The Bride Hunt Box Set Books 1 - 3

by Hartnady, Charlene

  Her head thudded softly against the wooden floor as he released her. She could feel him tugging on her pants, could feel the cold steel from the scissors as he worked his way up her leg. She was too afraid to move in case a sharp edge caught her.

  Her scalp throbbed with every beat of her heart. Unfortunately, her heart was beating fast so her head hurt badly. Then his hands were on her. He rubbed up and down her leg and squeezed her thigh. He’d cut most of the way up her thigh but had stopped just short of going all the way.

  She forced herself to open her eyes and moaned in frustration and irritation. This seemed to egg him on. He squeezed her thigh harder, almost to the point of pain. “I can’t wait to fuck you real good. Show you what a real man can do.”

  Right. If he was any type of real man he wouldn’t be doing this. He might be ‘playing pretend’, but he was sick just the same. That much was apparent.

  He moved up, his eyes glued to her chest. No you don’t, ass-wipe! When he leaned forward, intent on cutting her T-shirt, she head-butted him in the face. There was a cracking noise and his nose began to gush.

  “What the fuck!” He cocked back his fist, his face pulled into a sneer.

  “Don’t you dare!” Ellis warned, trying to make himself sound gruff, even though she could hear he was smiling. He was loving every minute of this. Sick son of a bitch that he was.

  “She broke my fucking nose,” the guy whined.

  “You told me you wanted authentic. Are you changing your mind? Is a tied up woman too much for you to handle?”

  The freak narrowed his eyes on her for a long while. His jaw tightened and he nodded once. “No! I’m game.”

  Her heart sank.

  “Get cleaned up and rape the bitch already.” Ellis sounded bored.

  The guy nodded and disappeared into the bathroom. Ellis chuckled once the freak was out of earshot. “This is the most fun I’ve had in a long while. I’m actually rooting for you, Candy. I’m not sure this loser can even get it up.” He shook his head.

  All too soon, the guy was back. His nose was a little puffy and he plugged it up with some wadded up tissue paper to stop the bleeding. He looked pathetic.

  “I’m done playing,” his voice was cold, his eyes hard. Before she could do anything, he gripped her throat, holding her down. She felt a weight on her middle. His knee maybe? She struggled to take in enough air. Candy could feel the cold of the blade as it glided up her torso. She could hear the snip, snip as it cut her t-shirt. Her arms hurt because they were being crushed beneath her body.

  Her eyes were wide. Her nostrils flared as she tried to take in air. Her vision became blurry. She needed air. Needed it now. Black patches danced in her vision. She struggled to see, to think. Needed air.

  His hand came off of her neck and his knee lifted. Candy sucked in a deep breath. Her legs fell open. No, he’d cut the cable that bound them. She sucked in another hard breath. Her zipper was being yanked down and he was pulling on her jeans, making groaning noises from the exertion.

  She was fighting to get enough air into her lungs so that she could move. So that she could fight. Her vision was still blurred and her body felt so weak.

  She kicked at him but he slapped her leg away. Her pants were about halfway down her thighs when her vision began to return.

  “No fight left, girly.” He said, his voice even more nasal than before. He stroked his fully erect dick through his pants. “I’m looking forward to this.” He sickened her. A wave of nausea rolled through her and she had to suck in air to try and quell it. The last thing she needed to do was vomit with her mouth taped shut.

  Candy kept on sucking in air through her nose. The worst of the nausea subsided. She was biding her time. If this dickhead thought that she was done fighting, he was dead wrong.

  He grabbed ahold of her jeans and gave another hard tug. Thankfully, her underwear was still in place, as was her bra. Candy bent her knees to stop the garment from going down much.

  “Stop that,” the freak moaned. “I’m done playing.” He gave her pants another yank and she twisted her body, bending her knees again. His entire focus was on getting her jeans off. The freak moved in close, his legs splayed. If she could just move a little to the right, then she’d have a clean shot. One well placed kick to the balls would put him down for a while. He might not feel like sex anymore. At least not today.

