Would he take me sailing with him when this was over? The idea of being alone with him on a boat for many months, far away from the rest of the world, appealed to me more than I would have imagined. Just him and me and the sea…
And our undeniable attraction. I couldn’t deny the chemistry between us was smoking hot. Adrik was so sexy, and he didn’t even realize it. If we both survived this, I vowed I would show him again and again how sexy he was to me.
Lost in my thoughts of Adrik, I didn’t hear the scraping noise at first. In fact, it wasn’t until the door jerked open that I was yanked out of my thoughts and back to the situation at hand.
Dropping my leg, I focused on Damien as he strode into the bathroom.
His gaze swept over me, noticing my hands were free. “Got yourself free, eh, piggy?” He chuckled softly. “Guess you’re not completely helpless, after all. Adrik’s on his way. He’s agreed to play with me, but he has no idea what I’m about to do.”
He paused before me, shaking his head back and forth and clucking in disapproval. “Listen up, piggy. We can do this one of two ways. One, you can be a good girl, and it will all be over quickly. Or, two, you can fight me, and if you do, I guarantee you’ll suffer a lot of pain. I will punish you severely. So, what’s it going to be?”
My heart thundering, I swallowed hard. This man had tried to kill me once already. He’d stabbed me repeatedly and rendered me partially disabled. I refused to give in to his whims and let him do with me as he pleased. I was ahuman being, not the pig he kept calling me.
Drawing in a deep breath for courage, I lifted my chin and met his menacing stare. “I’m going to fight you every step of the way.”
He cocked a brow. “Oh, goodie! I was hoping you’d say that. It makes things more fun for me.” He whipped a knife free from a sheath on his belt. “Remember this?” He leaned closer, holding it out for me to see. “It penetrated your flesh repeatedly a few months back. As you know, it’s very,verysharp. Are you sure you want to fight me, piggy?”
I gulped, staring at the long blade in his hand. It had to be at least four or five inches long.
The same blade that had nearly killed me.
Fuck him.He wouldn’t intimate me any longer. I was done being afraid of him.
With a snarl, I lunged to my feet, wobbling, and scraped my fingernails down his face, leaning into him to inflict as much pain as possible.
Instead of howling or flinching like I’d hoped, he only grinned and shoved me backward, his palm slamming roughly into my chest.
Gasping, I tumbled back into the tub, cracking my head on the wall behind me.
Pain ricocheted through my skull.
For a moment, I saw stars, dizziness swirling all around.
“Stupid pig,” he grunted. “I was only going to cut off your finger, but now I’m going to have to punish you for that.”
Leaning over me, he plunged the knife into my thigh of my working leg.
I screamed, jolting in pain, my leg twitching.
Yanking the knife out, he ignored my flinch, and sent me a glare. “Try to walk now, piggy. Idareyou.”
Whimpering, I cowered into the tub, pressing my hand over the wound, and trying to staunch the flow of blood.
So much for my brief moment of bravery. All I’d managed to do was to get myself injured. Had I really thought I could escape by clawing him with my fingernails?
Wiping the blade on his jeans, Damien stuffed it back in its sheath. “I don’t need your finger now, anyway. Adrik’s coming. Hang tight, piggy. Just try not bleed out before I come back, would you? I want Adrik to watch when I gut you.” With that, he went out, yanking the door shut behind him.
This time, I didn’t hear him pulling anything in front of the door.
Because he doesn’t think I can escape with one wounded leg and the other one paralyzed.
I removed my sweatshirt and set it aside. Then I pulled off the T-shirt I wore underneath, yanking at the hem until it tore. I pulled further, ripping in half. I then used the fabric to wrap my injured thigh, binding it tightly to stem the flow of blood.
I’d survived multiple stabs wounds. So, I could survive this.
Putting my sweatshirt back on, I prepared to face the elements. I was escaping one way or another.
Grimacing in pain, I pulled myself to my knees, then toppled over the side of the tub and onto the floor. Hissing, I drew in several deep breaths.