Chapter Sixteen
Addison
I groan, my body feeling coiled tightly as I regain consciousness. I’m disoriented, and something doesn't feel right. The aches and pains in my limbs are one thing, but as I wiggle my fingers, I realize I'm tied up.
Panic claws at me as my eyes shoot open. It takes me a few seconds to adjust to the darkness, and those seconds are spent trying to move my arms and legs.
“You’re going to hurt yourself,” Rowan’s cool tone has my head whipping up.
He glowers across from me, the gas mask pushed up over his head as he takes a dominant stance.
His legs are spread wide, and his thick arms crossed over his chest. His bloodied shirt is gone, exposing his inked chest and abdomen.
Blood is smeared across his pecks from the open wound on his shoulder.
I want to speak, but I can’t. All that comes out is a muffled, garbled mess of sounds. My eyes widen as I register the gag that's tied around my head and lodged between my teeth. A scared moan leaves me as I finally look down.
The purple rope is what’s restricting my movements.
There’s a crossing star shape across my chest, and the crook of my left leg is fastened close to my stomach, while my other dangles, and my toes touch the dirt.
This position is open and vulnerable. It wouldn't be so bad if I weren't completely fucking naked.
My hands are bound behind my back, and I follow the direction of the rope until it leads to a low-hanging branch. He’s tied me to a tree, and I’m at his mercy.
The chilling nighttime air nips at my heated skin, sending goosebumps over my flesh. I try to pull on my restraints, but it’s no use. The rope bites into my arms and chest, leaving red welts in its wake.
“Struggling is no use,” Rowan reminds me as he reaches into his jeans’ pocket and pulls out my phone. He shakes it in his hand, showing me the cracked screen. “You have this whole town searching for you, Sunshine.”
Muffled whines leave me as my body turns. My toes barely touch the dirt, and it isn't enough for me to anchor myself in place.
He tsks, shaking his head as he observes the jagged wound on his shoulder. It looks worse now that I can see the torn flesh around it. “You have good survival instincts, and I'm proud of you.” Those stormy eyes darken as they lock with mine. “But you should know better than to push me.”
An eerie feeling creeps along the nape of my neck like a cold draft. The air around us is heavier—charged with something electrifying as Rowan steps towards me. I close my eyes as he lifts a hand to my cheek. He buries his fingers in my hair, tenderly rubbing a thumb over my bottom lip.
His eyes soak me in, masculine satisfaction flickering in them. “You’re so fucking beautiful like this.” His finger trails until he swipes something wet under my eye.
When did I start crying?
He braces both hands on my face, getting close to me as his brows lift. “You want to be my good girl so bad, but your mouth gets you into trouble. I’ll have leniency this once, but don't expect it from me, Sunshine.”
He’s speaking as if this will be the first of many, and the growing unease tells me that he’s right. He’s captured me, and I have no choice. I suck in a shaky breath, more tears falling.
“Don’t cry now,” he says, shaking his head before gripping my throat. “I told you, you wouldn't like the consequences. Now, you’re going to take everything I give you, and you're going to thank me for it.”
He throws his request in my face like he did back in the truck. It’s edged with a warning that my punishment may be worse if I don’t thank him for doing whatever he’s about to do.
More muffled sounds leave me as I turn my face away from him, but my defiance is only met with his tongue, hot and wet, dragging up my cheek and collecting my tears. There’s something hard in the center of his muscle, but I can’t think past the rushing of blood in my ears.
He presses his forehead to mine, his breath harsh. “Fuck, you taste so good.”
Hearing the deep timber of his voice as if he’s in agony has heat flaring in my lower belly.
The cold air blows over my dewy thighs, and I’m shocked to find that I’m aroused.
I’ve never experienced fear and heat at the same time.
It’s unnatural, but I can't stop the long groan that leaves me as one of Rowan’s hands trails down to my breasts.
He teases my nipple, brushing his thumb over the stiffened bud and sending a shock straight to my clit. “I’ve thought about these far more than I like to admit. You’re perfect, Sunshine.”
His head dips, and I suck in a breath when his mouth closes around one dusky peak.
He isn’t gentle with me, and I feel something rounded drag across my peak.
His teeth graze my sensitive skin before closing around my bud with a teasing bite that leaves pain in its wake.
My body arches, and unmistakable fire ignites.
