REINA
“One.”He didn’t even flinch. “Two.” He still didn’t move. I let my fingers flex so he knew I was serious about slitting his throat. “Thr—” The word died on my lips as his hand moved lightning fast, switching the angle of my grip, and the blade was suddenly facing toward my throat, making my wrist ache with sharp, shooting pains.
“Fucking …” I kneed him as hard as I could, and he laughed—he fucking laughed! I couldn’t believe it. Swinging my head forward, I smashed it against his nose. Hearing it break and the gush of his blood on my forehead was satisfying. I backed up, wrenching my hand from his as I swiped the knife toward him. But he moved so quickly, I missed.
He twisted us around in the blink of an eye, pinning me between the truck and his hard body.
“See, this is why I’m intrigued. You’re so much fun.” I growled at him, a feral, instinctive reaction to being cornered and taunted. Thrashing in his arms, an overwhelming urge to panic rose. I wouldn’t let him win. I couldn’t let him win.
He wanted to believe that he was in control, but I would have the upper hand. I would find it and take it. Recalling my self-defense lessons, I kicked my foot out as hard as possible, connecting it with his kneecap and listening to the reassuring crack. That would do it.
But he didn’t even pull back. His grip never loosened.
“What the fuck is wrong with you!” I pulled harder, trying to pry myself from his grip. Nothing I did worked. No amount of pain I inflicted worked. His hands slipped down to my wrists, fingers trailing like icy fire down my forearms. The way he held me ensured I couldn’t move, my hands wagging helplessly in the air. His body stepped closer, his hard chest nearly crushing me between the truck. His leg nudged mine apart, and I thrashed.
“No! Get off me!” I moved harder, faster, and more desperate.
“I want you.” His words were velvet in my ear as he leaned down, his nose nudging along the column of my throat, and he inhaled me like a fine wine. “I want you so bad. Let me have you.” His tongue slipped from his mouth, trailing across my collarbone as he savored the tops of my breasts. I jerked, trying to get him off me, but I planted his face right into my cleavage.
And he moaned, licking in between them before pulling his face out and grinning at me like I’d granted all his wishes. Fuck, if that didn’t make me wet. He pressed closer still, grinding his hard cock against me with a silent promise of what he could do with it as the motion sent disloyal tremors through my body.
He was gorgeous. Easily the best-looking guy I’d ever seen. His jaw was chiseled so sharply under smooth alabaster skin, full rosy lips that puckered naturally, and his eyes were so deep I felt like I was falling to the bottom of an ocean. His hair was brown, maybe even black. It was so dark and hung longer in the front than some guys felt comfortable wearing, but it suited him. And I hated how much my body longed for him.
Sure, he was trying to hold me down and have his way with me, but my damn treacherous body liked it. I could feel the patch of wetness between my thighs as I rubbed against him with every struggle, feeling everything. And dammit, that made me want him more.
I could imagine the same roughness as he held me against the wall, pinning me in place as he sunk his massive cock into me. And I would ride him through multiple orgasms as he sucked and bit my desperate nipples while we collided again and again.
It would be incredible. I knew it right down to my core.
But I needed to have some sense. It didn’t matter if he was hot. It didn’t matter if a loud, impenetrable voice in my head said yes. I wouldn’t.
“No!” I shouted more to myself than him. “Get the hell off me!” I stomped on his foot as hard as I could, and then again, and again, and again. I couldn’t figure out why nothing I tried worked on him. The more I protested and screamed, the more dread filled me, and panic seized my heart. It thumped painfully in my chest, catching my breath before stealing it completely.
Then, as suddenly as the assault had begun, it stopped, and he stepped back, dragging a hand through his hair in aggravation.
“Damn it, woman.” He groaned softly before dropping his hand to stare at me. “You have no idea what you do to me.” He brazenly adjusted himself, drawing my eyes to the bulge in his jeans as he tucked it into a more inconspicuous position. My mouth actually watered at the sight of it. What the fuck was wrong with me?
I was supposed to feel relieved when he released me and gave me the space I needed to put distance between us. But my body missed the closeness almost immediately. He tried to assault you, you harlot!
I had never reacted to a man like this. I had never wanted someone as much as I wanted him right now. And yet I loathed him with every fiber of my being.
“I drive you to rape women is my guess.” I snarled at him.
“I’ve never met anyone quite like you. And I’ve known a lot of women.”
“Did you rape them too?”
“Some … Yes.” He smiled in a predatory way. “But you need to understand it was our way. Though, I have advanced with modern society.”
My heart skipped a beat, imagining what he would happily do to me despite my protests. Truthfully, it wasn’t even the threat of a sexual assault that scared me. It was the sheer and utter helplessness. I wasn’t used to not being stronger or smarter. I wasn’t used to being the victim, and the idea stung. With a dad like mine and the shady as shit men he brought home with him, I always made sure I could get the upper hand. I always knew one day I’d need it.
And yet, the day had come, and I couldn’t. If he’d really wanted to take me, he could’ve, and I would’ve been helpless. Fear clenched my heart, and then anger overrode it.
“I’m … sorry … I frightened you.” The way he spoke suggested that an apology rarely graced his tongue, but that didn’t mean I would accept it.
“Go fuck yourself.” I glared.
“I am truly sorry.” He bowed his head, and then he disappeared. The tension that had coiled in my muscles relaxed slightly but not enough. I was still in danger. So, I walked backward until my back hit the wall and slid down it. All the adrenaline escaped me in a rush, and I was left with shaky legs that couldn’t bear my weight. My knees pressed to my chest, and I stared at the tailgate of the truck, my mind racing.
I couldn’t even begin to make sense of what had just happened. He wasn’t human. That had to be the only explanation of how he’d bested me, appearing and disappearing at will. How he was so silent, I never detected him.
But then, if he wasn’t human … What was he?