Chapter 2 #2
As if they offered some kind of protection, I pulled the covers up to my chest, using the thick quilts to cover the hard buds of my nipples that were probably mortifyingly obvious beneath the thin fabric of my cotton nightgown.
One of the straps slid down my arm and I rushed to put it back into place, oddly bothered by the fact that he could see the bareness of my shoulder.
I felt my face heat with embarrassment.
It was just my luck that he’d catch me in this nightgown. The straps never seemed to stay up, no matter if I tightened them or not. I’d been meaning to get something new for forever, but I’d never gotten around to it.
I was going to throw it out tomorrow for sure.
“I want to know about the weapon you used against the vampires. The gun appeared to be factory standard, but the bullets you used certainly weren’t,” he said.
I gritted my teeth and decided that it was time to act.
Without even a second of hesitation, I reached for my bedside table while keeping my eyes trained on him. My fingers brushed against the wooden surface, and I froze. Nothing. A flicker of panic raced through me, and I looked quickly, finding both the knife and the stake gone.
Shit.
Immediately, I turned back to him as he cleared his throat.
“Is this what you were reaching for?” he asked expectantly, and my gaze tore to his fingers.
He was holding the knife by the handle, very carefully avoiding the silver blade with his grasp.
I snarled and threw the covers off me, racing toward my bedroom door.
My bare feet dug into the carpet, but as quickly as I moved, I knew he would be faster.
I gave it all I had anyway. The work my father had done was dangerous, so he had ensured that I’d had access to all the trainers I could ever need.
I’d studied with some of the most renowned teachers, learning all aspects of various fighting techniques throughout the world.
You name it, I studied it. If he caught me, I would use everything I’d ever learned to make sure he let me go and I got away.
I only just made it to the entryway of my bedroom before his arms circled around my waist. I screeched and grasped at the doorframe, trying to use brute force to break his hold on me.
It didn’t work.
As if I weighed no more than a bag of feathers, he tossed me on the bed. I tried to push myself back up, lurching toward the door once more. He was too fast for that. It was as if he was ready for every move I made.
In a flurry of movement, he pushed me ruthlessly hard down on the bed on my back with just the force of his hand. Unexpectedly, he climbed over top of me and sat astride me with his knees on either side of my waist. I tried to bring my knee up behind him, but he clicked his tongue in disapproval.
“I had hoped you’d make this difficult,” he murmured. Immediately, I tried to pry my way out from under him. This was fight or flight and right now, I just wanted to escape.
“Let me go,” I demanded. I pounded my fists against his chest, and he brushed my hands aside like I was nothing more than a fly.
“I told you how this was going to go, Ava.”
I pushed against the firmness of his chest, trying to squirm out from underneath him.
His muscles rippled underneath my palms, giving away just how hard he was beneath his shirt.
Without delay, he pushed my hands once more to the side as if they weren’t there at all and then unbuttoned the top of his suit jacket.
He shrugged it off and tossed it to the side.
As the shadows flickered across his chest, I could see almost every ridge of muscle through the pressed white cotton of his button-up shirt, the broad set of his shoulders, the toned lines of his stomach, and the rippling bulge of his pecs.
It was at that moment that I became aware of something else.
My pussy was wet.
And not just a little.
A whole lot.
To this date, I’d never been bested by anyone, human or monster. I’d always been able to fight my way out of anything. Hell, I’d fought my way out of the Venuti tower and killed at least a dozen vampires along the way.
This man had singlehandedly manhandled me into a position that I couldn’t figure out a way to get out of and that was so terrifying that my body was reacting of its own accord. Much to my irritation, my clit pulsed with arousal at the thought.
What the hell was wrong with me?
He stared down at me, his eyes dark with cruel intention.
“Such a tiny human, but so much fire,” he breathed.
He reached for me, and I flinched as he brushed a lock of hair off my forehead back behind my ear.
He chuckled at my reaction, dragging his fingertips across my cheek and down along my jawline.
Then he pressed a single finger firmly down the line of my throat.
He followed the ridge of my collarbone until he reached the thick strap of my nightgown and slipped his fingers just underneath it.
