CHAPTER TWENTY-SIXMary Jo
Mary Jo
I stay downstairs all night. I hear the front door open and close then it’s still for a long time. At some point, I fall asleep, and when I wake up, the cabin is still. Too still. I feel like I’m being watched.
I sit bolt upright. I’m on the couch, and it’s daylight out. My gaze darts around the room until it lands on Cole, standing deadly still, grinning at me. He’s by the fireplace, wearing a dark blue t-shirt and jeans that stretch across his thick thighs.
The hair on the back of my neck stands up.
“She awakens.”
“What are you doing? Where’s Jayden?” I try to move slowly. I feel like I’m being stalked by a predator, and any move will set him off. I scan my surroundings. The knife I’ve been using to whittle is on the coffee table by me.
He sees me notice it, and his eyes light up. He looks feral. “Let’s play a game.”
“No.” My voice is quiet. My heart pounds. “Where’s Jayden?” I ask again.
He laughs. “He won’t protect you. Plus, he’s out with Sage.”
What? My hands shake.
“Oh, don’t worry, he’s not going to fuck her. He saves that for you.”
I tell myself I don’t care about that.
Cole continues smiling at me, his face handsome and mean. “The game is keep away. You keep that pretty body away from me, and you win.”
“What? I—”
“You get the knife.” He nods at the table.
He’d let me kill him? I look at the knife. I’ve used it before. Or at least, I tried to.
“If I get three cuts, I’m done. You win.”
Adrenaline fills my body. “If I win, you let me go.”
He throws his head back and laughs. “You drive a hard bargain. Okay, I accept.”
Fuck. I don’t like how easily he agreed. I clarify, “You let me go home. Right after.”
“Okay.” He’s still smiling.
“Swear it. On your mom.”
His grin freezes for a second. Then he does a slow, flourishing bow. “I swear on my mom that if you win, I’ll let you go. Right after.”
Excitement courses through me. The thrill of the fight. The possibility of escape. I snatch up the knife.
His voice goes low. “Better run, little one.”
I do. I take off to the basement, to Cole’s room.
I hear his measured footsteps behind me.
He’s not even rushing. I slam his door shut and lock it.
The light is off, and I keep it that way.
I scramble for the desk. It’s heavy as fuck.
My heart is pounding, and I shove it. It moves a little.
I put my whole body into it and shove it against the door.
The door handle rattles. He’s fiddling with the lock. I struggle to inch the desk close enough that the door has no give. The door opens an inch before slamming into the desk.
There’s a dark chuckle. “What a smart girl. Useless, but cute.”
I look around and heave in a breath. All I need to do is cut him three times. If I can lure him close enough to the crack, I can do that.
The hallway light flips off. I’m plunged into darkness. I blink, trying to keep my heart rate even. There’s silence. Slowly, a little light from upstairs filters into the room.
Something crashes into the door so loud my ears ring. I jump, stepping back.
Crash . It happens again. It sounds like he’s throwing his whole body into the wood.
“Lemon Drrrrop.”
Crash . Wood splinters, and the desk moves a few inches.
His voice remains even. “Let me innnn. I’m going to do violent things to that pretty body.”
I shiver and adjust my grip on the knife. My hand is sweaty. It’s darker in here than it is out there. I position myself behind the door so I can stab him when he comes in. Maybe I can get an organ or an artery.
Crash . The desk scoots again. There’s enough room to slip through.
He’s silent this time. I ready myself to slash whatever part of him I see first.
There’s a hiss, and suddenly the doorway goes cloudy. I can’t see anything in the cloud and darkness. I take a step back, trying to figure out what the cloud is.
“Hello.” The voice is right by me. I scream and slash out with the knife, making contact. There’s a grunt.
I slash back and forth again, but there’s no resistance this time. Another hiss and a blowing sound, and the air in front of me is murky again. I cough and back up.
Something clatters to the ground, and my back is slammed into the wall. My head bounces off it painfully. I slash out again and make contact with something. I cough against the film in the air.
He groans, but it sounds…turned on. I tear my hand back again, but it’s also slammed into the wall. I feel like my front is up against a solid wall of muscle.
“Mmmm. Little one.”
“Fuck you. Fuck you .” I struggle to free my hand. Desperation fills me. This is my chance. I have to win this. I have to get away.
His body moves on me. He shrugs out of something, a jacket sleeve, then pins my knife hand with his knee. I jerk it away, but he presses harder, making me cry out in pain.
