Panic spiked my heart rate, and the last of the drug-induced haze cleared from my mind. I pulled harder against the chain, my free foot lashing out to kick at the doctor. He quickly backed away, both hands raised in a show of surrender.
Before I could gain the coordination to punch Stefano, his long fingers encircled my wrists, pinning them into the pillows at either side of my head.
My breathing turned shallower, tension gripping my lungs in a vise. There was only one reason I would be chained to a bed and pinned down by Stefano.
“If you rape me, I will kill you,” I hissed, struggling to channel my mounting terror into rage. “I will fucking kill you.” The second threat cracked in the middle, but I managed to force out the defiant vow.
“I’ll leave you now,” the doctor announced, calm and completely unconcerned that he was about to leave a bound and injured woman to be violated. “Make sure she takes the antibiotics.”
“Fuck you!” I shrieked, directing my fury at him as he walked out of the room. Railing at the doctor was easier than looking into Stefano’s soulless black eyes.
Frantic, I twisted my body, fighting to escape the chain and Stefano’s firm grip on my wrists.
“Calm down,” he commanded, his tone clipped with irritation. “You’ll start bleeding again if you keep kicking like that. You’re not going to manage to strike anyone.”
I sucked in a deeper breath, forcing my lungs to draw in enough oxygen to stave off a panic attack. I couldn’t lose my mind right now.
If Stefano chose to violate me, I couldn’t stop him. Not this time. And slowing my healing progress would only hinder any escape attempts in the near future.
I can survive this, I reminded myself. I will survive this.
I gritted my teeth and stopped struggling.
“I’m not going to rape you,” he bit out in the same irritated tone. “I have no interest in forcing you.”
I glared up at him. “Then why the fuck have you chained me to a bed if you don’t intend to force yourself on me?” I dared to glance around, taking a brief assessment of my situation. “Why am I wearing nothing but one of your shirts if you care about my consent? Stripping me naked while I’m unconscious is obviously okay with you. Why not just get the rest of it over with?”
The defined lines of his sculpted face drew sharper on a scowl. “When I do finally fuck you, you’ll beg me for more. You won’t want me to just get it over with. And you’re wearing one of my shirts because your clothes were filthy, and I didn’t want your cuts to get infected. I did not touch you while you were unconscious.”
I attempted a mocking laugh, but the sound was flat and hollow. “Why should I believe you? You might play the part of gentleman criminal, but I know you aren’t honorable. We’re both too smart to fall for that bullshit code of conduct.”
One corner of his lips ticked up in an amused smile. “So sweet of you to compliment my intelligence,” he said with exaggerated gratitude. “Of course, you’re very clever too. You clearly understand me better than most already.”
“That’s because I made the mistake of falling for your suave act once before, and I will regret it until the day I die. I’m not that stupid, soft girl anymore, Stefano. Don’t think for one second that I’ll make this easy for you.”
His smile widened, sharp and predatory. “I don’t want you to make it easy. I’ve been thinking about this for a long time, sweet Carmen. I’ve spent hours plotting all of the wicked things I could do to your body to make you submit to me. You were never stupid, not even that night we were together. Naïve, maybe. But not stupid. You were almost as stubborn then as you are now. That’s why seducing you and finding that softness at your core was so intoxicating. I want that again. I want you to fight me with everything you have, and then, I want to feel you surrender and hear you scream my name. I will make you mine, kitten.”
“Stop calling me that,” I hissed. I wasn’t certain if my flesh was heating from anger or from the traitorous lust he incited in my body. He wasn’t the only one who’d thought about our night together over the years. As much as I hated him, memories of ecstasy under his domineering hands haunted my dreams. With his masculine scent invading my senses and his seductive voice coating my mind like honey, it took effort to ignore the delicious tension gathering at my core.
“Why?” He practically purred the challenge. “Because you don’t like being my kitten?” He leaned in closer, letting me feel the heat of his words on my lips. “Or because you like it too much?”