BLYSS (Blyss Trilogy #1) (9 page)

I move my shaking left hand out from under the comforter to see for myself. My precious ring is, in fact, gone from my finger, and I try to suck in a gasp, losing my breath. It feels like I’ve been sucker-punched in the gut by a prize fighter. The hollow feeling in my stomach suddenly leaves me needing to fill that empty space with anger.
 

Nick’s beauty tries to hide a God-awful, vile, and viciously-evil spirit. I will never let a man like him have the opportunity to own or control me. I would rather die first than give him the satisfaction of reigning over my unwilling soul. I feel a raging animosity building pressure in my gut over his sheer audacity. That ring is everything to me. Never before did I understand what it felt like to shake with rage. My eyes go wild with an animalistic craze. The hot anger erupts from my volcanic mouth, spewing hot and furious words into the atmosphere.

“Give it back to me! You motherfucking asshole! You psychopathic, arrogant, egomaniacal prick! Does it make you feel like a
real
man to prey on helpless, innocent females? It must! I see you have to steal one and hold her captive, because no other female in the entire human race could stand to be within five feet of you!” I point a shaky finger at his body, as if I have a gun in my hand and am firing into him, willing him to die. I am so enraged I can almost feel the steam spewing out of my ears. “You! You are a spineless and dick-less shit-hole, Nick! You. Will. Never. Own. Me!”
 

Nick’s eyes go savage, and he explodes like a nuclear bomb being detonated. My hand automatically clasps over my mouth as my eyes go wide. I have never in my life rattled off so many curse words, and I shudder to think of what the fallout will be. Imminent doom spreads over the room, and I can almost see black clouds swirling above Nick’s head.
Oh, shit!

He deceptively camouflages his approaching wrath with a calm dominance as my little world comes to a screeching halt. He’s radiating pure confidence and self-assurance of what’s to come, and it reflects in his speech. “Oh, baby, you will be mine. Make no mistake—you
will
want me, and you’ll beg me to take you soon enough when you find out just how big my dick is.” The calm and arrogant tone in his voice gives me pause as he steps closer and lowers his voice, staring directly into my panicked eyes, “The Blyss will consume your mind, and biological urges at every turn, twisting your sexual appetite into something frenzied and unquenchable. You won’t be able to control it, and I for one, can’t wait to hear you scream my name out in pleasure. You’ll be pleading for me to put my cock in orifices you never even knew could be used. Yes,
Princess,
I will own your body, your mind, and your soul and never forget—I always get what I want.”

He slowly and gracefully hovers his strong, lean body over mine, a possessive fire burning in his eyes. I have no idea who or what Blyss is, but the lie of his calm illusion lingering around me raises my hackles, putting me on high alert. Bracing his left hand against the headboard above my head, his right hand roughly seizes my cheeks again. He crushes them together ruthlessly, forcing my lips to open for him. Nick heartlessly crashes his mouth over mine, forcing his tongue inside uninvited. I feel a paralyzed fear wash over me as this man sets out to prove he will take what he wants from my body. His tongue slips under and over mine in a heated battle to dominate. His tongue is merciless, and I know he will not quit until he perceives he’s the victor.
 

The loud bass drum of my heart rhythmically pounds inside my chest, sending pulsating spurts of thick blood through my veins, drowning out my ability to breathe. He starts shifting his weight without breaking his brutal kiss, causing our teeth to clash while creating a storm of thunder and lightning inside me.

I feel the side of the mattress dipping down as he slips a knee onto the bed. Moving his other leg over my hips, he forces my legs down with his body. I feel his thick, muscular thighs straddle my petite frame, pinning me down. I’m trapped. His strength is overbearing; he’s too powerfully-built for me to push him off.
 

Slipping his free hand behind my back, he forces me up, slamming my chest into his, fusing and molding our bodies together. My trembling limbs are trapped in his deadly snare.
Oh, my God, help me!
I repeatedly scream in my head. I can feel his erection digging into my stomach as he moves his hips over mine. All of his unbridled emotions seem to have morphed, turning from infuriation to an unrestrained inferno of burning lust.
 

