Hers (Blood Ties Book 2)
Hers: Epilogue

“Ryth!” I screamed, slamming my hands against the window. “Ryth!”

“Shut the fuck up!” The bark tore through the car, making me flinch.

Still, my gaze was fixed on a shadow under the trees. One that streaked across the driveway before it stopped. But it wasn’t Ryth…it was a woman…one who looked like her, though it wasn’t. She turned her gaze and saw me, then she was gone.

The car swept around a bend. I slammed my hands against the glass once more, catching the wide stare of a male as he appeared out of nowhere. “Please, help me!”

He took a step toward me and, for a second, I thought he was going to come after me…that somehow, he could help me. But then we were gone, skidding hard before we tore through the open gates of the Order…and past two vehicles parked sideways in the middle of the road.

“Fuck!” Came a burst from the front.

I turned then, pressed my spine against the seat, and faced the man who’d taken me…London St. James.

One glance at the door, and he hit the locks. “Try it,” he threatened from the driver’s seat as I met his gaze in the rear-view mirror. “And see how far it gets you.”

My pulse was thudding as chills raced along my arms. I knew what he’d do if I tried to run…but I also knew what he’d do if I didn’t. I slammed my palm against the seat, holding on as the car swayed erratically, the snarl of the engine throbbing through the leather seat under me.

“You push me.”

I tore my gaze from the darkness ahead to the rear-view mirror again.

“You fucking push me.”

I stayed like that as we raced for the bright lights of the city, one hand against my seat, the other against the passenger headrest in front. “I’m sorry,” I whispered.

He snapped his gaze to the mirror. “Don’t fucking lie to me.” He punched the accelerator, spearing us up the on-ramp of the freeway. “You can do many things, Vivienne. But one of them is never fucking lie.”

I tried to think, tried to replace a way out of here. One that didn’t get me killed…or worse, fucked. The fighter rose quickly. “You can’t…you can’t touch me. The contract—”

“Fuck the contract,” he snarled. His gaze shifted in the mirror, lowering to my body.

I crossed my arms over the white negligee, hiding myself as best I could. He can’t do this…he can’t do this. He’d be in violation. Then they’d put me in the Order for good. Use me. Train me…still it would be better than this.

We sped up, leaving the freeway before I knew it, slipping through the streets on the way to his house. I’d been there twice…and each time…each time he almost broke the agreement with the Principal. Each time he almost…

I closed my eyes, my pulse frantic. By now the Principal would know that I was missing. By now he’d have men on the way. One look in the cameras and he’d know who took me. So it was only a matter of time before they’d come and take me back.

The tires squealed as we turned, and turned once more, speeding past expensive houses before he finally slowed. I wrenched my gaze to the steep driveway as we hit the entrance and braked hard, coming to a stop outside his house.

The locks disengaged with a clunk.

“I will take you down on the front fucking lawn if you run…and I’ll take you there, as well…by force if I have to.”

My pussy clenched with those savage words. One look in his eyes and I knew he was telling the truth. He would. He’d rape me, right in front of the neighbors, and they wouldn’t do a goddamn thing because he was London St. James. A man they were scared of…a man I was terrified of.

My fingers shook as he climbed out and slammed the door shut. Through the dark tinted windows, he rose like a monster and rounded the back of the sedan before he yanked open the door and commanded with a snarl, “Inside…now.”

I shook my head, unable to move. “No.”

He lunged faster than I could track, reached in to grab me around the throat, and dragged me out. “You will do what I say.”

I kicked, clawed, and grabbed hold of the door handle before he snatched my hand and wrenched it free. We left the door open as he dragged me toward the house. “Open the goddamn door!” he shouted.

No…NO!

I fought, even as the lock sounded and the door opened in front of me. Then I sailed through the air, tripped and fell, and hit the floor hard. Gasping breaths sounded. The snap of a lock cracked like a gunshot in the air. I shoved against the cold tiles, lifting my gaze as footsteps sounded and the shine of black shoes filled my gaze.

“I warned you, Vivienne.” Heavy breaths punctuated his words. “I warned you.”

