“What are you doing?!” I attempt to twist away, but he only tightens his hold. “Let go!”
“Isn’t this what you wanted?”
He drags me onto the bridge, right to the middle and over to the edge. I dig my heels into the hard asphalt, but it does no good. He shoves me against the stone guardrail, and my hands dart out to grip the wall. It doesn’t stop him from tipping my upper body over the ledge until I’m forced to look down at the raging river that may as well be as violent and furious as he is.
I can’t decide what’s louder—the roaring of the water below or the rushing of blood in my ears as fear wraps its hand around my throat.
“Please, stop!”
“What do they say, Jackson? Did I catch him off guard? Or was he already dead before he hit the water?”
His words are a low growl as his hand moves from the back of my neck to grab a fistful of my hoodie. His other hand comes up and grasps my upper arm tight, lifting me just enough so the toes of my shoes are barely scraping the ground. I claw at the stone, waiting for my life to flash before my eyes.
As he leans in, his breath is scorching against the shell of my ear, a contrast to the freezing air around us. His next words come out lower and deeper than before.
“Or maybe I fucked him before throwing him over?”
My blood turns to ice as he thrusts his hips against my side. He’s not hard, not fully, but I can feel his cock give a twitch against my hip.
I’d wonder what the fuck is wrong with him if I wasn’t too busy wondering what the fuck is wrong withme.
I don’t think I’ve ever been more scared in my life. It’s probably the adrenaline, but there’s something intoxicating knowing he wants me at least as much as he wants to kill me.
When a whimper slips past my lips, I’m not sure if it’s born from desire or surrender.
It’s my body’s final betrayal.
My mind is all tangled up with terror and lust, a confusing jumble of fear and want. But as I stare down at the turbulent river, fear wins out.
“Isaac, please,” I beg, the words coming out as a sob.
Immediately, his hold loosens, and my feet fall flat onto the ground. The way he continues holding onto me seems to shift.It’s not with cruelty, not quite, but something that borders on it. A hunger edged with restraint.
“Fuck.”
It’s a whisper lost in the wind before he finally releases me. The grip that had pinned me against the stone is gone, but its ghost lingers. A bruise of warmth fading too fast.
It’s not until his presence disappears from my back that I realize my eyes are watering. The air bites, but I know it’s not from the cold. It’s from the fear. The panic. The pure adrenaline that’s been thrumming through my bones.
My entire body still shakes, my breathing harsh and ragged. My heart continues to pound so loud it drowns out the sound of the current. I can still feel where his breath brushed the back of my neck when he hissed my name.
Like he owned it.
Like he ownedme.
As the fear finally starts to ebb, something else takes its place.
Anger.
Hot, raw, pulsing under my skin.
Shoving off the wall, I turn to see Isaac’s back as he walks away, the hem of his overcoat snapping in the wind like it’s trying to chase him.
Hell no.
He doesn’t get to fucking walk away. Not after that.
“You fucking asshole!”