“Easy little one. Be still.” I still and feel the pain radiating from my wrist, his bone digging into me. He shrugs the rest of the jacket off and replaces his knee with his hand. A jacket. He wasn’t wearing a jacket before. He must have put it on to get an advantage.
“You cheated!” I try to head-butt him, but I can’t get much leverage. His body heat sinks into me, traveling lower.
“How?” He ducks his head to my neck and pulls in a deep breath. His beard tickles my skin.
“The jacket!”
“First,” he grinds his hips into me, “there were no rules against that. And second,” he grinds again, “you got me through it. Bloodthirsty girl.” His voice rattles through his chest and into me. I smell spearmint.
“Fuck. You. I’m done playing your stupid game. Let me go home.”
“Pfft. Although you did make the chase fun. You deserve a reward for that.”
He strips the knife from my hand faster than I can stop him. He flicks it up to my neck, and I freeze. The metal is cold against my skin. I feel my heartbeat pounding against it.
Cole leans to the other side of my neck. I feel his hot tongue lick from the base up to my ear. Goosebumps prickle on my body.
“Yes. Let’s make this pretty thing feel good. Too much stress lately.” He steps back until the only thing touching me is the knife. “Get on the bed.”
As soon as he lets up, I duck under him and try for the door. He snatches me by the hair and flings me back. I bounce on the bed. He’s on top of me in a flash. The knife is back at my throat, and I feel a small, white-hot line of pain there. Fuck, the knife is digging into my throat.
“My god,” he groans. “Were you made just for me? You’re perfect. I love it when you fight.”
I look into his eyes. They’re alive with light and lust. He looks devastating. Against all reason, my core feels wet.
He pulls the knife back, ducks down, and licks across the cut he made. It stings and he sucks, his groan vibrating my neck. Pleasure zips down my spine.
Cole rips my leggings off. I try to scoot away.
He rips my shirt off, tearing it in half.
He yanks my bra away from my skin and cuts it off as well.
Soon I lay naked in front of him, his body between me and the door.
He adjusts his cock in his pants. I see a wet mark on his torso on the right side. No, not wet. Blood.
He sees where I’m looking. “Jayden’s little kitten has claws.” He licks his lips, and his gaze bores into me. “You can mark me anytime you like.”
My mouth drops open. He drops to his knees between my legs, knife hand going between my thighs. I stiffen.
He groans, “You’re so wet for me already. Do you like to feel afraid, little one?”
I close my eyes. I feel something hard against my clit, and I jump.
“Oh no, don’t move right now. I would hate to cut this pretty body without meaning to.”
I freeze. He has the knife to my cunt. The thought is both terrifying and heady.
The cold metal rubs down my clit. I look and see he has the blunt edge against me.
I can’t look away. He draws it down over me again and uses his other finger to push into my pussy.
It fills me with sensation and I groan. He pulls out and spreads the juices on the blade. It glints in the low light.
“You’re…sick.” I tremble.
“You like sick.” His smile doesn’t reach his eyes. He looks devastating. He brings the knife to my lips. “Taste yourself.”
When I don’t open, he shoves the blunt end of the blade between my lips. His voice is low with warning. “Taste. Yourself.”
I stick my tongue out and touch the tip to the blunt side. Metal, blood, and my own taste coat my lips and fill my mouth.
Cole groans. With one hand, he pulls his pants down and lines himself up with my entrance. Even in the low light, he looks so big. I try to back up, but he presses the blade to my mouth in warning. He pushes the head in slowly, and I feel myself stretch around him. I moan.
“What a good girl.” He holds himself there.
He shakes, holding still. Slowly, he pushes in.
I’m wet, but the stretch is uncomfortable.
I shift to try and accommodate him but stop when I feel the metal move against my mouth.
He grins and pushes in more and more until he’s seated in me.
He drops his head to my forehead. “Christ.”
My chest heaves beneath him. I feel so full around him. He waits there, also breathing heavily. I feel my hot breath fog up the knife against my lips.
Slowly, he starts moving, thrusting shallowly. Soon I don’t feel the stretch, and I feel myself get wetter.
“You feel so goddamn good. Your cunt is like heaven.” He moves the knife to my neck and lightly places it there.
His dick rubs gently on the spot inside me which makes me want to arch my back. He keeps at it, driving me crazy. He reaches his other hand down and tweaks my nipple.
I groan. He starts thrusting harder. “Fuck.” He rolls my nipple between his fingers and then bends down to suck it. I arch into him, the feeling potent.
“Such gorgeous tits.”