Chapter 19 #2
“Hand out. Palm up. Now.”
Still looking confused, she does as I say.
Then her eyes widen as I take the switch knife from my back pocket and open it.
Looking away from the road once, I bring the flat surface of the blade down five times in rapid succession on her palm.
She gasps and grabs her hand, but I know the gasp is more from surprise than pain.
Though I notice out of the side of my eye that I’ve left a few satisfyingly red marks on her palm.
“That’s for lying,” I grunt. “Next time it will be worse. Now eat the rest of your granola bar and behave.”
She crams the rest of the bar into her mouth, and I notice her hands trembling.
This time, it is submission. Submission, brought on by fear.
Vaguely, I wonder if it was the sight of the knife that scared her, rather than the punishment. Maybe she thought I was going to…
Fuck.
Noel’s words still have an effect on her. She doubts me. Some part of her still sees me as the man who could end her. Who would end her, if push came to shove.
I guess that’s why she was so hesitant to get married. People don’t usually feel enthusiasm at being forced into marriage with their would-be killer.
The thought pisses me the fuck off. My hands crisp around the wheel as I inwardly curse at Noel, barely able to contain the fury boiling in my veins.
I am going to kill that motherfucker. I am going to make him suffer.
I wish I’d made Elias suffer instead of blowing his head off, because he and Noel are the two pieces of shit responsible for making Seraphina feel unsafe with me.
Except they’re not here right now. She is.
And I’m angry at her, too, even though I know it’s absurd.
They fucked with her mind, a mind that was already vulnerable because of me.
Because she only ever knew me as her captor, as the man who punished her while barely ever showing how much he cared about her.
I understand her fear, but it doesn’t mean I don’t want to wring her neck for believing Noel’s lies.
I grit my teeth and force my full attention on the road again. I’ve avoided the highway and the small country road is clear of cars. Only two more hours and we’ll be home.
The phone rings, and I see it’s Logan.
“Yeah?” I say, picking up. “I’m in the car. You’re on speaker phone.”
“Oh.” He pauses, appearing to hesitate, and I know it’s because he doesn’t want her to realize how much danger she’s been in.
“We’ve found their location.”
“We? Who’s we? Not Vincent, I hope?”
“No, we’ve been keeping him strictly out of things.
I don’t believe he’s guilty, but you can’t be too careful.
Lucy’s been hot on their trail, though. She’s the one who gave the all clear, and now she found their trace at a hotel in Maine, near the Devil headquarters there.
Guess they figured you drove straight up the coast. Makes sense, since they don’t know about the house.
That’s the only property that belongs to us in New England, as far as they’re concerned. ”
“Got it.”
“Anyway, you can go a little easier now. By the time they pick up your trail, the house will be well-guarded. We’re in the process of setting up a whole security system, and Igor’s been keeping busy hiring guards. In one week everything will be in place. So…”
Suddenly, I notice that Seraphina looks white as a ghost. “Gonna have to call you back, Logan,” I say, and hang up the call. “What is it?” I ask her.
She shakes her head.
“Tell me,” I warn her.
She hesitates, passing a hand over her eyes.
“Go on.”
At last, she shakes her head again, and when she glances up at me, I see her eyes are full of quiet resolve.
“Remember what happens when you lie to me,” I threaten. “If I find out that what you’re withholding from me is more important than a half-eaten granola bar, I will punish you severely.”
Her eyes grow wide, but more from curiosity than fear. “What kind of punishment?”
I roll my eyes, half in amusement, half in exasperation. “Not the kind that will turn you on.”
“Oh.” She sounds disappointed, and I can’t help but snort. But I also know her well enough to realize that if she’s really made up her mind, it will be impossible to change it.
Still, I have to try, and my cock throbs at the thought. Which is kind of fucked up because we’re in danger, and that stupid rebellion of hers is not helping matters.
It’s also not helping the aggravation that’s been steadily building in me all morning. But I guess we’re both all kinds of fucked up, because her anger and mine are turning me on, and I can tell it’s the same for her as her thighs squeeze together.
No. Focus.
I swerve onto the side of the road, halting so suddenly that she lurches forward, her chest restrained against the seatbelt. I grab my phone and type out a message to Logan.
She grew very scared when Lucy was mentioned. Figure it out.
