Page 11 of Stolen

He chuckled. “Very poor choice of words.”

In two long strides, he came at me like a tank, closing the distance between us faster than I had anticipated. I pushed my foot out to kick him in the balls, but he just maneuvered to the side and bulldozed into me until I was flat against the wall. His hard body pressed up against mine, and with the wall at my back, he’d effectively trapped me.

Way to fail, Jaden.

His hands came down to rest against the wall on either side of my head, the knife now safely tucked away in the small of his back. “Well, that was utterly disappointing,” he chided, his breath tickling my ear.

Well, fuck you too.

Ignoring his insult, I quickly shot my fingers into the tender side of his arms and pinched the soft skin as hard and as fast as I could. He barely even winced. I had hoped it would cause him to take a step back, but all he did was grab both my wrists and pin them in one of his hands above my head roughly.

“Is that all?” he scorned me.

“Fuck you. Get off me!” I spat and pulled at my wrists as hard as I could, flexing my hands in an attempt to loosen his grip as I twisted. After about ten seconds, it was becoming pointless, and I was just rubbing the skin of my wrists raw until they burned from his hand.

“Done?” the owner asked, clearly amused by my aggravation and failed attempt to escape him.

“No,” I countered, making sure I made my point by looking him straight in the eyes.

“I was hoping you’d say that.”

In a single blur, he threw me over to the bed with such force that I almost tripped to the floor. Landing face-first over the edge of the mattress, I quickly turned and struck him square in the face with my elbow. Pain and heat inflamed my skin from the contact, but his cheek would smart something worse.

He seemed a little surprised but immediately regained his composure, grabbing my elbow and forcing it down on the bed. “Good try, but at least you landed it.”

This motherfucker…

He was on top of me before I could find my bearings, trapping my body underneath his and grabbing my hair to yank my head back. The switchblade quickly appeared at my exposed throat, the sharp blade threatening to slice my skin open with the slightest movement. I froze immediately, refusing to allow myself to even breathe.

“I have to say, I’m a little disappointed. You talked such a big game.”

Trying my best not to let my anger overcome me, I mumbled something incoherently while pressing the ball of my foot against the bedframe.

“What the hell did you say?” he asked, pulling the knife a few inches away.

Like the moron that I was, I took the opportunity and pushed off with my foot as hard as I could, shoving myself backward into hard muscle until we both toppled to the floor.

A wide band of steel circled around my middle, clutching me tight enough to steal my breath. Pressing my heels into his legs, I pushed off again, kicking where I could while keeping my hands on the arm that still held the knife. But he wasn’t having any of it.

With too much speed, he rolled us over onto my stomach, pressing me deep into the floor, the knife now pressed against my cheek.

“Settle down,” he ordered. “I don’t want to have to carve up that gorgeous face of yours.”

“And make myself less valuable? I fucking doubt it,” I bit out in return.

He pressed the blade harder against my skin, not yet drawing blood but just enough to leave a scratch.

“You’ve got a smart mouth, little girl. Maybe I’ll have you show me what else those pretty little lips of yours can do,” he drawled into my ear, the unspoken threat lingering like a bad aftertaste.

“Get off me, and maybe you’ll find out,” I groaned, his body weight nearly crushing me into the floor.

But instead of removing himself, he just flipped me over so I was on my back, facing his stupidly smug face.

“You seem to be forgetting something here. Your compliance is non-negotiable. I will have your complete obedience, or I will have your ass strung up until you bleed the last of your defiance out. Do you understand?”

His voice was all malice, making me freeze under him to absorb every word as he continued to press the blade into my skin. But I was done playing the victim.

“Sure. Now get the fuck off me,” I retorted.

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