Page 65 of Hideaway

AT the sight of the dark figure looming in the doorway, Kara had to resist the urge to lean over and spill the sparse contents of her stomach onto the floor. She’d spent the better part of the day in hell, but now she beheld the devil himself.

Jace.

The room echoed with a dark laugh as Jace devoured the horror in her eyes.“Not who you were expecting, sweetheart? Pleasant surprise, I hope,”he taunted cruelly.

“What the fuck are you doing here?”Kara asked angrily once her initial surprise waned and she regained her ability to speak.

“Come now Kara, I thought you were supposed to be intelligent. What do you think I’m doing here?”

“It was you,”Kara gasped as realization dawned.

The sickeningly familiar scent of cologne that she couldn’t quite place—it had been him. Jace was the one who had knocked her out and taken her from the manor. And it made sense, really. How else would an intruder have made it past Cade’s heavy security without any warning? Because the intruder wasn’t an intruder; he was a resident. But Jace was Cade’s closest companion and business partner. What reason would he have to cross Cade?“Why? Why betray Cade to align yourself with an incompetent bastard like Avery? What’s in it for you?”

“Quite simply—you. You, Kara, are the answer to all of your questions.”

Kara stared at him quizzically, the sense of his riddling answer eluding her.

“Again, your powers of deduction disappoint, Dr. Caine. Must I spell it out for you?”

“Please,”Kara requested through gritted teeth, irritated to be so invested in his explanation.

“Oh, I do like it when you beg,”Jace acquiesced, a cruel smile spreading across his face as he inched closer to her.“Youare the reason I left Cade. I could no longer stomach his weakness concerning you. He was willing to jeopardize our business, our clients, our livelihood just so he could fuck around with a high-strung bitch with more morality than common sense.”Jace stalked toward her slowly, a barely concealed threat of danger hidden within the predatory movement.

Warily, Kara retreated until she felt the bed brush against the back of her legs.

Shit.

Left with little alternative in the enclosed room, Kara jolted away from the bed as Jace’s approach pressed her toward the corner of the room. A soft thud emanated as her back collided with the far wall, announcing that she had run out of room to hide. Jace drew nearer, closing the space between them until he hovered above her, the searing warmth of his body assaulting hers. His light blue eyes smoldered with passion, though whether it was based in violence or lust or greed she couldn’t ascertain. Kara stood frozen, unnaturally deprived of the ability to fight or flee, as Jace’s hand shot out, his fingers entangling themselves in her hair. He tugged sharply, forcing her head up to look at him. Unable to disobey the unspoken command, Kara met his gaze with all of the hatred and loathing and revulsion that had begun to boil within her. Jace merely laughed at her disdain, amused that someone so weak and inconsequential could even presume to feel powerful in their emotions.

Very soon, he would instruct her on just how powerless she was, and he would immensely enjoy putting the bitch in her place.“As for your last question,”Jace continued, bending low till his lips brushed against her ear.“You are what’s in it for me.Youare my reward for helping Avery.”Jace waited for his words to sink in, enjoying the delicious scent of fear seeping from her pores as she began to realize how he would be claiming his reward.“I am going to fuck you until everyone in this fucking house can hear you scream, and no one will do a damn thing to stop me. This time, Ashford won’t be here to interrupt. This time, you’re mine,”Jace threatened in a tone of violence that masqueraded as seduction, his teeth grazing her earlobe.

In equal parts rage and terror, Kara slapped Jace as hard as she could and attempted to make a run for the door. She only made it a few feet before Jace jerked her back toward him, his face the very picture of rage, as he viciously pulled on her hair as though it were a leash tethering her to him. His fingers twisted brutally at her scalp, punishing her for the red imprint of her hand that marred his bristled cheek.

“You’ll regret that, bitch,”Jace hissed.

“Whatever regrets I may have in my life, I can safely say, hitting a bastard like you will never be one of them.”

Cruel fingers wrapped around Kara’s throat, pressing dangerously tight as she felt herself being forced backward. She staggered back awkwardly, Jace’s unforgiving hold on her neck the only thing that kept her upright. When the backs of her knees hit the bed, Jace lowered his hands to her hips, his thumbs digging into her tender skin bruisingly. In one swift move, Jace lifted Kara and threw her unceremoniously onto the plush, white bed.

Kara gasped in panic, trying to drag herself away, desperate to escape Jace and whatever hateful fate awaited her amid the stark white sheets of a stranger’s bed. Jace grabbed her ankle and flipped her onto her stomach. There was a muffled screech of terror as Jace rolled on top of her, crushing her beneath his full weight and effectively smothering her within the stifling fullness of the duvet. Kara kicked uselessly beneath him, unable to throw him from his position on top of her. Her lungs begged for air.

“If you stop struggling, I’ll allow you to breathe,”Jace negotiated calmly as though he were the level headed one between the two of them.

Fucking bastard. Heavy as fuck, fucking bastard.

Try as she might, Kara couldn’t seem to override her body’s instinctual need to resist suffocation. Her body warred against her mind for survival. She knew giving in would save her, she screamed at her limbs to stop fighting, but they couldn’t welcome Jace’s assault peacefully. Gradually, numbness spread, a blanketing darkness that felt different from the blackness evoked by having her eyes covered. Then, there was nothing.

Kara awoke to a sharp stinginess in her cheek, her lungs hungrily devouring the precious oxygen they had been denied. Jace hovered above her, his knees tightly encasing her hips, his hand raised should she require another slap to rouse her. She bucked beneath him, trying to dismount him from her body, but he held firm, knees digging into the nearly naked flesh of her hips painfully.

“Get the fuck off of me!”Kara screamed in frustration.

“Come now, Kara. Didn’t you learn your lesson earlier? Do not fight me,”Jace scolded.

Kara screamed. Not for help. Not for mercy. Not out of fear. But out of a completely overwhelming, mind shattering, soul fracturing sense of futility.

“Save your breath, sweetheart. I haven’t given you a reason to scream. Yet,”Jace cautioned darkly.

Slowly, the will to fight for her freedom faded, replaced by the bleak acceptance that she was at the mercy of whatever destruction Jace intended. Kara stopped fighting, relaxing into the softness of the bed as it welcomed her surrender with open arms. A noxious glint of satisfaction filled Jace’s eyes as he felt Kara submit beneath him. Warm hands seared her skin as they traveled down the length of her body, assessing every curve with lascivious scrutiny. Jace relished the foreplay of heightening fear before an act of violence. With Kara in particular, he was more than happy to savor the buildup. He had waited weeks for that moment, and he had every intention of enjoying himself to the fullest extent.

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