Page 43 of Dove

What did he have planned? Why hadn’t he taken me to his bed? Whatever the reason, it couldn’t be good. Maybe I had pushed him too far.

“Did you think you could let someone touch what was mine?” His breath was hot on my neck; his tone lethal. He fisted my hair and painfully yanked my head back until I was looking at him. His blue eyes were almost black. Soulless as he stared at me.

I’d always known there was this side to him. It had only been confirmed when I found out all he’d done for me. All the people he’d killed. But he’d never unleashed the demon on me, not truly. Until now.

I knew it was stupid to flirt with Henry, but I needed to find a way out. I needed his demon to hate me, so maybe he’d let me go. And maybe a sick part of me wondered where his limit was. How far I could push him before the monster came for me. Or maybe I needed to know my limits. I needed to fear him so I could finally free myself.

But it wasn’t working. It wasn’t fear that lit my blood on fire.

“Answer me, Kincaid.” He barked as he used his hold on my hair to pull my head further back, exposing my neck. His mouth latched on, biting until I was sure he would break the skin.

“Yes.” I whimpered. It was an answer to his questions, but it felt like a plea for him to keep touching me. Keep torturing my body. I moaned as his tongue flicked my pulse point. Arousal pooled in my panties as my cheeks flushed. What was wrong with me?

“Why?” His hand left my hair, and it tumbled loose around my shoulders. He pushed it aside as he collared my neck, not squeezing, but owning. Letting me know he had control of my body. That he could do with it as he wanted. He could bring me pleasure just as easily as he could end my life. One movement is all it would take.

And I honestly wasn’t sure which I wanted.

“I—I thought you’d let me go.” I needed to know if I was capable of pushing him over the edge. That if I did the wrong thing, he’d kill me. I closed my eyes, unable to meet his penetrating gaze.

“I’m never letting you go.” He growled. “No one touches what’s mine.”

The flick of a knife opening echoed in the empty room. I tried to turn my head, tried to see what he was going to do. But his hold on my neck tightened, keeping me in place.

“Do you know what I’ll do the next time I see someone touching you?” I felt the blunt end of the blade as he ran it up and down my outer thigh. Goosebumps broke out along my skin, and my body trembled in his hold.

I wanted to believe it was fear. Wanted to believe he’d finally pushed me too far. But my nipples tightened behind my dress as he continued to scrape up and down my leg. An empty ache pulsed between my legs. The ache only he could relieve.

“I’ll slit their throats.” He squeezed my neck tighter, only allowing me to take short, shallow breaths. It was enough to keep me alive, but my mind was dizzy. Drugged on lack of oxygen and him. “Then I’ll claim you in their blood. I’ll fuck you as they fight for air. The sounds of their death will mix with your screams of pleasure. And it’ll be the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard.”

I should run. I should be falling apart with fear. Instead, my body clenched at his words. His possession.

The ripping of fabric crashed into my ears before his hand released my throat. I sucked loudly, filling my lungs. I was so distracted by the rush of oxygen I didn’t notice as he cut the rest of my dress away. He tore the tattered remains off my body as he grabbed my wrists. Caging both in one of his hands as he spun me and pinned them to the wall above my head.

His other hand still held the knife. His blue eyes burned into me as I looked at him. I’d never seen him this out of control. This crazy. This mad. It wasn’t anger. It was madness. Obsession. And it was directed at me.

My heart knocked painfully against my ribs. Why did I like it? Why did his obsession make my blood roar? Intensify the ache between my legs. I’d thought of this plan to drive us apart. To force him to let me go. To force myself to see this part of him.

But now that I was seeing it, it didn’t scare me. It felt like I was seeing the real him for the first time. And I wanted it. I wanted him. But I couldn’t.

This wasn’t me. I was normal. I couldn’t be turned on by this. By this craziness. By the fear. By the control.

“Do you understand, my little dove?” He ran the sharp side of the knife along my chest, tracing to each collarbone. The pressure was light, not cutting, but leaving pink lines on my skin. He could easily add pressure and cut me. Make me bleed for him.

The fear was intoxicating, making me feel each touch more intensely. The slight sting of the blade. His hot breath on my skin. His smoky scent. All of it. Everything. Overwhelming me with sensations.

I swallowed loudly as I watched the blade move along my body. He skimmed down my cleavage. A flick of his wrists, and he cut away the straps holding my bra in place. The lace fell, fluttering to the floor. My nipples hardened as the cold blade pressed against them. My skin heated as if I was burning alive, being dragged to hell by a demon.

He traced the blade along my breasts in large circles, outlining them, leaving a pink trail in his wake. He circled closer to one beaded nipple. The anticipation making me tremble. I felt like I couldn’t move. Couldn’t breathe. I was waiting for him. For Maddox to decide my life.

The blade pierced my skin at the top of my cleavage. I sucked in a sharp breath. The cut was small and shallow, no worse than a paper cut. And the sting was the same. Except it wasn’t. It burned and pulsed, making me ache for more. Ache in places he hadn’t even touched.

We were both transfixed on the spot as a small drop of blood popped from the wound. Maddox ducked his head. His tongue came out as he licked the red dot away. Licked away the pain.

My body tensed in arousal as I rubbed my thighs together. My pussy clenched as my skin grew hot. It shouldn’t turn me on. But I couldn’t look away from his lips on my skin. From his dark silky hair. I had to break away.

“I want you to let me go.” I whispered. He pushed his hips into me, letting me feel his hard cock against my soft stomach. My breath lodged in my lungs as I fought the desire to rub further into him.

“I told you. You’re mine.” He sliced through my underwear quickly before throwing the knife aside. The metal clattering across the hardwood floors. I jerked in surprise as his hand grabbed between my legs. “This pussy is mine.” He roughly palmed my breast, twisting my nipple until I cried out in both pain and pleasure. More blood dripped from the cut falling from my pebbled nipple. “These tits are mine.” He gripped my ass, pressing me so tight against him nothing could come between us. “This ass is mine. And soon, it’ll take my cock.”

---