Chapter Forty-Five
Presley
A deep, throaty sigh escapes my lips as the warm water cocoons me, lulling every tight, frayed nerve into submission.
“Ahhh… this is exactly what the doctor ordered,” I purr, sinking deeper into the tub, letting the water lick every inch of my aching skin.
When I told Rafe I was going to take a few hours to relax, I meant it.
With a lazy reach, I hit the button beside me.
The water jets roar to life, massaging me in relentless, rhythmic bursts.
Tilting my head back onto the towel I propped against the tub, I close my eyes and finally breathe.
Today, something had gnawed at me, a creeping sensation, the feeling of invisible eyes burrowing into my skin.
Ever since my walk around the block earlier, that unease had clung to me like a second skin.
I hadn’t told Rygaard I’d been sneaking out in the mornings. If he knew, he’d lose his mind. He'd claim Keifer could have easily spotted me, and deep down, I knew he was right.
It’s not like this house is off-grid.
It’s too exposed.
But still... What are the odds Keifer would find me here?
Yes, there is, dummy.
The vicious whisper in my brain has me sitting upright, sloshing water over the edge. Heart hammering, I scan the room.
Empty.
I release a shaky laugh, the absurdity of it all hitting me. Relax, Presley. You're just psyching yourself out.
I hum the chorus to Geto Boys’ “My Mind’s Playing Tricks on Me” under my breath, letting the beat drown out the paranoia. Closing my eyes again, I think of Rygaard.
My man, my man, my man.
God, I love him.
After everything we’ve been through, the agony, the separation, the ugly scars he still kisses without hesitation, he still holds me like I'm his Princess… And fucks me like I'm his personal whore.
Just the thought of his rough hands on my body sets a slow burn between my thighs.
I shift in the water, easing myself toward the strongest jet. Lifting my tits, I guide them right into the path of the pulsing spray. "Ohhh, fuck," I whisper, my back arching as the water batters my aching nipples.
They’ve been hypersensitive lately, practically begging for Rygaard’s brutal mouth to clamp down and suck the pain into pleasure. The hard sting of the jets against my swollen tips has me panting. God, if only it was Ry’s hot tongue flicking and biting me…
One hand slides down, slipping past the trembling curve of my belly to the throbbing bundle of nerves between my thighs.
I barely graze myself and nearly come undone. I'm slick, needy, my body desperate for a rougher touch.
I need more.
I need wreckage.
My gaze flicks to the aggressive jet stream blasting the surface. A wicked thought blooms in my mind.
Could I...?
No.
Yes.
Fuck it.
Maneuvering my body sideways, I sling my legs over the edge of the tub, spreading them wide like a filthy offering. The jet hammers against my clit almost instantly. "Oooh, shit," I hiss, rolling my hips against the brutal spray.
One hand tugs and twists my sore nipples while the other plunges two fingers deep inside my desperate, clenching pussy.
The water pounds my clit mercilessly as I fuck myself on my own hand, the pressure building until I’m teetering on the edge of madness.
"Ohhh... God!" I scream, my body spasming as an orgasm rips through me, raw and endless.
I don’t stop.
I grind harder against the water, milking another orgasm from the pit of my soul, this one darker, more desperate, dragging a ragged sob from my chest.
Cum slicks my thighs as I collapse back against the tub, trembling, breathing like I just outran death.
Still catching my breath, I start sliding back into the water, when a shadow shifts.
I freeze.
Then I hear him.
" So this is what you’ve been doing since you left me, " Keifer growls, stepping into the bathroom like a nightmare in human skin. " Make a sound, bitch, and I'll gut you right here. ”
Instead of fear, rage flickers to life inside me.
White-hot.
Blinding.
I turn my head, daring him with my stare. " Call me a bitch again, you pussy. "
His eyebrows lift, amused. "The fuck did you just call me? "
Sitting upright in the tub, the water cascading down my glistening body, I brace my arms on the rim and glare at him. "I called you a pussy, " I spit. " Only a worthless sack of shit beats on women. You're the real bitch here."
Keifer’s smile twists into something ugly. "Do you have a death wish, sweetheart? 'Cause I’ll fucking grant it."
The threat barely registers.
I’m already moving.
Launching from the tub, I slam my fist into his nose. The crack is sickeningly satisfying.
Two more savage punches and he stumbles, blood pouring down his face.
But he’s not down.
Not yet.
I whip my robe off the hook, tug it around me, and bolt… Only to feel his hand clamp around my ankle.
I crash to the floor.
Snarling, I kick free and scramble to run, but the slippery tiles betray me. I go sprawling.
Keifer’s fingers tangle in my hair, yanking me back. " Come here, bitch ," he snarls,
slamming my head against the edge of the tub hard enough to make stars dance across my vision. "There’s more where that came from," he promises, hauling me up by my hair.
He grips my chin, his face inches from mine, about to spew another venomous insult… I drive my knee straight into his balls.
He chokes on a breathless scream.
"You were saying, asshole?" I taunt, wrenching free.
Grabbing his head, I slam it into the tub once, twice, relishing the blood that leaks from his scalp.
I sprint for the door, and slam straight into another body. "Where do you think you're going, sweetheart?" a voice sneers. I barely glimpse the stranger’s face before something cold pricks my neck.
The drugs hit almost instantly.
"Soon you’ll be flying high, baby girl," he rasps, hot breath skating across my skin.
Darkness swallows me whole.
Later…
The wet slap of flesh-on-flesh fills my ears.
Low, animalistic grunts reverberate through my bones.
Pain tears through me with each brutal thrust.
I drift, suspended between awareness and oblivion. Hands bind my wrists, hold me down. A gag silences my screams.
"Fuck, baby, you're so tight , " Keifer groans, thrusting into me.
My body, my temple… Defiled.
Rygaard's .
Not his. Never his.
Another man hovers nearby, pawing at me like I’m a piece of meat. "Don’t worry, sweetheart , " he laughs, licking a filthy stripe up my face. " I’m just waiting my turn ."
"Stop whining ," Keifer snarls at him, pounding harder, faster. " Maybe once I’m done, you can have the scraps ."
Tears leak from the corners of my eyes as Keifer’s rhythm stutters. He grunts, finishing with a shudder. " Fuck, Presley. I missed your sweet, little cunt so much ."
"Fuck you ," I mumble around the gag.
He yanks it out. " What was that, baby ?" he mocks, and punches me in the stomach so hard I almost black out.
"We gotta go ," the other man urges.
"He’ll be here soon ."
“Let him come,” Keifer sneers. “I want him to know exactly what I did to his precious, little whore.”
I cough, spitting blood. “You’ve been watching us?” I rasp.
Keifer smirks. "Just returning the favor. Ever since he caught me watching you two outside that restaurant, he’s been on my ass. Lucky for me, Jamieson here kept tabs while I kept planning. Enough talking, get up, worthless bitch," he barks, dragging me by my hair.
“I’m not worthless,” I whisper, bloody but unbroken. “You just made me believe I was.”
“You believed it because it's true," he spits.
“No," I snarl, laughing as blood runs down my chin. “You're the fucking loser, Keifer. Always were."
The slap comes hard and fast, but I don’t flinch. His hands will never cage me again. He drags me out of the house, shoving me into a waiting car. “Let’s see lover boy find you now,” he hisses.
As the door slams shut, I pray.
Pray that Rygaard finds me before my broken body gives out… Before Keifer finally gets what he’s always wanted.
My death.