Chapter 10
Kaiser
When I emerge from the woods, I look like I’ve gone three rounds with a blackberry bush…
and lost. Because that’s exactly what happened.
I’ve got leaves in my hair, mushroom spores in my nostrils, and scratches all over my arms from the briars.
I can’t feel them, but I know the scratches are bright red.
Now I’m mad enough to charge through a patch of overgrown flowers. The Poisoner must be feeding them a crazy amount of compost because the stalks are as tall as me. I rip through them, no longer caring if I wreck a nice flower bed. These things have huge white flowers but look like weeds.
I’ve reached the final strip of lawn. It’s broken up by a few neat rows of trees with fruit growing on some of them. Tiny green apples. Bright red cherries. Yellowing pears.
I stroll through a ditch of rotting peaches and face a worn stone wall enclosing a graveyard.
There’s no sign of Bella, but I sense she’s close. It’s something in the air—the echo of her giggle, a whiff of her sugary scent.
I plant a hand on the wall and scale it easily.
Some people would be squeamish about trespassing on sacred ground. But I’m not. My soul was lost long ago.
I stalk between fallen gravestones and moss-covered statues, hunting my prey.
She’s quiet for once. I move silently, waiting to catch more of her scent.
I thought she just smelled like roses, but I was wrong.
Her scent is sweet like flowers and those sugared donuts she inhales by the dozen.
But when I get closer, there’s a tart edge, like lemon. It makes my mouth water.
I can’t wait to strip her down, scrub her off, and taste her. She doesn’t realize it, but that little chase through the garden of horrors only makes me want her more. Now I have an excuse to punish her. What’s more, I think she can take it. She’s stronger than she looks.
Most people are frightened by me. I get the sense that Bella’s thrilled by the fear. Like a kid going to a horror movie or a haunted house and enjoying the jump scare. It’s all a game to her, and she seems excited by it.
Works for me. I’ve never met a woman who can handle my intensity.
The women at Camille’s avoid me. They prefer Jaeger.
That’s why, when I hire one, I only use them for one night, and never again.
One and done, no repeats. Camille finds me a woman who can handle the rough stuff and gives them strict orders never to speak to me again.
Of course, after I use them, none of the women want to. Which is fine, I never wanted more.
But with Bella, I want more. So it’s a good thing that she doesn’t seem to be repelled by the predator in me, that she seems fascinated by it.
“Yoohoo,” she calls from somewhere over my head.
I look first to the towering oak, but she hasn’t climbed up there.
She’s up on the roof of a big crypt, perched on the edge beside a stone statue shaped like a little dragon.
The forest did a number on her, too. There are smudges of dirt on her face, green stains on her pink plaid outfit, and her hair is a mess, falling out of its neat braids.
I get a pulse of heat in my gut, seeing her ruined a little. It’s not as destroyed as she will be tonight, when I have her subdued at my feet.
“You’re going to pay for this.”
She kicks her feet, unbothered by my threat. “You have to catch me first.”
I growl and start forward, only to realize I’m dragging a piece of greenery. It’s one of those giant stalks topped with a lacy white flower, stuck to my jeans. I rip it off and toss it away.
She tilts her head. “I hate to tell you this, but that’s giant hogweed. It’s phototoxic. I’d go wash that sap off if I were you. And avoid the sun tomorrow. For like two days.”
Shit. I swipe at my arm where the stalk smeared its goo on me.
My palm is sticky with it, and my skin feels prickly.
It feels worse than the mushroom dust, but the sensation might be in my head.
Although my nerve endings seem to be coming back online these days, it’d be bad timing to have my pain receptors heal right when my future bride makes me run a gauntlet of poison plants.
Fucking poison plant jizz. I had no idea something green could be so toxic.
I circle the crypt slowly. I can climb it or just jump and grab her leg. It’s dangling low enough for me to reach. But I don’t want to hurt her.
Physically, it would be so easy to overpower her.
But I don’t want to conquer her with brute force.
I want to lure her in. She’s unlike any other opponent I’ve ever had, and I’m giddy with the thought of mastering her.
I’m even willing to lose a few rounds, as long as when the final bell rings, she’s kneeling at my feet, gazing up at me like I’m her world.
I return to face her. She’s been sitting quietly this whole time, braiding some of the green vines she’s gathered into a crown.
She’s up to something.
