“How long are we going to be here?”
I shrugged, leaning back against the cushions. “As long as we need to.”
“And how long is that!” She shouted, angrily.
“Shh, shh,” I hushed her. “There’s no need to shout. I’m not deaf.”
“Fuck you,” the curse slipped out between her gritted teeth and instead of getting mad, it almost made me laugh.
She was a fiercely scared little animal, and that wild side excited me. I fed off her fear, her struggle. I’d fought with the urge of putting out my misery last night. I could have easily crept into her room and slit her throat. But I didn’t. I couldn’t. I fucking hated her. I hated the fact that she made me have these feelings of doubt, and of something that went deeper. I hated her for showing me that innocence still existed in this goddamn world.
So, I played with the idea of how to get rid of her beautiful body. Of running my hands down her pale white skin, kissing her bluish lips as her soul left her. But then I remembered the brightness of her eyes as she’d stared at me, those whimpers that tormented me night after night. I wanted to possess her being in so many fucking ways, it was driving me insane. And in the end, I couldn’t get rid of her. It was impossible.
I fought my protective urge and instead I just watched her. She glanced my way, that fiery gaze heating me up. I could so easily bend her over and get this shit desire out of me, once and for all. But I liked the edge, and I liked putting her on that precipice. I wanted her needy and yearning for me, just as much as I yearned for her.
“You like to watch?”
"Excuse me," she breathed, a flush painting her cheeks. It was almost funny how easily she flustered.
“I bet your tits get tainted in that bright red of your cheeks.”
“You’re disgusting.”
“I’m not the one cumming at your door.”
She looked away again and it angered me. Standing, I went over to her, gripping her chin I forced her eyes to meet mine. “Don’t. Ever. Do that. Again.” I seethed against her lips, her hot breath fluttering against my mouth. I leaned in, grazing my lips against hers, and then I tore myself away, heading towards my private office in the back. If she left, the cameras I’d set up all along the trail would catch her. She had nowhere to go.
I had thirteen missed calls when I checked last night. Twenty-five texts as of this morning, promising a very gruesome death. The threats just kept coming, but it was to be expected. Taking the phone, I stormed back into the living room, throwing it on her lap.
“That’s what you’ve done.”
She stared up at me, unshed tears glimmering in her eyes. "Read," I ordered her, and her eyes on me, she slowly lifted the phone. I watched her reaction carefully, her eyes widening, her fingers trembling as they touched her lips in shock. She looked back at me, unable to speak.
I snatched the phone back and leaned into her once again, meeting her eye level. “Satisfied.”
“I-I don’t know what to make of that.”
“I’m putting my life on the line...for you!” I struggled with the urge to wrap my hands around her throat and just put an end to it all. This whole mess could just go away with a simple squeeze. Clenching my eyes shut, I forced myself to walk away once again, but she didn’t let me get far.
“Thank you,” she whispered, and my stride broke. Leaning onto the hallway wall, my head hung low, I now fought the urge to go to her. To let her in. But I couldn’t do that, or she’d literally destroy me.
I'd been numb for so many years, I'd forgotten what it meant to love. I abhorred that notion. It was a sick twisted story that weak-minded people made up to satisfy their loneliness. Soul mates did not exist, neither did true love. It was all just a tormented tale created by the sorrowful to get through their suffering. I never wanted to love. I saw how it destroyed everyone around me, how it manipulated and blinded people. How it murdered. I watched as my brother bled out in the kitchen after being stabbed by his wretched ex-wife after a jealous fight. I witnessed my father shoot my mother in the head over not finding his keys, and then how he wept by her side after he realized what he'd done.
Love was selfish and all it left was destruction in its wake. I swore to never fall in love, or let anyone fall in love with me, but this woman...this Rose. She had this sweetness about her that disgusted me, yet I couldn’t keep away from her. Nobody could be that sweet, that kind. In my eyes, she was a fucking Saint, and I wanted to ruin her. I wanted to dwell in her pain and teach her that evil resides even in her. I wanted to let her demons out to play with them. Because no one could be that perfect. Everyone had a breaking point. I just needed to find hers.
