Master of Fire Ch. 03

"I thought you weren't scared of me."

Ember struggled to pull Demetri's arms apart: "I'm not."

"Then stop trying to escape."

The halfling's eyes widened as Demetri pushed his dick against her. She held herself as far from him as she could manage, her pleading eyes burned into his, and her fresh tears seared his skin as they fell.

"You should have let me die!" she cried. "You should have just let me fucking die!"

Demetri froze. He loosened his grip and watched motionlessly as the halfling fell away from him. She stood out of his reach in the water, clutching her shaking arms around herself.

"I don't know why I care!" she said angrily, emotions stoking the flames in her eyes to a raging fire. "You just play with me! You tell me shit about how you couldn't bear it if I was hurt and then you go and try to rape me again. You are so full of shit! You - you -"

The halfling looked as if she was about to faint. She was still weak from her injuries, and she was exhausted from the emotions running wildly through her heart.

"I'm sorry, halfling," Demetri said softly. He slipped off the ledge and waded towards her. "You just incite so many conflicting passions in me all at once. At any given moment I feel a thousand emotions towards you. I feel transfixed by your beauty, both the beauty of your body and of your spirit; I feel incensed by the connection you bear to the woman who killed me and broke my heart; I feel a powerful need to have you, to take you, to own you; and, yet, I feel an even more powerful need to love you and have you love me."

Ember turned away, taken aback by the ghost's honesty. She clutched at the side of the pool to steady herself.

"I am always painfully aware that your body, at least, is in my power and I can take you whenever I want, but that, when I do, I am losing more and more hope of gaining the part of you I value the most."

The ghost reached out towards her, but the halfling turned to face him before his fingers reached her.

"Don't touch me," she spat.

"I don't mean-"

"You're a fucking liar!"

"Please, just let me help y-"

"Get the fuck away from me!"

Ember could go no further, try as she might to shrink into the stones. She glared at Demetri through teary eyes as he slowly continued to wade towards her.

"Don't you fucking dare," she growled.

Demetri stopped. His eyes glowed dark and fierce. He was fighting with himself.

Finally, he held out his hand to her, whispering: "If I didn't care about you, nothing you just said would have made any difference to me, and you would be begging for mercy beneath me right now."

The fury in the halfling's eyes did not fade.

Ember was still for a few moments more, but then she nodded and stepped forward. She took the ghost's hand with trembling fingers and he walked her to the pool's edge. She took her hand from his to pull herself out of the water, but Demetri had pulled her into his arms before she could blink. They rose up out of the pool and Demetri set the halfling lightly on her feet. She tried to pull away but he held her close, staring breathlessly into her eyes, then raking her body with a quick, longing glance.

Ember shuddered slightly and could not hold the ghost's gaze. She wrapped her arms around herself to hide her nakedness and looked away.

"Look at me," Demetri said.

His prisoner closed her eyes.

"Look at me," Demetri said again. He turned her chin gently so that she was facing him again.

Ember opened her eyes slowly and her fiery eyes smouldered.

What is she thinking? I cannot read those eyes.

"Usually I know exactly what the fire in your eyes is saying," he said, "but I can't read them this time."

The halfling's lower lip trembled, and he could see the tears building in her eyes.

"Ah, there's something I recognise," he murmured, pulling her body closer to his. "Please, please don't cry. I will try my hardest not to make you cry. I promise. I promise, I promise."

Demetri cupped Ember's face in his hands and his blue eyes pierced hers with such honesty that could barely hold his gaze. Ember's breath caught in her throat as the ghost stepped forward and began kissing her tears away. His kisses wandered over her burning cheeks, then down to capture her mouth.

Ember did not know what to do. She could feel the ghost's lust seething beneath the gentle movements of his mouth; She knew how hard he was trying to restrain himself from taking her again.

He pulled out of the kiss suddenly, let his hands fall, and slowly stepped away from her.

"If I don't stop now, I'll do something I'll regret," he said.

