Page 17 of Hearts Of Darkness

“Not with you.Neverwith you.” I tense and wait for the bedsheet to be ripped from my body again.

“Then I’ll save that pleasure for later. Have a drink with me, instead.”

It’s more of a statement than a question.

He circles the bed and parts the mosquito net to show me the bottle of wine in his hand. Taking my stunned silence as approval, he drops the net, and I hear the sound of liquid being poured into a glass.

“Up,” he orders, taking a key from his jeans pocket and walking over to the balcony doors with two glasses of red in his hand. The same damn doors he’s kept me locked behind like an animal for days.

Holding fast to my plan, I rise from the bed to knot the white sheet across my breasts and follow him outside. As soon as I cross the threshold, my eyelids flutter shut in bliss.

Freedom.

Not caring if he’s watching, I tip my head back and gulp in great mouthfuls of the salty sea air while relishing the sensation of the night on my skin. It’s a welcome reprieve from my cage, no matter how temporary, and it’s a grave mistake on his part. I’m feeling stronger, bolder, and more determined than ever to get the hell out of here alive.

“Take it.”

He hands me my wine. I accept it without thanks. He can take what he wants from me, but he still doesn’t deserve my manners. I neglect to tell him I don’t drink. That it’s just a prop for this part he’s making me play.

Shuffling over to the edge of the balcony, I glance down at the drop on the other side. I reckon I could make it without too many broken bones.

My captor follows my gaze and laughs. “Oh, I wouldn’tbother. You’ll soon find your options are limited.”

My cheeks flush, more from anger than embarrassment. For a fleeting moment, I consider the unthinkable of taking my chances in the wilderness instead of spending another second here with him.

I’m losing focus.

Think about Ryan.

But the only memory that springs to mind is of my brother teasing me for being so serious all the time. For being the good girl. For following the rules. For living my life so far from the parameters of reckless that I barely exist anymore.

“We’re celebrating,” I hear him say, holding his glass up to mine. There’s a sharpclinkas they collide, more from his doing than mine.

There’s a crude, primitive look on his face. I’ve seen it once before after my father returned home from hunting last year. He’s a predator fresh from the kill. Wherever he’s been for the last few days has proved rewarding for him, and he wants me to applaud his success.

“Your parents are alive.” He watches my reaction carefully. “Your father is awake, and your mother escaped with minor cuts and bruises. I sent someone to check on them, so raise a glass to me, my angel,” he adds with an edge to his voice. “It’s time to loosen up. Here’s to irritations, big and small.” He drinks deeply, never taking his eyes off me.

“Let me go to them,” I say quietly. “Let me see for myself.”

“No.” His expression darkens. He expected gratitude from me, not more conflict. “You wanted to know if they’re still alive. Isn’t this the information you’ve been pining for? Forget them,mi alma,” he says with a dismissive wave.“They’ll learn to forget you too, soon enough.” He drains his drink, reaches forthe bottle, and then pours himself another.

“I willneverforget my parents, and they willneverforget me!” Lava courses through my veins at his careless words. “How dare you try and dismiss them from my life. What gives you the right?”

“Theright?” He has the audacity to laugh at me. “Haven’t you already figured it out, Eve, or do you require another two days of nothing but bread and isolation? I dictate the rules in this world.”

“You won’t erase my family from my thoughts. I won’t let you!”

“Who says you have a choice?”

His lips twist. His mood switches. He tosses his wine glass away, and it smashes against the side of the balcony.

He comes for me then… Tall, handsome, intimidating as hell. He grabs the back of my hair and tilts my chin upward, tugging away the bedsheet at the same time.

“Did you think that throwing me tidbits would change things?” I gasp out, covering myself as best I can with my arms and hands. “You’ve kept me caged with no clothes, barely any food… Go on then, fuck me. But you’ll never have my respect or my desire.”

He laughs again and shakes his head. “We’ll have to agree to disagree on that. Do you think I don’t feel the way your body quivers whenever I touch you, or how you moan ecstasy into my mouth whenever I play with youhere?” He pinches my left nipple between his thumb and his forefinger, and I wince in pain. “Your body betrays you, time and time again, Eve Miller. But you’re right about one thing… Iamgoing to fuck you.”

He grabs me by my wrist and drags me inside, ripping open the mosquito net and hurling me onto the bed. By the timeI recover, he’s already naked and climbing in next to me. I try to bolt to one side, but he tips me onto my back and pins my lower body to the mattress with his hips.

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