Chapter Seventeen
Addison
I feel the rocking motions of the truck before I can even peel my eyes open.
My eyelids are heavy, and my body feels like it’s weighed down with lead.
I’m lying on my side, and when I can finally blink into the dim lights of the vehicle, I make out Rowan behind the wheel.
I’m in the backseat, and I want to speak, but my tongue is stuck to the roof of my mouth.
I need water.
My hand shifts over the leather, and my captor turns to look over his shoulder. I go deathly still, holding my breath as my eyes blink shut lazily.
“We’re almost there,” he reaches back, and I want to recoil, but whatever he drugged me with is still oozing through my veins.
He places a hand on my shoulder, and I realize that I’m covered with a thick blanket.
I can hear his fingers rustling over it as he strokes my arm gently.
“Go back to sleep. You’ll be out of it for a few days. ”
My mouth opens, and my tongue smacks against my teeth. “You…you drugged…me….”
Rowan peers into the back seat, something passing behind his eyes that I’m too disoriented to make out. “You’ll forgive me one day.”
“Fat…chance,” my consciousness slips, and I’m pulled back under.
***
There’s something pounding. It sounds too heavy and loud. I groan groggily, turning my face into whatever soft, rich-smelling thing that’s close to me. My hand reaches, and I ball the fabric into my fist.
When did my bed start smelling this good?
It’s like taking a big whiff of sandalwood and spice. I inhale deeply, feeling my limbs relax.
Something squeaks, and the pounding stops. Then I heard the dripping of a faucet and something wading through water.
“Five more minutes,” I mumble, detangling my fist before my hand slaps over the scruff lining a sharp jaw.
A deep chuckle reverberates through what I’m inhaling like an addict, and I realize with a start that it’s a chest.
Lips press against my temple before Rowan speaks softly. “We need to clean you up so I can doctor your cuts.”
I bury my face deeper, feeling sleep beckon me like a lover.
It registers in my head that I should be freaking out, but whatever drug he used on me is working a little too well.
I’m far too relaxed, and wherever I am is so warm and cozy that I can’t drag myself from slumber long enough to curse or berate the man who kidnapped me.
“I’ll be quick,” Rowan mumbles, his voice dipping in and out with my consciousness. “I promise, Sunshine.”
A dopey, drug-induced smile tugs at my lips as he sets me down in the water. It’s not as hot as I would like it, but I’m so loopy that all I do is give him that ridiculous smile before reaching for his chest again. “You smell so good.” I bury my face in his shirt as he sloshes the water over me.
He pours it over my hair before there’s an echoing click, and I smell something sweet and subtle fill the bathroom. He scrubs the soap into my hair, and I moan as his fingers dig into my scalp.
It feels amazing.
The whole time he washes me, I doze off, the drug affecting my judgement. Because right now, I could fucking kiss him for the pampering.
“It’s like going to the spa…” I trail.
“Mhmm,” he hums. “Wait until it’s all worn off. You won’t like me so much then.”
My brows furrow as I detach from his chest. I look up into the most beautiful eyes I’ve ever seen, and my expression becomes dreamy as I ungracefully cup his cheeks. “I could never hate you, Row Row. You’re so good to me, and you smell like this!”
His eyes shift between mine, a fond look uncurling in them as we stare at each other. He clears his throat before lifting his hand to one of my wrists and brushing his thumb over the back of it. “I’m sorry, Sunshine. I only did it—”
“Shhhh,” I shush him messily, pressing a finger to his plump lips. My temple throbs as my eyes squint. “Stop talking. You’re giving me a headache.”
The bright, fluorescent bathroom lights aren’t helping either.
He sighs, and I feel his shoulders slouch as I baby him with soft touches. “I don’t deserve this. I don’t deserve you.”
I shake my head, my eyes lizard blinking before I fall forward into his chest. “Stop saying dumb things, and wash me, Assassin Man.”
His chest shakes with a chuckle as my eyes close and I’m dead to the world again.
***
Alertness can’t quite reach me. It’s in my sluggish movements and the way it feels like my whole body is sinking into molasses.
As my mind tries to get a hold of what’s happening, my whole system feels off. Like I’m not all here.
My eyes peel open, languidly blinking into the afternoon light streaming overhead.
It’s too bright.
