Rite of Submission - Rite 1

32: Taming the Beast

                With a deep breath, I squared my shoulders and walked into the office. I took the long way around his desk so that he couldn't miss me. He barely looked up, "What are you doing?" his voice was gruff and unamused. Biting my tongue I finished walking around the desk, stopping beside his chair. Without a word I knelt down on the floor, sitting back on my heels, and pushed my hair back over my shoulders before placing my hands on my thighs. I still looked up at him, instead of down at the floor. "What are you doing?" he asked again, sounding tired this time.

"The deal was I'd give you one day," I felt stupid even as I said it but it was the only card I had to play that could possibly throw him off balance. I'd promised I'd take one night to explore the possibilities of what accepting the contract could mean. I'd never promised to do it without my own stipulations and agenda.

He sighed heavily, pinching the bridge of his nose like he had a headache. "I've already lost several days of work because of you. I don't have time to play these games or let you get me all twisted again. Don't you have a book to read or something else you could be doing? I'd send you back over to Sophie if it wouldn't make it so obvious that..."

"Obvious that what," I stood up and glared at him, "Obvious that you want nothing to do with me anymore?"

He laughed harshly, "And this is what, some desperate attempt to seduce me?"

"Oh, I'm sorry," I rolled my eyes, "maybe I should go ask Candy what to wear for you. Should I puff out my chest and try to shove my tits in your face as well? Maybe you'd like me to have her sent up to be with you instead."

"Why do you have to be so, so," he pounded his fist on the desk, making me jump, but I steeled my nerves.

"So what!?" I shot back, I didn't care if the whole pack heard me yelling at him. "What is it that you're so afraid to say. You always start to say something, but then nothing really comes out of your mouth." I pushed his chair around to make him face me as I leaned in close so he could hear me when I lowered my voice. "For an almighty Alpha, you act like a little bitch sometimes!" I knew I'd pressed the right button before the words finished coming out of my mouth.

I found myself slammed against the wall; my hands pined over my head and a hand around my throat. "I'm getting really tired of listening to that mouth," he snarled, I wasn't dealing with Dmitri anymore. It was both beautiful and terrifying to see the whites of his eyes go black around the icy blue center.

"Good," I hissed back, ignoring every instinct I had to panic or try to fight back, "now that you're out, maybe you can clear things up. After all, you're mine whether or not I want you, right?" As if I'd hit him with a truck, he rocked back, dropping me back down to the floor.

"You do know!" he accused, a low growl forming in the back of his throat.

"I suspected," I shrugged, eying the scar on his hand meaningfully. "How does this work? Is Dmitri aware right now? Does he have any control?" I didn't want to have to go through this twice, and I wanted to know just how much of a risk this was going to be.

"He's," he rolled his shoulders, "trying to reign me back in." He grinned, "Why? Do I frighten you Princess?"

"No," I lied, making him laugh.

He slinked forward, closing the space between us easily. "I can hear your heart racing in your chest."

I pushed him away, and folded my arms in front of me. "Do you know what's been happening to me?"