Chapter 26
The Prey
Ichoked back a sob as he finally let go of my chin, my skin throbbing where his fingers had enthralled. His sinister smile never faltered as he widened his legs, the air between us thick with dread. He casually patted the seat next to him, a silent command that sent waves of nausea through me.
I could feel the car moving, and the realisation that Kyle was witnessing this, being degraded by this satanic man, was humiliating to the edge of driving me insane.
“Don’t make me repeat myself.” His eyes, still hidden behind those dark lenses, seemed to pierce right through me as if he could look right through me. “It’s not every day I extend such an invitation.”
The realization twisted in my stomach nauseatingly. I struggled to keep my calm. I lost the moment I met him, my hands trembling as I scrambled up into the seat beside him.
The cold leather felt like ice against my shivering skin, and I could feel my pulse quicken, the bile rising in my throat. I swallowed hard, trying to suppress the urge to vomit. The car kept spinning as his sinister smile widened.
He was suffocating, and worse, his dark aura wrapped around and squeezed the remaining air from my lungs.
Not realising I was fidgeting with my hands, and my knees were bouncing up and down. What do I do?
Now that I think of everything, it felt like a trap I knowingly walked into.
The advertisement, the job offer, the money I couldn’t refuse, and I let him trap me into his web once again when I accepted his second offer.
I should’ve stayed away from him; I shouldn’t have walked into a snake’s lair knowing how deadly he was.
But wasn’t it too late for regrets?
I had dug a grave for myself, and now he was pushing me down and down.
I couldn’t go back to the dorms; I couldn’t go back to my home. The police were after me for a murder I didn’t commit. I was practically hanging by the threads like a puppet, and he was my master.
And it all happened because I was… desperate.
I swallowed another sob, desperate for an escape. I glanced down at the car door, but they were locked, and his throttling presence felt like a cage.
My breaths came in shallow gasps, my vision blurring with tears of fear and revulsion.
My mind raced, and I weighed my options, trying to find any way out of this horrifying situation. The bile in my throat surged again, the taste of panic bitter on my tongue. I could hear my heart pounding in my ears.
I considered the unthinkable. Should I obey him? Would that buy me time? Would it make things worse?
The thought of complying made my stomach twist, my body recoiling at the mere idea. But what other choice did I have? My rational mind struggled to find a solution, to find a way out without giving in to his disgusting demands.
But the very essence of my sanity rebelled.
I swallowed hard.
I couldn’t bring myself to degrade myself further, to give him that power over me. And in a desperate attempt to hold onto my dignity, I mumbled. “No.”
I thought of my family, the only people who cared about me. What would they think if they knew I was here, trapped in this nightmare?
And if I obeyed, I knew that giving in would break something inside me, something that might never heal.
And a small part of me hoped, wished, begged he’d take my no like the gentleman he was not.
To my surprise, he chuckled. The sound was low at first, then it grew louder, reverberating through the car until he burst into laughter as if I had just told him the funniest joke.
And the fact that it was unhinged and devoid of genuine amusement sent a biting chill down my spine. It scared me more than his words, more than his presence. More than aliens and demons, more than death. He scared me more than my own darkness.
I pushed myself up against the window, my body trembling, and looked wide-eyed at him.
He seemed psychotic, completely unhinged as he tilted his head and looked in my direction.
His pale eyes, hidden behind dark shades, seemed to pierce right through me.
The strangeness of his appearance only heightened my terror.
His dark hair was styled perfectly, every strand in place, giving him an almost god-like quality.
He was undeniably handsome, wearing a pristine white suit with a black button-down shirt underneath; his muscular frame exuding a sinister elegance.
And for me, the difference was quaking.
To escape this, I would’ve jumped right out of the moving car. My lips quivered as I swallowed hard, pushing myself deeper into the crook, unconsciously pulling my knees up to kick him in the face if he dared to touch me.
I didn’t care about the consequences; he could kill me for all I cared, but I would never sleep with him. At least not willingly.
My body froze as he bit his lips as he was thinking something and then his lips curled in a psychotic smile and he leaned forward, his laughter sinking into a chilling smile I whimpered as I put my legs up to push myself away but he was faster for a blind person.
In the next second, my both ankles were in his grip, and I was screaming as he dragged me onto the seat, my legs on either side of him as he settled between them and leaned down till his breath hot was against my ear.
