Page 18 of Protecting His Finch

“But when I show you the things I can do to you…things to make your toes curl…you’ll want nothing else.”

His mouth moves close to mine. I twist away.

“Raphael. I told you where I stand. Not until our wedding night.”

“Call this a preview.”

He grips me and shoves me. I hit the table, and my palms brace against the wood to catch myself. But he’s right behind me. He bites the back of my neck, his teeth too possessive, too hard. His fingers clutch my waist, cloying.

“That’s enough,” I breathe. My heart is pounding.

“I’ll tell you what’s enough, my little finch.”

My chest fills with ice. My rib cage is brittle, my heart a fucking glacier.

My teeth clench, and between them, I hear the words leave my mouth:

“I’m not. Your. Fucking. Finch.”

The corkscrew is in my hand. And then it’s in him.

It’s not a conscious decision. It’s an action. My body takes over. I grip the handle, twist around, and swipe. The sharp tip lashes across his face.

Raphael shouts. He looks back at me, a red crescent drawn over his cheek.

He blinks. Then the shock switches to rage. His lips twist in a snarl.

“You bitch.”

He strikes me. The force of his slap makes my face sting.

When he grabs me this time, I’m ready. I plunge the screw into his chest. It goes in with surprisingly little force.

His mouth forms a perfect O.

Raphael stumbles backward, surprise written all over his face. The corkscrew sticks out from him strangely. Like the crank on the wrong end of a wind-up toy.

It’s all so surreal. It can’t be real. It can’t.

My veins are cold. My body is numb. My heart clatters in my chest.

Those blue eyes lock on mine. And then he collapses in front of me.

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When I get out of here, I’m going to tear that brat limb from limb.

I yank on the handle, shove at the door, and try to force my way out of it.

The damn thing doesn’t budge.

The only thought racing through my mind is Finley.

All this time, all these years I’ve put into this family to keep him away from her—and now, the second I turn my back, I’m locked away. If he’s hurt her, that’s on me now.

Me and my idiocy.

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