Cruel Obsession (The Obsession Duet 1)

The living room is empty, as is the kitchen. I continue walking toward the hall that leads to the gym and library. I do my best not to make any noise, and when I reach the door to the gym, I spot Zane. He’s doing push-ups on the floor, his complete attention on counting each up and down rep. I look to the free weights sitting a few feet away.

Now is your chance…

I know if I miss or don’t knock him out that I’ll be screwed. There is no coming back from this, but the other option is worse. It forces me to stay here with a man who is what real monsters are made of, and I can’t do that. Wiping my clammy palms against the front of my yoga pants, I walk up to the weight rack and grab a fifteen-pound dumbbell. It should do the job. Nervously, I do my best not to trip or startle Zane as I edge closer to him.

You can do it. For one brief second, I contemplate putting the weight back and walking away. I’m not the type to hurt someone, and this is going to do some damage. It’s going to rip me apart on the inside. I just don’t see a way around it. It’s him or me, and I have to save myself.

The muscles in my stomach tighten as I lift the weight above my head. Closing my eyes—because I can’t look at this—I bring it down in an arch motion. Flinching when the heavy weight makes contact, and his body crashes to the floor with a thud. I lift the weight again, aiming for the back of his head, probably what I should’ve aimed for to begin with.

Except as I lift the weight above my head, Zane rolls over and pushes up onto his feet with lightning speed. Fear grips onto me, causing me to freeze. The dark shadow that casts on his face is terrifying. Zane might care about me, might be obsessed, but right now, all I see is a man who wants to hurt me. My lungs shrivel up, and my throat tightens. It feels like I’m suffocating, and he hasn’t even touched me yet.

He’s going to kill me.

“You just don’t know when to quit, do you?” His lip curls with fury, and he tugs the weight out of my hand, tossing it to the floor behind him like it’s nothing.

I’m going to die. I can feel it. He’s looking at me with murder in his eyes, and I have nowhere to go, no way to escape him. I swallow down the scream building in my throat as he lunges for me, his nostrils flaring like a bull.

Lifting me, he tosses me over his shoulder. I land harshly, and it takes me about a half-second before I start pounding on his back and kicking my feet.

“Keep fighting me, Dove. It makes my cock hard feeling you struggle, and we both know how badly you want me.”

“Let me go! I hate you. I hate you, and I will never let you touch me again. Never.” I’m screaming the words now, my voice cracking from fear and anger.

Before I can grasp onto my bearings, Zane is doing just that, letting me go, but my relief is short-lived when I’m tossed onto the mattress like a rag doll.

His firm body blankets mine in an instant, and I try to move away, but he holds me in place, his fingers digging into the flesh at my hip. “You want me to treat you the way I treat everyone else? You don’t want my kindness? Because that’s all I’ve given you so far. You still fight me and try to escape. I’m doing all of this to protect you, but you don’t see that. You don’t see that the biggest monster isn’t me but someone else. Why can’t you see the truth?”

Like a wounded animal in the clutches of a predator, I twist my body and kick my legs, hoping to land a jab against him. Zane is skilled though and stops my assaults before they can even get started by pressing me deeper into the mattress.

My breaths are coming out in pants, and it’s almost like I’m suffocating. Choking on the fear. The weight of his body is all I can feel. His hard cock is against my stomach, and I think I’m going to be sick. Bile rises in my throat.

Fight. Fight! Digging deep inside myself, I lash out. I catch him right across the face with my hand and drag my nails down across his nose and cheek, leaving deep gouges.

“Fuck!” He takes both of my wrists into one hand and pressing them to my chest. Once he has me trapped, I can hardly move, let alone breathe. When he leans into my face, all I see is the devil looking down at me.