Page 88 of Bitter Queen (Advantage Play 4)

Stomach rolling, I peel one eyelid open while my consciousness fights to slip back into oblivion.

Where am I?

Every muscle in my body feels like it’s been injected with thick, slurry concrete. My brain feels like it has a heartbeat. And my mouth tastes like ass and feels like sandpaper.

Upper lip curling in disgust, I attempt to roll onto my side and search for water, but the cold bite of metal claws at my wrist.

What the hell?

I force my eyelids to stay open and inspect the handcuff that’s attached to the bed frame. My other hand is attached to the opposite side, spreading me into a T. Both keep me in place while the room continues to spin. I’m trapped. Again.

“Morning, Peach,” a dark yet almost giddy voice greets me.

The flicker from his lighter makes his face glow as he lights up another cigarette.

My blood runs cold, then the panic sets in. Arching my back, I wrench my arm away from the metal headboard, but my only evidence of victory is a consolation prize in the form of raw skin circling my wrists. I tug at the restraints again as my desperation envelops me.

I gotta get out of here.

I can’t be here again.

Please, don’t make me go through this again.

“Shhh,” Sei coos, enjoying his front-row seat as I struggle with my restraints. “Haven’t we done this already, Peach?”

The rattling from the cuffs against the metal headboard ceases. Then what’s left of my newfound courage sparks, and I finally look him in the eye. The star of my nightmares. My stalker. My abuser. My captor.

There are bags under his eyes, and his hair is longer. Stringier. He looks even more terrible and rundown than he did before.

“Welcome home.” His arms are raised from his sides as he showcases the tiny, rundown apartment, then takes another puff from his cigarette. He’s always sucking on those. If only the toxins would kill him quicker. He exhales, and the smoke swirls through the dimly lit room. My nose wrinkles at the familiar scent before my stomach rolls again.

No wonder I feel like I’m going to puke.

“Where are we?” I croak. My throat feels like it’s been shredded by razor blades, making me wince as the words slip past my lips. I’d give anything for some water. But I know he won’t give me any. Not unless I do something for him first.

That same maniacal laugh greets me as he reads me like a book. “Thirsty?”

I glare back at him but don’t miss the way he doesn’t answer my question. I’m not surprised.

“Come on, my sweet Peach. You love this game, remember?”

My lips pull into a thin line while I shove down the fear that overwhelms me. Because he feeds off that fear. He savors it like a fine wine and loves to watch it ferment over time until there’s nothing left of the original fruit. Which is exactly what he’s done with me in the past. And what he’s trying to accomplish all over again.

“Baby….” His voice trails off as he inches closer to me before running his fingertips along the side of my cheek. “You know the rules. Give me what I want, then I’ll give you what you want.”

He’s right. We’ve done this before, and I didn’t come out the victor the first time. So how the hell am I gonna survive a second round?

“How did you find me?” I ask while silently praying he’ll take the bait and let me change the subject. The blood is slowly draining from my arms, making them tingle in protest.

“You thought I wouldn’t recognize you? You’ve been traipsing around my streets in your little shorts and your flimsy tank tops. You’ve been in my bars, my grocery stores. Yet you weren’t sleeping in my buildings, which meant you were trying to lure me out. Isn’t that right, Peach?”

His eyes dance with amusement before he sits next to me on the edge of the dingy mattress.

At least it doesn’t reek of urine.

“You know, if your bear hadn’t intervened at the bar, I probably wouldn’t have noticed you. I was trying to lay low. But I guess luck was on my side, wasn’t it?” He blows out another plume of smoke, making me cough as it taints the air around us.

“I almost took you back there,” he continues. “To the basement. For old time’s sake.” My eyes widen with fear. “But first, I want to know if you popped that little cherry between your thighs. The one I was ordered to let you keep.” His voice is calm, collected, but there’s a slight flare to his nostrils and a dark glint in his eyes. The beast inside of him is begging to come out and play. To use me as his toy.

---