If she was to be mine, then she’d have to find out sooner or later that some men... some men, just don’t deserve love. Some men live and breathe in the shadows of death and destruction, and if she wanted to survive me, she’d have to be taught that lesson the hard way.
I'd given up my freedom for her. And now she'd have to pay the cost of that fee. Everything was paid while here on earth, and I was going to collect. My obsession with Rose Blackthorne was an unwanted hindrance. She'd come into my life to play havoc with it, but she wasn't going to win. I was going to force her to her knees, and I was going to enjoy her fight.
7
ROSE
Two weeks had passed, and they had been mostly filled with silence or contempt. He seemed angry at me, but mostly with himself. It was a game of cat and mouse and it was clear who the cat was. I didn't dare speak, let alone move for fear of his bite. If I asked a question, he'd get angry, and if I didn't eat it would only enrage him further until he'd lock me up in my room leaving me without food for the rest of the day.
Today, he’d finally come out of that back room he locked himself in. I wondered what was in there that kept him entertained for so many hours. He rarely came out, only to eat or sleep, and he forbade me from going anywhere near there. Not that I wanted to. Whatever he was into I wanted no part of.
I still didn't know his name, but at this point, it didn't matter. Whoever he was, he was protecting me from something. After that night, there was no mention of our sexual encounter. On the contrary, he kept away from me, hiding away in his cave. I didn't mind it, spent most of my time going through the books he had in his library. He liked classic literature like Kerouac, Burgess, and Poe and I spent hours lost in those lonely and twisted stories. It kept me from going mad with cabin fever. He allowed me a walk twice a week down the trail through the woods, but lately, it had been snowing heavily and I hadn't had a chance to go out. My head was still filled with those erotic dreams that had me waking up in the middle of the night moaning, needing to call out his name. My thoughts were absurd, and I wondered what was wrong with me. Maybe too many dark reads, or maybe I should have stopped drinking wine at night. I just couldn’t pinpoint my desperate need for a connection...with him.
I was staring out the window, wishing I was somewhere else, when he entered the room.
“I’m going into town.”
My eyes lit up and I sat up, hoping he’d invite me. “Don’t look at me like that. You’re not going anywhere.”
“But I need…”
“Make me a list, I’ll bring you what you need.”
“But some of these items are personal.”
“More personal than your eyes on my dick,” he sneered.
I wondered why he was so angry. Maybe if I could just get him to open up to me. "Give me your damn list. There's a snowstorm coming, and I need to get us some food and supplies."
“Do you think…” I stared at the books in the corner and his eyes followed my own.
“What?”
“Do you think you can get me some books? It’s the only way I could get through this.”
He paused for a long moment. “Write down what you want. I’ll see what I can find.”
I smiled brightly at him, but he quickly turned away from me. I wish I could see his smile just once, but I was now used to onl
y seeing his rigid jaw and cold gaze. I quickly put together a list of items including romance books, and as much as it made me blush, I needed underwear and tampons, a new shampoo, and a new sweater. I wore the sweatshirts and pants he’d given me, but a pair of jeans would be nice.
I handed him my list and he skimmed through it, folding it and tucking it into the front pocket of his leather jacket.
“I’ll be back in a few hours. Do not open that door or let anyone in that isn’t me. No one knows this place exists, and no one should come around here asking questions. Do. You. Understand?”
“Y-yes…” I gasped as he turned to me, his hand wrapping around my throat.
“If you leave, I will find you. And when I do, I will kill you.”
I stared at him, his eyes penetrating, every word filled with hatred. I realized that hatred was aimed towards me, and a deep sadness filled my heart. I’d never felt that from someone before. I never hurt anyone enough for them to hate me. So why did he?
