Page 91 of Fear Me Not

“I’ll fuck you until you’re shaking and crying and begging me to stop, and then I’ll fuck you some more.”

He covers my mouth with his again, and I taste his blood. I push at his chest, but he thinks it’s all part of the game. He doesn’t seem to have picked up on the vibe that this isn’t going how it normally does. Spikes of panic stab through me. He wouldn’t really hurt me, would he?

Suddenly, Levi’s weight leaves me as someone wrenches him off me and throws him away, leaving me shrieking in surprise.

Dov’s huge form fills my vision.

Levi manages to regain his balance, and he spins back around to face us. He clenches and unclenches his fists, the cords in his neck standing out. I can barely see around Dov’s huge shoulders.

“What the hell are you doing, Dov?” Levi snarls. “Get out of my way.”

“No. You’re not allowed to hurt her.”

He smirks. “I wasn’t going to hurt her. I was going to make her scream, but not in pain.”

“I saw you throw her against the wall. You hurt her then.” Dov throws me a look as though to check for confirmation, and he must see it in my eyes, that yes, Levi was too rough, and it did hurt me. Even if Levi hadn’t meant it, he’d taken the game a little too far.

Dov turns back to Levi. “You hurt her.”

He draws back his arm and slams his fist into Levi’s face, a roar of fury bellowing from his chest. Levi goes staggering back, his hand clutched to his nose. The bright red of blood appears between his fingers.

But Levi is no pushover. “You’re going to regret that, brother.”

He launches himself back at Dov.

“Stop it!” I scream.

The two of them wrestle and tussle, throwing punches whenever and however they can. They’re going to kill each other, I think with horror. Someone needs to do something. Blake, where is Blake? But he isn’t nearby. The only person here who can do something is me.

Barely thinking straight, I jump on Dov’s back, trying to pull him off. Blind with rage, he swings his arm back, throwing me across the hallway. I hit the opposite wall, my head slamming against it, and slump down.

“What the fuck have you done?” It’s Levi’s voice, but I’m barely aware of it.

The fighting has stopped; I know that much. Now there is only stillness. My eyelids flutter open.

We’re not alone. Four women—two barely more than girls—all dressed in old-fashioned outfits, are coming down the hallway toward us. Their skirts touch the floor so I’m unable to see their feet, and because of this, as they move, like they’re one being, it’s as though they’re gliding.

I don’t sense any animosity toward me from them, but I don’t miss the way they look at Levi and Dov, with fury and hatred in their eyes.

They want to protect me.

It’s the men they hate.

But I don’t think the men have any idea they’re there. I try to shout warnings to them, but my mouth refuses to work, and my eyes slip shut again.

I’m aware of arms scooping beneath my body, and then I’m carried through the hallways to my room. I must black out for a while, because the next thing I know, I’m in my bed, with Blake pressing an icepack to a rather large bump on my forehead.

“There she is,” he says with a worried smile. “Good to see you back in the land of the living.”

“What happened? The women…”

He brushes my hair back with his palm. “You hit your head. You’re confused. There are no women.”

I think he’s wrong about that, but I can’t find the words to explain.

“I’m staying with you tonight,” he says. “No arguments.”

“Is Dov all right?” I manage to ask. “He lost it back there. He thought Levi was hurting me. I never meant for them to fight.”