Dark Need (House of Sin 3)

The panic really settles in her eyes now, and I can’t say I don’t like it.

But I must stay focused on my task.

“Be quiet,” I say.

The knife is pushed against her skin, but I cannot find it in me to puncture her, despite my anger at her betrayal.

I thought she had finally calmed down a bit, and then she goes and pulls this stunt.

“Please. Don’t do this. I beg of you.” Her eyes turn all watery. “I’m sorry.”

I’m filled with rage, bristling like a bull in heat as I suck in oxygen and blow out the air right into her face. She made me do this, and I hate it.

But what I hate more are the tears rolling down her cheeks.

The look in her eyes full of dread and despair.

I’ve seen girls cry before, but they were all guilty, and they knew it.

But this one … this one is different. She keeps denying her sin, saying she did nothing to deserve this.

All of them would submit under the pressure of this knife.

But not her.

And these tears don’t look like the tears of a guilty woman.

I sigh and look down at her wet shoes. Her feet must be cold as ice.

I try to remember Eli’s words and imprint them in the forefront of my brain.

Get her there safely.

This isn’t it.

I slowly retract the knife and swipe my eyes across her face as the droplets run down onto her flimsy flannel shirt. I’ve done enough damage already.

I tuck the knife back into my pocket and release her throat.

As she rubs it, I grab her by the arm and drag her along with me.

“What are you going to do to me?” she asks, straggling along. “C’mon, the least you can do is tell me.”

I ignore her pleas and head straight back to the place where I left my bag. I need to find it as it’s the only thing keeping me from doing something I really shouldn’t do.

“How do you even know where to go?” she asks.

How could I not know? I use the moss on the trees to pinpoint my location in relation to the sun. And of course, our own footsteps have left marks in the ground.

But it’s easier for me if she doesn’t know that.

When I finally find my bag again, she jerks herself free from my grip with a sigh.

When I throw her a glance, she makes a face. “What? It’s not like I’m going to run again.” She folds her arms. “I’ve learned my lesson.”

“I doubt that,” I retort, and I fish a rope from my bag that’s just big enough to trap one person.

And when I hold it up for her to see, her pupils dilate as though she’s seen a ghost.

April

A rope.

Oh no. Oh no, no, no.

But before I can say anything, he’s already thrown it around my arms and waist and tied a knot.

“Hey, what are you—?”

He suddenly grabs me and pins me up against the tree, wrapping the last pieces of the rope around the trunk and securing it tightly.

Fuck.

“Take this off!” I say, tugging and pulling at it, but my arms are so tightly secured I can’t do anything with them.

He’s right in front of me as he ties the final knot, staring at me with a sadistic type of raised brow that only torturers would show while making their victims suffer the consequences of their actions.

And fuck him for enjoying this so much.

“Let. Me. Go,” I hiss in a moment of pure spite.

He just stares at me with an insufferable smirk spreading on his lips. “No.”

Anger overtakes me, and I gather some spit and spew it right at his face.

He swipes it off and glares at me.

BANG!

A fist is planted right into the trunk of the tree I’m tied to, just above my head. I tried to pretend I didn’t care, but my body still flinched.

The smug look on his face tells me he definitely noticed.

“Don’t ever do that again,” he says. His low voice makes my body almost want to forget he’s keeping me prisoner and just let him overpower me.

What the hell is wrong with this … man?

If I can even call him that because he reminds me more of a beast than an actual human being.

He pulls away from the tree, leaving a giant, gaping hole in its wake. Then he grabs his bag and throws me one more look before stomping off.

Sudden panic overtakes me. “Wait! Don’t leave me here!”

But he doesn’t respond as usual and simply continues his trek.

I don’t know why but the thought of being alone out here makes me want to cry.

Of all the ways I could be set free … this wasn’t what I had in mind.

And it makes me want to slap myself for even trying to run in the first place.

Of course he would punish me like this.