Demetri walked past her to where his clothes were drying on the floor, he picked up his cleaned white button-down and brought it for her.

"Wear this until I can find you some real clothes."

Ember pulled the shirt on and picked up her boots as Demetri dressed, shrugging his leather jacket over his bare chest.

He looked at her and his body tensed at the sight of her in his shirt. It was far too big for her, and it hung off her shoulders and clung to her curves in ways he wished he could. He watched as she bent down to slip her boots on, and his heart would have quickened if it still beat within his chest as he caught a teasing glimpse of her breasts.

She straightened and wrung a few more drops of water from her hair, which was dripping into long, spiralling tendrils around her face. She glanced up and saw the ghost's glowing eyes fixed intently on her.

"Where are we going now?" she asked softly, folding her arms across her chest to cover herself just a little more. She felt so exposed and vulnerable under his gaze.

"Um, well, I suppose I can take you back to your room," Demetri shook his head as if to clear it. "Or, if you are still hungry, which I'm sure you must be, we can head to the kitchen."

Ember hesitated.

"Honestly, I do not want us to part company just yet," Demetri said softly.

"Oh, you want to rape me in the kitchen?"

"I don't want to rape you anymore," the ghost said with soft, but definite, conviction. Then he smiled smugly at the girl, mischievous thoughts glinting in his blue eyes like the sun on the ocean. Lust flooded his voice as he said: "I'm not going to take you again until you are on your knees begging for it."

"Don't hold your breath," Ember said, anger creeping back into her voice, "because hell doesn't look like it's going to freeze over anytime soon."

"Oh, you're getting your spirit back," the ghost smiled. "Well, there's a time limit on my generosity and kissing you and touching you does not count."

"Go fuck yourself."

"Well I'll have to now, won't I?"

Ember shivered and clutched the opening of his shirt closed around her neck.

"Do want me to do it in front of you?" Demetri said. In a ghostly blur, he was suddenly behind her, purring in her ear: "If I can't cum in you, I might as well cum on you."

Ember swore and whirled around to confront the ghost, but he captured her lips in a kiss before she got the chance to bare her fangs.

Ember wrenched her face away from the ghost's and drew back her hand to slap him.

But Demetri grabbed her hand and whispered low: "Do not provoke my anger, halfling."

Then, the ghost's eyes grew calm again, as if the storm inside had blown over, and he wound his fingers through hers.

"I'm sorry I said that, I shouldn't have."

Ember nodded warily.

"Let me take you to the kitchen, you need to regain your strength."

Before Ember could protest, the ghost had scooped her into his arms and was fading them both through the ceiling.

Ember stayed rigidly still as they morphed up towards the kitchen, but as soon as they began to fade back into sight, she struggled out of the ghost's grip.

Her boot caught on the uneven cobbles, but before she could hit the ground, Demetri's hand was around her waist. He lifted her slowly and then let her go gently.

"Thank you," she muttered, her eyes lowered.

"It was nothing," he said softly, turning away to rummage through the kitchen.

"Do you have a favourite food?" he asked.

Ember pulled herself onto the stone island in the centre of the kitchen and watched in reluctant amazement as the ghost pulled out and then put back stores of food from seemingly empty shelves.

"Um, not really," she shrugged.

"Well, these shelves seem to stock anything and everything. Just tell me what you want, and I will find it in here," he said, half turning to catch the halfling's gaze.

She looked away and shook her head slightly, dropping lightly off the counter.

"I'm not hungry," she said, walking towards the fireplace.

The ghost turned around fully and his gaze hardened: "I told you I would not let you starve."

"Oh yeah, because all of a sudden you care so much about me," she rejoined sarcastically.

"Yes!" Demetri roared, starting towards the girl. "I care about you because you are mine and I will not let anyone or anything take you from me."

"Fuck you!" Ember cried. "I don't belong to anyone!"

