Page 48 of Embriagado

“No, fuck. No.”

The bed moved, and he climbed up until his lips ghosted the shell of my ear. And even though he wasn’t touching me now, I still felt him all over.

“He allowed the cat in,” he whispered, voice sharp. “But the poor pup was so obsessed with licking his own balls that he didn’t even realize⁠—”

“Fuck!” I grunted when he clutched my jaw, his nails digging into my flesh, and twisted my head so I’d face him.

“I’m no pussy, sweetheart… but a motherfucking tiger,” he hissed in perfect Spanish, making my eyes go wide.

“What the hell⁠—”

A hard punch to the face took me by surprise, leaving me completely out of breath. Before I could reconcile how he’d struck me this hard, another hit came, right to the upper cheekbone. The second punch sobered me up in seconds, and I glanced just in time to catch a glint of silver before his fist collided with my face again. I tried moving to no avail, as my hands were tied to the fucking bed.

“T-the fuck⁠—”

Another hit, and this time, I knew why this son of a bitch’s punches were so strong. He had a fucking knuckle-duster on. Where had he gotten it? I had no fucking clue, nor did I care, not when he’d just punched me again.

I gasped as blood dripped down from a fresh cut on my brow, getting into my eye and mouth. I spat it out, my whole face hurting from the punches when he wrapped his fingers around my neck, tightening his grip. Feeling the air leaving my lungs, I pulled forward, my body wriggling in my struggle to get free. The whole bed rattled, but the belt had me completely restrained, and I couldn’t fight back as he continued choking me.

“Looks like you like it, huh?” he snarled, mad eyes locked with mine.

Almost out of breath, I glanced down to see my cock was still rock hard, even more than before. My eyes grew wide, fear and rage taking over me.

“You—”

He removed his hand from my neck only to block my mouth with it, forcing me to breathe from my nose.

“You need to learn to shut that mouth of yours,” he hissed as he looked down on me, eyes possessed and full of malice, so deep it scared the living shit out of me. Out of nowhere, the angel I worshiped was replaced with this maniac, who was smirking down at me, splatters of my blood all over his pale skin.

He then got closer, a cold look in his golden eyes.

“Be grateful I didn’t bring my gun today.”

He finally removed his hand from my mouth.

“What gun⁠—”

He punched me again, only this time, my vision turned black, and for the first time in my life, I was knocked out cold.

13

ARIYAN

Placing two fingers on their wrist, I held my breath, searching for the pulse.

Badum.

Badum.

Badum.

There it is, flickering like a dying candle in a stifling room. And while I knew I’d find a pulse, it didn’t take away from my disappointment at the life still beating inside that cursed body.

* * *

Fresh out of the shower, I grabbed my cologne from the shelf. The same as every morning, I sprayed one spray on each pulse point while my skin was still moist, as this was the best way to ensure the scent would stick throughout the day. Pleased, I placed the bottle back, then reached for my face cream when an unruly hair stuck to the sink caught my attention. Putting the cream aside for now, I pinched the long dark hair between two fingers and brought it closer for better inspection.

Disgusting.