His words land like a punch to the gut. I suck in a hollow breath and shut my eyes until the pain recedes. “Why?”
He closes the little bit of distance between us, his body pressing hard against mine. I hate the way our hips fit together, the way my legs instinctively open to his width. I hate how right it feels to slide against him.
“Because,” he says, “I will do whatever it takes to make you understand that I’m in charge. You submit or you suffer. There are no other choices. Do you understand?”
My thoughts narrow down to one word: Isabella.
I have to protect my daughter.
From Adrik. From Malcolm. From all the men in this world who will want to hurt her and use her like they’ve hurt and used me.
Suddenly, it’s not Adrik in front of me—it’s every fear I’ve ever had. Every doubt I’ve wanted to vanquish.
He is every man who has ever laid their hands on me, and this is my one chance to make my mark. My one chance to fight back.
I caught the glint of the letter opener on the foyer table when Adrik pushed me against the wall, so I don’t even need to look over to know where it’s at. I just have to move fast enough to grab it before he can stop me.
“Do you understand?” he repeats, leaning so close I can barely breathe.
“Yes,” I gasp, shooting my arm out to the side and snatching the smooth white handle in my palm. “I understand everything.”
Then I plunge the little knife into Adrik’s side.