  Just a little more. She twisted …

  There was a loud crashing noise. It was like one of the walls had fallen down or something. The crash was followed by a loud roar. It shook the walls, the very foundation. The door to the room they were in was next. It splintered inwards, a couple of shards landed on her. The freak brought up his arm to shield his face.

  “What the fuck!” Ellis leapt from the chair. Shards of wood splinters were in his hair.

  The freak’s eyes widened and he sucked in a deep breath.

  That’s when she saw him. It was Torrent. Oh god! She’d never been more happy to see someone in her whole entire life. His eyes were bright blue slits. His teeth sharp and deadly looking. His lip curled away from them as he snarled. Although he was mostly man, it was easy to see the animal in him. His muscles bulged. His skin looked like it might burst from trying to contain him. In this moment, Torrent looked larger than life. He looked completely savage.

  The freak turned all the way around. Still on his knees. He made a whimpering noise. He probably didn’t know what he was seeing. A huge, pissed off naked guy had just broken his way into the room. He whimpered again as Torrent picked him up by his neck in an almost gentle hold. The freak kicked his legs, like he was running in mid-air. It reminded her of a puppet. His actions jerky.

  The hold Torrent had on him was anything but gentle judging by how the guy began to choke. Loud gagging noises that would’ve sounded revolting had they been coming from anyone else.

  In an almost casual fashion, his eyes still locked with the freak’s, Torrent reached between the guys legs and he squeezed … hard.

  There was a strange popping noise. It was a sound she’d never heard before. One she hoped never to hear again. Torrent dropped him and he fell into a screaming heap. His hands clasped between his legs. The screams spoke of a depth of agony she never knew existed.

  She wanted to feel sorry for him but couldn’t muster even the tiniest bit of sympathy. The guy was sick and depraved and in the worst of ways. From between his clasped fingers, blood blossomed, the stain spreading across his cream-colored chinos. His face was bright red.

  Ellis had his back against the wall, his hands in front of him. “Name your price.” When Torrent took a step towards him, he began to beg. “Don’t hurt me. Please. Do you want the girl? She’s yours. Anything, just—”

  “She is not yours to give,” Torrent growled, not sounding quite human.

  “What do you want then? Anything. Name it.” He was crying, snot ran from his nose and spittle flew from his mouth. “Please … just …” He shook his head, holding his hands out like a shield. Like they could somehow keep Torrent back. Ellis glanced to where the freak lay, then moved back to Torrent and then to Candy. “Help me! You owe me. You owe me, Candy.”

  She shook her head, trying hard to convey her thoughts. No, I don’t!

  He looked back up at Torrent. “What do you want? Surely there’s something. Everyone has a price.”

  “I want you dead.” There was no warning. No more talking. No discussions. Torrent smashed his fist through Ellis’ chest. She could hear his bones crack and break. There was a slurping noise and Torrent pulled back, Ellis’ heart was clasped in his hand. It was still beating.

  Ellis looked down at the heart. There was a look of shock on his face. He looked back up at Torrent. He tried to speak but his mouth would only open and close, blood trickled from between his lips. The heart in Torrent’s hand gave a shudder and stopped. Then Ellis fell to the floor … dead.

  Torrent dropped the heart and turned towards her. His face suddenly looked ashen. For
the first time, she noticed that his nose was swollen and black bruises spread beneath his eyes. His chest, parts of his stomach and arms had peeling skin. Some areas were pink and puckered, others raw and open. He fell to one knee. “Candy,” he groaned her name.

  Not for the first time today, she fought against the rope that bound her arms behind her back. She moaned against the tape that covered her mouth.

  Torrent fell face-first onto the hard floor. The only thing that kept her from losing it completely was the sight of his chest as it rose and fell.

  * * *

  Early hours of the next morning …

  Torrent tried to open his eyes for the umpteenth time and failed. He felt a momentary panic that quickly subsided. What was wrong with him?

  Nothing.

  Everything was fine.

