Page 20 of Ruthlessly Mated
I’m thinking about my disguise as the smell of burning oil starts to taint the air. Either the truck’s engine has a problem or the wind is blowing the smell of the destruction at the port this far away. It’s not far enough for my liking. I want to be out of smell range. I want to be so far away that the last twenty-four hours feel like a bad dream, not something that really happened.
Clunk!
There’s a sound on the outside of the cab. I glance in the rearview mirror, but it’s filthy as hell and all I can see is a faint smear on the body of the cab. A second later, it doesn’t matter, because the door’s been ripped open and Damon is climbing into the seat next to me.
My jaw drops. I’m not even mad.
“Fuck, that is impressive!”
He smirks at me and lights a cigarette. Smoking is disgusting, but in this moment it’s the coolest thing I’ve ever seen.
“Did the others make it out?” If Conroy comes in the roof vent, I am going to be pissed. Not that I want him dead. I just don’t want him in my fucking truck. He can walk, for all I care.
He gives a small shrug.
The fact that he effectively doesn’t talk means that he’s not asking questions. That’s good. Questions are usually judgments waiting to happen.
“I like you. You’re my favorite. And the fact that you’re here indicates that you listen too. That’s a good thing. Might keep you alive.”
He smirks again as he inhales, as if he expected that response.
“Compared to Conroy, you’re…” I don’t even know how to finish the sentence. I also don’t like the way it pulses between my legs when I so much as think that asshole’s name. I’ve heard of enemies to lovers, but this is just enemies to enemies who fuck.
Assuming he’s still alive.
We drive in silence for another thirty seconds or so. I think about Conroy. I think about Tailor. I see the port burning in the rear view when I check my mirrors out of good driving habit.
Damon’s presence here is making something very fucking apparent. I’m not leaving the idea of two people behind. I’m leaving two very real, very alive, very connected mates behind. And I’m leaving them to burn. And that makes me, well, it makes me about the worst person in this or any other world.
“Fuck,” I curse as I apply the brake.
“Fuck,” I swear even more loudly as I start cranking the steering wheel around and dropping gears.
“God fucking dammit!” I keep swearing as I turn the truck back toward the burning port. “I do not know why I am doing this. This is the dumbest thing I have ever fucking done. You talked me into it.”
Damon lifts a brow at me, but says nothing.
Of course he didn’t talk me into it. I’m doing this for my own conscience, which is crazy because five minutes ago I would have said I didn’t have one.
Conroy
Tailor passed out not long after the torture started. The vampire wasn’t careful enough. Didn’t know how to make sure not to exceed his limits. He bit him. Bled him. Hurt him, and he did it all in front of me so I’d have the benefit of seeing it and being afraid of it happening to me.
What this asshole doesn’t know is that I am not afraid of anything. Not pain. Not death. Not fucking anything.
“The girl is mine. She owes me her pain,” the foul creature hisses, jangling chains of silver threateningly in my face. “But I will take yours in kind before I get hers.”
She’s not his. I didn’t smell so much as a hint of death on her. Girls who fuck vampires always have a little hint of rot aboutthem. She was as pristine and feral as it gets. I claimed her virgin flesh and I know it.
“She’s not yours.”
“What makes you say that, animal? Because you humped her? Rutted her like the feral beast you are? Did you even ask her if she wanted to be mated? Or did you just feel animal lust for a young virgin wolf shifter and fill her with your seed whether she wanted it or not?”
I look over at Tailor. I hope he’s not hurt too badly. I’ve stayed conscious, because I know if I don’t they’ll rouse him if I pass out. This vamp came with silver daggers, silver clamps, and silver electrodes. He knows how to use all of them.
He is enjoying torturing me. Slowly. And of course, painfully. There is blood in my eyes, making my vision hazy. I have taken all manner of damage, most of which I am blocking out through force of will.
“You want details? Why? You want to jerk off while I tell you how I fucked her? Most of the port saw. If you hadn’t set the place on fire, you’d have had tapes to watch. You could have seen me fuck her for the first time. Could have seen her bred the way she deserved to be bred.”
