Page 69 of Love Bites
Running her fingers through her hair, she exited the closet, planning how she could get past Hunter to get the hairbrush then hide it until she could knock him out with it. But one look at his face told her he wasn’t going to fall for any further delays.
“What took you so long?” he demanded. He was in bed, lounging against the pillows. Much to her surprise, he was naked. The sight nearly made her gag.
“My hair is tangled,” she said. “I’m going to go brush it out really quick.”
Using that excuse, she dashed past him to the bathroom. Picking up the brush, she decided the best place to hide it from Hunter was in plain sight. She returned to the bedroom, brushing her hair as she did. When she finished, she placed the hairbrush on the nightstand, and sat at the edge of the bed, looking at Hunter.
Now, all she had to do was seduce him, and while he was distracted, she’d knock him out with the hairbrush. Maybe, it would take more than one blow, but she’d do whatever it took to get away from him now.
Earlier that day, she’d thought she deserved whatever he dished out, considering it had been her fault Ignacio had been killed. But a whole bottle of champagne later, after talking to the guard, crying her eyes out and thinking of Ignacio, Katheryn realized Ignacio wouldn’t have wanted her to give up. He would’ve wanted her to fight Hunter and not give in to his torture. So, that’s what she’d do.
She leaned forward to kiss Hunter, trying to act like she mean it, to seem passionate and needy. Even though she felt sick to her stomach touching Ignacio’s murderer, she gripped his blond hair and ran her fingers through it. He tasted like poison.
Hunter pulled her on top of him then rolled over, pinning her under his crushing weight. He kissed her chin, moving down to her neck, and Katheryn couldn’t help but feel violated.
None of this matters. She needed to fake it, to pretend in order to make her escape.
She pushed his head lower until he was kissing the swells of her breasts. As he busied himself there, Katheryn stretched her hand toward the nightstand, reaching around for the brush. When her fingers came in contact with it, she gripped it tightly and in one fast movement, swung it down toward Hunter.
Before she hit it his head, Hunter stopped the blow by grabbing her wrist, squeezing tightly. Katheryn cried out, but finally dropped the brush.
Hunter straddled her, keeping her hands pinned above her head. “How big of an idiot do you think I am, Katheryn?”
As he glared at her, Katheryn saw the manic craze in the depths of his eyes.
“Did you really think I’d buy this whole seduction routine?” He threw his head back and laughed. “You looked so pathetic, playing the role of dutiful fiancée. Did you really think you had me fooled?”
Katheryn squirmed beneath him. “Let go of me!” she shouted. “I’ll never submit to you!”
“Don’t you see, Katheryn? The simple fact that you won’tsubmitis why I had to have you in the first place.” He pinned both her wrists with one of his hands, and trailed his fingers down her face to the swells of her breasts. “And now I’ll take what I want.”
Katheryn screamed.
With a crash, the bedroom door burst into splinters, pieces of it scattered across the floor and flew through the air.
Hunter cursed and glanced over his shoulder. Katheryn couldn’t see past his bulk, but she felt him suck in a violent breath.
“You!” he yelled in a voice filled with anger and, to her surprise, more than a touch of fear.
“Get. Off. Her.” The low growl filled the room.
Even though Katheryn couldn’t see the speaker, she’d recognize that voice anywhere. She’d memorized the melody and tune and rhythm of every note. She didn’t need to see the speaker’s face, for she knew every detail of it. The way his eyes slanted, their honey-yellow glow and the occasional spark of hungry red. She knew the way his nostrils flared, how his jaw set stubbornly. His image was burned in her mind. When Hunter jumped off the bed, she saw her rescuer in the doorway, yellow eyes glaring dangerously.
Ignacio!
* * *
Katheryn’s breathrushed from her lungs as she stared at the ghost of her Soul Mate. She stared at him in disbelief. Everything suddenly felt like a dream, violent and surprising. Katheryn didn’t know what to think. She simply stared not daring to blink for fear he’d disappear.
“Ignacio?” she whispered as his gaze found hers.
“Are you hurt, love?” he asked in his sexily accented voice.
Katheryn gasped. This was no ghost. Ignacio was truly alive and in front of her. She shook her head no in response, unable to trust her voice.
He turned back to Hunter.
“You will pay for your crimes, bastard,” Ignacio threatened in a voice so furious it gave Katheryn chills.
