Page 82 of The Harbinger

Sacha whirled me around and straddled my naked hips. “Where do you think you’re going?”

The box wasn’t far—close enough to give me hope but far enough to be useless.

“Please, Sacha.”

“That’s what I want to hear.” He peeled off his shirt, displaying the colored tattoos dancing across his muscles like living pictures. “Beg for me to protect you from every depraved thought I have about you.”

“Sacha. Stop. Look at me.” I raised my hands to his cheeks, reasoning with him. “You don’t have to do this. I’m sorry.”

“But it’s so much fun when you rebel.” He kissed the palm of my hand. “Look at what we get to do now.” He grabbed his buckle, and I darted my hands over my head, searching blindly for the box.

A thin sheet of sweat broke across my forehead as his fingers paused over his belt, his gaze trailing up my body until they reached my outstretched, searching hands. “Are you looking for something,milaya?”

“Just let me go.”

He reached behind his back, and with one quick motion, he pulled the knife I’d hidden away out to the side. The metal glinted in the light like in the slasher movies before the villain plunged the dagger into the victim’s chest.

He had it all along?

“You want to use this on me, don’t you, Mia?”

I shook my head and pressed my hands between us as though I had any chance of stopping him. “No. You’re scaring me, is all. I don’t want to hurt you.”

“There’s one difference among many between us.” He grabbed my wrist and forced the knife into my hand, his strong fingers encompassing the handle as he held it in place. “Iwantto hurtyouand feed off your fear. I want to feel you tremble beneath my touch.“ He placed the pointed end on his chest. “Don’t you want to feel it with me,milaya?”

“No.“ I shook my head as the knife dimpled his pectoral muscle. “Why are you doing this?”

“Do I need a reason?” He squeezed my fingers until one popped beneath the strain, sending a short burst of pain that resided with a single breath. “Do it, Mia. End me and go back to your life on the streets, where drugs give you sustenance, and your life fizzles out on the side of a shadowed road.” A rouge bead spilled over the end of the knife as he leaned into it, burying the tip into his skin with a sickening pop. “I’ll even buy you the ticket. My card is in my back pocket.”

I pulled back with all my might, but I was no match for his strong frame.

“What do you want from me?” A tear rolled down my temples.

In a flash, Sacha’s hands released mine as he held his arms wide, giving me all the power. “I told you… to devour your soul.”

My hands shook as I kept the knife embedded in his skin, the panic of making the wrong move settled inside me as I contemplated my options, pushing aside the voices feeding me various scenarios.

I could do as he said, end him—right here, right now, and buy myself a ticket home. But where was home, and what would I do when I got there? Were the police looking for me?

What if I stayed here?

“Tick tock,milaya.”

My trembling, sweat-soaked hand slid forward with a jolt, and I hissed as the knife cut into the fleshy part of my palm. Barbed pain fragmented out as a warm dribble of blood trickled from my wrist to elbow, dripping onto my bare abdomen.

A deafening crash came from the other room, sending my already tense muscles into overdrive. My injured hand jerked downward, and Sacha grunted. The veins in his throat bulged as he looked toward the ceiling, his teeth clenched tight. Blood seeped down his chest, over his tattooed nipple and stomach.

I gasped. “I’m…”

He tipped his head back down, his eyes filled with amity. My trembling fingers loosened over the handle, and it slipped from my hands. Sacha lashed out, catching the knife before it plummeted onto my belly.

“Sachok?”Katya called out.

Our gazes collided, and a low growl of irritation charged the air around us as I stared at the white, bleeding flesh peeking out of the deep gash I’d caused.

I’d caused him to bleed...

My heart skittered to a catastrophic halt. I’d made him bleed, yet he wasn’t angry?

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