“Open wider, you
will
kiss me. Now,” he mandates with a growl, nipping hard enough to draw blood from my bottom lip. I wince at the pain. I feel his grasp on my cheeks tighten, willing me to comply with his demands. I let a whimper escape into his mouth. The stifling pain becomes too much to bear as I contemplate giving in. If I pretend to surrender, maybe it will stroke his ego enough that he will end his torture and leave me the hell alone for the night.

I decide to open my mouth further and give in to the kiss, for now. The unyielding power of his tongue forces mine to dance with his as I deceivingly succumb to a false passion, and as a reward, his grip on my cheeks begin to loosen. I let out a long moan from the blissful release of pain that his cruel hands have caused on my jaw, while he takes what he wants from my mouth.

“Oh, God, Princess, your submission tastes so fucking sweet on my tongue.” He has mistaken my moan for pleasure, but I let him think what he wants. Nick, even as sick as he is, can no doubt light a fire with his kiss; he’s passionate as hell. The name
Handsome Devil
suits him well.

This type of sensual kiss combined with his good looks might have enraptured me, if we had met and were dating under normal circumstances. He doesn’t look like he steals people for a living. He looks rich, well-educated, debonair, and attractive as hell. I would have bet my last dollar he was not a stalker. The man truly looks as if he could have anything he wants, when he wants it, and how he wants it.
So why me?
Finally, after what seems like forever, he breaks the kiss, panting heavily over my lips. My body slackens in relief.

“Oh...you are most definitely mine,” he says, pleased with his win. I believe I’m looking at a man who has an obsession, and it’s apparent he genuinely thinks he owns me. The thought makes my heart pound in panic against my ribcage. “You were made for me, and only me, and you will come to feel the same way quickly. I understand your first day here is an adjustment.”
 

Yes, you could say that,
I think sarcastically. He kisses me again, swiping his tongue across mine, making sure I understand his claim on me. He can’t seem to help himself from starting the tortuous kiss all over again, and I reluctantly comply. His free hand skirts across the top of the comforter by my chest, and he pulls the blanket down. When his hand skims over my breast, he deepens the kiss, breathing heavily through his nose in excitement. My heart is beating to a new tune suddenly, and it has me confused. I feel a twinge of lust and excitement. His powerful hand begins squeezing my breast, and I arch into his touch. A traitorous moan escapes my mouth. I swear this is not a normal response for me; there has got to be something in the air I’m breathing in, making me respond to him this way. Nick’s ministrations grow more frantic, and I feel myself growing wet in response as he plucks and pulls on my hardened nipple. All too soon, he breaks the kiss, his lips hovering over mine.

“You taste exquisitely perfect. I do believe you’re beginning to understand this arrangement now,” he whispers in a husky voice against my open lips as I pant, catching my breath. “You feel this? You feel what’s between us, don’t you?” he asks, but it wasn’t really a question. We’re both breathing heavily against each other’s mouths as he informs, “You will acquire feelings and desires your mind and body have yet to understand. It will be a beautiful sight to watch you transform, and I’m looking forward to the day you come apart under me, screaming my name.”

I swallow hard at the thought. I should have just let the egomaniac have the last word for the night, but no—that would have been too easy. Even though I was raised not to talk back, I’ve been an independent thinker for far too long. Anyway, he’s a criminal; he doesn’t deserve my respect. With my anger burning through reason over my weak body’s reaction to extenuating circumstances, I find myself having diarrhea of the mouth.
 

I say words I’ve never said before and have never even entered my mind to say. I suppose it’s the stress of being a captive, and this bastard has ripped my life apart, torn it to shreds, and I’ve snapped. “Oh, Nick,” I say seductively but sarcastically, mimicking his previous tone, “you are most definitely a horse’s ass; you even taste like you’ve fucked one. The only type of ass you can probably get, by the way…or are you a goat-fucker? The only arrangement I understand is me ripping your piss-ant balls off when you least expect it!”
 

