Ruins of Temptation (Corium University Trilogy 4)

Wide, fearful eyes stare me down when I turn back to a now dressed Delilah. She quickly covers her discomfort with a remark. “I didn’t know you were into rope play.”

“Get on the floor.” My voice comes out a little gruffer than needed, but it gets her moving. She gets on the ground in a hurry, lying flat on her back with her head on the pillow. Her slender fingers cling to the hem of my shirt, holding it in place.

With the rope in my hand, I kneel next to her and snatch her wrists. “I’m going to tie them together in the front tonight. If you try anything stupid, and I mean anything, I will make sure to restrain you in the most uncomfortable position possible. You got that?”

“Got it.” She nods rapidly while watching me curiously as I wrap the rope around her wrists and secure them with a knot that will be impossible for her to untie on her own.

I repeat the process with her ankles, noting that her feet are still cold to the touch. Her toes are slightly blue, and the bottom of her feet are scratched up and red. I guess making her walk barefoot wasn’t such a great idea after all. Aspen is not going to be happy if Delilah loses some toes, but it’s not just about what she wants. It’s about righting my wrongs. Delilah is a reminder of how I failed Aspen.

Pushing off the ground, I stand over her for a few moments, admiring my own handiwork. I could offer her a blanket; it would be the responsible thing to do, the kind thing, seeing as she is tied up on the floor, her small frame shaking, and her toes still blue from walking in the snow. I shake away any inkling of remorse. She deserves to suffer.

Forcing my raging hard-on down, I get undressed down to my boxers and crawl into bed. I hate the reaction my body has to her presence, but I am a man, after all. Still, if I’m going to fuck someone, it isn’t going to be her.

Before switching the light off, I glance at Delilah’s form one more time. Her eyes are closed, but I doubt she is sleeping. Not with the way her entire body is shaking. All I can do is smirk, swallowing down any feelings of remorse or kindness for her. She’s part of the problem, part of the people who hurt Aspen, and if she thinks it’s all going to be fun and games from here on out, she’s dead wrong.

I’ll make her wish Aspen had chosen for her to die that night.

9

DELILAH

It might have taken forever to fall asleep, but even with my wrists and ankles tied tight enough to turn them numb, I somehow slept better than I have in weeks. I still don’t know what day it is. All I know is that sleeping on the floor of Lucas’s bedroom was more comfortable and more restful than that stinking, filthy cot, even without the blanket.

My arms are sore from being in this position for hours, and my legs are stiff, but I’m clean and wearing clothes that aren’t covered with filth.

It’s the little things. I’ll never take clean clothes for granted again as long as I live.

It finally hits me that there’s something about this room that reminds me of the cell I just left: a lack of windows. Because we’re underground, there’s no natural sunlight or anything. It’s disorienting, but I’m used to that. It’s like the torture I went through prepared me for this.

Movement from the bed makes me freeze up. I hold my breath, waiting to see what will happen. From my vantage point, I can just see him under the blankets. A soft snore tells me he’s still asleep. How can he sleep soundly, seeing what he did last night?

Knowing what I went through? He must be a soulless bastard to rest soundly after tying a girl up and forcing her to sleep on his floor, knowing she’s already been through hell.

He shifts again, leaving me to wonder just how soundly he’s actually resting. Now he’s on his back, one arm flung over his head. It would be so easy to kill him. He was smart to tie me up.

The old me would never have thought about doing anything like that. I’m not a violent person; at least, I wasn’t before. But time and torment have a way of doing things to a person’s mind. They teach you how far you’re willing to go to survive, and that’s what this is really about at the end of the day. Survival. If you want to survive, you have to get the people who would rather destroy you out of the way. The law of the jungle or whatever.