Chapter 6 Allegra
ALLEGRA
"You're a girl," his voice is full of venom as he says that. He stands up, his expression one of disgust as he looks at me. "You're a girl," he repeats, shaking his head and taking a deep breath, seemingly to control his anger.
"A woman," I correct him, raising myself on my elbows. I'm breathing hard, my lungs still getting used to not dying, but that doesn't mean I'm going to take everything he dishes out. I already almost drowned because of him.
"A woman," he laughs, his fists clenching at his sides.
I know I was wrong for lying to him, but surely he can understand how dangerous it is for a woman to travel alone.
"I'm…" I'm about to apologize for my little lie when he continues.
"I should have known," a bitter smile appears on his face, "only a woman would have stared at me like that."
"Like what?" I ask, frowning.
He kneels next to me, removing a switchblade from his pocket. I eye it suspiciously, especially as he plays with the tip.
Instinctively, I try to back away from him, but he's on me within seconds.
"Like you want to fuck me," he replies, but the crude words don't register. Not when he's thrusting the blade in my face, threatening to cut me. He slowly lowers it down my body.
"No more lies." His eyes follow the blade as it glides down my skin, the tip digging into my flesh ever so slightly. One sudden move and it would draw blood.
"Give me one good reason I shouldn't kill you right now," he continues right when I feel the smallest pinch beneath my collarbone. Terrified, I look down at the droplets of red, and I stop thinking. I just act.
Using my legs, I try to kick at him, all the while crawling back on my elbows, seeking an opening to stand up and run.
He easily catches one foot, tugging me closer to him, but I don't stop. My adrenaline spiking, I use my other leg to push him off. He doesn't budge. Instead, he grabs onto my hip, securing me to the ground under his own body. He looms over me and fits the blade right under my chin.
"Every lie you tell equals one cut. I wonder…how many will it take for you to bleed out?" My eyes widen at his implication and I try to fight him off. He's so much bigger and stronger than me that I'm simply pinned to the ground, and despair overtakes me.
"You think you're so great just because you have a pretty face?
Not everyone wants to f…f…" I can't bring myself to say the words out loud, so I continue with the first thing that crosses my mind.
"You're crazy, you know that? Insane! Mentally deranged!
Unhinged!" I yell at him, but it only seems to amuse him.
"Really?" he drawls. "What else?"
"Mad as a March hare!" I burst out, and he has the gall to laugh in my face. I'm terrified, and he's laughing?
"I can't say I've heard that one before." He chuckles, and the blade digs once again into my skin. "Now, where were we? Yes, you were telling me about yourself. No lies, little tigress, no lies."
I stare into his unyielding eyes, and I know I have no choice. With a deep sigh, I start.
"I'm Allegra Marchesi." I give him a short version of today's events, explaining that it was my only chance at freedom before my wedding. After I finish, I watch his face expectantly, hoping my explanation satisfies him.
It doesn't.
"So, the poor little rich girl decided to have a fun night in town?" he mocks me, the knife still playing on the surface of my skin. "I've met your parents. Dissolute pair—both of them. I guess I can't be too surprised that their daughter would be the same," he snickers, his eyes full of hate.
"No, I…" I want to explain to him that I'm nothing like my parents, but he doesn't let me continue.
"Oh, I know your type. Wanted to get some dick before your wedding?
Tell me, were you going to take it in your ass so you could pretend you're still an innocent virgin on your wedding night?
" he spits out the words, malice dripping from every syllable.
I flinch at his accusations, especially since I've never heard more vile words in my life.
"What are you talking about?" The question comes out in a whisper, and I blink away the tears. No one has ever spoken like that to me before.
No one!
"I guess your little trip to slut town was cut short when your guards found you. And you decided to hide here." I look at him and I can't believe my ears. He's distorting everything I told him.
"No, you're wrong," I try to protest, but the knife presses further into my throat.
It hurts!
