Meet Me In The Dark: (A Dark Suspense) (17 page)

“Yes,” she says, still no emotion.

“That yes is permission.”

I wait to see if she will object, and in truth, a part of me wants her to. I want her to knee me in the balls. Scratch my eyes out. Spit in my face. I want her to fight.

Because if she did all those things, I might stop. It might be enough to stop me.

But again, she’s compliant when I want resistance.

And then she takes it one step further. She covers the distance between us with a kiss.

My hand leaves her hair and I find her throat again. Because we’re on. “Let me explain what the hard fuck is, Sydney. OK?” I growl it into her mouth, because she’s still kissing me. “It means I will push you beyond all your limits. I will make you cry tears and writhe in pain and pleasure at the same time. I’m gonna make that fuck so hard you’ll weep. But you will beg me to keep going. I will make your body sore, your muscles shudder, and your mind exhausted. I’m gonna take you, Sydney Channing. I’m gonna take you and once I do, I’m never gonna give you back.”

“Take me,” she whispers back. Her warm breath intertwines with mine, making us intimate for a moment.

But only for a moment. Because I push her to her knees, fist her hair, and drag her face towards my cock.

“They walk that line between angel and demon, and they use it against me too.”

– Case

S
he looks up at me, her warm breath already heating up the denim of my jeans. Her eyes are watery, like she wants to cry.

I want her to cry. I want to make her sob. I want to stuff my dick down her throat and watch the tears run down her face.

I kneel down, pushing her off balance and making her tip back a little. She reaches out, grasping the fabric of my jeans to steady herself. I grab her face and grip it firmly, squeezing her cheeks. “There’s something wrong with you.”

“It’s your fault.”

“What?” I look from one eye to the other, trying to see what’s right in front of me, but failing utterly. “How do you figure that?”

“You left me there. My father hired you to—”

I push hard and she careens backwards onto the floor. She lets off a grunt and then turns over on her side, pulling her knees up to her chest. “Just do whatever you’re going to do. I don’t care anymore.”

“Do you have any idea what’s going on?” I walk across the room and then pace back, stopping with the tip of my boot so close to her lips, it might be touching. “Any idea who you are?
What
you are?”

She says nothing. Her eyes are open, but she’s checked out.

“What happens when he says that word—”

“Just fuck me.”

“You’re a virgin,” I sneer. “Remember?”

She pushes herself up with one hand, straining her neck to look me in the eye. “I am. But you don’t deserve to know the story, Case. You don’t deserve to know what that word does. You don’t deserve to know anything. But if you want to be the first to fuck my pussy, then whatever. Take it. Take whatever you want. You’re gonna anyway.”

My mind whirls with the only important detail in that statement. “You really expect me to believe that he only ever fucked you in the ass?”

“You said you were watching me. You should know.” She’s on her feet in an instant, her fist coming at me. She connects with my cheek. Hard.

But not hard enough. I grab her arm and drag her back over to the wall. And this time, I don’t ask her to hold on. I tie the bitch up. I clamp the cuffs on her wrists and tighten the chain until her arms are above her head. Her feet are still kicking and she’s calling me every name in the book. I take a few blows and a knee to my chest as I grab an ankle and attach the shackle. She’s still got one foot free when she stops the fight.

She seethes with hate and anger. Her breath is rushing out. Her hair is covering her face, blowing out a little with each exhale. “Do it,” she growls. “Take whatever you want, you stupid coward. My father hired you to save me! And you left me there!”

“I thought that was the best thing that ever happened to you?” I clamp the second shackle on her ankle and look up at her. Caught. “I thought he was your dream guy. I thought—”

She spits on me. It lands on my forehead.

“You’re gonna regret that.”

“I don’t think so,” she says, her words low and her tone gruff, like she’s exhausted. “I’m not gonna do it, Case. I’m not gonna do any of it anymore. I’m gonna piss you off so much you’ll have no
choice
but to kill me.”

“I can torture you, ya stupid bitch.”

And then she laughs. “No, you can’t.” She laughs again, louder this time. Wilder. Like she’s losing touch with reality. “You can’t torture me, Case. I’ve been through anything you can think up and more.” She sneers at me. “And I have a secret. I have lots of secrets, actually. But this one takes away all your power.”

I know what she’s gonna say before she does and I stand up quickly, trying to cover her mouth with my hand. But it slips by me.

“Hush,” she says. “All I gotta do is tell myself to hush and no one can hurt me.” She looks up, through the strands of hair that are still wet from the bath and probably soaking up the sweat that is running down her face, even though this room can’t be anywhere near warm, let alone hot.

