Throwing all caution to the wind, I dart into the penthouse, looking through each and every room for Roxi. But she’s not here.
Chapter twenty-four
Istartle awake, sitting straight up, only to find myself in an all too familiar place: my bedroom at my father’s house. Panic creeps up my throat in the form of a scream, but I tamp it down.
This has to be a nightmare; I can’t be here again.
My eyes scan my surroundings. With the lights off, I can’t see as much, but I’ve occupied this house for at least a year, and I’ve memorized every aspect of this room in that time. There isn’t an item out of place from the last time I’d been in here.
Then I remember that Avyanna attacked Merric the night she’d rescued me. I scramble to the edge of the bed to look for any sign of blood, but there’s nothing. The putrid scent of his blood was here when I’d been brought back yesterday, hence why they took me to the guest bedroom. Plopping myself back onto the bed, the silk sheets glide against my bare skin. I’m naked, just as I’d been after my shower the night I ‘left’ here.
Were the last few days a whirlwind of a dream that I conjured up? I’ve always wanted to leave the protection my father supplied, to see what was outside and interact with others.
I allowed myself to get lost in everything that has happened since the night Avyanna ‘saved me’. I’m so lost in my thoughts that I almost miss the shadows in the corner of my room shifting. I spring to my feet in an instant, not caring that I’m nude. The man who walks out has my jaw hitting the floor and questioning everything from the last few days harder than ever. I thought Avyanna had killed him.
Merric’s eyes roam over my body, being careful to avoid my eyes. “Here we are again. This time, there’s no one to save you, though. You’ll be mine like I’ve always wanted you to be.”
My body quivers, full of equal parts rage and fear, which causes me to transform into my gorgon form. Sounds like I hadn’t dreamed up the last few days after all.
Courage trickles through me with that realization. “Is that so? Tell me that again as you look me in the fucking eyes!”
In the blink of an eye, he’s throwing me to the floor, flat on my back, with him pinning me down. He shifts my hands so they’re pinned above me and shoves my legs apart with his knees, his thick length grazing my clit. I buck my hips, trying to throw him off, but it’s useless. He’s massive. And stronger than I thought he’d be.
Something between a growl and a snarl erupts from his throat, making my heart rate shoot through the roof. “Stop fighting it, Roxanna. You’re mine now, and no one will be able to take you from me.”
“No! Get off me!” I scream.
The same kind of growl bubbles in his chest, slowly leaving him as he thrashes his head back and forth above me. There’s something wrong with him, but there’s nothing I can do while I’m pinned beneath him, so I decide to take another approach.
With several deep breaths, I coax my body to return to my human form and speak to the demon atop me with the most soothing tone I can muster. “I’m sorry. You really scared me, and you’re hurting me. Can you please let me go?”
His grip loosens, but he doesn’t move. “You’re going to try to leave again.”
“No, I won’t. I promise. Please, Merric,” I beg.
He hesitates for a moment before releasing my hands and sitting up. This position has his cock nestling against my entrance. All he’ll have to do is rock his hips forward, and he’ll enter me, which is the absolute last thing I want right now.
His gaze lazily sweeps over my exposed body, and all I want is to cover myself. Something about him has me on edge, but I can’t place what it is. I’m also still scared as fuck to move.
“Can I please get back on the bed? I’m getting rather cold,” I say quietly.
“I would rather fuck you on this floor to keep you warm,” he says, lip curling.
My heartbeat skyrockets again. “Wh-why? The bed is far more comfortable for your knees as well.”
He shakes his head. “I need to claim you before he takes over, like with all the others. He says you’re the only thing that can fix me, keep me from becoming the monster he wants me to become.”
Terror sends a shiver down my body. What in the fuck is he talking about?
I don’t get a chance to ask him. His body begins to tremble, and his eyes widen in terror. A series of ‘no’s’ spills from his lips as he shuffles back, clutching his head between both hands. His eyes fall shut, and when they open again, they’re different from any I’ve ever seen. The whites have turned completely black, while the irises and pupils have become the color of rubies.
Shooting to my feet, my gorgon form takes over again. Whatever is happening to him isn’t good in the least, and I need to get out. Those intense eyes meet mine, but nothing happens to him.
Something is very wrong. I’m frozen in place, and he knows it.
His head tilts to the side with a weird, all-too-creepy smile on his lips. Then I watch in horror as his glamour falls, revealing an emaciated-looking version of the man I’m familiar with. A scream builds in my throat, desperate to be released.
Merric laughs wildly and climbs to his feet on limbs that are far longer than they should be. “You’re more perfect than anyone deserves. The only reason I told him you would fix him was because I want you for myself. I’m sure you’re going to be the most delectable thing I’ve ever tasted, and I can’t wait to sink my teeth into your flesh.”
