Page 67 of Tempest

I read all about her ordeal. My gift with computers allows me a shit ton of access on the dark web and boring legalese memos and police databases. The reports, the investigation, the pre-trial papers before a plea deal was made—I absorbed everything in full detail, what they did to her. How they threatened, stripped, and laid her bare, starved her for days, fed her water from a dog bowl, and made her sleep in rat shit.

And she still wants these guys?

No, I’m not buying it—

My dick sure is, though.

I’m so turned on, it hurts, and there are two other men in this room who very much shouldn’t be.

Looking at Ardyn’s wet, plump lips and hearing her moan—I realize that I don’t need backup. I never fucking did.

“Goddamn, she’s up for it. When do we get a turn?” Hunter asks. He’s off to the side, close to the apothecary chest with itchy fingers. All he wants is to take out his ritual gear and throw us an orgy as the Goat King.

I sneer at him with my hand still very much where it should be. “She’s mine.”

Hunter angles his head, his eyes gleaming along with the apothecary jars behind him. “I thought we agreed—”

“Plans change. Go upstairs and keep a lookout for partiers who’ve strayed too far from where they belong.” I glance over at Rio, who stands at the base of the stairs with his arms folded bodyguard style, yet even he can’t disguise his slack-jawed surprise as he listens to Ardyn hump my hand.

Rio responds with a curt nod. He’s heard me, yet he keeps staring toward Ardyn, at her perfect body, stark white against this dimly lit, cobwebbed room. Pure beauty against filth. Her long hair flows down almost to her tied hands. Her shoulders are so wrenched back, her breasts are pulled up, the nipples hard and wanting from my sharp ministrations earlier.

“Dude,” I bark.

In less than a second, I’ve decided no one is allowed to look at her that way. Like she’s hot and bothered for them.

Rio jolts. “Sure, yeah. Hey, you, get over here,” he adds for Hunter’s benefit, wisely refraining from names. I can’t be so certain about Hunter, and I’m glad when he stands to attention and strides over to Rio. Not before licking his lower lip at the sight of Ardyn as he passes.

“I will beat your face in so fucking hard you’ll think butterflies and bees are the same goddamned species,” I hiss.

Hunter’s brows go up, and he covers his mouth in mock fear. He has a death wish. He must.

Rio storms over, grabs Hunter by the back of the neck, and throws him toward the stairs. Hunter responds by ducking out of his grip and uppercutting Rio in the jaw.

“Yes, Nick, yes…”

Motherfucker. My stare returns to Ardyn, squirming and slickening my fingers to a concerning degree.

“Take it outside,” I warn the two idiots, then quickly return to more important matters. “What the fuck did you just call me?”

“That’s your name, isn’t it?” Ardyn whispers. Her head lowers, then centers on me. She’s blindfolded, yet she regards me like she can see exactly who I am. No, who he is.

“I know my fucking name,” I rasp. The names of her abductors are Terrance Smith, Michael Krakowski, and Nicholas Brewster.

I guess clarity comes at a price.

“Do you remember more than you claim, sweetheart?” I ask softly. Gently. Like a prowling cat approaching an unsuspecting mouse. “Are you a dirty liar?”

It’s meant as a whisper of warning. A slithering notion of what’s to come. Most of my victims piss their pants at this point. Ardyn, however, smiles. Tentatively, like she’s unsure just how deep into shit she’s stepping, but she’s committed to the stink.

Brave girl.

Brave, stupid princess.

“I’ve been thinking about you, Nick,” she coos. “And how the last night we spent together, you weren’t able to … you know … but you tried. And you promised you’d come back to finish what you started. I’m so glad you have.”

She’s shitting me. I pull my fingers out, ashamed to say I stare down at her, fucking gobsmacked.

“I’m so relieved you sent the other two away. It’s always been you and me. I’ve been working so hard to play the victim, just like you asked. To disguise our relationship through trauma and amnesia. Everyone believed me. Do you know how difficult it was to get my parents to let me come to Titan Falls? It took a year of full commitment in a glorified insane asylum. You owe me, baby. You owe me big.”

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