Page 17 of Fire in My Blood
I jump when the garage door starts rumbling as it lifts. There must be another car coming.
It snaps me out of my frozen state, and I run to the elevator and hit the button repeatedly. It feels like it takes a year to arrive, but in reality it’s probably less than ten seconds.
As soon as the doors start opening, I squeeze in and hit the button to close the doors. My breathing is stuck in my throat, and I’m not able to take a full breath until I’m inside my apartment with my door securely locked between me and whoever was out there.
My heart feels like it’s trying to beat its way out of my chest. I don’t know who was in the parking garage and what he was doing there. Perhaps he wasn’t there for me at all. But the fact that he was lurking in the shadows had all my alarm bells going off.
After removing my coat, I make my way to the living room and sink down onto the couch. My heart is still speeding in my chest, and cold sweat covers my body. Closing my eyes, I focus on breathing through my nose to calm down.
A few minutes later, I feel better, and I move into the kitchen to get a glass of water. But as I stand by the sink with my back to the room, the hairs at the back of my neck stand up again.
I want to turn around and see who’s behind me, but the fear keeps me frozen in place. Someone is there, though, I just know it.
“Have you missed me, sweetheart?” The arrogant amusement in his voice is the same as four years ago.
My mind is telling me to do something, anything, as long as it’s more than passive acceptance of my situation. But all I can muster is to turn my head and look at him.
He’s standing in the doorway to the living room, with his arms loosely crossed over his chest and an arrogant grin on his face. He’s tall and muscular but not as tall and broad as Lucas. His cold blue-gray eyes rake over my body, and his lips pull back to reveal more of his teeth.
I suddenly realize why his bite was so nasty. His canines are much longer than the average human’s. They’re close to the size of a medium-sized dog.
I want to scream, but there doesn’t seem to be any air in my lungs. Cold fear originating from a point on my shoulder near my clavicle spreads through my body and turns my blood to ice in my veins. How is this even possible? He shouldn’t even know my name, so how did he find out where I live?
“Aw, I think you’ve missed me. I can see it in your eyes. You never forgot me, did you?” He laughs. The sound is cold and cruel and feels like a promise of what’s to come. “Don’t worry, sweetheart. I’m back now, and I’ll never leave you again.” He’s suddenly right in front of me, looking down into my wide eyes.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone move that fast. The doorway where he was standing is only six feet away, but it doesn’t explain his speed. It startles me out of my frozen state, and I suck in a breath to scream.
But before I can make a sound, his hand closes around my throat, and he shakes his head slowly. “Oh, no, we’ll have none of that. You’re going to come with me, and we’ll be long gone before anyone comes looking for you. But I’d like to have some fun withyou before we leave. It’s been a long time, and I’m hungry for your sweet pussy.”
He backs me up against the wall. His hand squeezes my throat painfully but not enough to stop my breathing completely. His other hand comes up and roughly grabs my breast, and I close my eyes, not wanting to see him.
My worst nightmare is coming true, and it’s worse than I ever imagined. Not only is he going to rape me again, but he’s going to take me with him and keep raping me. And with his strength and speed, I’ll never be able to get away.
Hopelessness sinks into me like a thick black blanket, dulling all my senses. The tension leaves my body, and I sag in his grip. There’s no point putting up a fight. I might as well just let it happen. Nobody can help me now anyway.
“No!” He shakes me, and I wince as his nails dig into the skin of my throat. He brings his face up right next to mine so I can feel his breath on my cheek. “I want you scared of me when I fuck you. It turns me on.”
I keep my eyes closed and my body relaxed. I know what I want to do. There’s only one way to get out of this now, and that’s death. My death. I’m going to provoke him into killing me. It will be painful, but it will be worth it to avoid being raped for months, perhaps even years. Anything is better than that.
He shakes me again. “No!” He practically growls the word, his fury evident in his voice.
This is good. This is exactly what I want. I mentally prepare myself for the pain that will come. It will be bad, but it will soon be over.
He chuckles, and my eyes snap open at the sound.What the fuck?He’s supposed to get angry and hit me, not start laughing like this is some kind of joke.
“I know what you’re doing, sweetheart, and it’s not going to work. I won’t kill you. There are other ways to make you scared of me.” His eyes are filled with both cruelty and amusement. It’s a combination I’ve never seen before and never want to see again.
“If I can’t make you scared of me for your own sake, perhaps I can use someone else to make you fear me. I’m sure you have someone dear out there somewhere. Family perhaps?” His grin is nasty.
My stomach burns like it’s filled with acid. I didn’t think it could get any worse, but somehow it has.
“I have a lot of practice scaring people and let me tell you, it’s only a matter of finding the right trigger. Everyone has a weakness, and I’ve got plenty of time to find yours.”
This isn’t working. What if he goes after David and his family? I can’t allow that to happen. Even being raped is better than that.
There’s a knock on my door, and I blink in surprise.
“Fuck!” His eyes narrow, and his nostrils flare. “Are you expecting someone?”