Releasing me, he walked out, and without another word, he slammed the door shut. It took me a second as I blinked back into reality. I was finally alone.
What if I did take the chance and I ran?
But what if he went through with his word?
Would he truly kill me?
The thought made me shudder, and as I looked over my shoulder towards that back office, I figured this was my only chance to find out who he was. Taking a dull knife off the table, I headed towards the back room. I remembered something I’d seen in a movie and using the blade, I slid it down between the door and doorframe until I hit the latch. Jiggling it, I was able to wedge it at the edge of the bolt and place pressure on it until the latch moved inward and the bolt slid out of the door jam. It took me a few long tedious minutes, but the door suddenly swung open. Reaching into the side of the wall, I switched on the light and was met with dozens of cameras. Each one was pointed in different directions along the trail and towards the woods, one was focused on the back door that led to the lake. I stared at the twelve screens, trying to see where they led, there were some locations I didn’t recognize, others streets I’d walked before. He had surveillance everywhere.
I sat down in front of his laptop and I slowly opened it. Of course, it needed a code. I bit down on my thumbnail, thinking about how I could get in, but I wasn't computer savvy, not to the hacking extreme. I looked down, searching around the desk, and in a far back section, I discovered a small silver flash drive. The label on it filled me with dread.
One simple word.
Rose.
Flipping it open, I turned to one of the screens. There was another computer that controlled the monitors and I quickly stuck the flash drive in the USB port. Instantly, images of me filled the screens. I gasped at what I was watching. It was me, back at the apartment. My gut was right all along. I was being watched.
I sat there, stunned by the scenes that encompassed my eyes. In one I was in the shower, in another I was lying in bed reading a book. This was weeks of being surveilled, and as I took in the different moments of my lonely life, a tear escaped down my cheek. This man had been watching me, but why?
Suddenly, on the screen appeared a dark figure, all covered in black. My eyes glued to the screen, I watched in suspense as that figure entered my room while I was sleeping. My hand crept up to my lips as I cried out. The things he was doing to me while I was asleep.
How could someone be so vile, so lecherous?
I thought I'd met evil with Vadik, but this went beyond that. I shook as I watched the perversions that were unknowingly done to my body, my life shattered into a million different pieces.
"What are you doing here? " I jumped at his growl, knocking the chair over in my haste.
"How did you get in?"
He looked over at the cameras and then back at me. “I asked you a question!”
“Wh-who are you?” I trembled as I spoke, backing up to the wall.
“How the fuck did you get in here?”
“Who sent you?” I question was rhetorical. I knew the answer without him having to say it. He was one of them. One of the ones sent to kill me.
He slammed his fist down on the table, his head lowering as the screens above him filled with the sounds of my whimpers. I stared at the video, not knowing what to do. It almost felt like a tiny part of me had died.
“You did that to me?” I whispered accusingly. “How dare you?”
He turned to me, rage in his eyes. “You were not meant to live! I saved you!”
“You raped me!” I screamed.
His eyes went large and he snarled as he lunged at me. I turned and ran down the hallway only to be slammed up against the wall, his forearm pressed against my throat.
“Did you think I was a hero?”
"I didn't know what to think. But I never thought you were a monster!"
A conniving smile formed on his handsome face and fear settled deep down inside of me. “I am a monster, Rose. I am your monster.”
He looked nearly crazed as he leaned into me, his lips barely inches from mine. "And you, you belong to me."
“N-no. No!”
I struggled against him, but he was bigger and stronger than I was. Raising my knee, I managed to make contact with his groin and he grunted, falling to the floor. I turned to run but he grabbed me by the leg, tripping me, I fell hard, busting my lip open, and tasting copper on my tongue. He twisted me around and I struggled to get out of his grasp, but he yanked me down across the floor like a rag doll.
“You either cooperate, or you die,” he growled as he pinned my hands above me. “You owe me a life of freedom, Rose. And you will pay me back for that with yours.”