  The voices had woken him. Although ‘woken’ was not the right word since he wasn’t truly awake. Roused ‒ yes, better … there were voices that had roused him. Females. He tried to make out what they were saying. “I need to see him for myself.” Her voice was far away. Like it was being projected through water or even something more viscous. Like molasses or syrup. Who was the female who spoke? He knew that voice. Just as an image began to form in his mind he lost it. It wafted away like smoke on a light breeze.

  Torrent felt warm. He was so tired. More tired than he’d ever felt before.

  There was more chatter but it was too far away. He buried himself deeper in the covers. Breathed in her sweet scent and allowed himself to be drawn back into sleep. There was a scratching on the edge of his mind. Something his subconscious was trying to make him remember but he was too exhausted to even try to think what that something could be.

  “Let me in.” More insistent.

  “He needs his rest.” A mere whisper but closer this time.

  “I won’t disturb him. I saw how he looked when he—” her voice broke, “saved me.” The nagging redoubled. The prickling sensation grew. It made his head hurt. It made his gut churn.

  Candy.

  If she was speaking to someone then she wasn’t in bed with him. Why wasn’t she in bed with him?

  “The healers said that he needs his rest. Try to understand.” The voice was laced with concern, it held a soothing tone.

  “Please.” His female. It was her. His Candy.

  Torrent tried to call her name. He made a croaking sound and his hands gripped the covers.

  “Oh no!” The female whispered. “You must go. You can come back later.”

  No! He needed his female. Something bad had happened. Something terrible. He couldn’t remember what. Calling on all the strength he possessed, he tried to will his eyes to open, to make his body move. His legs jerked and there was a ripping noise.

  “I’m not going anywhere. I need to be sure that he’s going to be okay,” Candy whispered. “Let me sit with him a while, at least until he calms down.”

  “You’re aggravating him. Just look at him.” It was Sky.

  “Candy!” Torrent called her name as he finally managed to break from his deep sleep. He felt groggy. Every muscle ached. His chest burned with every breath and it hurt to turn his head.

  It took a few seconds for his eyes to adjust to the dim candlelight.

  “No. Let me go.” Sky was in the process of dragging Candy out of the room.

  “Let her go.” His voice was a dry rasp, hardly recognizable as his own.

  Sky turned her head. “My lord,” she all but whispered. “You should be sleeping. The healers gave you a draught.”

  Ah, the reason his head was so groggy and why he felt so woozy. It didn’t account for his pain.

  “You were badly beaten and expended far too much energy saving Candy.” The she-dragon hugged his female tightly around her shoulders. Her eyes filled with tears. “I’m glad that you did but the healers have given strict instructions that you remain asleep for at least twenty-four hours. That was sixteen hours ago. It’s far too soon for you to be awake.”

  “I don’t care.” He pulled the covers to the side and got as far as throwing a leg over the side of the bed. When he tried to lift his torso, the world seemed to turn on it’s axis. Torrent groaned. He locked eyes with Candy who was openly crying. She didn’t make a single sound but tears streaked down her cheeks. It made him sad to see her so upset.

  He called her name and held a hand out to her. He had no energy. Memories of what had happened threatened to overtake him but he pushed them down. He couldn’t deal with it right now. His brain was fogging over and he struggled to stay conscious. He sucked in a few deep breaths and began to feel a bit better.

  Sky rolled her eyes and shook her head, she tsked like a mother hen but she also let Candy go.

  His female walked to him, taking small tentative steps. When she was close enough, he pulled her into bed with him. She came willingly, curling her small body against his side. Torrent wrapped his arms around her. “Are you hurt?”

  “No.” Her body shook and shuddered.

  “Are you sure?” His limbs felt heavy. Now that she was in his arms, he was struggling to stay awake. The medicine the healers had given him was taking its toll. “Are you okay?”

  “I am now.”

  “You’re safe,” he managed to push out just before sleep took him.