Then I glance up at her. She’s looking at me like she knows that no matter what Noel told her, I have no plans to kill her just now. But she’s also looking like she doesn’t fully believe I’m not planning to fuck her, regardless of my threat to punish her in a way that wouldn’t bring her pleasure.
Maybe she’s right about that.
Unbuckling my seatbelt, I get out, slam the door behind me, and make my way to her. I pull her out of the car.
“Get me a twig.”
She bites her lower lip, but under the arousal that I can tell is building in her, I read willfulness. “Why?” she questions, her eyes glued rebelliously on mine.
I click my tongue impatiently. She should realize that now isn’t the time for her little shows of defiance. She should realize we’re actually in motherfucking danger. But she’s standing resolutely before me, her arms crossed over her chest, eyeing me as if to dare me to do my worst.
Well, that’s exactly what I plan to do.
“You have ten seconds to do as I say,” I growl.
I start the countdown, and she waits until the last second to scurry off, exactly like a disobedient child. She returns moments later with the tiniest stick she could find.
She probably figures it will annoy me, but she’s clearly never been switched before. The thinner, the better.
I smooth it down with my knife, but not entirely. The stubs left over will add to the pain.
She eyes it resentfully, but she’s also shifting from one leg to the other, and I have to bite down on a snort as I note the obvious signs of her arousal.
But I won’t give her what she’s hoping for. Well, not yet.
“Hands out again,” I tell her. “Both of them.”
She looks up, startled, and the slight thrill I read in her eyes dies down. “Why?”
“Why do you think?” I roar. “Go on!”
She jumps at the sound of my loud voice, and before her mind has had time to catch up, her hands are thrust out in front of me.
“Last chance,” I warn. “Tell me what you’re hiding from me.”
She merely holds my gaze, her clenched jaw telling me she won’t say a word. It’s exasperating to know she’s the only one standing in the way of her safety.
The thought riles me up, and before I know it, I’m bringing the branch down forcefully on one of her palms.
This is nothing like the blade of the knife. I was worried about cutting her accidentally, and besides, I was focused on driving. Now, my full attention is on her, and I use a lot more force to whip her.
She inhales loudly at the unexpected pain and clutches at her hand.
“Don’t move,” I say, “or I’ll hit harder.”
By sheer force of will, she manages to leave her palms out.
Not a single word or sound leaves her lips as I continue to switch her, but her eyes are closed and her face is as pale as a sheet.
By the time I’ve finished, her palms are crisscrossed with so many angry red marks that the pale skin underneath is barely visible. It’s going to take her a while to heal.
“Still don’t want to tell me?” I grunt.
Swallowing a great, shuddering sob, she shakes her head again.
Clenching my jaw in frustration, I tug down her dress in a loud ripping sound. She yelps in surprise as her breasts pop out.
Mistake. Big mistake. The anger is melting, and my cock strains so hard in my pants that it hurts. I grip the switch in my hand, determined to see the punishment through.
She stares at me, shock freezing her features. A car could come by at any minute, and she’s naked save for her panties. Which I rip off her a second later.
She clenches her bottom, and I know she’s half-hoping I’ll switch her there next. Instead, I eye her breasts.
Breasts which have been sorely neglected up till now.
She follows my gaze to them, and inhales sharply.
“You’re lucky,” I breathe in her ear. “I’m giving you one last chance. This is the final one. Tell me.”
She shakes her head again, but this time, it doesn’t seem to be in rebellion. She looks like she wants to experience whatever brand of torture comes next. And the truth is, I do too.
I should be furious that her silence is putting her in danger, but instead, I’m horny as fuck.
“Alright,” I mutter. “This is going to hurt.”
I punctuate my sentence with the first slice of the twig against her left nipple. She yelps in pain and crumples to the ground.
But I grab her and keep her propped up as I continue to punish her breasts, causing angry red zigzags to form across her sensitive nipples. I keep going until the twig snaps in two.
“Still nothing?” I growl.
Even if she wanted to tell me, she’d be unable to speak. Tears are bubbling out of her eyes, her cheeks are drenched… and so is her pussy.
I drag a finger over her slit, swiping at the evidence of her arousal.
“Well, fuck,” I breathe.
The switching was absolutely vicious, and yet she’s soaked. It’s hard to believe.
