Suddenly in front of me, Alaric easily removed my cellphone from my grasp.
“What are you doing?”
I reached for it back. The attempt was easily thwarted by him taking hold of my wrist.
“I’m helping you.”
He tapped away on the screen before pocketing the phone in his rear pocket.
“How is this helping me?” I struggled to break free, wincing when he tightened his grip. “Let go!”
Doing the opposite of what I demanded, he pulled me closer. If not for the way he was holding onto my arm we would be chest to chest.
“Do you honestly think I didn’t know you wanted to leave me, Cat? What could possibly have given you the idea I would ever let that happen? Tell me, where did this sporadic and shitty plan come from?”
I ground my teeth and glared at him. “You can’t keep me here against my will. I have an actual life.”
“Holing yourself up inside your shabby little house with a mouse is what you refer to as living? That’s not a life. It’s a prison sentence. It’s fine now, though. None of those things matter anymore. Everything is gone.”
Where had he gotten that kind of information? “H-how did you know any of that?”
“You’re so wonderfully naïve.” He released my wrist and took hold of my face, holding it firmly within his large hands. Something chillingly sinister darkened his eyes. A wicked smile accompanied it, causing a lump to lodge in my throat.
“You’re mine. Scream, cry, get down on your knees and beg if you want. It won’t change anything. You’ll never be free of me. Face the music, Cat. You aren’t going anywhere—not now. Not ever.”
A burning sensation enveloped my eyes. I struggled to hold back tears of anger and hurt.
My feelings for him were genuine, even if wrong and hard to understand. He was the only person I’d ever felt like this about. Why did it have to be so complicated, messy, and disastrous? I brought my hands up and grabbed hold of his wrists, pulling down to try and get him to let go of my face.
“Okay. I can’t leave. Now get off,” I repeated quietly. “Please.”
“Don’t cry. Everything’s going to be alright. I promise I’ll take good care of you,” he stated, sweeping the pad of his thumbs over my cheeks. Blue eyes held mine as his hands slid to the back of my head, fingers tangling in my hair.
I pulled back as far as I could bringing my hands down to his solid chest. I pushed against him to no avail, whimpering when he tightened his hold. He lowered his mouth, nipping my lower lip, further tangling his hands in my hair.
I grabbed hold of the wrists framing either side of my face and parted my lips, giving him the access, he was silently demanding.
His tongue swept across where he’d bitten, soothing the sting before slipping between the opening I’d given and entwining with mine. He angled my face, kissing me deeper. I closed my eyes counting the seconds in my head. I couldn’t get swept away by his brutal seduction.
Keeping his hold on me, he used his body to maneuver me backward. My back hit the wall with a soft thud. I didn’t know if I was breathing heavier because he was devouring me with his mouth or as a result of the panic beginning to take root and bloom.
He wrapped a chunk of my hair around his fist to keep me rooted in place, bringing his free hand down between our bodies.
At the telltale sound of his belt coming undone I protested again. My muffled objection went ignored.
Unable to look anywhere but into the cold and calculating eyes of the very man taking whatever he wanted from me, I couldn’t see what was happening. I could only feel everything. He lowered his pants just enough to pull his hard cock out. He moved his face away from mine, leaving the saliva from our broken kiss on my swollen lips.
“Alaric,” I breathed, searching his eyes and pleading with mine.
As he stared back at me with a sudden hint of softness, I was thrown deeper into a state of confusion.
“You forgot,” he reiterated, forcing my legs apart.
“No.” I flattened my palms against his chest again, unable to move him.
The hold he had on my hair vanished so he could use both his hands. Now pressed firmly against the wall, he adjusted so that the head of his cock was pressed against my slit. Deft fingers wrapped around my throat to hold me still.
“There’s no point in fighting me. You’ve been begging for this since you got here. Look.” He used his knee to spread my legs even further while at the same time rolling his hips and roughly guiding himself inside me.
I grimaced, unable to hold back a squeal as a stinging sensation set in. I wasn’t ready for the entirety of him. I wasn’t ready for him at all. That didn’t matter. The softness in his beautiful eyes just seconds ago was gone, replaced by something cold, calculating, and possessive.