“Oh, but you don’t have a choice, Ptichka,” he murmured innocently, devoid of any humanity.
A large hand fell on my thigh. The touch was callous and so harsh that my skin erupted in a wild frenzy.
“As much as I like a good chase, there are times when I want to play,” he drawled, sliding his hand across the front and tucking his finger into the front belt loop.
I let out a gasp the moment he pulled me closer. “And right now, I am not in the mood.”
“What I want is a yes, Ptichka.” I grabbed his thick wrist, attempting to remove his hand, but it was like I was pushing against a wall. It was scary how much strength he had and how weak and fragile I felt in his cage.
It was impossible to stop his fingers from unbuttoning my jeans, though my struggles intensified.
I twisted and thrashed, trying to push him away, but his knee pinned my legs apart and his hand clamped around my throat, restricting my movements.
Pure horror filled me as he unzipped my jeans, and I shut my eyes as his fingers brushed against my underwear.
Desperation surged through me. I knew the best way to get out of his grasp was to obey, to do what he wanted and get it over with. But I couldn’t bring myself to comply. It would break me this time. My heart pounded in my chest as I clawed at his fingers, kicking and writhing with all my might.
“Don’t, please!” I cried out.
“How else am I going to get you to say yes then?” His fingers slipped under the hem of my underwear with expert ease. It didn’t even matter that his other hand was squeezing my throat, or that I was struggling to breathe.
“I… don’t…”
“Don’t what?” he mocked, and I hated how I couldn’t see his eyes; it made everything all the more terrorising. “Don’t want to play? Don’t want to say yes?” He laughed, and then his lips curved in a displeased snarl. “You know, I love how you think you have a choice here. It’s adorable, truly.”
My lips wobbled as his finger dug into my skin. Game. It was a game where I was a bird thinking it could escape a serpent’s hold. And I realise that even if I scream all I wanted. Thrash all I liked. It only made this more fun for him.
His grip tightened around my throat, cutting off my air. When I said nothing, it only fuelled his temper.
“Come on, Ptichka,” he whispered, his breath hot against my face, and I could smell the cigar’s sweet and earthy scent on his tongue. I shut my eyes, not giving him the satisfaction of dominating me.
His fingers moved with deliberate slowness, taunting me with their invasive touch in places I had never explored. “You see,” he hissed, fingers plunging deeper as I arched my back involuntarily, my insides shivering at the intrusion. “I never disrespect women, little bird.”
A venomous whisper.
He promised me torment.
His hand tightened around my neck, his thumb pressing against the vein behind my ear.
Leaning down, he whispered like a dark sin that should be forbidden and never spoken of, “But I love it when they beg.” His eyes gleamed with an unsettling madness, and I realised the depth of the insanity this man possessed.
I hated how this devil of a man could peel the layers of me I never dared to see for myself.
I whimpered, my vision blurring from the lack of oxygen. “Please,” I choked out, my voice barely a whisper. “Don’t...”
“Don’t make me laugh, little bird. You’re so predictable.” His fingers pressed harder, sending jolts of pain through me. “Here’s a tip, if you want me to stop, you should probably try a little harder. Begging is nice, but it’s getting boring.”
“Why… why are you…” He didn’t let me speak at all; his hold on my throat was intending to suck me dry of oxygen.
Like he wanted to kill me.
“Don’t touch me!” My voice broke, and I couldn’t help the shame that coated my words or the tears that filled my eyes.
“You can’t entice a predator with prey and ask him to go hungry.” His fingers glided against my folds, and his knee forced my thighs apart. My legs bent at an uncomfortable angle as he mounted me.
A smirk curved his lips as he added another finger, stretching me to pain and then pulled them out as I tried to suck in the air, watching in shame as he raised his hand, scissoring his fingers as the wetness glistened over them.
“Look how lewd you are, little bird.”
“Please—”
“Shh, see how it keeps weeping around my fingers.” His expression didn’t change, but his hand stopped even though his fingers were still deep inside me.
A broken sob escaped me as the sensation reached a fever pitch, a beautiful agony that made my vision blur with tears. My thighs trembled uncontrollably, and I bit my inner cheek hard enough to taste the metallic tang of blood just to keep from letting out a moan.