27. Seraphina
27
SERAPHINA
“SHITTY WAY TO DIE”
The first thing I notice when I wake is my terror. The second is the wooden box surrounding me on all sides. The third—and strangest—is the sensation of metal encasing my pelvis. I raise my head in an attempt to check it out, but the ceiling is so low, I just end up smashing my forehead against the wood. Instinctually, I try to raise a hand to the lump forming on my head, only to run into the same problem.
I’m all too aware of the speed of my breathing—the amount of oxygen I’m wasting—but try as I might, I can’t calm down. I blink up at the ceiling, watching it get closer and closer each time my eyes shut. It’s getting smaller, squeezing the air out of the space, forcing it from my lungs.
“What a shitty way to die.” I close my eyes as my pounding heart threatens to break my ribs. “All the shit I’ve been through, and I get taken out by a wooden box.”
I take one last gulp of air, force my eyes shut, and wait for the end. But it doesn’t come. Instead, a loud cracking fills the space—like someone is opening the lid. My heart jumps to my throat, hope filling the dark pit left behind as light floods the box.
And it all comes crashing down as I take in the plague mask.
“You’re finally awake. I thought I was going to die of boredom.” The thick leather beak muffles his voice, but the way it affects my body, I know it’s Orion.
Cold air hits my flesh, pebbling my nipples, and it’s then I also realize I am completely naked. My face heats, but I shoot him a glare just as fiery, not willing to back down.
“So what’s your plan, onion?”
He tilts his head at the nickname, his shoulders stiffening. “My plan?”
I nod. “Your plan to stop me.”
“I don’t think I know what you mea?—”
Before he can finish, I jump from the box with a vicious war cry, my hands outstretched toward his face. He stumbles back instinctively, hands reaching back to catch himself—and that's when I strike.
Orion snarls in rage as I rake my fingernails down the side of his neck, lodging chunks of flesh beneath my nails. He reaches out to subdue me, but I anticipate his attack, ducking beneath his muscular arms and retreating to the corner before he has a chance to steady himself.
The vein in the side of his neck throbs as he reaches up, cupping the four gushing scratch marks. “My, my. It seems like someone doesn’t know how to play nice.”
My veins flare with rage at his tone—like I’m a damn pet . “Well, I’m not very nice, so it checks.”
He chuckles as he takes a step forward, and I shift so I’m on the other side of the box I was trapped in earlier—a box I’m just now realizing is shaped like a…
“You put me in a coffin?” I snarl, pointing an accusatory finger at the wooden box in question. “Who fucking does something like that?”
“Someone very sick. Someone very obsessed .” He takes another step, and another, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a dagger. His thighs hit the lip of the coffin, and he stops, the glowing red orbs of his mask pulling me in, entrancing me. “Do you feel it too, little dove?”
“Feel what?”
My anger is smothered as he raises a gloved hand, gesturing to the distance separating us. “This tug. Like the threads of the universe are pulling us together—weaving your essence into mine.” He tilts his head, and for some reason, I know he’s smiling.
Only, it’s not a good smile.
“You should have flown away when you had the chance, little dove.” He raises the dagger to his neck, sliding the tip of the knife beneath his mask. In one movement, he slices clean through the leather stitching, and the mask falls away.
My throat bobs as that murky aura swirls from his outline, and I take a step back. With a smirk, Orion throws the coffin across the room, removing the only barrier I had. His forearms strain as his hands clench at his sides, and he eats the distance between us before I can blink.
Orion pins me against the wall, his chest rising and falling rapidly as he towers over me. I’m so entranced by the dark swirling blue of his irises, I don’t realize when he grabs my wrists until they’re pinned above my head.
He leans down to my neck, humming with satisfaction after a greedy inhale of my scent. “God, you smell good. Good enough to eat. ” He drags his teeth across my flesh. I squeal as pain bursts from the sensitive area, which only makes him bite down harder.
Tears swim in my eyes as he rears back, and for a horrifying moment, I think he’s going to tear a chunk out of my neck. But then he releases me, replacing teeth with tongue as he laps at the fresh wound, easing the pain away. When he places his lips on that spot, pleasure blossoms deep inside—the mix of sensations suddenly too much and not enough all at once.
My hips jerk involuntarily, but instead of Orion’s body heat, I’m met with biting metal. I look down and nearly scream at the sight of what appears to be a metal thong encasing my pelvis. Two thick straps sit in the curve of my hips, dipping down to a thin strip of metal just wide enough to cover my pussy and ass crack.
My mouth falls, unable to believe what I’m seeing. I’ve read about chastity belts before, but never in my life did I think I’d be wearing one. And I certainly never thought this madman would be the one putting me in it.
“Do you like it?”
When I don’t answer, he grabs my chin, forcing my eyes back up to his face. “I asked you a question, brat. ”
I frown, a wave of indignation cresting in my veins as I stare him down. “Maybe I didn’t want to answer it.”
He snaps his free hand up, tweaking my nipple and causing me to cry out. Against my will, my pussy throbs, flooding the thin piece of metal with my arousal. It drips down the inside of my thighs, and I press them together, squirming at the hungry look in Orion’s gaze.
A low growl hums from his chest as he pushes his knee between my eyes, forcing them back open. “No. I want to see you dripping for me. I want to see you gush when I bring you to the edge time and time again, only to rip it away from you. I want to see that pretty little light die in your eyes as you’re denied for the first time in your life. I want to hear you scream. I want to hear you beg. ” He twists my nipple again, sending a bolt of electricity through my veins as he leans in, his smile full of malice. “But most importantly, I want to watch the way you break for me.”
A whimper tumbles from my lips as Orion nips at the wound from earlier. I could stand her and deny it—tell myself I hate everything he’s done to me—everything he’s promising. But the truth is, I want to see it, too. I want to see if he can break me when no one else could.
He pulls back, and instead of the terrified expression he expects, my eyes are filled with fire. “Give it your best fucking shot.”
He chuckles, but it's not a happy sound. Gripping me by the back of the neck, he pulls me in so our lips are a breath apart. Electricity crackles between us, daring that gap to close. But Orion just freezes there, drinking in the sight of me.
“You’re going to be the death of me, aren’t you?”
I smirk, lunging forward and taking his lip between my teeth. His pupils blow as I bite down, coating my tongue in the metallic taste of his blood.
When I let go, we’re both panting hard. But Orion looks like he’s come unglued. His hand moves to the front of my neck, applying pressure and cutting off my airflow. The hard length of his cock presses into my stomach, straining to get to me through the fabric of his jeans. A hard little ball digs into my stomach, but I don’t have the sense to realize what it is as black dots begin to swarm my vision. I look deep into Orion’s eyes, never blinking. I want him to see the warning in mine—the challenge.
But he looks back. And what I see there scares me to the core.