Chapter 4 – Genevieve #2
His jaw locks, and his green eyes grow darker. His fists ball up at his sides, and I press the knife in a little deeper until I practically hit his sternum. He doesn’t even flinch, and I’m waiting for it. For him to hit me or overpower me.
His gaze drops to the knife and the bloodstain that’s growing bigger by the second. Why isn’t he fighting back? Why isn’t he attacking me?
“If you expect me to keep you safe, I’ll need my knife. And my gun.”
“I’ll think about that, but I’ll likely keep at least one as insurance.”
His eyes dance about my face, and he reaches up, brushing some of my hair back and tucking it behind my ear.
It startles me, and my breath catches, especially as his fingertips glide along my cheek.
No one has ever touched me before other than my mother, and she’s not exactly affectionate.
Certainly not like this. Not so… intimately. My cheeks warm, and I don’t like it.
His hand drops, and he takes a step back. With it, the breath I was holding empties from my lungs. “When would we leave?”
That catches me off guard. I expected more of a fight. More resistance. It doesn’t make sense that he’d give in so quickly, but I don’t question it either.
Something akin to hope blossoms in my stomach. “Tomorrow, after my mother goes.”
“Why don’t you go on your own?”
I laugh a little because that’s almost funny. “I’ve never been out in the world. I have no ID, no transportation, and I need someone who knows what they’re doing to make sure that if my mother is right, the worst doesn’t happen. I may not be worldly, but I’m not stupid. I’ve thought this through.”
“You’re a little too fearless for someone so afraid of the outside world.”
That’s not true at all. I’m not fearless.
I’m desperate. There’s a massive difference.
I’m terrified of everything, and I’m exhausted by being this way.
That’s what this is. This is a breaking point.
A rock bottom. But if he thinks he’s getting my truths, he’s got another thing coming.
He must realize this because he presses on.
“If I say no, you’re stuck here,” he challenges.
I wave the knife in the air. “If you say no, you’ll never get your gun or necklace, and I’ll leave you locked in here and let my mother handle you.”
A twisted smirk curls up his lips. “You’re extorting me.”
“Absolutely,” I agree without a hint of remorse or hesitation.
“Not so innocent are you, pretty girl?”
I grip the shoulder of his shirt and press the knife back to his chest without going as deep as I did before. “Do we have a deal?”
“Do I have any other choice?”
“No.” I smile, unable to contain this giddiness welling up within me.
His eyes widen ever so slightly, and his lips part before he clears his throat. “All right. I guess we have a deal. One question. How do you expect to hide me from your mother?”
“She never comes up here. Her room is on the first floor, and that’s where she stays.”
He laughs. “I get to sleep up here?”
I narrow my eyes. “Unless you want me to put you in her room.”
His eyebrows bounce. “Oh, I’d much prefer to sleep with you.”
I snort and twist my wrist so it drags the knife along his chest a little. He finally winces, and I like that. It makes me feel powerful for once. “Who said you were sleeping with me? I’m going to tie you up in here.”
“Well, there goes that dream. Shame that is.”
“What?” My eyes widen, and I draw back, releasing his shirt that bears the crinkle and stretch of my fist. “Why would you say that?”
He steps into me, his hand doing that sweep on my cheek again. “Do you know what sex is, darlin’?”
A blush flames up my cheeks, and I step back out of his touch until I’m at the door, the knife pointed straight at him. “I’m not that na?ve. I know what sex is. I also know what rape is.”
“Oh yeah?” he taunts. “How?”
I look away, embarrassment all over me. I don’t want to talk to him about this. It makes me squirmy. “I, um… I’ve read about it in my books. And my mother told me all about rape.”
“But no one’s ever touched you, have they?”
I bite my lip and shift my stance.
He pushes the knife down to my side and cups my chin with his other hand, forcing my eyes to his. “What if I told you that I wanted to touch you? To make you come? You know what an orgasm is, right?”
I swallow audibly but don’t answer.
“I could give you that. Several even. I think you’re so beautiful. I could show you everything you’ve read about in your books and a hell of a lot more.”
“You mean rape me?”
He smiles, his eyes glittering at me. “It’s only rape if it’s not consensual. And I know you’re curious about it.”
He presses in on me, and suddenly I’m so hot I can hardly breathe. He smells like sweat and soap and something so enticing I have to work not to take a deeper inhale of it. My nipples are hard, and my pussy is getting wet, and what the hell is going on? How is this happening?
His nose glides along my jaw, and I stand immobile. “You want an adventure? You want to be a bad girl and leave this tower? Why not go all the way with it?”
Then it hits me. Son of a bitch.
I shove him back and nail him in the chest with the butt of the knife before I take the blade side and bring it up to his neck. “I know what you’re doing.”
He brushes his hair back off his face, laying the charm on thick. Even his voice drops into a sexy purr. He’s completely unaffected by the knife. “And what am I doing, princess?”
I squint at him. “Don’t call me that. Your pet names and bullshit attempts at seduction won’t work.
There’s no way you’re getting out of this deal or manipulating your freedom.
You think if I feel scared or uncomfortable, I’ll simply let you go and be on your way?
” I scoff. “Nice try. That’s not how this will work. You won’t touch me.”
He folds his arms, all sexiness gone, replaced by a frostiness that sends a chill through me with how fast he transitioned. “How can you be so sure of that? What makes you think I won’t take advantage of your sweet virtue? I’m a man. It’s what we do. Isn’t that what you’ve been taught?”
I grin wickedly, thrusting my bravado to the max. My long hair falls around my shoulders as I angle toward him, bringing the knife right under his chin and pressing the edge into his pulse.
“Because only I know where your necklace is, and no matter how hard you try, you’ll never find it without me.”
He bares his teeth, practically snarling at me. “I could torture you. Do you not know that? I could grab that knife from you in a second and cut you up into tiny fucking pieces.”
I grin mockingly even though I don’t think that’s hyperbole. I’m a fool to do this with him, but honestly, I have nothing left to lose. Nothing at all. I’m so far gone that his threats don’t even faze me.
“Torture only works when you’re afraid of the outcome. I’m not.”
His eyes widen ever so slightly, and something shifts in him. “I’d make it hurt, princess. Death might not scare you, but I’m sure pain does.”
“I thought you said you weren’t evil or violent?”
“And if I lied?”
“You can kill me, but you won’t make it out of here alive, and you sure as hell won’t find the necklace. You’ll take me where I want to go and bring me back here and keep your hands to yourself in the process. That’s our deal. There is no other option for you.”