Page 7 of Lord of Ruin

That’s all that was on my mind. Not saving my life.

Not the fact he was a killer.

Just getting away.

I kicked and squirmed, almost managing to pull away from his hold but he was too fast for me.

“To hell with you!” My screech was short lived when he slapped his hand over my mouth to keep me quiet.

Breathe. Relax. Breathe. Relax.

The rush of adrenaline was finally wearing off, leaving me in a state of horrific terror and nothing else. He slowly lowered his body over mine, his weight nearly crushing me.

“While I appreciate the fear you have, the concern from what you witnessed, I’m losing patience with you. Here’s what we’re going to do. You’re going to accept your punishment like a good girl without trying shit like that again, or the punishment I dole out will be much, much worse. Do I make myself clear?”

I’ll be damned if his voice wasn’t soothing, giving me a strange sense of being protected instead of threatened. I was driven into a fog, incapable of speaking until he shook me, growling in my ear.

“Do. I?”

“Yes,” I barely got out, shaking like a leaf.

“Good girl. We start over.”

He continued kneading my skin for a couple of minutes before returning to the spanking, strikes hitting my upper thighs as well as directly across my sit spot. I was worried about how the scrubs would feel on my naked ass instead of whether or not I would get out of here alive.

It was obvious my priorities weren’t on straight, or I was prepared to believe this brutal assailant that he wasn’t planning on killing me.

My breathing became more scattered, the pain growing as fast as my arousal as he brought the belt down six additional times. Maybe it was the whooshing sound or the crack of his wrist that really got to me.

I wasn’t certain how many more he’d issued but all I could do was concentrate on my breathing, the sound the belt made as it sliced across my skin.

At some point, I was no longer moving at all, accepting this as if it was a normal situation. The only thing I could control was to try to keep from hyperventilating. I needed to remember every detail.

“That should do it, princess. Now, you’re going to fix me up like I told you to do. I’ll repeat myself, which is something I do not like to do. Don’t try anything again or the next punishment will be something you won’t like. Do you understand me?”

I was shaking all over, unable to push myself away. “Ye… Yes. Yes. Okay? I’ll help you.”

The assailant seemed to know I was having difficulty, helping me to a standing position. I took several deep breaths, clenching my eyes shut as he even acted gentlemanly, yanking up my sweatpants. Then I’ll be damned if the bastard didn’t pat my ass like he was telling me I’d been a good little girl.

He backed away, giving me space, grabbing the things from the floor and placing them on one edge of the table. While I eyed the other scalpel, I decided I’d prefer to try to live, and the only way of doing that was to dig the bullet out. Well, maybe I could exact a little revenge while doing so and twist the sharp blade inside his shoulder.

I heard a rustling sound, which forced me to turn around. He was painfully removing his shirt, wincing as he pulled it over his head.

That’s the moment that all time really seemed to stop as his bare chest came into view. I’d seen gorgeous men at the gym before, men who spent time honing their muscles. I’d also seen one too many who’d been so bulked up they looked like a comic book hero, but this man was a perfect in between. Every muscle in his chest and arms was sculpted to perfection, as if the Greek god I’d thought about had offered him the finest granite to build his body’s infrastructure.

In addition, his chest and upper arms were covered in the most colorful tattoos I’d ever seen, beautiful artwork that must have taken days or weeks to complete. I allowed my gaze to roam, to bask in his utter beauty until the bastard seemed to notice.

He chuckled and flexed his muscles on purpose but that started the blood flowing in earnest from the bullet wound.

“Stop that unless you want to bleed out in my clinic and I won’t take very kindly to that. Now, sit on the table. Do you want me to give you a painkiller or shoot you up with drugs to put you to sleep?” Sure, I was being crude, but I had a feeling what his answer would be.

“That won’t be necessary, sweetheart. I’ve been through a lot worse. Just get on with it. Although you wouldn’t happen to have any liquor in this place. Would you?”

“What does this look like, a bar?” A small level of defiance had returned and I bit my tongue because of it as I walked toward the sink. I was tempted not to wash my hands but even after what had occurred, I couldn’t live with myself if he developed sepsis. God. I was exhausted and nuts.

He chuckled all over again as I grabbed some paper towels. “What’s your name?”

“Do you want my address and social security number too so you can keep tabs on me? Maybe come to my house late one night and finish the job, eliminating a witness?” Great. Let’s just push every button and see what happens.

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