White lace spilled over the slate gray tile as I shifted, closed my legs, and lifted my gaze to the two other men in the foyer. Men who looked identical. They were all identical. Father and sons. The same ravenous stares. The same cruel lips.

“I told you there’d be consequences,” London said, and took a step closer.

He reached down and grabbed me around the throat once more. His grip found the same pattern and the same ache as he dragged me to my feet. “Move,” he commanded.

He drove me backwards and this time, to stop from falling, I had no choice but to obey. I stumbled backwards, leaving the foyer and the twins behind until his grip around my throat stopped me. He leaned over, punched in a code on the outside of a door, then shoved it open. “Down,” he urged, his eyes sparkling with a terrifying glint. “Watch your step.”

His hold eased, guiding me more than punishing as I took a step, then slipped, flailing until he lashed out and grabbed my arm. “I said watch your goddamn step.”

My heart was hammering. Fear crowded my thoughts. He was going to put me in a dungeon, some kind of cell, and leave me in the darkness. A sob escaped at the thought and for a second, fear gripped me so tight I couldn’t move.

With a bestial snarl, he bent, grabbed me around the waist and lifted. I slammed onto his shoulder, my hair falling across my face.

“No!” I kicked and bucked, slamming my fists against his back.

But he didn’t stop, just kept walking even as I punched and writhed.

Slap! “Enough!” he yelled and stopped.

I sucked in the air and twisted, desperate to see where he was putting me. But I could barely see. The hallway was gloomy, leaving barely enough light to see the door beside us before London yanked it open and strode inside. He dropped me, catching me at the last second before I hit the floor.

My pulse slammed against my chest as my feet hit the floor. I stumbled backwards as a soft light came on, illuminating the floor, then the thud of the door, followed by the click of a lock. All I wanted was away from him. I stared at the monster and kept moving until I hit something hard in the middle of the room.

“The contract specifically says no part of my body can enter you.” His voice was husky and raw as he took a step forward. “I’m prepared to obey the rules…”

Those bottomless eyes shone in the darkness. “Stay away from m-me.” I hated that my voice stuttered. “Just stay the fuck away.”

“I warned you what would happen if you got involved with the Castlemaine bitch.” He kept moving, ignoring my pleas. “I warned you what would happen if you tried to run.”

He grabbed me, only this time it was around the back of my neck, and pulled me forward. I lashed out, my palm landing on his cheek with a hard slap! A sting licked my palm, searing. London stopped cold, his eyes widening in shock before darkening.

I’d never seen evil, not until they took me to the Order.

Now I knew it well…in all its forms.

And one of those stood in front of me now.

He lifted his hand, his fingers touching his cheek. Even in the murky light, I caught the flesh reddening. “You fucking touch me, and I’ll kill you.”

“Touch you,” he said carefully, his tone dangerous.

Still, he reached for me again, grabbed my neck, and pulled me close. “Let me show you something. A very special something I had made especially for you.”

He dragged me by the neck around to the base of what looked like a bed…one that had straps and shackles on the sides, to some kind of machine at the foot…

“No part of my body can enter you…that’s written in the contract. But it doesn’t say anything about what I can control.”

He yanked a black covering free…revealing something that made my blood run cold.

“I tried to warn you, Vivienne. I tried to do my best…but you didn’t obey.” His hold around my neck eased, sliding to my jaw. His fingers were bruising as he forced my gaze to his. “Now tell me you understand.”

I couldn’t tear my gaze away, unable to comprehend what I was seeing.

Heat burned inside me, making me tremble and quake, and he noticed, lowering his gaze. His other hand fingered the shoulder strap of my negligee and dragged it lower until the hard peak of my breast bounced free.

“Say it…say what I want to hear,” he said, his breaths deepening. His thumb brushed my nipple, making me flinch and tremble. He rolled that sensitive flesh, pinching until I moaned as he commanded once more. “Say it or we will start right now.”

“Y-yes…” I whimpered.

“Yes…what?” He met my gaze.

I stared into those soulless eyes, replaceing the depths of depravity as I said the words he wanted to hear. “Yes, daddy.”

He smiled. “Good girl.”