"Yes, you do," Demetri said, his words as sharp as the edge of a knife as his hands wrapped around her arms. "Always remember that I can do whatever I want to you, even though I may choose to exhibit self restraint."

Ember turned her face away from Demetri's defiantly. The ghost glowered and his nails dug deeper into the halfling's arms. She closed her eyes in pain and tried to pull away from the ghost.

"Let me go," Ember said angrily.

"Oh, come now, little bloodsucker," Demetri said, letting go of her arms to snake his hands around her waist. He pulled her close and his lips brushed against hers as he whispered his dark promise: "You know very well you will never be free of me."

Ember gasped as she felt his hands move down to grab at her ass and in that moment Demetri's lips enveloped hers in a deep kiss.

With sudden resolve, Ember bit Demetri's tongue. Though it caused him no pain, the remnants of Demetri's human instincts caused him to immediately push Ember away and clutch at his mouth. In that instant, the halfling bolted out of the kitchen.

Demetri cursed when he realised what she had done, but then his lips curved into a smile and he followed after her in a ghostly flash.

Ready or not, here I come. He chuckled to himself as he streaked down the corridors. I will catch you, Ember.

Ember did not dare look behind to see if Demetri was close as she raced through the castle. She flew down the stairs, venturing as deep into the castle as she could, hoping that he might lose her trail.

Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! He's going to kill me if he catches me, he's going to kill me!

Ember's eyes glowed as she dashed through the darkness. She could hear nothing behind her, so she finally glanced over her shoulder.

Nothing.

But, in that moment, Demetri appeared in front of her.

"Got you," Demetri laughed darkly as she flew into his arms.

Ember cried out as Demetri wrapped an arm around her from behind. He pulled her hair back with his other hand so that he could whisper in her ear: "You can't escape me."

Ember cried out and tried to twist away from Demetri, but he held her firmly. His lips brushed her neck as he whispered: "What do I get as my prize, halfling?"

The halfling panted frantically, panic setting in when she realised that she really was in his power again.

Demetri suddenly noticed her gasping breaths and turned her around. He was startled by the terror in her eyes and he loosened his hold on her. As soon as he did, however, her knees gave way beneath her and Demetri barely caught her in time.

He knelt with the halfling in his arms, whispering sweet apologies down at her and promising her safety.

"I am so sorry," he said softly. "I did not mean... I was playing with you. It was a game. I don't want to hurt you again. Please, please forgive me. It was a game. I won't do it again. I'm sorry..."

Eventually Ember's breathing returned to normal and she tried to get up. Demetri was having none of it, however.

"Oh no," he said, scooping her into his arms and phasing through the stone floors. "I am taking you back to the kitchen where you are going to eat. You barely have the strength to stand, let alone survive my capriciousness. You need to eat something."

Ember nodded and shivered. Demetri pulled her closer to his chest and, when they reached the kitchen, sat her down on the counter and pulled off his leather jacket to hang it over her shoulders.

She thanked him quietly, silently taking in the scars covering his chest and the way his powerful muscles rippled with each slight movement the ghost made, and hugged the jacket around herself. She shivered despite the fire blazing in the kitchen's hearth.

"Are you really that cold?" Demetri asked with concern, gently lifting Ember's trembling chin. The halfling nodded, pulling herself away from him slightly and averting her eyes. The ghost reached out again and brushed the damp hair from her face. Ember flinched slightly, but the ghost's movements were soft and almost soothing. He ran his fingers down her face, stroking her gently.

Ember finally gathered the strength and looked back at the ghost. She found Demetri's eyes fixed on her, glowing like the ocean under a full moon.

He's looking at me so... so... tenderly...

There was no other way to describe the look in Demetri's eyes as he gazed at his captive. He blinked when he noticed that she was staring back at him. He pulled his hand away and cleared his throat.

"I think... I have to...um - I'm sorry but I have to go," Demetri said, the words falling out of his mouth as he backed out of the kitchen, fading as he went.