Page 45 of Pretty Broken Wings
I’m basically Gage. At least, in looks. The fucker is way nicer than I am. I am, in fact, a horrible human being, which should be impossible since we’re identical.
“Raven.” I gentle my voice. “I’m not going to hurt you.” Then, I duck down, tossing the woman over my shoulder.
“Axel!” Raven screeches, the sound startled. I turn, marching out of the kitchen, both her thighs clasped under my arm. Fuck, she’s light.
I’ll have to feed her more.
“Put me down!” Raven fights, attempting to kick her legs, and raining light hits down on my back.
Okay. I’ll have to teach her to fight, too. Once I’m sure she won’t fightme.
I duck through her door
“Axel!” Her cry switches from anger to fear.
“Not safe for you to stay here. Too cold.”
They’re band-aid words. Gage words. What I want to say is,‘Shut the fuck up. You’re mine, and I’m going to make you love it.’
“What are you doing? Put me down!”
I hit what I hope is the unlock button on her keys. The car beeps, and the lights flash.
Damn it. I hit the other one, hearing the locks slide up.
This will be the tricky part. Flinging the door open, I throw Raven off my shoulder into the driver’s seat. She tries to bolt, but I drop my arm across her chest and wedge my knee against her thighs, pinning her to the center console.
“Easy, wild thing.”
Raven does not take it easy. She snaps her head forward, nearly colliding with mine. I don’t jerk back in time, and pain lances across my skull. Groaning, I pull her right hand toward the steering wheel while fishing a pair of cuffs out of my back pocket. As soon as she realizes what I’m doing, she screeches.
“Axel, no! What are you doing?”
“Hold still, little bird.” I struggle to keep her wrist close enough to snap the cuff around her without hurting her. I’ll hurt her later. When she asks for it.
Raven’s not strong, but god, she’s panicked. Finally, when she’s reaching her other hand back to hit me, I hold her still long enough to fasten it without grabbing her delicate skin. Then, I clasp the cuff to the wheel.
“What the fuck?” Raven yanks back, and I step out of the car, softly shutting the door. Inside the car, she screams, the car muffling the sound. A mixture of feelings runs through me: excitement, adrenaline, and a hint of annoyance. That fucking hurt.
Raven screams again, and a thrill runs through me. She’s so fucking feisty.
I get in on the passenger side.
“Axel.” Raven flexes her hand, leaning as I turn the wheel. She has a pretty hand. So small and delicate.
“Yes?”
“Let me go. Right now.”
“Nah,” I reach across her to put the keys in the ignition. “You’re gonna drive us to my place.”
There’s a stunned silence where I can almost hear Raven’s brain trying to process what I just said. And processing is not what I want her to do right now. Obeying is.
Snapping the knife out of my pocket, I revel in the snick it makes as the blade opens.
There’s a moment where I can almost taste the fear that rolls off Raven, and it goes straight to my head, filling me with adrenaline.
I’d only hurt Raven to keep her safe. And safe, in this instance, means obedience. I need the fear to overwhelm her free will because she may just use that free will to run us both off the road. Although, a fireball wreck caused by the hottest, angriest woman around wouldn’t be such a bad way to go.
