Page 4 of What Doesn't Kill Us

Dare is fucking huge. At a glance, you wouldn’t realize what a big guy he is, but when you’re wrestling with him on the floor, vying for dominance, you’ll know you’re out-matched rather quickly. I get in as many pot shots as I can, going for his eyes, a punch to the throat, then another to the kidney, but before I know it, I find myself pressed face down into the rug, his heavy breath in my ear as he growls, “That’s right, baby girl. I know you like it rough.”

I attempt to squirm beneath him, but it’s no use. The pressure of his body presses down even harder until I’m having difficulty breathing, so I snap my head up sharply, catching him on the cheek. He curses, then laughs as I snarl, “Get the fuck off me, you asshole.”

Adjusting his whole body over me, he presses one of his hands on the back of my head to keep my face firmly against the floor. Then his teeth are on my neck, and along my jaw, right where it meets my ear. He bites down hard, then says, “Why would I do that? Not when I have you right where I want you.”

I try to yank my face away, but I can’t move. I grit my teeth, almost choking on my rage as I spit out, “You don’t get to just have me anymore, Dare. You treacherous fucking snake.”

His face hardens into lines of fury. His hand on my head suddenly tightens in my hair, pulling my head back sharply so he can look directly into my eyes as he snarls, “I’m a treacherous fucking snake? What about you? Do you think you can parade around town with another fucking man’s hands on you and get away with it?”

Before I can come up with a response, he suddenly removes himself from me, and I’m yanked up off the ground. He hustles me backward until my back is up against the wall. I attempt to get a couple of cheap shots in, but he snags my wrists with his hands and pins them over my head. He pushes his body into mine, pressing firmly against me from chest to hips. He has me completely boxed in; the tension vibrating off of him.

I wait until he leans closer, then try to head-butt him again, but he flinches out of the way. He shifts his grip to hold both my wrists in one hand and moves his free hand to my throat, squeezing with enough force to keep me immobile. I whisper, “What are you doing?”

He leans in and runs his nose over my cheek, then pulls back and looks into my eyes. “I’m going to remind you who you belong to, minx.”

I’m annoyed that my insides clench at his words, so I glare at him and retort, “I don’t belong to anyone.”

He chuckles, and the sound washes over me, causing a shiver to roll down my back at the sinister undertones. He squeezes my neck a little tighter as he says, “Like fuck you don’t. It seems, in my brief absence, you’ve lost sight of how things are between us. And I’m going to fucking remind you, so you never forget again.”

I try to yank my hands free and bring my knee up in the hopes I can catch him off-guard, but once again, it doesn’t work, and he leans in closer. He seems bigger to me now. He was always a fit man, but he looks bulkier than before. So, I ask, “What the fuck, Dare? Have you been working out?”

He gives me that same dark chuckle, pressing himself even closer so I feel the hard ridge of his cock against my stomach. He leans his head down until he’s painting a fiery trail down my neck and ear as he responds, “Oh, yes. I had a lot of time for recreation while in prison.”

I frown and pull my head back a bit to look him in the face. “Prison? What do you mean, prison?”

Dare’s shoulders rise in a slight shrug. “Do you think I’ve spent the last few months living in the lap of luxury, fucking movie stars, and drinking champagne? Not a care in the world?”

I snort. “Well, from the brief glimpse I’ve gotten, that is exactly how it would appear.”

His hand releases my neck, stroking down the front of my body as he eases back a bit. His fingers graze down over my breasts, floating across my stomach until he’s covering my pussy, his fingers flexing against me. He lifts his head, his gaze meeting mine as he says, “Things aren’t always as they appear, Antoinette. You, of all people, should know that by now.”

He presses his finger against my clit, and I choke back the moan bubbling up inside me. It’s everything I can do not to spread my legs wider for him, to give in entirely and beg him to remind me who I belong to. But there’s still that part of me that questions, that requires answers in order to submit.

I squeeze my legs shut, trapping his hand between them, and he smiles at me, tilting his head as he says, “You want to do the work for me? Ride my hand until you come apart, moaning my name?”

I give him a bland look. “Not fucking likely. Get off me.”

He bares his teeth at me. “No.”

I pull violently against his hold on my hands. “What do you mean, no?”

Dare gives me an amused look, the humor twinkling in his golden eyes infuriating me even further. I struggle against his hold, but that only brings him in closer, and he leans his head down so he’s once again giving me that dark chuckle against my ear.

That motherfucker.

He releases my hands. “Go ahead. Fight me, baby girl. You know I love it when you struggle against me, and I have to persuade you to give in.”

I let my hands rest on his shoulders for a moment, then reach up and grab him by the hair, yanking hard. He flinches a bit but doesn’t stop me when I lean forward and bite onto his neck, sinking my teeth in. He laughs again, his hand delving into my hair and yanking me off him before he says, “Now, now, Antoinette. I won’t let you go bleeding me out or anything.”

He yanks my head further back and lowers his mouth to my neck, biting down, sucking hard, then licking gently before pulling back and gazing down at his handiwork. I’m sure he left the biggest hickey I’ve ever known, so I pull my hand back and crack my palm against his cheek. “Why the fuck did you do that, asshole?”

This time, he laughs outright and says, “Oh, this is part of the process of me reminding you of who you belong to. I’m gonna put my mark on you everywhere I can find.”

I push against his shoulders and bring my leg up, slamming my knee into his gut. He doesn’t budge and instead grabs my leg and pulls it up and around him, so now I feel his hard dick pressing right against my pussy. He chuckles again and leans down to the other side of my neck, giving small little pushes of his hips against me.

A quiet moan escapes, and his breath hitches. “That’s right, baby girl. I know you don’t wanna like it, but you fucking love it. I bet if I put my fingers in your pussy, I’ll find you dripping wet for me. Your body wants me to rail you so fucking hard. Just admit it. Tell me you want it.”

I shake my head in denial as my hips instinctively press against him. I hate that I want him. When he pulls my head back and gently puts his mouth against mine, I bite down sharply on his bottom lip until I taste blood. He winces and pulls back, then I retort, “Don’t be fucking nice to me. Do you think I’m going to give you any part of me? You’re going to have to fucking take it if you want it.”

---