I struggled once again, twisting and trying to get him off me, but it was of no use, and in desperation, I let out a shrill scream.
“Why would you save me? Why?”
He chuckled, sarcasm pouring from his voice. “I saved you from a killer, but you were never safe from me.”
I stared up into those black pools of nothingness. “Are you going to kill me?”
“I suppose if I am, then I might as well make it an interesting kill.”
“Why?” I asked, pitifully.
“Because that was what I was hired to do, Rose. And as you can see, if it isn’t me, there will be someone else to take my place.”
“You’re a murderer.”
He nodded. “A contracted gunman, but you can call me whatever you want. I won’t deny it.”
“What is your name?”
“Why do you want to know?”
“Because I deserve to know the name of the man who will be taking my life.”
He looked down at me, searching for something in my eyes. “Jake.”
A tear escaped down my cheek and I swallowed back a sob. “I’m a good person, Jake. I don’t deserve this.”
“I know. And I hate him for that.”
“Don’t kill me. I beg you.”
He gripped my wrists tight, dropping his head. All I could do at that moment was beg, beg as I was filled with the knowledge that monsters do exist.
8
JAKE
“Why are you doing this? All you have to do is let me go.”
“Shut up,” I growled as I finished securing her hands to the headboard.
“I didn’t mean to witness what I did. I swear I won’t say a word. Tell them. Tell him I won’t speak.”
Gripping her chin, I forced her to look at me. Her voice quivered as she begged, and I hated it. I hated that she was afraid of me. I hated that she was so damn innocent. I hated that I couldn't let her go because, in the end, I wanted her for me.
“I said shut up!”
I finished tying her up and then stared down at her. She looked pale and scared as she lay there. Her breaths coming in soft puffs of air, her eyes wide and frightened as she looked up at me.
“What are you going to do with me?”
I didn't say a word. Instead, I took my gun out from the hols
ter at my back, and I lay it on my knee. Her eyes fell to it. I stroked the barrel as she watched me.
“Have you ever handled one of these?” I whispered in the dark.
"Never," she whimpered as I pressed the barrel to her temple, slowly letting it slide down her soft cheek, outlining her slender neck. The gun wasn't loaded, but she didn't know that. All she knew was that I had every ounce of control, and that's how I liked it. Trailing the steel barrel down to the neckline of her sweater, I grimaced. I yanked the sweatshirt up, my cock getting swollen at the sight of her two teardrop-shaped tits. I traced the large pink areolas with the tip of the gun, teasing her. I love the way her body trembled beneath the steel touch, her tits slightly swaying, the nipples pebbling up before my eyes.
I leaned into her and staring into her eyes, I gripped the waistband of her pants, sweeping it off her legs. She cried out, turning her head away from me.
“You think you have all the power, don’t you?” I asked her as I caressed her thighs, the dark mound of hair that covered her pussy stared back at me, tempting me.
“I-I don’t have anything,” she sobbed, and I gripped her knees, spreading them apart.
She tried closing them and I lifted the gun to her lips, tracing them slowly. “Spread your legs,” I ordered her and slowly, carefully, she did what I asked of her.
I was lost in her, it was inevitable. I’d been staying away from her, fighting the urges I had to make her mine, but my craving for her was insatiable, and at the same time I hated the feeling.
“I don’t want this,” I leaned my forehead into hers, clenching my eyes shut.
Raising the gun, I pressed it to her lips. “Open.”
She obeyed, like the good girl she was, and I slid the cold steel of the barrel into her wet mouth. In and out, slowly I fucked her with it, and when it was nice and wet, I slid it down her body.
Her body shook while her eyes never left the gun. She was a strong flower and I loved that fire that built up inside of her. I pressed the barrel to her cunt, and her lips parted as my thumb grazed her clit. She quivered beneath my touch and I smiled to myself.
Leave Me Breathless: The Black Rose Collection Page 25
