Page 15 of Absentia Mori

She inhales a deep breath when I remove the weights from her belly. “Why are you stopping?”

I arch an eyebrow at her. “You want me to keep hurting you?”

She raises her hips slightly, pressing them against my thighs. “No.”

Fuck.

Sheisturned on. I thought it was an act, but her nipples are so fucking hard. And the way she’s wiggling her hips underneath me…

I stare at her lips, noticing how the bottom one is quivering. I bet she tastes so fucking sweet. No. No. No. I can’t let her suck me in with her bullshit. She’s a vapid socialite with no regard for anyone else.

I lean down, brushing my chest against hers and almost cum from the tickle of her nipples against mine. I sweep her hair to the side and breathe heavily onto her neck. “Your tricks don’t work on me, princess,” I whisper in her ear right before I bite it.

She screams. “Fuck. What the actual fuck?”

I laugh as I taste blood and poison on my lips. Despite not having a dose for however long she’s been in here, the toxin still races through her veins. “Stop trying to seduce me. I’m not interested. Without all your fancy clothes and makeup, you’re just another cheap slut.”

Her cheeks flush, and she looks away. “Fuck you, Mordecai.”

A slight twinge of regret sits in my gut as soon as I say it. It’s a low fucking blow. Especially since I think she looks betterwithout all that crap on her face. But I can’t have her strutting around Absentia Asylum like she owns the place the way she did back at Tenebrose. I can’t allow her to walk all over me and the guys.

But I drive in another nail because I can’t fucking help myself. “Nah. I’d rather fuck Gormon.” I untie her wrists and toss her tank top at her chest.

She doesn’t look at me. She streaks her tank top red as she slips it back on, unfazed by the gaping wound on her earlobe. “I can’t believe I actually felt sorry for you for a moment. I won’t make that mistake again.”

She stalks out of the gym without a backward glance. A victory for me. So why do I feel like shit?

“Who did this to you, Miss Doe?” Dr. Hall sits across from me in the infirmary while a squirrely-looking nurse disinfects my earlobe.

“No one.” I’m a lot of things, but a snitch isn’t one of them.

She and the nurse exchange a look. “Well, then I’ll have to assume you did this to yourself. Which means I’ll have to place you on a suicide watch for twenty-four hours.”

I shrug. I’m not going to give this woman any reaction other than boredom. The same way I handled all the greedy boarding school professors all my life. They act like they’re concerned about my education, but in reality, they just wanted a poison hookup or for my father to fund a new wing for their department.

Dr. Hall nods at the nurse, and he sticks a syringe in my arm without warning.

“Ow! What the fuck?”

“It’s a sedative. To make sure you don’thurtyourself again. You know, Miss Doe, you’ll find this place much more agreeable when you start cooperating.”

Fuck.

I roll my eyes just as the effects of the medicine start kicking in. “I’ll cooperate when you stop calling me aJane Doeand admit that you know exactly who I really am.”

Dr. Hall averts her gaze to the paperwork in her lap. “Still delusional,” she murmurs to herself as she begins scribbling down her notes.

Now I see why she sedated me. I’m fucking fuming. If I were at full strength, I’d leap off the table at her.

“You and I both know… I’m… Lib Thorn,” I slur as the drug pulls me under. “I will get out of here… And when I do… kill. You.”

I lay back on the table, still conscious but unable to move my limbs. Fuck.

I hear a buzzing sound followed by a door opening. Heavy footsteps barrel in.

“Get her back to her room and strap her in. I want her locked up for twenty-four hours,” Dr. Hall orders.

I’m straining to hear more, but it’s muffled. I swear she said…We will break her. No. Fuck. Please let me get out of here. For the love of the ravens,please.

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