Wife (Betrothed 1)

She shrugged. “Kids?”

“I guess. But Hades keeps trying to push me into a commitment.”

“Honestly, that’s kind of romantic.” She took a drink. “This guy wants you all to himself and doesn’t want to share.”

“I suppose…”

A couple of guys joined us, tag-teaming us with free drinks. One of the guys immediately went to Esme and started the conversation with a joke, which must have been funny because she laughed. They hit it off pretty quickly and kept to themselves in the corner of the booth.

My guy was cute, and since he was nice, I didn’t want to waste his time. “I’m seeing someone.”

“I usually assume that every time I meet a beautiful woman. It’s just the odds, you know? But since my friend is—” he glanced at them and chuckled “—already making out with your friend, I guess we could keep talking.”

“Yeah, I don’t see the harm in that.”

“Let me walk you home.” Lance walked beside me, wearing his thick coat to fight the cold.

“I just live a few blocks from here. I’ll be fine.”

“Really? Because my apartment is in the same direction. So I can walk behind you like a weirdo, or we can walk together.”

“Wouldn’t want you to look like a weirdo,” I said with a laugh.

We headed down the street together then approached my building.

I said goodnight on the sidewalk. “Well, it was nice to meet you.” I gave a wave before I turned away.

Instead of leaving me alone, he moved into my body and kissed me.

“Whoa…” I pushed against his chest. “You need to back up, man.” My purse hung across my chest, and thankfully it was right in between us, pressed into my body, so it gave me a few inches of space. “I think you had too much to drink.”

“No. You’re just really pretty, and I had to go for it.”

“Well, I have a boyfriend.” The situation was getting tenser by the second. He’d seemed like a nice guy at the bar. Talking to him didn’t feel like an invitation to sex. But now, it seemed like he wanted to get his way—no matter the cost.

“He doesn’t need to know anything.” He moved into me again.

Instinct kicked in, and I punched him in the face. “Don’t touch me.” I only had seconds to figure out what to do. If I opened my purse and dug for my phone, I would be vulnerable to an attack. If I ran up the stairs to my apartment, I probably wouldn’t make it there in time. I had to fish out my keys too.

He turned with the hit then grabbed his nose. “Wow…that was unnecessary.” When he turned back to me, he wiped his nose, and a couple drops of blood were on his fingertip.

“Just leave me alone, alright? Go home.” I was rigid on the spot, unsure what to do. It was late at night, and no one was around. I could scream, but who would hear me? Who would call the police? How long would it take them to get there?

“You should at least let me inside to clean up.”

Yeah fucking right. “Go.”

He stood still.

“What are you doing?”

“Waiting for you to go to your door. I’m still a gentleman.”

I saw right through that bullshit. Once I got the door unlocked, he would push me inside and gag me. He wanted to hold me down and get what he wanted out of me—even if that meant he had to rape me.

How did this happen?

How the hell did I get myself in this situation?

I turned around and headed back where I came from. If I returned to the main road where the bar was, there were bound to be other people there. I could get a ride to Hades’s place and stay there for the night.

“Where do you think you’re going?” He grabbed me by the elbow and started to drag me into the alley.

“Get off!” I kicked him hard in the shin then threw my elbow into his face. He was a big guy, but I used enough force to make him falter. “Help!” I started to run again.

He tripped me so I fell to the ground, hidden from the road because we were in between two buildings. His hand covered my mouth, and he yanked up my dress.

I tried to buck him off and bite him, but I couldn’t. This man was twice my weight. I couldn’t get my body free even if it meant the difference between life and death. I tried to roll away, but it was no use. I pushed my jaw out and finally got some of his skin. I bit down hard, but there was hardly anything to bite into.

“Bitch.” He grabbed a plastic bag that had been dropped on the ground.

“No!”

He shoved it over my head and suffocated me.

I struggled to breathe, but every time I sucked in air, I just got the bag. Now my attention was focused on surviving, so he would have no problem getting my dress up and my panties down.