Page 89 of Demons in My Bed
Bile was rising up, burning my throat. First, I had to find out that I’d been fucking the men who’d killed my family, and now I was back in the clutches of my stalker and abuser.
Slade ran his mouth for fifteen minutes straight. That was how long it took to reach wherever he was taking us. He told me how he’d watched me leave Haunt earlier and followed me. That once he found out I was officially in Port Black, he’d started keeping eyes on me immediately. That he knew I’d sense him being close and would sneak away to be with him.
He was crazier than ever, and I was beyond fucked. The worst part was that my body seemed to be frozen with shock. No matter how much I repeated in my head that I was a badass bitch, a trained killer, nothing worked. One second of being back in his presence had cracked my head like a fucking egg.
“We’re home.” He turned and grinned at me. “Now listen, until I can be sure I can trust you, I’m going to keep you secluded. Can’t have you trying to topple our kingdom before I get you back into the right state of mind, and unfortunately, I have a few things to tend to before I can heal you.”
Heal me. That’s what he used to call it. When he’d force his blood into my mouth and mind-fuck me, making me believe I was in love with him. Making me have sex with him, doing whatever he wanted to my body. He said I’d let others get in my head and turn me against him, so I needed to be healed of those false thoughts.
Whenever he’d take control of me, it was like some part of me, deep down, knew that something wasn’t right. That I didn’t want the things he was doing to me or making me do, but I was helpless to stop. All he had to do was tell me to do something and I was lost. My free will was gone. He would tie me up and leave me for hours in the dark. It was like being drugged and unable to control yourself—your mind, your actions, every part of yourself ended up crushed under the weight of that addiction.
“Out of the car, babe,” Slade ordered, and I saw he’d gotten out and walked around to my side to get me out, all without me realizing. I got out slowly, my body feeling like it was made up of jello and paper tape.
Oh gods, he wants to heal me.
Years ago, I’d found out very quickly that Slade’s blood really was like a drug. I’d turned into a shell of a person, desperate only for him. For what he could give me.
I had to get out of here. If he used his blood on me, I was a goner. I almost hadn’t made it out last time; I’d just gotten lucky. I had Hunter back then. Right now, I had…
Them. The fucking murderers.
But what I’d told Asrael was true. They were obsessed with me. Not Rhodes, but the other four—Ash, Talon, Felix, and Misha. They wouldn’t just let me disappear. They’d look for me. I knew they would, and they’d find me. They’d get me out of here.
“Welcome to your kingdom. I’ve been busy building this empire. I’m going to make you my Scorpion Queen, babe.” We were at some sort of industrial park, with warehouses and factories scattered around. Most were in a state of disrepair, but this building looked like the central hub. “Here we are.” Slade unlocked a door, and then grabbed my wrist, pulling me inside. “This is where you’ll be staying. For now. How quick you get to move into our room depends on your behavior.”
Our room. Our room.
“Don’t cry, babe. I know you missed me but don’t worry, I’ll be back as soon as possible. Perhaps a shower while you wait? I can’t wait to get reacquainted with your body, so get freshened up for me, hmm?”
I couldn’t stop my mouth. “No.”
The creepy smile fell from Slade’s face. “Excuse me?”
All of the trauma, the fear—it bubbled over. “You’re not fucking touching me, you psychopath!” I screamed the words so loud that they echoed around us, hanging in the air like shards of glass.
Slade didn’t move. He didn’t flinch or even so much as blink… and then suddenly, he did. His arm stretched out and he grabbed my throat, slamming me down on the bed. “I’m not touching you?” he asked, incredulously. “I’ll fucking touch you whenever I want, you little bitch. Look at all of this that I built for us. You think you can tell me what I can or can’t do?”
My vision was going blurry as I clawed at his arms, desperate to get away from the hardness pressing against my core as he pinned me down.
“You ungrateful cunt. You know something? I was prepared to force my blood into your body, to heal you now so you won’t have to suffer, but I think this time I might wait until you earn it. I’ll make sure you’re begging for me to give you the tiniest little taste, just to make you accept that this is your gods damned life now, Palmer. You were always mine. MINE!”
His hold loosened, and I sucked in air desperately.
“And then I had to see you being the slut you are, publicly claiming five men in front of hundreds of people. I mean, it was a risk I had to be willing to take… that you might develop feelings for them.”
“What?” I rasped.
He chuckled. “Oh, right. I better explain. You see, when Asrael kicked me out of the academy, I needed another plan. So I came here, because I knew you’d be coming eventually. The Exiled were always going to be your target, so I had to be patient. But fuck, I am not patient anymore. I knew Asrael would be interested in any information about The Exiled and what they were up to, so I started spreading rumors. That they were shipping and receiving different shit. I even found a perfect rat, poor Franky boy.”
I felt nauseous. Slade was way more involved in this than I could’ve imagined, and every sentence out of his mouth made me feel more and more fucked.
“And that invitation to the party! Genius, right?”
My mouth parted as I remembered the bouncers looking at me like I was nuts when I tried to give them my invitation. Nobody else had them.Fucking stupid. Stupid.
“The bunny ears really were a nice little touch.”
“They’re going to kill you,” I choked out, my voice hoarse.