It’s unwelcome, but that doesn't stop me from burning alive.
I close my eyes, resting my head back as every point of contact assaults my senses.
He lavished my other breast with the same taunting attention; meanwhile, his hands trail my sides, tickling over my hips before he grabs them and drops to his knees. My eyes fly open when I feel his breath near the apex of my thighs.
Seeing him down on his knees as he fervently stares at my soaked pussy has need and desire combating my reason. It’s something in his look—like he can't believe he’s seeing me—that has my heart pounding like a drum.
No one has ever looked at me like that.
And it terrifies me with its intensity just as much as it serves as a balm for some part of my soul that’s always dreamed of a man looking at me like I was his.
But this is no fairytale.
And I'm not so sure my prince charming is actually a prince.
He pulls on the curls of my sex—not hard enough to elicit pain, but enough to grab my attention. “Keep your eyes on me. I want to see you fall apart, Sunshine.”
The first touch of his mouth on my pussy has my body tightening beneath him. My eyes widen when I realize the hard ball I keep feeling is dragging across my clit.
Oh, my god.
His tongue is fucking pierced.
How have I not noticed that?
My hands claw at the rope twined around them, and my head tips back as he circles the metal ball around my pleasure point in a slow, punishing rhythm. One of his fingers slicks through my folds before he presses it deep into me, and my back bows.
“Does that feel good? Aw, do you like my tongue ring?” He taunts. “Do you hear how fucking wet you are for me, Sunshine? You’re going to take me so well once I stretch this pussy.”
The squelch of my entrance and the juices coating my thighs are embarrassing, but I can't even think of it as I focus on the doubled sensations. It feels so good.
Oh, fuck!
My core is wound tight, and his tongue flicks just the right spot. Paired with his pumping finger and the ring steadily strumming over my sensitive flesh, it doesn't take me long to become a whimpering mess.
My hair sticks to my temples, and I can feel the cuts and bruises on my body, but the discomfort is drowned out by the building pressure. I’m going to tip right over the edge, and he knows it. My mistake is looking down into those haunting, roaring oceans to see a ravenous beast staring back at me.
No. He’s no Prince Charming.
He’s a carnivore, and he’s eating me like I'm his last meal on Earth.
I can't fight my reactions, or the way my body begins to chase the high as heat builds to a scalding temperature.
When I use my free leg to push myself closer to him, he moans in approval before adding another finger and stretching me further.
The dull ache and sensation of being full only enhance everything, and my walls pulse around him.
“You want me to make you cum, Sunshine?” His lips move over my swollen folds, and I can feel his breath tease my clit. “Cum on my face, beautiful. Show me what I do to you.”
It’s so wrong.
He’s killed people, and he terrifies me. I shouldn't give in to whatever odd hold he has on me. I should be fighting. I should turn away from him and not give him the satisfaction of seeing the pleasure he’s giving me.
But I can’t.
I can only follow my body’s needs as I helplessly undulate my hips.
He buries his face deeper before lifting my free leg over his shoulder as I ride his chin.
He makes a deep, guttural sound that vibrates through my core, and my eyes squeeze shut as I explode.
Loud, breathless sounds leave me as I see stars.
My walls clench his fingers, pulsing until every last drop is wrung from me.
My head hangs as I come down from the intensity. Rowan’s hand is still languidly pumping into my overused core, and he nips at my thighs as his eyes trail to me. The back of my thigh presses into his wound, but he doesn't even flinch.
He’s insane.
I shot him.
He should be writhing in agony, but he takes it like it’s a cake walk. He pays it no mind, and it only serves to solidify that this man isn't human to me. He’s something entirely different.
He draws his fingers back, and his face glistens with my release as he eases my leg off his shoulder. “I think you’re ready to take me.”
My head whips up as he stands to his full height.
My eyes widen as he stares at me with a half-lidded, hungry gaze and unbuttons his jeans.
His muscles flex beneath his skin as he releases his length and gives it a long, slow stroke.
His wrist flicks at the head, and my core responds by closing around nothing.
He grabs my throat, his fingers biting into my arteries as he drags my face closer to his. “Keep your fucking eyes on me. Watch me ruin you, Addison.”
A distressed noise leaves me as he steps closer. The head of his cock nestled between my folds, and he coats it with my release as he wraps his arm around my waist to anchor me to him. Solid muscle pushes flush against me as he adjusts himself at my entrance.