“You’re not afraid of me,” I say. There’s a wild gleam in her eye. She’s not cowed, and I like that. She’s willing to stand up to me. I’ve faced grown men in the ring who were more afraid of me than she is.
This is a good sign. Maybe she’ll be strong enough to withstand my intensity. I want her to last a long time as my toy. She’s already held my interest longer than any previous fucks.
“You have blackberry stains on your shirt. And a flower in your hair. It makes it hard to take you seriously.”
I reach up and she’s right. I free the white blossom and throw it on the ground. I look back up just in time to see her throw the viney crown at me. I catch it, then channel my rage and rip it apart while holding eye contact with her.
She giggles. She looks even more deranged like this. Like a little doll someone took out of a glass case and played with too hard.
My dick swells. St. James promised me a reward, and I told him I wanted her. She’s going to be my little doll, my little plaything. I’m going to take care of her, keep her safe. And in return, I get to be the one who plays with her too hard.
Our marriage will just be another level of ownership over her. And she knows it. That’s why she ran.
But… she’s not running now. No, she’s waiting for me to make my next move.
She’s curious. A bored little kitten who’s desperate for attention. I’ll only have to dangle a bit of string in front of her, and she’ll lunge for it.
I’ve read her file. I know her father pulled her out of school when she was only ten and has been homeschooled ever since. She’s been sheltered, shut away far too long with only plants to talk to. No friends, which means… no boyfriends or girlfriends. No holding hands, no kisses. No third base.
I’ve never bothered with virgins before. She’ll be my first. And I get to be the one to break her in.
First, I have to earn my reward. Keep her in line. Once I do that, she’s all mine.
The sun’s about to set. It’s time.
“What’s the matter, Curly? Are you giving up?”
“My name is Kaiser.”
“What’s that? Mo? Larry?”
I shake my head, and she grins.
I say nothing, letting the moment stretch. After a minute, her knee begins to jiggle.
“Why are you taking so long?” she whines. Bored little brat.
“I’m wondering how I will punish you.”
“Punish me?” Her mouth falls open. She’s not mad at the idea. She’s panting.
“Mmmm.” I keep my voice low. “Should I tie you up? Feed you your meals by hand?”
I pause, but she’s silent, transfixed.
“There’s a special massage oil my brothers swear by. It has something in it, something that makes it hurt. An herb. Cinnamon?”
“That’s a spice. Cayenne?”
“That’s it. I’ll rub it on your ass and wait until it begins to burn. Then I’ll tip you over my lap and spank you.”
Her breath shudders out of her.
“Or maybe we’ll work up to that. I don’t want to take you too deep, too fast.”
She looks disappointed.
“Or do I? I could put pure peppermint oil on your nipples and play with some ice. I could punish you for hours. Take breaks to tease you to the edge. I’d have to gag you.”
She licks her lips slowly.
“Yeah, you’d like that, wouldn’t you? That’s the trouble. You’ll like all this too much. And if you like it, then it’s not punishment.”
“You’ll hurt me.”
“You’ll like it. That’s right, baby girl.
I know what you like. I’ve been watching for some time.
Keeping you safe. Protecting you.” I lower my voice, making it hypnotic.
And it’s working. “I’m doing you a favor.
There are men after your father, bad men.
They’d like nothing more than to catch you and do to you what he did to one of them.
But I won’t allow that. I’m not going to let anyone touch a hair on your pretty little head.
You’re going to be my wife. No one will mess with you ever again because I don’t let anyone touch what’s mine.
” I’ll fuck anyone up who tries something.
She will be safe from everyone. Everyone but me.
“Are you done?” She rolls her eyes and mutters something about monologuing. “Did you think it would be that easy? That I would be that gullible?”
“It’s the smart move for you and your father. Fraternitas is a powerful ally.”
“I can take care of myself.”
“The Vesuvio family is dangerous. They’re known for their brutality.” I could tell her stories, but I’d rather spare her the details. “You’ll never see them coming.”
“I saw you coming.”
“Not until I allowed it.”
She wrinkles her nose, not liking that. “You made sure I saw you.”
“Yes. Make no mistake, Belladonna. You belong to me. My bride. My wife. Legally. Illegally. Every way I can own you, you will be mine.”
Her cheeks are blazing pink. Her scent is stronger than before. She’s responding to me.
She wants me. She wants this. Us.
But after a second, her face hardens and she leans forward. “Fuck. That.” I smile to myself. If this were easy, it wouldn’t be half as fun.
