15
Eyes wide open, I concentrate on breathing evenly in and out. With the room draped in darkness, keeping my lids pried open is the only thing stopping me from falling asleep.
I mull over the possibility of Ryker doing the same. Maybe he is fighting to stay awake just the same. Or he is really going to sleep and Hunter is going to wake him so they can kill me together. The thought pains me, and I briefly think about how odd this is, because somehow my feelings have twisted together. I’m still mad at them for taking me and planning my murder, but on top of that there lingers betrayal and sadness.
When I feel like an eternity has passed, and Ryker is asleep, I slowly start moving. With every inch I scoot, I expect Ryker to wake up, but he remains still and silent.
Reaching my hand down, I touch along the underside of the bed frame. My heart beats furiously against my ribcage, but when my fingers slide over the key, I swear my heart is coming out of my chest. It’s beating so furiously; I can’t believe the loud thump is not waking Ryker up.
I unhook the key and carefully bend down to unlock the cuff. Not breathing, I climb out of bed and away from the warmth of Ryker’s body. I instantly miss it. A chill runs down my spine, reminding me to keep going.
On shaky legs, I tiptoe to the door and feel for the handle. When my trembling fingers touch the cold metal, I sigh in relief. That tiny moment of reprieve vanishes as I hear movement behind me.
I spin around and peer into the darkness, moments before I’m slammed into the door behind me. Ryker shoves me against the hard surface, knocking all the air from my lungs.
“You shouldn’t have done that,” he growls, making me shiver. This time, from the coldness in his voice. This is the part where Ryker is showing me his true self, where the man from the file is coming to play.
There was a chance I would not survive this night, but now I’m certain that I’m not only going to die, but it will also be painful.
My lungs fill with air one last time before Ryker’s hand is around my throat, squeezing hard enough to make me lightheaded almost immediately. My knees go weak and I’m on the verge of passing out when Ryker drags me to the bed.
He throws me on it and I yelp out in pain when I use my injured wrists to brace myself. I don’t have long to worry about that pain though, because Ryker is on me the next second. His hand finds my throat once more, but his grip is a little more controlled now, unlike my heartbeat.
“I’m so–” I apologize, even though I’m not sorry at all. Ryker shuts me up with a squeeze.
“Don’t you dare.” He holds onto my throat while brutally yanking down my pants with the other hand. “You don’t get to apologize. It’s time for you to find out what happens to people I can’t trust.”
I’m dry down there, but that doesn’t matter. Ryker spits on me, then on his palm before rubbing it over his shaft. When he shoves inside me, I moan in dismay and discomfort bordering on pain, but I can’t get enough air to make more than a squeak.
“Time for you to remember who’s in charge.” He batters me mercilessly, sawing savagely in and out. I try to take his hand from my throat, but that only makes him grip me tighter than before.
He pushes my shirt up, exposing me, before pinching my nipple hard enough to bring tears to my eyes. “Don’t like that?” He laughs before doing it again. “I don’t like when people betray my trust. And I fucking hate empty apologies like you tried to give.”
I don’t know which hand to claw at so I choose both, but I might as well try to fight smoke. It’s no use.
He leans down until our noses touch, moving in and out of me all the time. “You don’t make the rules. We do. You betray us and this is what you get.”
It’s a blessing when he releases my throat and lets me breathe again, and another blessing when he pulls out. I’m sore and shaking from head to toe.
Stupid me, thinking he finished.
All he did was pause to flip me onto my stomach. When pressure pushes against my virgin asshole, my body goes stiff. “Not there. Please, not there.”
“Innocent, huh?” Spit hits my crack and dribbles down. “You think I give a shit about what you want? About what you beg me not to do?”
“Please. Don’t hurt me.” It’s ridiculous I’m saying this because he’s already hurt me—and not only physically.
He settles for pressing what feels like his thumb against my rear entrance while filling my pussy with his cock again. By now my treacherous body has responded to him and I’m slick, ready for more in body if not in spirit.
“I’ll fuck this ass one day.” He grunts, fucking me hard enough to make me bite back a sob. It’s like he wants to tear me apart from the inside out. His thumb breaches my asshole and begins creeping inside. He laughs when I gasp in dismay.
“What? I’m being gentle, aren’t I?” He goes deeper, invading my ass in time with his thrusts. “I’m not taking this virgin asshole because you asked me not to. I’m being merciful. Thank me.”
“What?”
“Thank me.” He yanks my hair with his free hand, pulling my head back at a painful angle. “Say, thank you for not fucking my ass.”
“Th-thank you… for not… fucking my ass!” Only when I finish saying it does he let go of my hair, choosing to press down on the back of my neck and drive my face into the mattress.