Page 63 of Love Bites
The voice was harsh, distant, but she couldn’t concentrate with her flesh aflame. There was a piercing in her heart. She felt the hole, felt liquid fire course from it and through her body.
A stinging sensation on her cheek made her gasp again. Her eyes opened, only to blink away the brightness that threatened to blind her.
She coughed, feeling the rasp deep in her throat. Once her eyes adjusted to the harsh light, she slowly looked around at her surroundings. She was in a bedroom, with rich furnishings of black and white. Groaning, she sat up, realizing she was in a bed with lush pillows and warm blankets.
“Katheryn, wakeup!”
She felt the harsh sting of another slap. She blinked away tears and rubbed her cheek. Hunter sat at the edge of the bed, scowling at her.
“Hunter...what?” She felt groggy and disoriented.
She glanced around the unfamiliar room, and that’s when the memories hit her. How she could she have forgotten them, even for a second? Now, she remembered running from the bodyguard, finding Ignacio, going to the hotel with him, and making passionate love. Then Hunter had come with his armed men. “Oh, God,” she groaned, slumping against the pillows as she recalled the men pointing their guns at Ignacio and the sounds of gunfire.
Afterwards, there’d been nothing but a terrible pain in her chest. A pain she’d known hadn’t been her own, but she’d felt as if it had been. She knew what she’d felt had been Ignacio’s pain as dozens of bullets had torn into him. The shock and pain of her Soul Mate getting shot had knocked her unconscious.
“Ignacio’s dead,” she whispered, blinking away her tears. Hunter had the audacity to smile at her, and she realized how truly sadistic he was. Rage boiled down to her very core. “You killed him! You bastard!”
Despite her pain, Katheryn lunged for Hunter. She scratched her nails down his cheek and felt a moment’s satisfaction as she tore his flesh. She wanted him to suffer, to feel her agony. He had killed her Soul Mate, and he had no idea what it had done to her.
But her vengeance barely lasted. Hunter slapped her hard against the cheek, and she fell on her back. In the next moment, he was on top of her, weighing her down with his body, gripping her wrists tightly at her sides.
“You’ve been a naughty girl, my darling,” he whispered in her ear. She cringed, as if it could make her smaller.
He pressed a kiss to the side of her neck, but it felt as though she’d been doused with acid.
“Let go of me, you bastard!” she snarled, squirming beneath him.
“I’ve never wanted you so much.” Holding her hands above her head with one hand, he fumbled the other between their bodies. Panicked, she fought against him, twisting and squirming.
“Let go of me!” She tugged with all her strength, but his grip didn’t ease.
“Why? Are you still thinking about that foreigner? You need to forget him, Katheryn.” He paused and stared down at her. She saw the crazed look in his eyes, recognized his manic possessiveness. Fear lodged itself in her like a knife.
“Hunter, please…” she begged, feeling tears slide down her cheeks.
“I’ll fuck him out of your mind.” He fumbled between them again, and Katheryn screamed, struggling against him.
Before he had the chance to do anything more, a loud ringing interrupted. With a string of curses, he let her go and went to locate his cellphone.
Katheryn scrambled to a sitting position, watching him warily as he walked to the bureau and picked up his phone. The brief conversation consisted mostly of him replying “yes” to whoever was on the other end.
When he hung up, he turned back to Katheryn with a tight smile.
“It appears we will have to postpone this until tonight, my darling. I have an important business meeting I must to attend to.”
He pocketed his phone then fixed the lapels of his tweed jacket and straightened his pants. “I’ll be back later. Don’t worry about anything; you’ll have round the clock service at your disposal. And in case you get any ideas about trying to stab another bodyguard and escape again...” He paused and gave a little chuckle. “Well, this time, it’ll be much harder as there are armed guards posted at the doors. If you try to leave, they won’t hesitate to shoot you.”
“Good to know,” Katheryn mumbled, bitterly.
He nodded and walked back to the bed. Katheryn cringed away from his touch, but he held her firm and gave her a sloppy kiss that made her want to gag.
“See you later,” he said, cheerfully then turned back. “If you need anything, just call one of your guards, and they’ll bring in the maid.”
Katheryn didn’t bother watching him leave. She felt dirty all over, disgusted. Her burning hatred for him only grew. She’d hurt Ignacio, had said harsh words to make him believe she didn’t love him—tosavehim—but Hunter had killed him anyway.
She’d never forget the look on Ignacio’s face as she’d told him he disgusted her, that he was a product of rape. Knowing those had been her last words to him before he had died left her gasping. She inhaled repeatedly, but her lungs refused to take in air, refused to give her comfort.
She didn’t deserve any kind of comfort. She deserved to die for what she’d done.