“If you knew I was stalking you, why didn’t you do something about it? I know you’re capable of… retaliation.”
She smirks, loving that I noticed her competence as a fighter.
“I wanted to know why you were following me. You were a threat. What would you do with a threat?”
“Watch it. Get close. Then eliminate it.”
“Yes.” She looks thrilled that I know the answer. “Keep your friends close and your enemies…”
“Good girl.” I let the words vibrate from the back of my throat. Maximum growl.
She shivers all over. If her mouth hangs open much longer, she’ll be drooling.
I have her right where I want her.
“Let’s play a game, little bride to be. You run, I chase. If you get back to the house before dusk, you win.”
Her eyebrow twitches. She’s stifling an eager “yes.” She cocks her head like a raven who’s spied something shiny. “Why should I play?”
“Because if you win, you get a reward.”
She narrows her eyes. She’s wary but curious. I’m betting on her boredom here. “What reward?”
Got you. “You’ll find out. Unless you lose.”
She frowns. “I need a head start. Ten seconds.”
“Five. Ten is enough to gather some of those weeds and poison me.”
“I could do it in five,” she huffs. “But fine. Close your eyes?”
I’m going to regret this. But no pain, no gain. I feel it, the energy crackling between us, the promise of what could be between us when all that fighting turns to chemistry. Right now, it’s all push and pull. I want to know what she’s going to try next.
And she wants a reward. She’s spent too many nights alone, frigging her clit raw. She’s ready for something more.
And after what she said about not consummating the marriage, I’m not waiting. Her initiation into what I want from her in the bedroom starts tonight.
“Better run, Bella.” I turn my back and start counting down. “Five.”
There’s a scrambling sound as she slides down from the roof. I wince when I hear a few loose pieces of stone tumble to the ground. But she makes no sound, so maybe she’s all right.
“Four.” I pull out the gloves I stuffed into my back pocket. I found them lying beside some empty pots when she was setting up her little mushroom trap. I should’ve worn them before I tore out the hogweed. I won’t make that mistake again.
“Three.” The graveyard is quiet except for the crickets creaking. Insects make a lot of racket. The sound rises and falls in waves.
“Two.” I open my eyes. She’s not running to the house. She’s still here in the graveyard. Hiding.
“One.” I take a few heavy steps toward the wall, making sure to crunch the dried grass underfoot. Make her think I’ve left.
Then I loop around the back of the crypt.
There. In the green vines. She’s still a statue. Quiet.
Does she think I’m stupid? Or does she want to be caught?
What else is she planning?
I hesitate. I could grab her, but… I’m not sure if she’s set a trap.
I sidle up beside her. She’s looking the other way. She doesn’t hear me coming. She doesn’t know I’m beside her. She looks so happy, thinking she’s one-upped me. I take a moment to savor this moment of victory.
Then I clamp a gloved hand over her throat.
Her shriek is stifled by my flexing fingers. I’ve got her now. I hold her in place with one arm, letting her fate sink in.
“You should’ve run.”
“Back to the house? That’s where you want me. I wasn’t going to fall for that.” She licks her lips. There’s still a sheen to her lips from the tree she made out with earlier. The one that grows poison apples.
She warned me about the hogweed sap. I bet the stuff on her lips is poisonous, too.
But shouldn’t it be poisoning her?
“You’re coming home with me, little bride.” She’s not my bride, not yet, but she will be. She doesn’t like it, wants to deny it, so I’ll keep reminding her.
With my hand around her neck, I draw her forward only to push her back against the stone. The movement is slow and gentle, but the manhandling shows her that she’s at my mercy. “I’m going to teach you some manners.” I place my thumb on her lips.
Her eyes widen when she realizes I’m wearing gloves. I can touch her any way I like as long as I don’t let my skin touch hers. Not until I’ve washed the poisons off her.
“I won,” I tell her. “Fair and square. That means I get the reward. But if you’re good, I’ll let you share it with me.”
“What’s the reward?”
“You’ll see. You’ll need to be a good girl for me.” I shake her a little. “At least until morning.”
She considers this. I could choke her out right here and now, but she somehow thinks she has options. The upper hand. She’s delusional.
“One night,” she agrees.
It’s true what they say. Curiosity did kill the kitten. Tonight I’m going to devour her.
But first, I’m going to play with my food.