Nick pushes me out of his tight grip, using such a harsh force he hurls the back of my head against the headboard with a resounding crack as my skull makes contact with the wood. I yelp in pain from the collision, the pain splitting my head in two. My head begins a slow, pounding beat, reawakening the headache from this morning. I know without a doubt that my jaw will now join the rainbow of bruises decorating my body.
 

He swiftly pivots off me and turns around to face Travis. Standing at his full height now, his hands are balled into tight fists. His next words are seething between clenched teeth, pledging an undiluted promise that has my heart screeching and grinding to a halt. “Travis, you fix her shit and fix it fast, or I will rectify the situation in a way that will make her wish she was never born. After that, if she can’t or won’t come around to my rationale after we’re done with her, I won’t sell her.” He shakes his head emphatically, breathing erratically. “Oh, no…I won’t sell her; I will
give
her ungrateful, spoiled little ass away to the most vile human trafficker I can find. I will let them rip her apart from stem to stern using a mountain-full of only the cruelest of dicks.”

Nick doesn’t even look back as he stalks away from my side, billows of dark hostility rolling off his shoulders as he makes his way toward the exit of my room. A peculiar ringing begins in my ears upon hearing the door being slammed after Nick’s retreat. A deafening silence spreads across the room.

I am stunned speechless. I feel like I’ve just been tasered by a million megawatts of paralyzing power, and aftershocks of terror race through my body. The silence and tension in the room is so thick I could cut it with a knife. I’m so preoccupied in my own thoughts I don’t even realize Travis is still in the room, quietly standing in the same place until he clears his throat.

Tears begin to well in my eyes, threatening to spill over. I’m caught in a quagmire of quicksand, only worse. I feel like the quicksand is inside my body, sucking in my very soul, collapsing inwardly into a place of nothingness, but at the same time, I feel empty inside. I’m not even sure my heart is pumping blood through my veins right now. I am an empty vessel, lifeless and dead inside. This must be what experiencing pure shock feels like.
 

I slowly turn my head to watch Travis through the curtain of hair that has spilled over my blank, hollow eyes. His fall on mine, transforming from expressionless to soft and almost-sorrowful. My shock is the result of the bombshell that had exploded around me, revealing the ugly truth of who these people really are. Human traffickers.
 

My God, what are they planning to do with me—my mind, my body, my life?
I guess in reality, I am simply drowning in a sea of questions, each one leading me to more questions. I feel trapped by the same question circling my brain over and over—
Why?
I simply can’t believe this is happening to me.

I tried before not to give anyone of them the satisfaction of seeing my tears, but now they come unhindered. I’m too numb to stop them or brush them away from the slippery trail they make as they run over my cheek. I watch through my blurry eyes as Travis sets the tray of food down on the end of the bed. He quietly saunters his way toward me. I’m unable to focus on a coherent thought. For some reason, Travis doesn’t scare me; he probably should, but after dealing with Nicks harshness, I don’t think anyone can be as cold and callous as he.

I suddenly find myself distracted by Travis’ looks. He’s dressed in dark jeans, his muscular thighs outlined in dark denim. Broad shoulders sport a dark-blue, button-down dress shirt with rolled sleeves, exposing his corded forearms. He’s lean through the waist but not thin. I believe he could have a job moonlighting as a fitness model. His dark, five o’clock shadow is shading his jaw, an indication he’s been with me for almost 24 hours now, making sure I’ve been properly taken care of. My brows furrow in confusion. Why would he even care? I’m only a pawn in their game, one who was stalked, then stolen to serve every one of Nick’s sadistic fantasies. I tilt my head to the side, studying Travis, and even though he’s Nick’s second-in-command, he looks as if he should be the leader of the pack. I decide he’s definitely all-alpha male, more so than Nick, who’s more of a pretty boy, metrosexual.
 

 
Unable to form words, I remain silent; my brain has checked out, rendering me speechless and unable to form words. His heavy weight rests on the now-dipping mattress as he sits down beside me, touching my hip with his. I should be scrambling off the bed right now, trying to get away, especially after Nick’s alpha display of domination. For some reason, however, I don’t think that’s Travis’ intent. He keeps his soft gaze on mine as he locks me into a trance.