The female’s muffled moans get even louder. I can’t tell if she’s even enjoying it anymore or if her whimpers are from pain. Something tells me it wouldn’t matter to the male either way.
“Damn, Hawk, can you shut her up already? Some of us are trying to sleep.” The gripe is accompanied by the squeak of anearby bed, but I don’t catch exactly where it came from. I snort in agreement. The female is getting obnoxious at this point.
“Come,” Hawk barks, and on cue, the girl lets out a yowl in response. It makes me think she really was faking, but I don’t voice that. I don’t think Hawk would like that pointed out very much. Within a few seconds, the male stops his erratic rutting. Thankfully, he doesn’t make any loud declarations to hint that he got off.
When he climbs out of the bed, naked and unabashed, I rise slowly to my feet, anticipating his approach. There’s no way I want to be eye level with his junk. Though my back is to the corner, I don’t feel safe. I’m in a room with countless strangers who might be as good as enemies.
Hawk saunters toward me, his semi-erect dick swinging. I have to swallow the bile creeping up my throat, but I try to appear unaffected.
“Interrupting won’t get you to the head of the line any faster.” His voice is smooth, lacking the agitation I assumed would be present.
“I didn’t mean to interrupt, and I’m not in line for anything but sleep.”
His dark eyes roam over more than my face. It almost seems as if he’s trying to place me, but I know we’ve never met. I would remember him. There’s something slimy about him, or maybe I just feel that way because of our introduction. I’ve never witnessed someone having sex before I met them. “You might be a little sore after I’m done with you, but I’m sure you’ll fall asleep like a baby,” he taunts.
“I’m not looking for a fight or a fuck buddy, but thank you for the offer.” My harsh tone takes out some of the diplomacy in my rejection, but I can’t help it. The thought of him touching me makes me want to hurl. Ziv would kill him for even being this close to me naked—well, at least I think he would anyway. I’ma little shy on conviction, since he and Kage both pretty much abandoned me.
“Most don’t start out willing, but I don’t mind.” He moves a little closer, and I straighten my back, pushing deeper into the corner. All the things Ziv taught me about combat start going through my head, but I can’t force my body into an offensive stance. I just want to recoil. Maybe he’ll try to use his ability on me, and I can disappear. Wandering around this place for a few hours or days even like a ghost would be welcome at this point.
“It’s not happening,” I tell him, wishing I still had the blades Ziv made for me.
“Oh, it is, and everyone here is going to watch you beg me for it.”
I want to take my eyes off him, to look around to see if they are all watching like he says, but I’m not that dumb. Besides, it wouldn’t do me any good to see the faces of the people complicit in his attack.
With a speed I should have anticipated but didn’t, he reaches out and grabs my wrist. A current of useless magic prickles under his touch, and my body reacts to the threat like I wanted it to before he even got close. I twist with my hips and slam the palm of my hand up into his nose, rocking his head back and catching him off guard.
His head jerks back roughly from the blow. When he looks back down, his eyes are wide, and there’s blood seeping out of his nostril. Still, it doesn’t cause him to loosen his grip. I send another strike at his throat, my fingers pointed and as stiff as I can manage.
He makes a satisfying choking sound and releases me to grab his neck as he stumbles back, gagging. The shock only lasts a moment before he snarls and lowers his head to bum-rush me. I could try to run, but I’m at a disadvantage. I don’t know thelayout of the room or if I could even escape. It’s better to fight now than tire myself out by running.
I duck into a ball, and he’s forced to reconsider his attack strategy. “That’s enough,” a male voice yells, but I don’t take my eyes off Hawk. Instead of slamming into me, he kicks out with his leg, going for the side of my knee while I’m curled into a ball. It’s a flawed assault and won’t do much damage other than bruise, but that’s why I tucked in and turned to the side to protect my most vulnerable parts. If he were a good fighter, he would have gone for my head or ribs. Maybe there is hope for me to survive this.
“I said that’s enough,” the same voice bellows. Hawk shoves his fist at me, and it lands sloppily on my upper shoulder. It hurts, but when I feel the evidence of him using magic against me again, I know the strike wasn’t the objective, especially when he doesn’t pull back to protect himself or deliver another attack.
I shove his hand away and spring up in one fluid movement, then I sweep his leg out from under him. When his back hits the stone floor, his now flaccid dick flops like a dead worm. The confusion on his face would be funny if I was confident I could withstand a beating from him if he was serious about it, but he has a size and strength advantage, even if he doesn’t know how the hell to use it.
“What the fuck?” he voices in bewilderment while lifting himself up on his elbow to get up. I should pounce on him now and slam his head into the floor—that is what Ziv would want me to do, since I don’t have a safe retreat—but I hear whispers around me and see movement in my peripheral vision. One figure is familiar, and he’s also the voice telling us he’s had enough of our fighting—Mick.
I put myself back in the corner as the new threat approaches and take a moment to scan the rest of the bunks. If they allattack, I’m done for, unless they reach for their magic to subdue me.
“This is why you shouldn’t just rely on your ability.” Mick gives Hawk a scathing glare when he passes the male to get closer to me.
I put my hands out in front of me—not fisted, but ready to strike if need be.
“You can relax, Briar,” he instructs, but I don’t put my hands down. I don’t trust him or anyone else. “Go strip his bed. You just earned a place upstairs.”
“Are you fucking kidding me? It was a fluke,” Hawk exclaims, clearly pissed off.
“I’d rather go without than be surrounded by his scent.”
“You fucking bitch.” Clearly, I offended Hawk with the refusal, which is dumb, considering he gets to keep his shit.
“Stop running your mouth, or I will make you swallow your blanket just like you made that girl swallow her cries, you fucking sicko.” The venom in my tone surprises me, but I have a good idea where Hawk’s magic lies. He’s some kind of monster who takes people’s wills away. I have never been happier that magic doesn’t work on me.
Hawk lunges for me again, but Mick stops the would-be attack with a look.
“He won’t always be around to protect you.”
