Page 18 of The Wild Man
His head lifts, and for the first time since I sat my ass on this burlap sack, he looks at me.
I really wish he wouldn’t. The man has creepy, but fascinating eyes that easily capture and holds a person’s attention. Like right now. I’m an unwilling captive caught in his ominous dark stare, helpless to look away.
“You can’t keep me here forever.”
He says nothing, not that I expected him to. He pulls his eyes away from mine to look back down at his stick and knife.
“My father and brothers are looking for me.”
Nothing. Not even an eye twitch.
“This is wrong, Wild Man,” I continue, trying to get through to him. “What you’re doing is illegal. It’s called kidnapping and you could get in a lot of trouble.”
I closely watch his face for any signs that he understands what I’m saying. I get nothing. Frustration wells and has my hands curling around my legs, my nails digging into my skin.
“They’ve probably already called the police, which means they’ll be looking for me too.”
He continues chiseling away at the stick.
“You’ve got to let me go,” I say, desperation raising my voice. “They’ll hurt you if my family finds me here.”
Strangely, the thought of Wild Man being hurt isn’t as appealing as it should be. As painful as what he’s done to me is, the man is following his baser instincts. But it’s going to happen if he doesn’t let me go. It’ll be a race to see who gets to him first. My family or the police. For a person like Wild Man, being put in a prison cell would be torture, but it would be the lesser of two evils. At least if he’s incarcerated, he’d be alive. If my father and brothers find him first, I can’t guarantee that outcome. My family is capable of anything when it comes to protecting their own.
I continue to try to get him to understand the severity of the situation he’s put himself in.
“When my family finds me, they’re going to be angry.” I blow out an aggravated puff of air. “They’ll hurt you and take me far away from you.”
That last part gets a reaction. One that has fear slithering through my bloodstream and wishing I could take the words back.
In the blink of an eye, Wild Man is up from the log and is looming over me, his feet planted apart and a vicious look on his face. He reaches down, wraps his long fingers around my throat and hauls me up from my seated position. He brings my face so close to his there’s only an inch of space separating us, and the tips of my toes barely touch the ground. His grip is tighter than all the other times he’s held me like this. Panic sets in, and I start clawing at his hand, desperate to draw in air.
My feeble attempts at fighting don’t phase him in the slightest as he continues to glare down at me.
Just as my vision starts to blur, he loosens his hold just enough for me to suck in a lungful of air.
“Mine!” he snarls in my face. He lifts his other hand, his fingers balled into a fist. I flinch and try to move away, worried that fist is meant for me. But then he surprises me when he slams it against his chest hard and repeats in a harsh tone, “Mine. You stay. I kill family.”
My eyes widen. I’m not sure what I’m more shocked about. The fact that he spoke more than one word, or that he wants to kill my family. All because they may find me and take me away from him.
“No!” I croak, barely able to draw enough air to say the word.
Using his grip around my neck, Wild Man brings me closer. Our noses brush against each other.
“Kill family. My Ever.”
Holy motherfucking hell.
My Ever.
I have got to get away from this crazy-ass man. Before my family finds me. Because as deranged as it is, I still don’t want my father or brothers to hurt him. Or the police to find him. If Wild Man isn’t insane yet, he certainly will be if he’s locked up in prison.
And what’s worse, I know deep down to the very depth of my soul, this man won’t ever willingly let me go.
I try once again to knee him between his legs. I need him incapacitated long enough to get free of the rope and to run away. If I get a head start, maybe I can hide. I know I can’t outrun him. His feet may be used to the forest floor, but mine aren’t. I’ll need to hide somewhere long enough for him to get tired of searching for me.
As if he can read my mind, his hips jerk to the side just as I swiftly lift my knee. He catches the underside of my leg and hooks it over his hip. I freeze, my breath stuttering, when I feel the ridge of his shaft against my bare pussy. The thin cloth he has covering himself is the only thing separating his bareness from mine.
Planting my hands on his hard chest, I try to shove myself away and pull my leg from his hip. His reaction is to tighten his hand around my throat and to pull my bottom half firmer against him. He’s hard. Like brick fucking hard.