Page 21 of Sweet Revenge
Maybe the contractors out here had never heard the name Petrov before.
I hadn’t heard from Daemon in a while, and he’d told me not to come out of the bedroom until he came to get me. I’d been soaking long enough. It was time to get out and get ready for our date.
Getting out of the tub, I toweled off and let the water out. The room was a little chilly as well. I probably needed to throw another log on the fireplace. I put on the nicest set of matching lingerie my brother had picked out for me, doing my best not to dwell on the fact that Drake had purchased the lacy black bra and panties, and went out into the bedroom.
The fire had died down a bit, so I stoked it a little, deciding not to waste a precious log on it just yet. I needed to do my hair and makeup, and I had no idea what to wear. My brother had tossed a couple of dresses into the bags of clothing he’d bought for us, but none of them were particularly fancy. I slipped a robe on and sat down at the vanity, deciding to work on my face first while I considered my options in the closet.
I took my time. The house was quiet, which made me wonder if perhaps Daemon had gone out somewhere to purchase dinner. He didn’t seem like much of a chef to me, though I was learning new things about him all the time. Finding out he was a hunter of animals, as well as men, hadn’t been too much of a surprise. The idea that he could also cook those animals shouldn’t be too much of a stretch. I thought it might take a different sort of skill set, though, one that required patience and practice, two things I couldn’t see him honing in the kitchen, but then, what did I know? I was sure there were some aspects of my personality that surprised the hell out of him.
I didn’t have a lot of makeup to work with. Drake had gotten the basics, and I could make it work, but there’d be no eyebrow gel or highlighter going on these eyes today.
Once my makeup was done, I brushed out my damp hair and managed to work it into a decent updo, securing it with a black hair clip. I’d also found a pair of golden hoop earrings in the bag that would work with practically anything I decided to wear, so I slipped those on as well and then moved to the closet.
The walk-in closet was nearly empty, only four or five items hanging there for either one of us. We had a few more outfits to choose from, but they were either waiting to be washed or sitting in the dryer. Neither of us was too big on doing the laundry.
Spying a black dress hanging on a hanger in the back, I yanked it off and inspected the fabric. It was some sort of cotton blend, not exactly elegant, but it would do. As I slipped it over my head, I noted the fabric was a little scratchy. It was sleeveless, which wouldn’t bode well for going outside, but as far as I knew, Daemon had only planned indoor activities for us today.
With the dress on, I went back to the mirror to see how the whole presentation looked. Did I feel like a sexy beast? Not even a little bit. But I knew that my man would want me no matter what I was wearing. I looked like someone who didn’t have access to a major city that desperately wanted to look appealing. It was the best I could do.
Wiggling my toes, I realized I had absolutely no shoes that would look good with this. Drake had gotten me tennis shoes and boots, and I had the shoes I’d been wearing when I’d dragged Daemon into the clinic, some canvas slip-ons that were covered in blood. Those had come from Janis, I thought, though I wasn’t certain. I decided it would be in my best interest to just go barefoot. If women could do that for their weddings, I could do it for a date in a cabin in the woods with my boyfriend, right?
Boyfriend?Damn, if I wasn’t getting ahead of myself.
A knock on the door had those thoughts slipping from my mind as giddiness welled up inside of my stomach. It was time! Daemon was finally here to let me know whatever he had been preparing for me was ready. It had taken him long enough. But then, he’d worked so silently, I hadn’t even heard any pots and pans clanking around in the kitchen.
Walking to the bedroom door, I took a deep breath, hoping he’d like what he saw when his eyes fell on me. I’d given my best effort after all. With a flourish, I threw the door open, expecting my eyes to latch onto his dark orbs.
Pain radiated through my midsection as I went flying back across the room, a swift kick in the gut the only greeting I received. Confusion washed over me as I scrambled to get up, but it only took a fraction of a second for me to realize it hadn’t been Daemon standing there when I’d opened the door.
Dark hair swept up into a ponytail, an evil grimace on her face, my cousin Raven stalked toward me. My hand went around my stomach as I imagined a boot print matching the ones she wore had to be engraved on my flesh. “What the fuck?” I managed as I pushed up off the carpet.
She had her long, nimble fingers threaded through my hair before I could stand, dragging me over to the bed where she pushed me down. “Where the fuck is Daemon?” she asked me, her claws sinking into my scalp.
“Let me go, you psycho bitch!” I sank my fingernails into her hand, but she wasn’t having any of that. With a balled-up fist, she punched me in the face, knocking me backward, my head barely missing the corner of the nightstand.
“Tell me where he is now, you little cunt, or I’ll kill you and then find him myself.” She came at me again, wrapping her fingers around my throat.
Once again, I clawed at her, my legs lashing out and making contact with her thighs as I fought for air. I had to get her away from me. I honestly had no idea where Daemon was, but he needed to get the hell out of here. I didn’t even know if he had a gun out here. I could see two hanging from my cousin’s waist. She wouldn’t hesitate to use them to kill both of us.
“This is what you get for taking those shots at me, you little bitch. And that tire iron to the face hasn’t been easy for me to forget about either.” She glared at me, her eyes wild, as she applied pressure to my windpipe. “You made me look like an asshole in front of your father.”
She wasn’t trying to kill me, though. She still wanted me to answer her question. Raven would kill me later. Looking up into her face, I noticed she still had a mark across her nose where the tire iron had hit her. While that was satisfying in a way I normally wouldn’t admit to feeling, it was too bad that I hadn’t sunk a bullet into her head instead.
She released me enough so that I could suck in a breath. My throat ached from the pressure. “Tell me where the fuck he is!”
“Go to hell.” I glared at her, keeping her attention on my face, and then lashed out with my left leg again, catching her in the crotch.
Raven buckled in pain, giving me a second to bolt for the door. I only made it a couple of steps before her long arms lashed out, catching me by the dress. I heard the fabric tear up the seam. It was an ugly dress anyway.
But she had me and she went for my hair again. The clip fell out, and she wound my long tresses around her arm. “Fine. Let’s go look for him.” Dragging me with her, she headed out the bedroom door.
I had no choice but to go along. Her grip on my head was excruciating, and my neck still hurt from her pressing my windpipe into the back of my throat. Stars filled my vision, but I continued to grapple with her, trying to get her to let go as she dragged me from room to room.
“Daemon? Daemon Petrov? Where the fuck are you? Don’t you want to come in and save your little bitch girlfriend?” She snickered, heading into the kitchen.
It wasn’t that big of a cabin. By the time she’d searched all the rooms and realized he really wasn’t here, irritation had set in. Her tugs on my head became more erratic, and I could feel some of my hair slipping from her grip.
When she brought me into the dining room, distraction set in. “This is nice,” she murmured, spotting a lace tablecloth and some candles. I agreed, but I didn’t let it keep me from being able to focus. With all of the force I could muster, I heaved my elbow into her rib cage. Raven sputtered, letting go of me. I pushed a chair into her, knocking her over, and ran for the door.