But I already survived the worst. And that’s how I know I can survive this.
I stand, strung up in nothing more than my black panties and black cotton crop top. It crosses the back of my mind that the few thin pieces of fabric I’m wearing can easily be taken away from me.
Everything I have can be easily taken away.
The Sand Man proved that to me years ago.
The night is a passing blur behind the man who appears more like a fallen angel than a monster. The dark smile on his lips isn’t angelic though. His footfalls are soundless as he takes the space between us. He claims it all. Until the edge of his boot is skimming my glossy black painted toes. My neck angles up at him as his breath crashes down on me. His unkempt hair veils above us while he studies me. Only the edge of his thumb brushes my skin, skimming along my bottom lip. My teeth drag over the spot his digit barely touched.
The light feel of him is firing all my senses at once. My tongue rolls across my lip, and I swear I can taste his touch. My breath catches on the crisp air where he once was. It’s an addiction now.
I have no idea why.
“Who are you?” he whispers like a confession of love between us.
My smile tilts hard.
“I’m the girl you shouldn’t have fucked with,” I whisper right back to him, my humming laughter crawling up all around me.
A strong hand snatches around my throat, and those starry eyes turn black. The light glints of silver snuff out into deep, inky wells of total chaotic sin. He turns my chin to one side as his lips ghost down the curve of my neck before hovering over my ear.
“You’re bad for your own health.” His whispered words dance across my flesh, raising goosebumps in their wake.
And he’s right. Damn, is he right.
But I can’t speak. I can’t breathe. I try not to struggle. I try desperately not to make a single sound. Until it’s all too much, and the choking of my own distress sputters across my lips. My lashes flutter as I try to make hard eye contact with the most beautiful gaze I’ve ever seen. If I can just hold his attention, my magic will come out.
I hope.
The rigid tightness of his palm releases. Air swoops down my throat in big gulps. Then the roughness of that palm is trailing down my shoulder. The heat of his hands can be felt near the curves of my breasts as he toys with the collar of my shirt.
“You could say nothing, and I’d walk away, take these Carnals with me, and just leave you stranded here like a half-naked joke to be seen in the morning.”
“That’s a terrible joke,” I say rather breathlessly.
“But you just can’t help yourself.”
My head tilts at his challenge. Is this his misogynistic way of telling me I should just shut up?
Yes!The little logical voice at the back of my crumpled mind yells.Shut. The. Fuck. Up.
“Why would I help myself when I have you to take care of me?” I look up at him through thick, innocent lashes, my magic bubbling within me with each passing second.
But then he looks away. His head shakes slowly like a disappointed father... Daddy. Sorry. Daddy?
Jesus Christ, stop it!
He holds my stare once more. My magic is forgotten as heat flashes between us in tingles of nerves and anticipation. Because that’s all my fragile heart ever wanted in this hellhole: the excitement of the unknown. An adventure. A love to outshine all lust.
Or maybe I’m just simply crazy.
The press of his smooth chest against mine is a buzz of adrenaline that spirals deeper inside me as his hands slide down to my hips. His head lowers. His wicked eyes shift across my features, skimming right over my birthmark and pink scar like my eyes and my lips are the most captivating part of me.
My thighs brush as I unsteadily shift from one foot to the other. My body is strung up before him like an idol ready for worship. Time sparks with everything we put into this moment. All the banter and all the taunting has collided into this single second: when his sinful gaze lifts slowly, and his eyes meet mine, it’s all ablaze.
He searches my features. It’s a beat of uncertainty, and it occurs to me that he might not have ever intended to touch me. Hesitation catches on his every move as I rethink what led us here. He ordered the others to do his dirty work. He had them tie me and strip me and now...
The coward.