“You’re a sick bitch.”

“Says one psycho to the next.”

I grab her throat. “Let’s pick up where we left off and see if we can’t tip the scales in my favor.”

“It’s your party, Case. I’m just along for the ride.” Her eyes blaze with expectations. “Fuck me. See how far it gets you. The hard fuck, you say? That’s what you think will teach me a lesson? You think the hard fuck is something new for me? Ha!” She laughs again. The crazy laugh. The laugh that says,
We’re done here
.

I step back. The soles of my bare feet are cold on the concrete floor as I walk away. When I get to the fire I turn my back to it, letting what little is left warm me up. “I think you’ve misunderstand what the hard fuck is.”

“
I’m gonna make you weep, Sydney
,” she says in a fake voice. “
I’m gonna make that fuck so hard you’ll weep
. Well, I’m not sure why this is a newsflash, since you said you’ve been watching, but newsflash, asshole—I always weep.” She spits in my direction, but I’m too far away to hit this time. “Your game is old. Your methods are tired. Your knowledge is
lacking
.”

She’s like a little demon chained to a wall. That’s how she looks right now.

“You want me to tell you what I know?” She pauses, but I don’t say anything. This is not going at all how I planned it. “I know what you’re looking for. I know where Garrett is. But it’s locked up in that place I keep all my secrets. The dark place. Take me there, Merc. Meet me there in the dark and I’ll tell you everything you want to know.”

Her use of my trade name brings me back to my senses. She’s a small girl chained to a wall. I’m a six-foot-something assassin. One of the best in the world. She’s proud to be able to take the violence. I’m proud about how I dish it out. But what she’s saying is the rambling of someone who has lost touch. I’m not sure anything I get will be reliable. “How?”

“Drugs,” she says, her voice suddenly soft.

I walk forward until I get right up next to her naked body. “Been there, done that, cowgirl. We’re gonna try something different this time.” I lean in and kiss her. Her teeth are there as she tries to bite me. But I calmly hold her head with both hands and force her nose to bump against mine. “I’ll meet you in the dark. But we’re gonna get there my way this time.”

“Those other ways?” she questions back, her voice still soft. Even her breathing is soft. “Those were my ways?” That makes her turn so she has space to laugh. “I’m pretty sure you’ve been driving this car, Merc. I’m pretty sure I wasn’t the one pushing drugs in me for the past few days.”

“Weeks,” I correct her. And it works, because that revelation throws her.

“You’re lying. It’s only been a few days.”

“Versed, sweetie.” I lean down and kiss her. This time she holds still for it, but she doesn’t respond. “It’s a drug. Versed makes it all go away. I’ve had you for two weeks. Your man, Brett, he never even looked for you. You’ve got no one who cares, Sydney. So be a good girl and tell me what you know. Then I’ll drug you again. Walk out of here. And never look back. And when you wake up you’ll find all the gear you need to start over. How’s that for a deal?”

“You lie.”

“Or we can do the hard fuck first.” I smile at that. And then I dip my fingers between her legs and push one against her entrance. She’s slightly wet. “You want me to relieve you of that pesky v-card? I’m pretty sure Garrett fucked your pussy. I never saw it, just the assplay. But he’s not the kind of guy who saves shit for later.”

“Until he is,” she quips back. “He has patience you’d never understand.”

“Sticking up for him again?” I smile. Because her leverage over me is gone now. “Hmmm? He’s still your guy? The man in your dreams? Taking you fishing? Giving your code words to trigger your brainwashing? I bet he fucked you plenty of times while you were under. Right?”

She stares up at me, squinting. “Kill me. Just do it. Kill me and let me go.”

I push my leg forward until my thigh rests against her pussy and press my chest against her breasts. “I plan on it, Syd. Just not the way you want me to. Because the hard fuck, wildcat, isn’t hard because I pound the shit out of women and choke them unconscious. That’s someone else’s version. My version is hard because you have to beg for it.”

She spits again, this time hitting me on the mouth.

I kiss her and give it back. She catches my lip this time, biting down hard, drawing blood. But I just push her off me and smile. “I like the taste of blood, Syd. Haven’t you figured that out yet? You don’t call yourself a killer and not like the taste of blood. It turns me on, bitch. Now beg for it.”

“Fuck you.”

“Oh, I’m certainly gonna fuck you. But you’re gonna beg for it. And you’re gonna tell me what I want to know. Because I’m gonna retrain you, Sydney. I’m gonna retrain that fucked-up mind of yours.” I tap her on the head a few times to illustrate my point. “I’m gonna reprogram you. Take you down into that dark place you love so much and turn the fucking lights on.”