Page 49 of Chained

He leans down, closing the distance. Forcing himself into a space I don't want to give.

"Answer me." His breath is hot against my cheek. I try to swallow, but there's no moisture. I don't speak, I can't. Fear has wrapped itself around my throat.

His hand slides across my breasts, slow and patient. Every touch I fear will be the last until his fingers wrap around my throat. Soft at first, the slightest pressure from his fingertips as his hand replaces the fear that had once been wrapped there.

"I'm sorry, Vincent," I manage to choke out, the small whisper that sounds too sad to be me. I almost cringe as the apologies keep coming. I'm sorry. Over and over. But I don't think he hears, I don't think he cares enough to listen. He opens his suit jacket, just enough for me to take a glimpse at the weapon that he'd used to slaughter Hailee.

If this is my end, please make it quick. Please don't let it linger.

He squeezes a little tighter around my throat, just enough for me to let out a strangled sound that sends him into a frenzy. His free hand begins to roam across my breasts, along the bare skin of my thigh whilst the other holds me in place.

"You've got one more question," he whispers into my ear, soft. Seductive. Nothing like the way his hands feel, and I'm glad.

My lips part. It's another trap. Another trick.

One I step right into.

"Will you ever let me go?"

My heart beats fast, thudding like a train in my chest against his palm as he massages my breast.

He doesn't need time to think. He pulls my face closer to his by my throat, our noses brushing. His eyes flick to my mouth as the distance closes. He presses his lips gently against mine, the taste of lemon and cigarettes blending together as the kiss lingers. I try to squirm, to move, but his grip tightens.

I've never been kissed like this before. It isn't romantic. It's ownership. It's him taking the final piece of me that he'll never return. He pulls back slowly, his thumb tracing the line of my lower lip. His eyes are satisfied, triumphant.

"No."

There it is. The answer I knew would always come.

His mouth crashes against mine, tongue fighting its way inside. He kisses me with a hunger, a deep, sickening hunger that devours me. Every inch of my body on fire whilst my mind completely shuts down. I don't fight the way his hands grip my thighs, or the way his fingers edge closer to my entrance. What's the point?

I'm no longer anything but his.

Chapter Fifteen

Amora

I don't know how long I've been staring at the crack in the wall. Probably too long, considering every time I blink, the shape changes. It's been days since Jade was taken and Vincent had claimed me in the rose gardens. Still, the touch of his kiss on my lips and the absence of Jade floods my chest. And in the darkest moments during the night, when the silence really takes over, I replay everything that's happened. Every scream, every kiss. Every touch that shouldn't be on my skin—and the worst of it, the sound of my sister's scream as I failed to save her. Annabelle's been trying to help. She's been chatting in my ear for what feels like forever. I'm grateful for the white noise her voice brings as she talks about everything and nothing at the same time, anything to distract me from the feeling of Vincent's fingertips creeping along my thigh like tiny spiders I can't swat away.

"How long do you think it'll be till someone finds us, Amora?" Annabelle's soft voice fills the silence, and I turn on the mattress to face her. It's a loaded question with an answer I don't know, but I lie anyway.

"Soon, Annabelle. Someone will come for us soon." I convince myself it's for her, that the simple little white lie is to soothe her fears and settle her mind, but really, it's for me. I'd lost hope in the gardens, let myself believe that I was his. It terrifies me, that just the simple touch forced me to almost give up. I worry what happens when the touch becomes more…

"I hope so…" Her voice lowers. She drags me back into the cell with her and far away from the possibility of what happens when he gets tired of PG kisses and simply groping my thigh. I can't bear to think about it, so I force it away. My eyes land on Jade's bed where her fate is even worse than mine.

She hasn't been returned—she's still somewhere with Percy. God, I hope she returns the same girl who left. The girl who's brave and impossibly stubborn. I hope in whatever room they have her trapped in, she's fighting like hell to survive and make her way back to us.

"Amora?"

Tears slide down my cheeks, and I swipe them away fast. Not wanting her to see.

"Where did the other girls go?"

How do I tell her that the girl barely a year older than her is dead? How do you tell anyone that, let alone a child? She deserves to know, I just don't think I'm strong enough to do it.

"Annabelle…Hailee, she…" My words fail me. My chest is wound so tight it hurts to breathe.

She's dead. Just say it. Tell her the truth. Tell her what happens when you don't listen or follow the rules.