“I want you,” she says again, a tremor in her voice.
She really isn’t as weak as I sometimes think. Or maybe I’m not as strong. Whatever the case, it’s clear I’ve lost this battle. I cave in to her demand.
Warning signals crash in my ear, but I push them away. We’re on the run, but I’m only human. I need this girl like I need oxygen itself. I close my mouth around one of her breasts, striped red from the twig, and my gentle sucking seems to sooth the pain, because she sighs.
I suck the other nipple for just a second as she moans louder, and my hands dig into her bottom, gripping her and holding her to me.
Then I fall to my knees and latch onto her pussy.
Her groans grow louder than ever as I begin to lave at her folds, my tongue delving into her pussy, pushing against the spot that drives her wild, and I actually have to pin her to the car to keep her from bucking wildly.
But my own needs are pressing, and as she nears her orgasm, I pull back, open the trunk, then push her down inside on her stomach. She arches back to me, pleading me to take her pussy, but I’m a man of my word. Most of the time. I’m not ready to consummate our marriage yet.
I hope fucking her ass doesn’t count, because that’s exactly what I intend to do.
I slam into her, not allowing her to catch her breath before I start ramming into her hard, fucking all the aggravation out of my system.
She’s so fucking tight back there that it actually hurts, but the pain only makes it better.
Especially when I see how her legs dangle helplessly out of the trunk of the car, her upper body nearly swallowed up by the darkness within.
But not quite. Not enough for me to forget that her throat belongs to me. Same as her breasts. I own them, and I remind her of it, one hand wrapping around her neck and squeezing just enough that her breath grows ragged, while the other tortures her nipples, one after another.
Mine. All mine.
I drive my cock into her relentlessly, the inner walls of her ass milking me, the heartbeat under my fingers quickening, until I feel myself coming.
I pull out so I can decorate her ass with my arousal, then take a few steps back to admire the view. Her bottom, wriggling over the edge of the trunk, her legs flailing behind her. Fucking glorious.
But she manages to get upright just a bit too quickly, and I hiss in annoyance. I didn’t give her permission to do that. I have half a mind to lock her in that very trunk until she properly submits to the man who owns her.
But I’m not that cruel.
Plus, I want to keep feasting my eyes on her naked body.
Ignoring her cries of protest at her orgasm being denied from her, I seize her arm and lead her back to the passenger seat, grabbing the panties on the ground to wipe my cum from her ass.
I hesitate to keep her naked, but I don’t want anyone else to see her.
So I chuck the dress at her before making my way to the other side.
“You don’t own me…” she begins to huff as I settle back behind the wheel, but I smack a hand over her mouth while looking down at my phone.
This girl is going to be the end of me. What happened to quiet, mute Seraphina?
Why the fuck is she acting up now of all times?
Especially to tell me the opposite of what’s true?
I do own you, silly girl. And I’m going to keep you.
“You’ll talk when you’re ready to tell me about Lucy,” I growl. “Until then, I don’t want to hear a word out of your mouth.”
I take my hand away from her mouth and she seems on the verge of speaking out, but then, some sort of realization flits across her eyes, and she remains quiet, chewing on her lower lip.
I guess she’s been so focused on… well, enjoying… her punishment, she’d forgotten about the danger. She’s just remembered it full-force, and she knows better than to keep resisting me, at least for now.
I won’t tell her it doesn’t matter if she tells me about Lucy or not.
I’m sure Logan is capable of finding out all we need to know, and in any case, Lucy’s a dead woman, though she doesn’t know it yet.
The minute Seraphina blanched at the sound of her name, I mentally crossed it off from the list of the living.
Doesn’t matter that Lucy’s been with Devil so long she’s practically one of them. Doesn’t matter that there’s no proof. In fact, I don’t even know what she’s done, but that won’t stop me from ending her.
Nothing matters but Seraphina, and if I have to kill every last person off this Earth to protect her, that’s just what I’ll do.
I press the gas pedal all the way to the floor, taking the direction of our new home.
Though I feel a pang of anxiety as I realize Logan hasn’t answered my message.
I wonder if it’s a mistake, after all, to go to our new home.
But I’m not a coward. I’ve never run before.
And I won’t let some asshole destroy my dreams.
It’s time to stop hiding, and kill that motherfucker once and for all.