Page 49 of Red Rabbit
I hung limply from the cuffs as I swam in and out of consciousness. Everything hurt and while Roger hadn’t cut me anywhere new, he cut back into the ones he made in the forest which was arguably more excruciating.
He hadn’t raped me as much as I thought he would but the psychological manipulation was worse. Roger didn’t care about my pleasure, only my pain, and he inflicted it both physically and mentally. He would tease me with the knife until I was nearly hysterical thinking he was going to kill me or worse. Then he would laugh and I would see just how turned on his manipulation was making him. Hours went by and I didn’t have any sense of what time it was. I fervently hoped it was close to morning and for Kraven to find me soon.
“You aren’t quite as fun as I was hoping,” Roger said.
He was inside me and his fingers dug into the cut on my breast as a painful fire raged through me. The cut was bleeding freely again and I trembled, willing myself not to tense up.
He wanted that, he needed that. I wasn’t going to give it to him.
But he was rougher than Kraven was with my wounds and soon I was sobbing, my fists clenched in an effort to stop mybody from reacting but my strength and willpower were slowly eroding and he knew it.
“Fuck you,” I snarled.
He slapped me across the face, once, twice and as I hung there dazed, I heard the most beautiful sound in the world.
The door slammed open and I saw Kraven and several guards swarm into the room. Kraven strode over to Roger and ripped him off me, throwing him on the ground before Roger even realized what was happening.
“I warned you what would happen if you touched my property again,” Kraven said.
His voice was deadly calm, almost conversational. I watched him roll up his sleeves. Roger scrambled to his feet as Kraven walked over and picked up a knife from the table, it was covered in my blood and I saw his eyes grow murderously dark.
“Kraven!” Roger said. “I was just having a little fun—”
“Do you remember what I said?” Kraven asked, turning on him and advancing. Roger paled and held his hands up, backing away nervously.
“No need for that—”
“I said I’d kill you.”
Kraven rapidly closed the distance between them. Roger got to his feet and tried to take a swing at Kraven but it looked comical when Kraven dodged it easily. He punched Roger, sending him crashing over a chair.
“Let’s be reasonable,” Roger said. Stumbling to his feet again, he tried to use the furniture as a barrier but Kraven tore the chair out of the way. He backed Roger into a corner and I saw Roger’s face twist into desperation. He launched himself at Kraven but was no match for Kraven’s lethal grace and with minimal effort Kraven evaded him.
“No! Don’t—” Roger yelled. Kraven grabbed Roger and forced him to kneel at his feet, digging the blade into his neck. He gripped Roger’s chin and jerked his face over to look at me.
“You disrespected my property again,” Kraven hissed in his ear. “And I don’t make idle threats.”
He slid the knife across Roger’s throat in one sharp, ruthless move.
I made a choking sound as Kraven shoved the body forward in disgust and I watched the blood seep across the floor.
Kraven looked at me and I shuddered at the brutality on his face—this was no hero. He walked over and unlocked the cuffs. I couldn’t stand up and fell into his arms. He lifted me effortlessly and my head landed on his shoulder.
I heard him say something angrily to the guards as I drifted in and out and then we were moving. The lights were harsh in the hallway and I burrowed into Kraven’s neck, trying to steady my breathing. I didn’t open my eyes until he lowered me into the shower in his suite and turned on the water. He pulled off his clothes and then came in and knelt in front of me. His gaze shook me when I saw his concern mixed with the storm clouds in his eyes.
“How did you find me?” I asked sluggishly.
My head fell back against the tile and my eyes closed again. I was so tired. His hands gently ran over my body as he washed away the nightmare. I winced and shivered as the water hit the reopened knife wounds but he carefully avoided them.
“I made Cooper look through his security footage when the guards didn’t bring you to me this morning.”
“I should have known he was going to try something,” I opened my eyes and stared listlessly at him. “He was staring at me all through dinner. Are you going to get in trouble for killing him?”
“Cooper is lucky that’s all I did,” Kraven fumed.
I nodded and looked down at the water as it swirled away into the drain. The color of my blood captivated me and I watched it, feeling dazed. “His idea of breaking differs from yours,” I murmured. The emotions of the day flooded me and I started to shake.
“I know,” he said quietly.