“You’re so sweet like this,” Rowan’s voice causes my heart to slam painfully as I turn towards the sound. His figure is blurry, but wide and haunting as he stands over me. “I could do anything I want and you wouldn’t be able to stop me…”
My mouth is still dry as my tongue smacks against my teeth. I’m not as off-kilter as I was the last time I woke up, and rage flows from me. “Fuck…you…”
He comes closer, his hands making the softness below me dip with his weight. His deep, rich scent washes over me as I register his thick fingers brushing my hair out of my eyes.
“Such a little brat…” he tuts. He pulls something around my throat, causing my airway to constrict slightly. “Why don’t you lie there, and let me do all the work?”
My lip bob in a quiver. “What are… you going to do… to me?”
Words are hard to formulate, but as my anxiety ramps up and the events of the forest flood my mind, I can’t stop the fear racing through my veins.
He shushes me gently, pressing his forehead to mine like the deranged devil he is. “I’m only going to give you pleasure, Sunshine. Don’t be afraid of what I make you feel.”
That’s a little hard considering I’m terrified of him, and whatever vile heat that stirs up deep in my core.
I keep trying to convince myself that my arousal is only a reaction to his proximity. Nothing more.
But as he climbs onto the bed and rips my thighs apart, I’m reminded of the way he handled me in the woods. The sweet words he uttered and how unhinged he looked—like he had found salvation in me.
A whimper falls from me, and he shushes me as I feel his thumb pull my panties to the side.
“It’s okay if you want to sleep,” he mutters before spitting on my already soaked pussy. “You’ll still feel me while you dream.”
As if to punctuate his words, my eyelids grow increasingly heavy. I want to fight and kick him off of me, but all I can do is lie here as he situates himself between my thighs.
“Row…” my voice fails as weight sets in my bones.
“You like that nickname,” he muses as I feel him notch his head at my entrance. “Deep breath for me.”
He pushes forward, sinking fully into me as my eyes screw shut and my jaw slackens on a pathetic sound. I can feel every inch, and as he draws back, I can shamefully feel the wetness dripping from me.
“Go to sleep,” he mutters through gritted teeth as he moves over me, crowding my vision until all I can see is him.
My eyes close without hesitation as exhaustion beckons me. I’m sleeping, but I can feel every sensation. The rocking of his hips as he slams into me, the coiled muscles of my body as an orgasm begins to build, and every flutter of my core as he fucks me with abandon.
White-hot lust is what causes me to gasp myself back to consciousness. Without the strength to stop myself, my climax rips me apart beneath him, and I can only writhe as I explode.
Rowan places his forehead to mine, muttering soothing words under his breath as his movements become more intense.
He slams into me one final time, taking my breath with his release as he groans over me.
Warmth flows into me, and I can only bite my bottom lip as every drop of arousal is wrung from me.
“Such a good girl,” he coos, feathering kisses along my neck. He brushes something cold there, and it causes me to shiver.
“Bite…me…” I try to create venom behind my words, but it only comes out as a garbled whisper.
Rowan hums against my throat before I feel his teeth sink into my skin in a punishing love-bite. I moan involuntarily, turning my head away from him as he nips at my flesh.
“My mark looks good on you,” he says huskily before I feel his fingers ghost over the bruised skin.
“You…bit me…” The drug is sucking me back in. Everything is slowly going out of focus as my eyelids lower.
Rowan gives me a thin-lipped head tilt. “One day you’ll learn to watch that mouth around me.”
Darkness swallows me again.
***
I bounce in and out of consciousness. Sometimes I can stay awake, but I’m hardly coherent. Others, my mind is so hazy that I eventually just drift back to sleep. I’m not sure how long this lasts, but when I open my eyes for the last time, I shoot up in bed.
My limbs aren’t heavy anymore, but I feel like I’ve slept enough for several lifetimes.
I glance around the room, momentarily thrown for a loop as I take in the high, wood beams and hardwood floors. The four-poster bed I’m in is massive, and my eyes trail the intricate headboard. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen, crafted from mahogany with carved designs of wildlife.
The dark sheets pool around my waist, and I look down at my clothes as murky memories fade in and out.
I’m in an old band t-shirt that rides up over my dark purple panties, making the memory of being bathed and manhandled slap me in the face.
The fucker bathed me!
And he touched me! Again!
I throw the covers off, pausing when I notice the yellow, fading bruises running up my legs. There are a few Band-Aids over my cuts, but everything looks like it’s healing nicely.
If it weren’t for the fact that I was drugged and kidnapped, and the fact that I can feel something dry and uncomfortable stuck to the inside of my thighs, I could find it in myself to be a little more appreciative. But all I feel is fucking rage as I clamber out of the bed.