Chapter 4 #2
I slink closer in the dark, then slowly pull back the silk duvet, revealing her body inch by inch.
She’s wearing a pink satin top and matching shorts that might as well be liquid poured over her luscious curves.
The moonlit fabric gleams with every rise and fall of her chest and makes hunger unfurl low in my belly.
When my dick starts aching behind my zipper, I bite back a groan as I adjust myself. She might be beautiful, but the power she has over me, the control, makes me feel weak, especially after everything she’s done to me.
Before I can question myself, I reach out and give her hip a rough shake.
Slowly, her eyes blink open, her lids fluttering as she wakes.
I don’t give her the chance to figure out what’s happening. Using her disorientation to my advantage, I pin her to the bed with my weight and leverage one arm across her chest.
“You didn’t really think I would let you spew all that shit without consequences, did you?”
She opens her mouth, most likely to scream or call for help, but it doesn’t matter. I silence her by placing a hand over her lips. “This little mouth of yours has caused enough problems. Let’s keep it shut for a bit.”
Her pupils dilate, a wild look flickering in them. The air in my lungs stills, and for a fraction of a second, I’m caught up in that fear, caught up in the intensity of it. I don’t want to physically hurt her, but the power I feel seeing the terror in her eyes swamps me.
There’s no point in hiding the truth.
I’m a fucking nightmare.
In my distraction, I lose myself, giving Allie the chance to reach forward and rake her nails over the back of my hand, clawing me like a cat. Son of a bitch.
Pinpricks of pain ripple across my skin, and I suck a hoarse breath into my lungs.
Fuck. I glance down where she broke the skin, and blood wells up over the scratches. “You drew blood, so I guess that means I get to draw yours now.”
My words send her into a panic, and she struggles harder against me, causing my hand to slip off her mouth.
A shrill shriek cuts through the silence. “Help!”
I slap my palm over her mouth again and dig my fingers into her cheeks in warning. All I can hear is my father’s voice echoing inside my head.
“Be more than a fuckup this time. Get the job done the right way.”
The desire to please him fills me. It’s the only thing I see and feel now.
I stare into Allie’s fear-filled face and shake my head. “Did I tell you to open your mouth?”
She screams behind my hand, her body bucking worse than anything I’ve ever seen at the rodeo, making it a struggle to keep her in place without hurting her.
I have to hurt her. That’s what Roman wants. For me to scare her, to hurt her enough so she’s too afraid to stir up more trouble.
“Shut her up. Make sure she’s scared out of her mind, and if that doesn’t work, put a bullet between her eyes.”
Roman’s voice booms in my ears.
No, I can’t kill her.
There’s no way. But I can’t fail Roman either, so scaring her is my only option.
Make her believe you’re a monster. Feed off her terror. Take control.
In the struggle, she manages to lift her leg and drives her knee into my ribs.
The blow steals the breath from my lungs, and I shift a little out of instinct.
Wrong move on my part. The space gives her room to shove me halfway off her.
As soon as she has the room, she pulls her legs up and kicks at me with all her might.
The heel of one foot connects with my nose, and white pain explodes behind my eyes. Fuck. The strength of her kick sends me teetering backward, and I fall onto my ass.
Shock and pain swirl in me.
“Fucking hell!” I grumble as I bring a hand to my nose.
Something warm and wet coats my fingertips. Blood. She made me bleed. Again. My nose starts to throb like it has its own heartbeat.
“I’m sorry,” Allie squeaks, panic shredding her voice as she rolls off the edge of the bed and scrambles for the door.
I push off the floor in the same breath, the pain in my nose dulling as my rage drowns it out. I’m on her in two strides. My hand fists in the back of her shirt, and I haul her backward, her spine slamming into my chest.
She makes a startled sound—half gasp, half sob—as I drag her off balance.
“No, you aren’t,” I snarl into her ear, my vision tunneling until all I see is her. The room blurs. The blood pounding in my ears is louder than her breathing. “But you will be.”
I’m already reaching for the rope knotted loose at my belt with my other hand. Sloppy. Arrogant. I should’ve secured her properly to begin with. I should’ve known better.
When will I ever learn?
She realizes what I’m doing and explodes into motion—twisting, bucking, fighting with pure animal desperation. She jerks like a calf caught in a lasso, muscles straining, nails scraping uselessly at my arms. I hiss as she elbows me, but I barely feel it. I’m running on pure adrenaline right now.
I leverage my knee behind hers and force her down to the floor, bending her forward just enough to wrench her arms back. She cries out when I trap her wrists together, the rope rasping over her skin as I wind it tight.
“Stop—please—” she chokes.
I don’t. I yank the rope taut, and she hisses, her body going rigid as the fibers bite into her wrists. The sound she makes goes straight down my spine.
“See, you brought this on yourself,” I grind out, finishing the knot with a sharp tug. I take her by the arm and roll her back over to face me again.
I snatch a bandanna out of my pocket and wrap it around her face. If she gets away from me again, I’m not makin’ it easy on her.
Venom and rage simmer in the depths of her green eyes. Blazing, even in the dark, as I cover them with the wrap.
“Now, if you scream again, I’ll use another on your mouth,” I say gruffly.