  Chapter 21

  Candy struggled to sleep. It felt so good to be in his arms again. It would be so easy to just forget everything that had happened. Disregard every hurtful word he’d said to her and just go on as if nothing was wrong.

  Soon after Torrent had saved her and subsequently lost consciousness, a small group of dragons had arrived. There was a big guy amongst them, he had ash-blond hair and the same pale blue eyes as Torrent. It was easy to see that he was in command. His chest markings were golden with green streaks. He barked orders and saw to Torrent himself, carrying him back to the water castle. She later learned that his name was Tide and that he was Torrent’s younger brother. Only one year his junior. Aside from their hair color being slightly different, they were carbon copies of one another. The news came as no surprise. He was polite to her but didn’t speak much with her either.

  She was taken to her original room. The one she’d stayed in her first few days there, before moving in with Torrent. Sky came to see her. She’d filled Candy in on the events that had taken place.

  Candy was torn. On the one hand she was still very upset with Torrent and wanted nothing more to do with him, yet on the other, she needed to make sure that he pulled through okay. Sky assured her over and over again that he would be fine, but she needed to see it with her own eyes. The thing she needed the most though was to thank him for rescuing her.

  Her eyes filled with tears and she blinked them away. Bad things had happened in her past, she was uncertain about her future but she was sure that she would rise above it. If nothing else, she was strong and resilient.

  Torrent sighed, he pulled her closer. Flush against him. His chest was against her back. Her butt cradled against his abs. Even his legs were curled up around hers. So safe. So warm. He wasn’t well. She needed to stay with him until he recuperated. Just a couple more hours and then she could be on her way.

  No biggie.

  She must’ve fallen asleep, because when she woke up, it was to Torrent’s pale stare. His eyes locked with hers and he gave her the ghost of a smile. “You’re awake,” he said unnecessarily. He touched her cheek with just the tip of his finger. He was looking at her with such intensity, such … emotion that it threatened to take her breath away.

  “I almost lost you.” He clenched his jaw and his throat worked. “I’m an idiot. You were right to call me all of those things. ‘Asshole’ being on the top of the list.” He sucked in a deep breath.

  One of his arms was around her waist. She was lying on her back. Torrent was on his side “Um …” She didn’t know what to say. How did she respond?

  “How are you feeling? Are you okay? Fuck—” he half-growled the last. “I did this
to you. I put you in harm’s way. I’m so sorry.”

  “It’s not your fault.” She shook her head.

  “If I hadn’t said those things … hadn’t driven you away …” He shook his head. His voice was raw. His eyes glinted. “It’s all my fault.”

  She hadn’t expected this and was ill-prepared. “No. Wait—”

  He shook his head. “I’m a fool, an idiot.” He made a rumbling noise and covered his face with his hand.

  Candy turned onto her side, facing him. She touched the side of his arm. “It’s not your fault that Ellis is ‒ was ‒ a psychopath. You didn’t do any of it. Yes, you acted like an asshole and I’m still very angry with you but I’m also thankful.” She swallowed hard. “You saved me,” her voice cracked.

  Torrent swore. He grabbed ahold of her and pulled her to him. He held her for a while. “It should never have happened. If I could kill him again I would. I should’ve ripped off his arms, ripped off his fucking legs and left him to bleed out... he got off too easily.” His whole body shook and his voice sounded strangled.

  “You got there in time. I’m okay. I swear. I’m fine.” Her heart would break when she walked away again but she would hold her head up high and she would manage. She would. She always had.

  He pulled away. His face was damp. Oh flip! Torrent wiped a hand across his eyes and aside from some residual moisture on his lashes, the wet was gone.

  Shit! It hurt her to see him so cut up. His soul laid bare. “Shhhh.” She buried her face in his chest and hugged him to her. “I’m fine.” Mostly. Still cut up over you. She couldn’t say it.

  “Are you sure?” he cupped her cheeks in both his hands. “I’m so sorry, Candy.”

  She felt herself tense. She wasn’t ready to discuss this. Not now, maybe not ever. “It’s okay. We’re good.” Drop it!