Page 12 of Malevolent King

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I losttrack of how far we traveled that day. The woods weren’t particularly dense outside Trenton. The De Sanctis compound lay in a dead area, with nothing more than small towns dotted around it. Trenton, to the west, was the biggest civilian area. Despite that, we stayed hidden inside its dense greenery and far from civilization. I’d always been more at home in the forest than in the city.

Night fell as I tugged Sofia through the woods after me. Her hands were tied in front of her now, and I’d placed another gag of soft cotton pulled from the bottom of my t-shirt to prevent her from screaming if she thought she heard other people walking in the woods.

For the last hour, she’d been quiet.

When it got too dark to move on, I led her down into a shadowed underpass. The road above was larger than anything else we’d come close to so far. Sofia perked up when she saw cars passing far above us. Then she caught my smirk and scowled.

“They say hope dies last,” I mocked, tugging her down the small hill into the dip. It stank like gutter water and piss. “Here, we’ll sleep here. I’m sure it’s not quite up to your standards, but it’ll do to get us out of the wind.”

I pulled at the sides of her gag.“Scream or complain, and it goes back on,” I told her sternly before tugging it down.

“You’re a fucking lunatic,” she spit at me, immediately ignoring my warning in her anger.

I tutted and brought my thumb to her mouth, sliding it over her puffy lips and bringing the blood back. “Can’t say I didn’t warn you.” I brought the gag back toward her.

“No, stop, don’t put it on. I won’t speak,” she pleaded. Maybe the thought of sitting all night with her mouth stuffed with dry cotton was too much to bear.

I raised my eyebrow at her. “Is that right? You’ll behave?”

She nodded.

I tugged on the length of rope leashing her to me. “Say it and make me believe it.”

“I’ll behave,” she said through bared teeth.

“You’ll be a good girl for me.” I waited expectantly.

“You’ll be a good girl for me,” she parroted, word for word.

I chuckled. “Try again, and make it good, because I’m not seeing a reason this shouldn’t go right back in your smart little mouth.”

“I’ll be a good girl for you,” she murmured.

“Say my name. Tell me you’ll be a good girl for me, and say my name. I like how it sounds in your mouth,” I prompted. Now I was just fucking with her and enjoying every minute.

Blowing out a breath, she met my eyes. “I’ll be a good girl for you, Nikolai. Please let me.”

Desire drop-kicked me in the cock.

“Very nice,lastochka. Beautiful.” I brought a hand to her hanging hair and tucked a lock behind her ear. The moonlight glinted off something glass in the distance, tucked between the trees, a good fifty meters from the road.

A small shack. I’d always had the luck of the devil.

“Come on, prom queen. Let’s see if we can find you somewhere a little more private to sleep.”

I rapped on the door,and we waited. Down on the road, a few cars passed, too far away to see me and my captive standing halfway up the rise to the right of the road. I took my knife in hand and jimmied the lock after another minute of silence.

Sofia was staring at the road below longingly. When the door opened, she frowned at me. “It was open?”

“Of course not.” I stepped into the cabin and searched for a light. “I have the magic touch. Don’t worry, I’ll show you later.”

Sofia let out an adorable huff that she probably thought I couldn’t hear. I tugged her into the room. It seemed like a ranger station or hunting cabin. It was filthy, neglected, and smelled like death. But it beat the underpass. It had a small camping stove, a one-person table, and a sagging single bed in the corner. There was a grate for a fire and a boarded-up window at the back.

I looked around, taking stock, and nodded. “It’ll do. Don’t tell me I never take you anywhere nice.”

The entire place was neglected, from the cobwebs in the corner to the thick layer of dust on the table. “Why don’t you dust this place off a little?”

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