Page 15 of Ends of Being

His phone rings again, this time with a different ringtone, and he curses under his breath. His hand on my throat tightens again, not enough to choke me but just enough to render me immobile. He skims his nose down my cheek to the corner of my mouth, and for a brief moment, I think he’s going to kiss me.

But he doesn’t.

Instead, I feel his tongue slide against my skin as he licks my face, leaving a wet trail from the corner of my mouth across my cheek to my ear. He inhales deeply, taking my scent into his lungs and holding it there for a few beats before exhaling slowly, a soft growl that sets off another tremor through me.

Then he backs away, moving to a spot in the room behind me where I can’t see him. He rustles around, and I crane my neck around, catching a glimpse of him out of the corner of my eye. He seems to be checking his phone, and he doesn’t seem too happy about it.

I return my focus in front of me, working on getting myself under control before he gets back to “torturing” me. I’m normally much more controlled than this, my frustration bubbling up as I think about things that may help ease the ache between my legs. I can’t even begin to think about the ache in my chest, the heavy feeling that keeps me weighed down even when I want to fight back.

This entire scenario is so confusing, I don’t even know where to begin to unpack any of it. Dare being a genuine bad boy is too shocking to even fathom; however, it already seems so normal that I question whether I had an inkling beforehand. There must’ve been signs; there’s no way he managed to hide this part of himself for all these years without ever having a slip-up.

Suddenly, he’s there in front of me again. He looks resigned yet determined and not even a little come-hither, so that’s not a good sign. He presses his lips together, his hands on his hips as he looks me over.

After a few long moments of this, I finally snap, “So, are we done here?”

He smiles at me again, the glint in his eyes all fire as he stares at me intently. “Not even close, baby girl,” he practically purrs. “We haven’t even gotten started.”

He moves around behind me, and then there’s a clicking sound as he presumably resecures my restraints to the chair. He loosens the ropes around my wrists and ankles a tiny bit before coming back around to stand in front of me. He crosses his arms over his chest, eying me skeptically. “Unfortunately, I have been called away for an errand. Are you going to behave while I’m gone, or shall I put you in the box?”

My eyes widen in surprise.The box?I mean, I’m almost curious enough to make him show me what the box is, but there is that tiny warning bell inside me screaming for me to shut my fucking mouth, and for once, I listen to it.

I beam at him sweetly and reply, “Well, sure, Clark. You know I can play nice when I want to.”

He snorts, then gives me an incredulous look, obviously not buying my story. I meet his gaze squarely, not flinching as he stares me down. He reaches a hand out, dragging one finger down my cheek as he whispers, “I guess we’ll just have to see then, won’t we?”

Then he turns on his heel, his long strides taking him toward the exit.

“What the fuck, Clark!” I shout at his retreating back. “You can’t just leave me tied up down here while you fuck off to god knows where!”

He doesn’t hesitate or acknowledge my words at all; he just walks up the stairs out of sight. The door creaks as it opens and shuts. Then silence.

That motherfucker.

Chapter Seven

Toni

I’velosttrackofthe number of times in the past twenty-four hours I’ve thought to myself,what the actual fuck?

It has definitely been on repeat ever since Dare walked out of this fancy dungeon and left me tied to a chair.

Tied to a fucking chair.What the actual fuck?

I haven’t tried very hard to get free, not wanting to waste energy on what may be entirely impossible. Mostly, I have been taking stock of my surroundings, making a mental note of the small windows that allow in some light but are an unlikely escape route. It appears I’m in a basement-type room, though obviously not fully underground, given the oddly placed windows. The way they’re placed indicates they may have been used as emergency exits, but then someone came through and intentionally eliminated the option as an escape route.

Now, I’m seething at being left down here for some goddamn so-called important errand. How important could this errand possibly be to warrant abandoning me in an extremely awkward position?

I’ve been slowly twisting my wrists around behind me. The ropes have been secured to the chair by some kind of metal locking mechanism, so the odds of wrenching them free from the chair are slim. My only option is to free my wrists from the ropes, which will take a bit of time, considering I need to get the ropes stretched a tiny bit in order to pull my hands out. In this particular case, I’m lucky I’m not a small-boned woman because, with enough force, I can squeeze my hand through the loop and be free. Don’t ask how I know this.

Once I painfully manage to get my hands free from the ropes, it’s easy for me to reach down and untie my feet. I gradually stand, my extremities a tad numb from being stuck in such an uncomfortable position for so long. I take a few minutes to look around the room, a bit confused about how not dungeon-like it is. It’s actually quite nice.

I could totally live here.

Not wanting to waste any more time, I make my way up the stairs to check the door. Shockingly, it’s not locked.Apparently, this guy is still running amateur hour at Stalkerville. I slowly open the door and peer outside, not surprised to be completely surrounded by wilderness.

I stay in the doorway for a few moments, pondering my choices.My phone!He didn’t bother patting me down, likely because the likelihood I’d get free was basically nil when he first snatched me. Which means I still have my phone in the side pocket of my super fancy running pants.

I pull my phone out, excited to find I have service. I figure I’m probably near where I previously escaped, so I bring up the map and check my location. Sure enough, I’m in the middle of the fucking woods, still relatively close to a road.

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