Chapter Eleven #2
I twist to look at him, taking in his features, at how much he’s changed since That Horrid Night three years ago.
When I was at his mercy, and he gave none.
That night he took what didn't belong to him. The night he broke me, and I was left to fix the scattered pieces of me with nothing but kid’s glue and wonky tape.
“Preparing for a proper winter wonderland,” I reply, matching his pitch.
“You used to swear you could smell the snow, and sure enough, hours later, the first snowflakes would drop.” He stays quiet, eyes still surveying the darkness of the maze barely lit by little solar torches along the ground.
“I’ve always thought you were quite amazing, Sabrina.
Daring. Observant. My match. Granted, you would have needed a bit of taming.
You were quite the rebellious little thing. ” He finishes with a light chortle.
Ugh, gag me.
“And now?” I ask, readying myself for him to face me. To look into those hazel eyes—that do absolutely nothing for me—and do or say anything to get my husband back.
He turns to look at me, eyes roaming over my face, to the small beauty mark above my lips, then sweeping over my lips, and finally up to my eyes.
His hands slip out of his pockets and dare to reach out to me, planting them firmly on my hips, taking a step closer to eliminate the distance between us.
I can do this.
“I still think you are the most radiant woman I’ve ever set my eyes upon, Sabrina. I have loved you from the very moment I cast my sight upon you at only ten years of age, and you parted your lips in a gleeful cackle. Loud. Audacious. Everything I wasn’t. I’ve been ensnared. Are you angry with me?”
Don't break.
“Why would I be angry with you?” I whisper the question into the dimly lit room, only the fire crackling behind us.
He slides his hand from my hip to my lower back, pulling me closer.
Oh my god, I’m gonna vom all over him. “I’ve done a very bad thing, Sabrina…
We’ve both said awful, destructive things neither of us meant.
Our first spat.” Oh… so he’s in a delusional mindset.
I can work with this. “Don’t you hate me? ”
Yes, I fucking hate you, you poor excuse of a fucking meat sack. I keep my voice low when I reply and shake my head, searching his eyes. “Hate you? I might… I might thank you, Kane…”
His brows shoot up. “Thank me?”
I let my hands find purchase on his chest and let out a fake sob.
“I’ve been so frightened, Kane. I was forced to marry a beast to save my father from utter ruin.
” I push off of him and turn to face the fire.
I cup my mouth, swipe it, and let my hand hang in the air before bringing it to my chest. “Do you know what that’s been like?
Day in and day out, having to be near him.
His scent. His accent. He was a complete ogre! ” But he was my ogre.
“Did he touch you the way you allowed me to, Sabrina? I won’t be angry, I promise. He says you like it when he isn’t… tender with you like I was.”
What a delusional fucking badger. “Of course not!” I turn to face him. “The thought alone makes me so sick. I could vomit now!” I really fucking could. But not because of my husband.
Kane rushes at me, grabbing me again, and I want to bash his fucking face in.
I can feel the hives blooming beneath his touch.
I contain my shiver. “You have me now, Sabrina. And I have him, locked away in a dungeon. He’ll be dead soon.
We could cast it off. This silly farce of a marriage of yours when he turns up dead.
You could be mine. We’ll wed. I’ll make you so happy.
You deserve to be wrapped in diamonds and gold. ”
And yet, I prefer to be encased in pink titanium and bullet shells. “You think so?” I ask, so, so, so sad. I allow tears to well into my eyes.
“I know so, Sabrina. I’ve always known. You are it for me.”
“I’ve been so lost, Kane,” I sob.
“Don’t cry, darling. I have you now. You’ll be mine.”
I swallow down the bile I’m going to vomit.
“I’m so frightened, Kane. The mafia, the bratva—I think they’re after me.
They’ve been watching me so closely. Every time I leave my house, I have to look over my shoulder.
This is the first time they haven’t followed me somewhere. I haven’t been allowed to breathe.”
“They’re too busy looking for him. We’ve had to move him. But they’ll never find him.” His eyes search mine. “I can take you away, Sabrina. I… I have a small island. I can take you there. You’ll be safe with me there, away from everyone else.”
That sounds like torture.
I grab the lapels of his jacket, and my brows knit together. “You swear it?”
He nods, leaning in closer. “Kiss me and I’ll take you.”
“When?”
“I’ll be back for you come morning. Just you and me. I’ll pick you up. We’ll go by ferry.”
I search his eyes, and I give one solemn nod.
“Okay.” I swallow it all down and press my lips to his.
What was supposed to be a chaste kiss turns into something gruesome.
When he asks for entry via tongue, I grant it, and the disgusting motherfucker forwards a ball of spit into my mouth.
Oh no, I really going to vomit. Charlie help me.
“Miss Winters? The party’s over now. Guests are being asked to leave,” Parker growls from behind me.
We break away and I look over at Parker, pressing my fingers to my lips to hold the vomit in my mouth.
“Right.” Kane looks at me. “I’ll see you in a few hours.” He presses a kiss to my cheek and leaves.
As soon as the door closes behind him, I double over and spew my vomit and Kane’s wad of spit into the waste bin so violently, I pee myself a little.
But it doesn’t stop. Over and over again I spew until I'm an empty, heaving, trembling mess on the floor.
How am I to continue? My sheer hatred for him causes visceral reactions to his nearness.
Parker rubs circles on my back.
Shaking, I try to stand on wobbly legs and falter. “Get me upstairs. I need to get it off me. Please!”
He does as I ask, ripping my dress to shreds, shoving me into the shower, and fucking my brains out until I’m a wobbly mess for different reasons.
Later, as we lie in bed, we devise a different kind of plan to get Parker to the island.
Otherwise, I’ll be alone on an island with the man that’s planning on hunting my husband and murdering him in cold blood.
Charlie, help me.