Devil's Plaything

Trapped

Noah breathed harshly. The muscles of his arm that pinned Sam to the wall flexed with each exhale. Sam stared at him, looking strangely relieved. It was evident from his prideful expression that he cared more that he had managed to save Mira and Charlie than he did that he was now in even worse trouble. Mira was still shocked that Sam had managed to get Noah into their trap that she couldn't find it in herself to panic about their new problem.

Of course, there was no evidence thus far that the trap had actually worked. They only knew that Sam could still effectively summon Noah.

"Noah wants to talk," Mira said breathily. "Let's sit down out here and have a conversation." Noah turned to look at her and, as was always the case when he did, she felt suddenly as if they were the only two in the room. His eyes trailed downwards to the conspicuous pile of salt that presumably blocked him from leaving the room. Then, he looked back up at her, the muscles in his arms flexing again. Her breath quickened.

"Is this supposed to be a trap?" he asked, tilting his head to the side in calculation. "That's cute." His tone indicated that he didn't find it cute in the least. "What's the plan, darling? To keep me in his bathroom for the rest of your lives?"

"It's my bathroom, not Sam's," Mira said thoughtlessly. Noah paused and looked at the room again. His expression of anger quelled and became one of recognition. He looked back at Mira again, working through something silently.

"I would prefer to have gone on a few dates before moving in together." His tone was different now and his previously tense shoulders slackened slightly. He even lowered his arm, almost as if he forgot that he was supposed to be pinning Sam. "But I like the forwardness." Mira tried not to blush but probably failed. Sam attempted to take advantage of Noah's temporary distraction and step towards the door. Without breaking eye contact with Mira, Noah grabbed a hold of the collar of Sam's shirt and steered him back. "I assume you want this back," he said, motioning to Sam with his other hand.

Mira unsuccessfully tried to swallow down the lump that had formed in her throat. Just like that, she was back to being impulsive, to speaking and acting without thinking. "I'll trade places with him—"

"Mira, no." Sam finally spoke up, his eyes wide. Noah jerked him back again, effectively silencing him.

"What do you want?" Mira asked, holding his gaze. She felt like she did the first time they had met, with Noah holding Sam's life in his hands. Except now she knew a lot more and that knowledge made her stronger.

Noah smiled, so quickly that Mira thought she may have imagined it. "I want you," he said, taking a long pause, "to trust me." He released his grip on Sam's shirt and used the same hand to shove Sam forward, past the threshold of the room. Mira foolishly reached out to brace Sam's fall and, when his body hit hers, they stumbled back until they both tumbled onto her bed. She landed with an almost painful force and Sam braced his arms on either side of her to catch himself before he collapsed onto her. They both blushed profusely.

"Are you okay?" Mira asked in a whisper. Sam nodded, but his breathing was shaky. He reached a hand out to Mira to help her up. Noah was watching them, an eyebrow raised. Mira looked down, unable to hold his gaze now that she was clearly flustered. Then she saw the line of salt had been displaced when Noah had pushed Sam past it. Perhaps breaking the barrier had been Noah's true motivation for releasing Sam.

But Noah stayed completely still as Mira rushed forward and landed hard on her knees before she pushed the salt back into a straight line. Black shoes entered her line of vision and they nearly touched the line of salt. She lifted her head slowly. Noah towered above her, assessing her. She felt her blush intensify. He looked as sinister as he did handsome and Mira wanted to know just how dangerous he was. He wasn't someone she had the luxury of being able to underestimate. She wanted to unravel him, and, if the expression on his face was any indication, he wanted to unravel her for entirely different reasons.