Smoking was mostly an excuse to get outside, but damn, itdoesfeel good to have a cig after everything I’ve dealt with today—and everything I intend to do.
Adrian’s smirk is beginning to disappear. “Don’t play coy now.”
I bat my eyelashes at him and blow smoke in his face. “But I’m so very good at it!”
He lunges for me, and I dart back, laughing. Closer to the forest, though he doesn’t seem to notice. Yet… when I turn to glance over my shoulder and scan the trees, there’s still no sign of Krampus.
Doubt worms into me like a splinter under my skin. What if he’s too slow? What if he’s not coming at all? What if…
While I’m wondering, a hand closes around my forearm and yanks me forward.
“Got you,” Adrian says triumphantly. He pulls me against his chest so hard, I gasp. While I’m trying to figure out how I want to play this, he grabs the cigarette out of my hand and flicks it into the snow.
I don’t like the look in his eyes. He went from playful to angry faster than I expected. I freeze, unsure how to navigate the situation. And before I can speak or react, he slides his free hand up my side and squeezes my breast through the skintight fabric of my dress.
Instinct kicks in. I slap him across the face.
He releases me, staggering back with an expression of almost comical surprise. “What the hell was that?”
Well, shit. The jig is officially up. “I was just messing around,” I say lamely. “Let’s… let’s go back inside.” Krampus still isn’t here, and I’m starting to shiver. Maybe this was a mistake.
But Adrian gives me a grim smile. “I guess you like things rough, huh? Should’ve known.” He takes a step closer. I step back, but it no longer feels like a game, or at least not one that I’m in control of. “A girl like you is way too much for my little brother to handle.”
“Adrian, I was just playing,” I say, more firmly. “I’m not going to cheat with my brother-in-law. Come on.”
“You need a real man to put you in your place,” he says, like I didn’t speak at all.
Shit. I may have to run. But I’m not too eager to go into the forest again, especially because Adrian will doubtlessly lock me out here. I glance behind him, assessing the distance to the door we left unlocked… and then I go still.
A smile slowly spreads across my face.
“Hey, Adrian?” I prompt.
“If you think you’re weaseling out of this, you’re wrong.”
I roll my eyes. “Look behind you.”
He looks like he’s about to speak again, but then he stops himself. I wonder if some survival instinct is finally breaking through the haze of alcohol, or if he hears the crunch of snow beneath a hoof, or feels the huff of hot breath on the back of his neck.
Either way, it’s satisfying to watch his eyes grow as he slowly turns around to face the monster behind him.
Krampus towers over him, birch rods in hand, prepared to dole out punishment.
When Adrian tensesin preparation to run, I expect to witness a chase like the one I lived through. Instead, he only manages one staggering step before Krampus draws back a massive hand and slams it into the side of Adrian’s head.
He doesn’t even have time to scream. He just collapses in the snow.
My heart hammers as I watch Krampus bend down and wrap a length of heavy chains around the man’s neck. Mingled anticipation and fear make my chest tight. I’m dizzy all of a sudden. Excited to see Krampus deal out his brutal brand of justice… and realizing that the monster was going easy on me earlier. He could’ve taken me down much sooner. He could’ve hurt me very badly, if he wanted to.
And he still might. But back in the forest, he must’ve been playing with me. When he pulls the chain taut and yanks a half-conscious Adrian to his feet, there’s nothing playful in his manner at all.
Adrian chokes, hands scrabbling at the metal chains constricting him. His boots just barely scrape the ground.
“Confess your sins,” Krampus says, his voice deadly serious.
Adrian’s mouth gapes like a fish. His lips form words I can’t decipher.
Krampus grunts in frustration and lowers him, loosening the chains just slightly.
