai rose away from her and his mouth parted before he closed it. Then he gave her a scathing look as his lip curled in disgust.
Lexi’s shoulders went back, and her chin lifted defiantly. Getting involved with a dark fae was a stupid decision, but she decided to make it, and she wasn’t going to be judged for it by this asshole.
“What’s going on here?” Cole inquired.
“I’ve come to speak with Elexiandra,” Malakai said in a clipped tone.
“As she said, she’s busy right now.”
Lexi glanced between the two men. Out of the two of them, there was no doubt who was more powerful, but Malakai was not the type to fight fair.
When Malakai’s attention shifted back to her, there was no denying the loathing in his eyes. “I’ll be back soon.”
Cole’s fingers tightened on her hip, and before she could reply, Malakai vanished. She stood staring at the spot where he’d been before Cole guided her back and closed the door.
“That should keep him away for a while,” Cole said.
“He’ll be back,” Lexi muttered. “He always comes back, except he’ll be pissed off next time, and you won’t be here.”
Needing to be alone, Lexi shrugged out of his hold and backed away from him. Cole reached for her, but she dodged his hand and hurried down the hall as she resisted running.
However, there was nowhere for her to go, and she didn’t know who she was running from, Malakai, Cole, or herself and her shitty decisions.
As she strode down the hall, she spotted Sahira standing in the shadows next to the stairs. Sahira opened her mouth to say something, but whatever she saw on Lexi’s face silenced her.
She didn’t say a word to her aunt as she went up the stairs to her room.