There was a figure up ahead, backlit by streetlights, and though she pulled her coat tighter around her, she didn’t stop. There was a bar another block in that direction and sometimes intoxicated people wandered toward the club. It was annoying but had never been a problem.
Sable’s car was super close and she picked up the pace a titch, wanting the safety of the elegant tank. She went around to the driver’s side door and opened it, only to have it slammed shut in front of her. What the fuck?
She whipped around and immediately recognized Trent, the dickhead from earlier. He must’ve wandered down to the bar when he got kicked out of Hive and she had the terrible misfortune of him seeing her approach her car. She should’ve parked it in the lot at the club. Fuck.
There was cheap beer on his breath as he backed her up against the car and caged her in with his hands pressed to the window of the door.
Fucking hell, she’d just had it washed and now she was going to have to deal with this asshole’s fingerprints on her pristine windows. And yeah, clearly that was her biggest problem and not that this belligerent man who’d been an asshole when he was sober was now drunk and there wasn’t an entire club of dominants around to stop him.
Trent must’ve had a good ten inches and at least eighty pounds on her. On the plus side, he was drunk and stupid, and she was smart, sober, and quick. She just had to figure out the best plan of attack to get herself out of this.
Knee to the balls and then slip out under his arms? Heel of her hand to his nose so she’d shove it back toward his skull and he’d drop? In the meantime he was leaning further into her, his mouth close to her ear and he reached for one of her wrists.
“We meet again, little elf. Not so tough now that you don’t have your goons backing you up, are you?”
She didn’t answer him, which was maybe a mistake because her tight-lipped glancing around seemed to enrage him.
“Hey, eyes on me, you little bitch. We’re going to have to work on your manners.”
He grabbed her jaw and wrenched her neck until she was facing him and, okay, super bad idea, but she was hissing like a cat and had about as many functional brain cells as one and— She spat at him. In his face. Dropped her bag so she could use her free hand to claw at him too. There went the logical plan and now she was fighting with pure adrenaline instead of her brain.
He used the wrist he’d grabbed to yank her away from the car and then shoved her up against the SUV, face first. Her cheek hit the driver’s side window and her chest banged into the door. It fucking hurt, but that was nothing compared to the pain she felt when he twisted her arm behind her back and yanked up before mashing her hand between her shoulder blades and pressing her again into the car.
It hurt, so bad, and she cried out, hating herself for doing it. For giving this fucker the satisfaction of her pain.
She didn’t think he’d dislocated her shoulder at least, but she would’ve rather that than having him shove his pelvis into her. No whiskey dick here, unfortunately. He was hard and she felt the vomit rise in her throat. She’d made so many mistakes today, tonight, and she wished she’d had better sense than to blow off Jethro. Wished she’d taken him up on his offer to walk her to her car.
Trent would’ve never dared come after her if Jethro had been walking beside her. Or if he had, she didn’t think Jethro would show the same restraint he had in the club.
But now she was stuck and she felt Trent’s fingers fumbling at his belt, his zipper as she struggled against him. But his grip was too tight and when she tried to escape he merely wrenched her arm higher. The pain was blinding, made her see stars behind her lids.
At least she knew his name, would be able to get his information from Savage. And if this fucker thought she wasn’t going to drag his ass through court, he was wrong. For assault, for rape if it came to that. It was in that moment that Sable stopped.
She boxed up the fear, put away her anger, smothered the humiliation and let the cold detachment run through her. It was the same as when her parents were really laying into her and she couldn’t take it anymore, but more complete than usual. She wouldn’t let this touch her.
Sable closed her eyes, took a deep breath and leaned her cheek against the icy window, letting the frost cool her heated skin. This wasn’t giving up; this was survival and it was smart. At least that’s what she told herself as Trent yanked up her skirt and tore her underwear away.