Fear, Adrenaline... And Something More

GABRIEL

I find her perched on the windowsill, her back to me as she prepares to take a leap out the opened window. A subtle breeze whistles through her long hair as she snaps her head to find me leaning against the wall.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." I throw a gaze at her, noticing the way her back is arched in preparation for the jump. She's squatting on her feet with large, expressive eyes.

She doesn't say anything. She turns her head to assess the distance of the jump, her body shaking uncontrollably by the terror clouding her mind.

I watch as she takes a slow, deep breath, drinking as much air as she can before placing unsteady hands on each side of the window.

Is she really going to jump?

"Even if you were to survive the fall, your bones would be broken. You'd be in so much agony. You'd beg me to kill you." I begin my way to where she's perched, slowly approaching so that I don't startle her and cause her to slip. "Have you ever had a broken bone before? The pain is far worse than death."

"It's better than staying here and getting tortured by you." She whispers defeated, broken.

So, she did hear my conversation with Roman.

She knows why she's here now.

"I heard everything!" She squeals. "You were supposed to abduct me together as some sort of sick revenge plot because of something you think my brother did."

"We were there when the asshole shot our sister." I confess, "He shot her like it was nothing. And then I caught her lifeless body. I saw the light go out in her eyes."

"And that's what you're supposed to do to me — except you're supposed to beat me bloody first." She says next, lips quivering as she holds back the tears I can see forming in her eyes. "I won't let you beat me. I will die before you torture me, Gabriel." Her words hold so much power that her teeth sink into her lip as she speaks. She's afraid that much is obvious, but she still hasn't given up the fight. She knows I'm more than capable of overpowering her, but that doesn't stop her from trying to take me on. She will fight me tooth and nail if I try to grab her. She will bite, scratch — claw her way away from me if she has to.

She's right. Roman and I had plans of whipping her with belts until bright red welts decorated her flesh. We had plans of filling our ears with the sounds of her sharp screams as we slapped her and beat her body until she was purple and blue. We'd dreamed of chaining her up and then taking turns defiling her body, ruthlessly claiming her pussy over and over until she was crying and bleeding. And we'd fantasized about the videos we were going to send to her family. Videos of us torturing her. Videos of the tears streaming down her bruised and battered face. Videos of her choking on our cocks, and gagging on pleas to stop us.

Roman and I'd wanted to make her family suffer the way we'd suffered since Vincent murdered Olivia. We wanted to avenge her by making them live with the fact that they couldn't do anything to stop the horror that Rowan was living in, the same way we couldn't stop the bullet from ending Olivia's life. We wanted them to watch the smile disintegrate from her once beautiful face. We wanted them to watch the life drain from her pale blue eyes, the same way I saw the life disappear from Olivia's when she fell to the cold, wet concrete the night Vincent shot her.

But I've had her a month now and I haven't been able to lay a hand on her.

I haven't been able to hurt her the way I'm supposed to — the way I know Roman would have no trouble doing. He'd strike her and he wouldn't have to think twice about doing it.

So why can't I?

"Rowan get down from there before you slip and fall. I know you're not going to jump." I sigh, pinching the bridge of my nose to hold off the stress pounding in my forehead.

Her eyes harden like I've dared her, and I watch as she takes another deep breath, trying to gain enough courage so that she can prove me wrong. She tears her head away to look at the ground once more, moving on her feet so that she's right in the center of the opened window, her satin night-dress blowing in the wind behind her.

She's going to jump!

She opens her mouth to scream as she pushes off from the wall, but I move laser-fast and catch her in my arms before she can throw herself to her death. Her heavy panting makes her quake in my arms as she dangles out the window, thrashing in my tight hold. But I take every blow, gripping tighter so that she doesn't slip through.

"No!" She screams as she fights to escape me, wiggling her body desperately to break free when I pull her back inside.

She elbows me in the side, digging right into my gut with force that steals my breath. As I'm inhaling deeply to replenish my lungs, I feel her start to slip away so I slam her down over the side of the bed, pinning her violent hands above her head as I stare through her, nostrils flaring while anger rips me apart, my feet planted on the floor, my upper body holding her in place.

"Stop, Rowan." I demand through a locked jaw, eyes churning with rage "Stop."

But she doesn't hear me; she's too far gone in fear to take the time to listen to me. She continues to thrash beneath me, flexing every muscle in her body to fight against my strength, and my cock twitches from the friction of her body against mine. Glancing down to see where our bodies connect, a violent current washes over me when I see her tight nipples flushed against the buttery material of her nightgown.

