Page 9 of Soul Of A Villain

Her gaze frantically searched the room. And Oliver finally saw the color of her eyes when she found him standing silently in the doorway. Deep, dark gray. Fathomless and full of secrets and questions. Wide with terror. It was like gazing into approaching storm clouds while lightning illuminated the universe from the inside out.

A moan escaped her throat as she twisted away from the rough hands keeping her hostage. Was she more frightened of the men restraining her? Or was it the sight of her new owner that induced her panicked response?

“Hold her still,” Oliver instructed, his voice calm, although whatever he was experiencing in that moment, deep inside his gut, was far from rational. It went beyond possessiveness. Beyond ownership. It was something so wild, so fucking feral, it scared him. This girl… this girl was his. His from this very moment until she drew her last shuddering breath beneath him.His. “I want to seeeverythingI paid for.”

“She’s a goddamn handful, that’s for sure,” the taller of the two guards grunted as he pressed the girl down into the thick mattress, oblivious to the danger of his rough actions. “You see what she did to Carl? It’s why we had to cuff her again.”

“Has she been sedated?” Oliver asked, his lips tight. He already knew the answer. He just wanted confirmation.

“Yeah. Same stuff she was given at the auction. Should have tied her feet, too. Maybe even hogtied her. Just about kicked ol’ Rodney right in the balls when we got her out of the Jeep.” Carl grabbed the girl’s ankles, yanking them with such force that she cried out.

The pain woke her from the semi-conscious state. She began fighting, weak as a newborn kitten at first, then with increasing ferocity until she writhed against captivity like a wildcat. Teeth flashing, she snapped at anything that came close to her mouth. During the frenzied attack, she latched onto Carl’s forearm.

Letting out a sharp curse, Carl cuffed the girl’s temple with a meaty fist. She instantly went limp, her head lolling from the force of the blow.

“Fucking bitch! You gonna pull that shit again?” Carl bellowed at the unconscious girl, spittle flying from his mouth in his anger.

“Goddamn it, Carl,” Rodney swore, scowling up at his partner as he rolled the girl onto her back. He pushed the hair out of her face, assessing the damage. “How many times you gotta be told, you stupid asshole? Never hit them in or around the face.Never. No matter what. No matter how pissed off they make you.”

“Yeah, well, she deserved that and a hell of a lot more for all the trouble she’s caused.”

Oliver did not think. He let the fury sink in and drown him. He did not question his reaction or consider reining in the red-fueled rage swamping him. When the guard sank into a low chair, he quickly approached the distracted man from behind.

“Fucking bite me,” Carl grumbled as he examined the bloody wound, “and think you can get away with…”

In a flash, Oliver captured Carl’s head in his hands with a forearm caught beneath the man’s chin. One quick twist, a sickening crunch, and Carl slid from the chair to the floor in a motionless heap.

“Holy shit.” Rodney jumped off the bed, backing away from the girl’s prone body as Oliver advanced toward him. Hands raised in supplication, the look of terror on the guard’s face was comical. “Mister Winter… What the fuck? He shouldn’t have hit her, but goddamn, sir, you didn’t have to kill him.”

“On the contrary. It was an absolute necessity. That’s not the first time he struck her. While I had no right to object before, I certainly do now.” Oliver paused long enough to shove Carl’s lifeless body out of the way and fixed a stony glare on Rodney. “Now, I would advise you to get the fuck out of my cabin and take this piece of shit with you. And when you report this incident to the directors, let them know that I’ll happily explain why I killed the bastard who mistreated my property in front of me.”

“I-I understand, Mister Winter.” Rodney swallowed hard. “Can you help me move him?”

“I’m sure you can figure it out,” Oliver replied, shaking his head. “I suggest you get busy.”

It took Rodney nearly ten minutes to wrestle Carl’s body out of the cabin and loaded into the Jeep. Once the man was gone, Oliver pocketed the key to the handcuffs, set the security system, and returned to the bedroom.

The girl lay unmoving on the bed, her long, rich-brown hair streaming across the covers. Her eyes were still closed, her handcuffed hands resting on her bare stomach.

Oliver examined the bruising on her soft skin in the room’s soft lighting. Some marks, like the mottled red discoloration along her jaw, resulting from the scuffle with Lee Barlow in the woods. The darker ones, the purplish-yellow ones, must have occurred during the time leading up to the auction. But a few were so fresh, so vivid, they could only have happened during the transport to the cabin and into his custody.

“Fuck. I should have insisted on different guards,” Oliver muttered, disappointed in his lack of foresight. Why the abuse this girl had suffered bothered him so acutely was a mystery, but it couldn’t be ignored. If it wouldn’t have caused unwanted hassle, he probably would have exterminated the second guard for good measure. But that would not be overlooked by Diamond Lake Ranch. Murdering one was justifiable. Two? That was a reckless and foolish move he refused to take.

Showing restraint was surely a sign of his personal growth over the past year—an example of newfound rationality and maturity.

A rueful chuckle escaped Oliver. Mature? Yeah, possibly. But rational?

No fucking way.

ChapterSix

Oliver

Climbing onto the bed,Oliver straddled the girl and, with gentle fingers, examined the side of her face where Carl struck her.

The thought thatshe could have a concussion was mildly concerning, especially if she began exhibiting signs such as vomiting. It wasn’t ideal that she was still knocked out. He was no fucking doctor, but after a few moments, Oliver decided her unconscious state had more to do with sedation and extreme exhaustion. Obviously, she’d been through a lot over the last few days.

He smoothed a finger over her dark eyebrows. With impossibly long eyelashes and a perfectly shaped mouth, she possessed classically beautiful features. She was fucking stunning.

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