Either way, the knife I’d brought was too far, and I didn’t know if I could get to it before he reached me. The door leading out of the lighthouse was closed and far from town. No one knew I’d be here.
“I should probably go,” I calmly said, forcing myself to stare at his chest and not at the maimed cock that was blatantly pointing at me.
Stone took another step until he was towering over me. “You can’t leave.”
I tried to back away. “Please, you’re not yourself right now.”
He threw his head back. “Why must everyone lie to me?”
A lump lodged in my throat just as his head snapped to the side.
“Quiet!” he shouted, and I flinched in place.
“Stone, I didn’t say anything,” I whispered, trying to remain even-tempered, but he wasn’t looking at me any longer.
Then I understood that his mother must have done something to him.
He must be hearing whispers at this very moment.
It was the only explanation.
I scooted back to get away from him without making it obvious, to escape whatever delusion that was consuming him. “It’s your mother,” I said gently this time, trying to talk some sense into him. “Your mother did something to you, didn’t she?”
Stone growled, ripping me off the ground by my arm like I’d weighed nothing, and slammed me against the closest wall. Then his hand came around my jaw, forcing me to look into his eyes. I clenched my teeth in his strong hand, trying to tear myself away from his hold.
“Look at me,” he ordered, squeezing my cheeks together.
I steeled my spine and tried to pull away from his grip, but Stone was stronger.
“Get off me,” I snapped between his fingers.
“Tell me the truth. Do you find me revolting as she said?” The wind howled and shook the door. Stone’s voice had shaken too. As if a hex had possessed him.
“Yes!” I shouted in his face, spit flying, my eyes wide and wild. I didn’t know why I was screaming. It could have been because his sudden anger fueled mine or because I was trapped here with an animal who was helpless and gentle one second and a storm the next. “It’s ugly! I couldn’t imagine anyone who would want to be with you!”
I couldn’t believe the words coming from my pretty lips. I didn’t know if I meant them, but I never expected anyone to hear them.
Rage took over Stone’s gaze, and he grabbed my hands into one of his, only to rip my dress down the center and tear it from my body.
The straps slipped down my arms, and cool air licked my skin.
Fear rolled inside me, and, at the same time, a bolt of lightning tore across the sky. Its iron light lit up his disturbed face, and I wanted to recoil from it.
Stone grabbed my hip, pinning me between him and the wall, smearing his blood across my skin. I tried to pry myself out of his grip. “Get off me!”
I freed one hand and pushed against his hard, solid chest, but Stone didn’t budge. I then pounded into it, wishing I had strength greater than a man’s. I wished I could have better control of this situation, take over, or be powerful enough to fight him off. It was a fearsome position to be in, knowing that no matter your talent, skill, intelligence, or strength, there was always someone stronger, better, and capable of possessing you, making you feel like nothing. I had never been stupid enough to let a situation like this happen until this moment. But it didn’t make a difference. In the end, no matter how deep the darkness was lurking inside me or how pure my intentions were, none of it was enough to save me. In my panic over the possibility that he would rape or kill me, I beat him repeatedly and screamed from a raw throat.
Stone hissed through his teeth and snatched my waving wrist. Blue veins popped in the muscles of his arms when he nailed it to the wall, both of my wrists in one of his hands again.
“Stone, if you do this,” I started to say through clenched teeth, using the wall to erect my spine, refusing to go down without a fight, “Iwillkill you.”
He paused with his mouth parted, a bead of sweat pooling in the bow of his upper lip. His tortured gaze slid across my face, and he cocked his head. “I was hoping you’d say that.”
After that, any hope left in me drained away.
I kicked my knee to jab his groin, but he reeled back and shoved it to the side. I pulled up my other knee, and he maneuvered my legs, dipped down, and buried his hips into my pelvis so I couldn’t move them.
Blood gushed from his wound, and I felt it slide down between us and coat his erection that was piercing the space between my thighs. The sensation took him completely, making him come alive.