My hungry glare descends upon her and her eyes widen with shame, heat quickly coloring her cheeks red. "Don't." The sound that slips through her parted lips is almost non-existent, lost in her breath when she realizes where my thoughts are. "Please."

"Don't what." I murmur, dropping low to breathe her in until my lungs are full of her intoxicating scent. I can smell the adrenaline coursing through her veins, heady and innocent as her chest rises and falls faster with mine. There's an electric current in the space around us, filling her soft eyes with a spark that I can feel in my groin.

She'd just tried to kill herself to escape me, but now I can see lust as she gazes up at me. She's trying like hell to deny the attraction swirling around, but I can taste it in the air. She wants me and she knows I know it. I want her, too — more than I've ever wanted another woman in my entire goddamn life.

"Please don't touch me..." She whimpers nervously, biting her lower lip as I move a knee between our bodies to spread her thighs apart.

Heat escapes from her pussy through her underwear. She's turned on and more than ready for me, and my cock grows at the excitement of diving into her hot slickness. I know I'd be able to feel how wet she is for me if I pushed a finger inside her. I know she's already soaked because I can smell her sex between us, taunting me to claim her as mine.

"You want this just as much as I do, Rowan." I mutter, unable to resist the urge to rock my hips against her, and she bites back a groan as my cock grows and throbs against her through my pants.

"No, I don't." She shakes her head, not wanting me to hear her moan, arching her fingers so that her nails dig into the skin on the tops of my knuckles. I feel the sharp sting instantly, but my cock only aches for her more, so I rock into her again, pressing the thick bulge against her groin. She gasps against my face, her breath hot on my cheek as she scratches me again.

"Let me fuck you." I croon against the side of her neck, my tongue traveling up the artery there. My lips moving across her skin with ease, tasting her.

Why am I asking for her permission!?

"No." She says again, but her nipples harden further, pebbling against the lace of her top between us. My mouth salivates for those nipples. I want to bite her sensitive skin to remind her just what I'm capable of. I want to bend down and suck on her tits so hard until she bows on the mattress below me and begs me to plunge inside her.

I rock my hips again, this time with determination, making sure she feels the thick throbbing of my shaft on her clit. "Let me fuck you, Rowan." I growl deep in my throat, demanding she obey, while also requesting her consent.

Why the fuck am I asking her?!

She belongs to me; her body belongs to me.

After everything her brother has put me through, I deserve this. I have every right to pull my pants down and drive my cock deep inside her. I have every right to fuck her until I can't see straight. Until she can't speak coherently.

So why the hell am I not already balls deep inside her?

"Why are you trying to deny that you want me just as bad as I want you?" I question, my body stiffening as I lock her in my vision.

"I don't want you." She curls her lip, "I hate you." The coldness in her usual milky blue eyes stirs my blood and fills my insides with burning desire. I know she hates me, but she wants me too, and that fact pisses her off more than I am right now.

"Maybe I should just see for myself." I tilt my head with a daring smirk, carefully enclosing her wrists within one hand while my other hand slowly skims down her nightgown to disappear between our bodies where I know she's already dripping.

"Don't fucking touch me." She spits out, slamming her thighs shut, even against the strength of mine, squeezing my hand flat between her legs. Her breathing is jagged and rugged, coming out in quick bursts as her heart thrashes against my chest.

I could pry her legs open if I really wanted to, but I can see how badly she doesn't want to surrender control over to her body. And that kills my arousal like a fuse burning out. I can see the humiliation on her cheeks because her pussy is wet for me — and even though I want to feel her from the inside, I don't want her to hate herself too.

I can't do this to her.

This isn't right.

Apparently, I'm a criminal with a conscience.

Who knew?

Sighing, I get up and stand over her, adjusting the collar of my sweater to pretend like I hadn't just nearly lost my self-control. Again. "If you promise me you won't try to jump out the window again tonight, I'll give you something in return."

She stills on the bed and relaxes now that I've moved away from her, her cheeks still flaring red from the desire still contained in her blood. "I don't want anything from you."

"You want this, trust me." I nod.

There's a trace of light in her eyes. She's interested, "What is it?"

"Promise me first and then I'll tell you." I shake my head to cut her off.

Her attention darts back to the window before falling back on me as she contemplates, biting on a fingernail "I promise I won't try to jump out the window."

"Give me your word, Rowan."

Confusion plagues her and mars her face, "I give you my word that I won't try to jump out the window again." She breathes in a mocking tone, holding her right hand up to add to the sarcasm.

"And I give you my word that I won't retaliate for your actions tonight." I promise her, fully realizing what it means. "And my word means everything to me."

So now what the fuck am I going to do with her?