His touch was hot against my skin, practically setting me aflame, and I hated it. I pressed my thighs firmly together as he studied me underneath him, trying to use sheer will to push away the rising arousal that seemed to be running rampant from somewhere deep inside me.
It didn’t work and I detested that he appeared to notice my discomfort.
“I think I’m going to enjoy this very much,” he murmured, his words carrying a dark undertone that sent a shiver racing down my spine at the same time that my pussy felt like it was catching fire.
He took hold of the strap more firmly now.
With no warning, he tore it clean off as if he was simply ripping a piece of paper.
Systematically, he did the same to the other side.
With one hand, he captured my wrists and I tried to pull away, but he was so much stronger than me and with barely any effort on his part, he reached over my head and tied my right arm to the bedpost. With measured swiftness, he did the same to the other side and when he was done, he paused and stared down into my eyes.
As if he was letting my captivity really sink in.
He was the predator, and I was his prey. He was bigger, faster, stronger, and superior in every way.
I tested the bonds gingerly at first and they held fast. I tried harder and I still couldn’t get free. I twisted and turned my hands, pulling against them as firmly as I could.
I couldn’t get out. I was his prisoner, his captive to do with as he wished.
This was bad.
He reached for me again, but this time his fingertips grazed along the sweetheart neckline of my nightgown. I gasped in fear, but it came out sounding more wanton than I wanted it to. The edges of his mouth perked up in a smirk and then it was gone, as if it had never been there in the first place.
“You’re not wearing a bra, Ava. Do you know how I know that?” he asked, and I gritted my teeth.
“Fuck off,” I spat. He wasn’t going to get me to admit anything, especially when it concerned my very aroused and traitorous body. I’d hide that no matter what.
“It’s such a simple design. Thin cotton decorated with light pink embroidery, but it does nothing to hide how very hard your nipples are beneath the fabric. If the lights were on, I bet it would be sheer enough so that I could see the outline of your areolas, wouldn’t I?”
I didn’t answer him because he was right.
The fabric was more than a little worn through from the wash. Why couldn’t I have worn something else tonight?
But it turned out that I didn’t have to say anything at all because he grasped the neckline of my nightgown and tore it right open, baring my breasts in less time than it took me to draw in another breath.
“You bastard!” I screeched.
“I’ll tell you a secret, little human. Even in the dim light of the moon, I can still see them. My eyesight is especially good, even more so in the dark. One of the perks of being a wolf,” he said.
“Fuck. You,” I answered and I spat right in his face. For a moment, he stilled, and I watched my spittle drip down his cheek. I expected anger, but his gaze remained steady and calm.
“Bad girl. You’re going to pay for that.”
With ruthless intention, he grasped my nipples between his thumbs and forefingers. For a second, he just held them in his clutches before he pinched them hard. If I had expected gentleness or mercy of any kind, I would have been sorely disappointed.
A cry of pain escaped my lips before I could stop it.
A vicious flare of agony blossomed from the tips of my nipples, radiating downward and spreading with electrifying intensity until it centered in the depths of my core.
He twisted them hard, and I keened with fright, embroiled in wave after wave of punishing pain that left me feeling helpless and afraid and undoubtedly angry.
He squeezed harder and I started to panic before he finally released them. The wave of agony that followed was almost as intense as it was initially, but it eventually ebbed away to a gentler aching throb long after he let them go.
I trembled beneath him, feeling real fear for the first time.
For a long time, he stared down at my breasts. The pads of his fingers grazed over top of my sore nipples, reawakening the hurt he’d forced upon them. I didn’t say anything more, too shell-shocked to do anything but lie there trapped beneath him.
He leaned forward, just grazing his lips against my ear. I gasped as his breath tickled the tiny hairs along my skin and I desperately tried to ignore how it was causing little bolts of electricity to trickle down so far that my clit started with pulse with it.
I wanted my body to stop reacting to him. I didn’t want to enjoy his threats or the way his touch was making me tremble with shameful need. I didn’t want any of it.
“I want you to think about something, Ava,” he whispered, and the rumble of his words made me clutch my thighs together as if that could protect me from whatever was to come.
At least I was wearing panties. I thanked God that I had decided to put on a pair tonight.