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Recognition flurries wildly in my mind when I’m transported back to a time when I was nothing more than a pawn in a sick and twisted game. The man before me may have darker hair, he may be dressed in an immaculate suit, but I know him. The first man to ever touch me and make me feel pleasure rather than pain.
Drake Savage.
Confused emotions swirl through me. Anger. Sadness. Curiosity. And one that’s stronger than all of those, one I need to tamper down — desire.
I don’t know if I should be thankful or saddened he’s here, but I don’t allow my expression to falter. It’s indifferent. And I watch as his shoulders relax from the tension radiating from him. Even though he’s playing it cool, I pick up every nuance of this man.
No matter what his plan for me is, there’s nothing I can say to him now. Thanos will know he’s someone from my past, and something tells me that he doesn’t want him to know. So, I play along, the obedient toy I’ve been trained to be.
His head tips slightly to the side with an inquisitive arch to his dark eyebrow, which makes me want to talk to him. To beg him to free me, to steal me from my hell. But where would he take me? To the awful dungeon where I’ll do his bidding instead of Thanos’s? Perhaps I should be afraid, but Drake doesn’t scare me.
Why has he come for me after all this time?
What is he planning on doing with me?
He offers a smile, tips the glass of wine to his lips, and gulps a mouthful, swallowing the alcohol before turning fully to me. “You’re rather exquisite,” he utters, and his voice takes me back to the night in the library where we spoke like equals.
“I took your beautiful cunt last night,” Drake says as he shoves me into the chair. I have a feeling we’re being watched because he’s aloof, closed off.
“You did.”
“That’s the last time it will ever happen. If I’m found out . . .”
He doesn’t need to finish his sentence because I know exactly what would happen. Neither of us would survive, but then again . . . Am I surviving?
“They’ll do horrific things to you,” he tells me. Gripping the edge of the desk, his fingers turn white with frustration.
“It’s not like they haven’t already.”
“You keep fighting them, Caia.” His shoulders slump, but he doesn’t look at me. Instead, he lowers his head as if he’s been defeated. “I can’t keep you safe.”
“Why would you?”
Either my eyes are playing tricks on me, or Drake’s body really is vibrating with barely contained rage. I wish he would look at me. I silently plead for those blue orbs to pierce me, to steal my soul.
“Tell me, Drake?” I force. Shoving up from the chair he just put me in, I place a hand on his shoulder, causing him to tense under my touch. “Tell me what it is about them hurting me that pains you so?”
He spins on his heel, and I can’t stop the shocked gasp that falls from my lips. As if something has taken over him, he is furious. There’s venom in his eyes. Pure, violent, and unrestrained.
His hand grips my arm, the other wrapping around my neck. When he squeezes, a sound tumbles from my parted lips. His glare falls to my mouth, watching as I struggle to suck in deep breaths. Attempting to pull air into my lungs.
“Is this what you wanted? Them to choke the life from you? Because if it is, I can do it. I’ll happily kill you before they do.”
I can’t respond. My eyes tear up, but it’s not because of sadness. Instead, it’s fear that he’s right. They will kill me. And the realization slams into me that I’d rather have him do it than them.
“This is no game, Caia. It’s life or death.”
He releases me suddenly, running his fingers through his hair, tugging at the strands in frustration.
“Fuck this,” he hisses. “I want you again. I’m torn between wanting to fuck you and kill you. Between wanting to steal your lips or stealing your life.”
“You’re not one of them, Drake.” Coughing the words, I turn away from him, not wanting him to see me struggle with my own thoughts, my own emotions. I want him. I shouldn’t. But I can’t stop my traitorous heart from feeling something for the man who holds me hostage.
“No, I wasn’t one of them. It’s been years though. There’s only so much I can take,” he confesses with his back to me.
“They hurt you too. Don’t they?”
“They hurt us all.”
And that moment is when I realize I’m falling in love with the man before me. When I realize Drake Savage not only owns my body, he owns my heart too.