I don’t realize I’m staring at where we connect until his hand grips my cheeks and he forces me to look at him. “Eyes on me. I won’t tell you again.”
A thundering ocean swallows me whole as Rowan sinks me fully onto his member in a single thrust. My teeth bite down on the gag, and I stop breathing altogether.
Full.
I feel too full.
Rowan’s fingers tap my cheek as his jaw ticks. “Breathe, Sunshine.” He sounds like he’s holding back. “Fuck, you’re taking me so well.”
More tears well in the corners of my eyes, and the pressure in my abdomen intensifies. It feels like too much, but I don’t know if I want it to stop or keep going. I’m on the edge of something, but I’m scared to find out what that something is.
He really is ruining me.
He slowly pulls his hips back, cooing gentle, encouraging words as he brushes my soaked hair away from my face. “You’re doing so well. You’re going to be my good girl, aren’t you?”
I only return a desperate whimper, my core pulling tight before he slams back into me, and I feel him in my throat. A muffled moan and cry leave me as I’m forced to take every inch of him without mercy.
It’s bittersweet that he’s there with me every step of the way, whispering praise in my ear. His words cause more heat to build in me, and he sets a punishing rhythm until all I can make out are his hips slapping against mine in the forest.
He switches his grip, holding my hips so hard that his fingers bite into my flesh as he impales me. “You’re so fucking beautiful like this, Sunshine. You’re mine.”
A gargled, jumbled mess of sounds leaves me as pleasure crescendos into something blinding. I feel desperate and wanton, my chest painting as red as my cheeks are. I look up into starved eyes as rain pours down on us.
His praise becomes possessive and hot, branding me in a way no other has. “This is ours. We’ll share this. Forever.”
I don’t know what that means, but it sounds final—like he’s wrapped a chain around my heart and doesn’t plan to let me go.
He’s delusional with lust, but there’s conviction behind every syllable. He means it.
My body responds, and my core clenches around him. Heat travels through my bound limbs, and I see stars for a second time tonight as my climax grips me in an iron hold. My arms pull, making the rope dig in further to my skin as my eyes slam shut and I scream my release.
“That’s it!” He growls loudly as his movements become sloppy. “My good fucking girl. I’m going to paint your insides, Sunshine. I’m going to cum where I belong.”
His words are filthy, and it only causes me to spasm again around him as he slams into me one last time and holds me close. He buries himself to the root, flooding my insides, and I’m helpless to stop him.
A deep groan leaves him, and I feel every inch of his body against mine. I want to move, but exhaustion pulls me down. My arms and tied leg are beginning to ache, and I can feel the cuts and scrapes that are open to the nighttime air.
I’m so tired.
Rowan stays close, and I register his hands cupping my sides gently as he breathes harshly into my shoulder. His ear is within biting range, but I’m so exhausted that moving seems like a chore.
He reaches up and dislodges the gag from my mouth. Before I can tell him to take a long walk off a short pier, he grabs my cheeks and pins me with a warning look. “Think carefully before you speak, Sunshine. You shot me, and this wasn’t your punishment.”
I spit, silently celebrating when my saliva lands on his cheek. “Fuck. You!”
He wipes it, nodding his head as if he’s made up his mind. “I should have known better than to give you the benefit of the doubt. I’m doing this for your own good.” He digs in his jeans’ pocket before I catch something glinting in the moonlight. When he holds the syringe up, I thrash.
“NO!” I shout, twisting my body despite the pain, but he only wraps an arm around my waist to hold me still as he bites down on the needle’s cap and spits it onto the dirt. “Stop! Please! I-I’ll be good!”
He shakes his head. “We tried that. I can’t have you getting us tangled up in any more shit while we travel back.”
I turn my head, my anxiety skyrocketing as the needle pricks the skin of my throat with a sharp sting, and I moan in agony. It’s over just as quickly, and I instantly feel my eyes droop further.
“What…” My mouth moves slowly, and everything around me looks like it’s moving too fast for my eyes to register. My whole body slouches, and suddenly I can’t formulate a sentence.
“I’ve got you, Sunshine. I’m going to take care of you.”
Fuck you.
It’s on the tip of my tongue, but it doesn’t see the light of day as my eyes close and everything goes dark for a second time tonight.