She felt sick.
In all of her years near the Twisted Monsters MC, she’d never seen anything quite so vile in all of her life. She wanted to throw up, cry, scream, and beg him to stop. His men were loving the show, telling him to make the guy take the bat even more.
She stared into the flames, holding herself tightly, wanting to be anywhere but here. The days had started to meld together now.
Another scream filled the air, and she flinched as Reaper pulled the bat out and proceeded to beat him with it. The sound was a crunch, and the deathly silence filled the air. Seconds later, cheers erupted. His men were more than happy with the death and carnage that had occurred while she wanted to weep for the man.
Did anyone deserve that kind of treatment?
Out of the corner of her eye, she watched as Reaper washed his hands and face and threw out cans of beers to his buddies.
He stepped close to her, gripped the back of her neck, titled her head back, and kissed her. Catcalls rang out as he deepened the kiss. Finally, when he was done, he let her go, and she held herself even more tightly, wanting to escape.
“What’s the matter? Didn’t enjoy the show?” Reaper asked, opening his beer and drinking. He drank a great deal but never did drugs. Compared to his men, Reaper was in shape.
“Did you really have to do that?”
“I’ve got to set an example to my boys. Business will mean I’ll have to leave you alone. If they think they can touch you, do you really think witnessing that guy getting what was coming to him is the worst of your problems?”
“Why don’t you just send me home?” she asked. “Then no one would have to die and I wouldn’t have to worry about you going crazy on everyone.”
“Nah, not going to happen. Where’s the fun in that?” he asked.
“I want to go…” She wanted to say home but instead, asked to go back to the hotel.
Reaper surprised her by agreeing. He walked her back to his bike, and a couple of his men followed. The others stayed at the fire. She didn’t ask what they were going to do about the body. The less she knew about them and what they got up to, the better. She would already have nightmares for weeks to come after what she’d just seen and heard. That man, she hadn’t wanted him to touch her, but she also didn’t want him to beg for death or feel so much pain.
Arriving back at the hotel, she realized she was getting used to riding on the back of his bike. Her legs no longer felt like jelly. She rushed toward the hotel room, needing to clear her mind and head. Rather than stop at the bed, she went straight to the bathroom, needing to rid herself of the very memory of what just happened. Turning the shower to cold, she stepped beneath the water, wanting to do nothing more than forget. Her thoughts, as they always did, turned to Preacher. Was he still looking for her? Time wasn’t on her side and she’d never in all her life felt so lost and alone.
She stood beneath the spray of the water for what felt like hours, but for her, time did seem to move differently. Minutes felt like hours. Hours more like days.
After turning off the water, she wrapped her body in a towel and left the room.
Reaper was on the bed, naked.
When she appeared, he got off and brushed past her, going into the shower. There was no point in trying the door. If it wasn’t already locked, there would be a guard outside. She knew because she’d tried it several times.
She dried as fast as she could, grabbing a nightshirt, any shirt, and quickly climbing into bed. She turned onto her side, facing the wall, closing her eyes, and hoping sleep would find her.
After what she’d just witnessed, sleep would be a long way off.
Still, she tried.
Failed.
Reaper returned from the shower without saying a single word. The light was turned off and the bed dipped with his body. She held on to her pillow and within seconds, his arms wrapped around her.
“I know right now you hate what you saw, but one day, you’re going to see I don’t let anyone put their hands on my woman.”
“I’m not your woman.” She whispered the words, wanting him to see the truth.
“You are.” The hand at her stomach moved down to between her thighs.
She squeezed her eyes closed, hoping above all else to not respond to his touch. She was stronger than him.
Only, her body didn’t believe that. Not as he started to kiss her neck. He hadn’t used his fists in a long while. She had no doubt he was capable of hitting her. There was a time he would laugh as he hurt her. Reaper had decided to hurt her another way, by getting her body to betray her. He knew what to do to make her ache.