Page 52 of Perilous

Except he did let me go, didn’t he?

In fact, right now? I’m not captured at all. I can just walk away. Sure, he’ll warn me that someone wants me dead…

“Do whatever you need to do,” Peri’s deep voice says. “There isn’t really a rush right now. You don’t have any roommates or expect any visitors, right?”

It’s amazing how my apartment looks so foreign right now. The place is cute and killer expensive. I get to live alone, a huge bonus in my book. I can’t imagine sharing space with other girls. Hair everywhere in the shower and mismatched periods alone is enough to make me want to go insane.

And when I say I livealone, I mean…alone. There’s not even a carnival goldfish in a bowl. Not even a plant begging me for a droplet of water. It’s just me. Which maybe explains why there’s been no real sense of urgency that I kind of went missing.

And even Molly…

What the fuck did she do?

Get worried?

What does that mean?

Did she call my father? Did she ask around about me?

“Annika,” Peri’s voice is sharp.

I gasp and turn and look at him.

“I’m all alone,” I blurt out. “Okay? I have nothing. I have nobody.”

Great, now my chin is quivering. My vomit spewing doesn’t stop there.

“So why the fuck would someone want me dead? Huh? Answer me that, Perilous. How do I know this isn’t just some game? Maybe you’re fucking with me. Trying to see how far I’ll go along with this. Are you a psycho or what?”

Talk about poking the bear, right?

More like kicking the bear in the face.

Peri charges at me. I don’t even flinch. My heart jumps as though it wants to be afraid, yet my body warms up, secretly wondering what he’s going to do to me. Secretly wanting it tohurtyet feel fuckinggood.

Peri grabs me by the hips and picks me up with such ease. I’m eye level with him. He continues to walk. I feel like I’m floating through the air… until I collide with a wall.

I groan. My upper back and the back of my head take the brunt of the hit.

“Who the fuck are you to question me?” Peri growls, his nose almost touching mine. “You think you’re the only one who could end up dead right now? Fucking slut. You’re better off with my cock in your throat so you can’t say stupid stuff.”

He’s spitting on my face. He’sangry.

My chest heaves with deep breaths. I point my toes toward the floor but I can’t touch the floor.

“Do you want me to slit your throat, doll? Leave you on the floor to bleed out? Let someone find you? Is that what you fucking want?”

My teeth chatter.

No! I don’t want that!

“I don’t know,” I whisper. “I don’t know what’s going on to actually answer that.”

Peri’s mouth moves over mine. His tongue thrusts into my mouth. He pushes me against the wall even harder. His hands squeeze my hips tighter. Pain soars throughout my body yet I want him to keep kissing me.

He stops. He places me on my feet. He gasps with a growl. A beast desperate to feast but holding back.

“Why don’t you take a shower,” he says, not in question form, but more of a command.

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