Tragic Beauty (Beauty & The Darkness #1)(32)

“I know you remember it,” he goes on. “Think back. Think back to that day. It was hot, wasn’t it? And you’d just come out of the bank, looking so damn pretty, and so damn sad. You’d dolled yourself up in a little white dress with those little red roses all over it, and you’d even put your hair up in a ponytail and tied it off with a bow. But it didn’t work, did it? You had that crumpled up foreclosure notice in your hand, looking like the world was about to end. But I was waiting for you, wasn’t I? I was standing by your daddy’s truck that you were driving then, because you’d just turned sixteen.”

He strokes my hair now, while my body keeps trembling.

“And you thought I was there to torment you,” he chuckles. “That’s what you said, remember? But I wasn’t. I’d heard about your lame-ass daddy being sick, and that you were about to lose your place too, so I knew what you were up against. I was there to offer you a way out. I said I’d pay for everything, didn’t I? The mortgage, the bills, the food—all of it. But in exchange I wanted everything from you too, and with no restrictions. Now, I know I was trying to get the better of you, but you drove a hard bargain. But I’d expect no less from you, Ava. So, what’d we settle on, hmm?”

He waits, but knows I won’t answer.

“For every month he stays alive—every month I pay—you give me a month in return. That’s it, wasn’t it? That’s what we agreed on? Gotta say, I was only figuring for a year at the most because of what the docs gave him. Still can’t decide if it was my luck, or your luck that had him lasting five years. All I know is that was a long-ass time for me to wait.”

He sighs and runs his fingers along my jaw. “Anyway…there was more though, wasn’t there? You were so proud. So strong. You had your one condition. You said I couldn’t touch you until he was gone. That was a hard one for me, Ava, but I went along. Then I countered by saying that when the time came, you would come live with me, 24/7. And I could see by the look in your eyes that was a tough one for you, so I sweetened it, didn’t I? I said at the end of our time together, I’d pay off your mortgage, so that place would be yours free and clear. I thought that was pretty decent of me, don’t you think? But there was something else too, wasn’t there? There was one final bit of that deal. One last little detail, but it was so important.”

Shayne gives a little tug on my hair as more tears seep through my lashes and onto the rug.

“Come on, Ava. You can say just this last little bit can’t you? I know you remember it. No? Well, let me help you. I’ll give you a hint. See, I knew you were a virgin at the time. That fucker on the side of the road had tried to take your cherry from me, but you fought him off, didn’t you? Attempted rape it had been called, not rape. And I’d kept a real close eye on you growing up, and you were so quiet, and so shy, that I knew no one else had gotten to you.”

His hand threads into my hair, and slowly settles around the base of my neck, tightening as he speaks. “So what was it, hmm? What was that last little detail that I made sure you understood? Oh yeah. No one touches you. NO ONE!!!”

Those last two words tear through my ears in a violent shout that echoes inside my skull as he cuts off my air completely and smashes my head into the rug.

“I know I made it clear. I’m sure I did. I even asked you if you understood. And in this voice so small, you whispered, ‘I understand.’ Remember that? REMEMBER THAT, AVA??!!”

I start to thrash, desperate for air, when he lets me go, grabs my hair and yanks my head back, his lips at my ear. “But you lied to me. You broke your word to me. I never figured you for that kind of girl, but know that I know this about you, I don’t feel so bad over what I’ve done, or what I plan to do.”

Shayne hauls me to my feet by my hair, then drags me from the room and out into the hall. My legs wobble as I stumble after him, glimpses of stone walls and wood beams blurring past me. We finally come to a wooden door with large metal hinges that he opens and shoves me through, so hard I fall to my knees. The door slams behind me and then he’s there, looming over me, and in a cold, hard voice, he says, “Now it’s my turn.”





CHAPTER FIFTEEN




Ava




Shayne hauls me to my feet and I start to tremble, violently. I know we must be in the master. Not just because of the enormous bed with the thick, black iron, box frame, but the room is huge, with more stone walls and thick wood rafters above, and large windows that lead to the mountains beyond. I know there’s carpet beneath my feet, a couple doors off to the right, and a small seating area by the window, but I don’t see any of it, because there’s something in the far corner that makes my stomach turn.

A dog crate.

Shayne doesn’t have any dogs.

I feel him behind me, undoing my wrists, but he must sense where my focus is, because he says, “I had a room all set up for you, but until you’ve earned it, you’re in the doghouse, sweetheart.”

His words and that crate have the anger boiling to the surface, and as soon as my wrists come free, I turn and strike as hard as I can. My fist lands on his jaw and he grunts and jerks back. My hand screams in pain, but I don’t care. I’m on him, kicking and screaming, and clawing at his face, but he’s so strong, and so quick. As soon as it starts, it’s over, and he’s got my wrists again, chuckling while he yanks them above my head. He ties them to the top of the bed frame, so high, my toes just barely graze the carpet, and so tight, the rope breaks my skin.