"I'm wrong?" He raises an eyebrow, his lip curling in derision. "If you're so ready to whore yourself out, then come on, do it." He takes the blade away from my throat, slowly trailing it down my rib cage before cutting through the material.
I gasp as what's left of my shirt falls away, parting in the middle to reveal my naked breasts. I immediately cover myself with my arms and scoot back.
"Leave me alone! I already told you everything, what more do you want?" I yell at him, tired of being insulted when I did nothing wrong. Well, except for trespassing on his boat—a decision I'm already deeply regretting.
He still has that amused expression on his face, and it only serves to fuel my anger further.
"Psychopath! You're a psychopath."
"Am I?" He tilts his head to the side, studying me. "Maybe," he shrugs. "How about I make you a deal? You let me fuck you and I'll take you back to the port."
I'm not so dumb that I don't understand what he's saying. He wants me to give him my virtue for my freedom. I almost laugh out loud. He may be handsome, but he's a handsome devil. And you never make a deal with the devil.
"No."
His eyes widen for a moment before he resumes his expression of open derision.
"No? You're sure? How are you going to get back then?" He folds his hands over his chest, laughing softly at me.
"I'll swim back!" I say before I can think things through. He thinks he has the upper hand, but I'd rather die than let this devil defile me.
He bursts out laughing at my words, and his ridicule makes me want to prove him wrong. He must think that every woman falls at his feet just because he's good-looking. I may not have much, but at least I have my pride, and I won't let him win.
"Need I remind you that you can't swim? I think you already proved that when you almost drowned." He's holding on to his abdomen as he continues to laugh.
My hands clench into fists, and I do a quick scan of my surroundings. Before I lose my courage, I dash to the side of the boat and grab a lifeline. I place it around my body and, turning back to him, I do the only thing I can think of.
I stick out my tongue at him, one finger pulling at my eye in a you'll see sort of expression.
Then, without looking back to see his response, I throw myself into the sea.
This time, the lifeline keeps me afloat, and I move my hands and feet, paddling through the water.
I'm happy when I see I'm gaining some distance, only to have a beam of light shine on me.
I stop, turning back toward the boat. Squinting, I see the insufferable devil still laughing as he points the light at me.
"Are you done yet? Or do you need more time?" he yells, the sound diffused by the waves crashing into the boat.
I'm already freezing, but I won't let him get away with his malefic plan.
"I won't be your whore!" I shout at him, turning to push myself forward again.
I know I'm not likely to reach the shore—ever.
But I'd rather perish of my own free will than be subjugated to the devil's wiles.
Just as Daphne spurned Apollo to keep her virtue, preferring to shed her mortal skin and be forever turned into a tree, so would I prefer to become one with the sea, my conscience clean, my soul at peace.
With that thought, I try to forget the chattering of my teeth or the way my limbs are becoming enveloped in numbness. No, I just keep on going.
"Damn it all, little tigress. You're crazy, aren't you?" A strong hand grabs the lifeline, pulling me back.
"Let. Me. Go!" I try to make out the words, but my mouth is unable to cooperate.
"Easy, I won't do anything to you," he continues as he drags the lifeline—and me—with him toward the boat.
I think I pass the point of no return, because I don't even realize when he pulls me up and onto the deck, leaving me on the floor, a wet, shivering mess close to hypothermia.
He comes back, though, and places a blanket around my shoulders, holding it tight so I can borrow its heat.
"I won't be your whore," I feel the need to repeat.
"Do you really think I would ever fuck you?
" He tilts his head to the side, giving me a skeptical look.
"Have you looked in a mirror recently? Sorry, little tigress, but my tastes run to women.
.." he pauses, looking me up and down, "not children.
" I can't even muster a reply, because who am I kidding?
I know what I look like. Still, somehow his jibe hurts.
With one last look at me, he turns his back to leave.
"Then why? Why did you ask me?" I finally find my voice again.
"Why?" He half-turns, a smile on his face. "It was a test. I wanted to see how you'd react."
I frown at his answer.
"And?"
"You passed." His last words are barely audible.