Page 43 of Darkest Deeds

“I have a high tolerance for things, but to put it bluntly, you fucking stink.” Horrified, I tilt my head back to tell him he doesn’t smell like a bed of roses either when he holds up a hand. “I also can’t have you cutting yourself on broken glass and bleeding to death one day into our time together, now can I?”

I shrug. “It’d be easier.”

“Ava, I’m not negotiating anything with you. What I say goes. When I ask you to do something, you do it. If you don’t…” His voice trails off, and I risk a glance up at him. The sparkle in his silver eyes is gone.

“If I don’t?”

“That’s a question you don’t want me to answer,” he calmly answers.

I believe him.

“Now, first thing’s first.” Fear grips me as Niko produces a knife from his pocket and pops the blade. Before I can muster the energy to scream, he shifts toward my feet and slices through the tie binding my ankles. The relief of being able to move them is almost enough to make me cry, but when he circles around and cuts the one restraining my hands, I slump forward in a mix of gratitude and fury.

“So, thanks for tying me up like a Thanksgiving turkey,” I say, climbing to my knees. “That was fun for six or twelve hours. Since I offend you so much, kindly point me toward the shower, and I’ll…wait…what are you…Niko, no!”

I fight like a rabid bear as Niko pulls out another zip tie and tugs my wrists in front of me. In my weakened state, I’m no match for him, and within thirty seconds he has my hands bound.

I only have one question. “Why?”

“Because letting you move freely around this house takes trust, pchelka, and that’s something I lack the ability to do now.”

I stare down at my freshly bound hands. “How do you expect me to clean myself like this?”

“I don’t.”

Glancing up, I see the same unapologetically primal heat in his eyes I saw last night. My heart slams against my chest as Niko picks me up in his arms and carries me into the bathroom. Without a word, he sits me on the pale granite counter while he opens the glass door to the shower and turns on the water. When he returns, I steal a sharp inhale.

“I’m the only reason you took that breath, Ava.” He grips my chin, forcing my eyes on him. “There was a contract put out on your life. I accepted the job, and that’s why you’re sitting here. If it had been anyone else, you’d be dead.”

“Why?” It seems to be the only word I can manage.

He laughs. “I’m not your hero, sweetheart. I spent two years locked in that torture hole your father calls a prison because of you. I had every intention of choking the life out of you last night.” I lower my chin, but he tilts it back up. “But then you said my name. You touched me, and all I could see was the beautiful, innocent girl who promised she loved me. So many broken promises.”

A tear rolls down my cheek. “I kept my promise. Even when…when…” I shake my head. “You left me, Niko!”

“You forced me to!”

“I had no choice!”

“It doesn’t matter now. I own you now, Ava. You’re going to surrender your freedom. When I tell you to do something, you do it. No questions. No arguments. No crying. Do you understand me?”

I swallow. That’s all he’ll get. If this is the way it’s to be, then fine. He’ll have my submission, but he’ll never get another drop of my tears.

“I understand.”

“Good. Now, hands above your head.” I stare at him a second too long, and his jaw ticks. Remembering his warning, I quickly swing my arms up and hold them. Steam fills the room, but it’s not too thick that I can’t see the glint of the blade as it comes closer to my neck.

I hate myself for the immediate spike in my pulse. This twinge of anticipation is perverse. I bow my head, willing the reaction to fade.

What comes next won’t be kind, but I’ll obey every command in order to gain his trust. This devil blessed with an angel’s face bends my will while weakening my resolve, but playing his game is the only way to win.

I know freedom isn’t free.

I just wish I didn’t crave paying the price.

Niko grabs the top of my T-shirt in one hand and slices the knife down the front of it with the other. He nods toward my hands, and I lower my arms. Pulling what’s left of the shirt off my shoulders, he quickly cuts the sleeves, and it falls to the floor. The only thing I have left are my panties, and I know they won’t be there for long.

The steam is thicker now, so much that I can barely see Niko’s face. But I can hear the change in his breathing. What was once even is now heavy and ragged. The sounds come closer as the steel blade slips under the thin string on my hip, and with a jerk of his wrist, the sharp edge slices through it. He does the same to the other side, and I hear a click as the blade closes.

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