Page 22 of Darkest Kiss

"You can control your blinking. Right? Blink twice for yes, once for no."

I blink twice. He picks up my hand, clasping it, and ghosts his fingers down the side of my face. His expression is adoring, his touch something I certainly didn't ask for. But because I can't flinch away, I squeeze my eyes closed. A moment passes. I hear him inhale sharply and then drop my hand.

"Sorry. I'm touching you like you know me, but you don't. I'm a stranger to you."

I open my eyes, feeling tears pressing at the corners. He notices with a small hiss.

"Fuck. Don't cry, Noemi. I can't stand it."

He seems genuinely affected. I'm starting to think that there is something unhinged about this man who bought me from one of the most fucked up auctions imaginable.

"Okay, pretty girl. You can blink. The men that kidnapped you and drugged you gave me an antidote of sorts." He hesitates, my hand coming up to my face again. But he stops himself before he can stroke my cheek. "Sorry. It's hard not to touch."

I blink several times, trying to steer him back to the antidote. I've been trapped in my own body for too long and I'll do anything to be free again. Even if I have to let Rian touch me.

He doesn't deserve to touch me, though... He's a fucked-up man in a world full of dark, shadowy figures doing awful things to one another. I was raised as a Caruso, told from a young age that when the time was right, I'd be given to a stranger for a husband to secure political ties. My aunt and uncle are planning… no, were planning… to find me a mob husband.

The point is that I've seen my share of fucked up things.

"Right." Rian sucks in a breath. "So I have an antidote. It's adrenaline, which will let you regain mobility almost immediately. There are⁠—"

I blink rapidly. I don't care what I have to do. The fact that there's an antidote and he didn't give it to me immediately stirs anger in my blood. Fucker.

"There are side effects." His eyes bore into mine. "The main one being extreme euphoria. Have you done Ecstasy?"

I blink once. Of course I haven't. I've lived a very sheltered life, just my books and me.

"No. Well... it's apparently X times fifty. You might... have needs."

I can't imagine what he is talking about so I just stare back. If I could hit him right now, I would.

Get the freaking antidote already! I think.

"Or you can wait a few days for mobility to return on its own," he finishes. "You have options. Blink twice for the antidote⁠—"

I blink twice. He goes silent. "One more time. Blink⁠—"

I blink twice, impatience gnawing at my gut. I have to get out of here, but this is the first step.

"Okay." He pulls a wicked-looking injector out of a slim leather box, going exceedingly slow. Looking at me, he brushes his hand over my cheek again. "Sorry, pretty girl. I have to... just in case it doesn't work..."

Then he leans in, his minty breath fanning over my lips. "Close your eyes," he whispers.

Fluttering my lashes closed, my heart beats a rousing tattoo inside my chest. He surprises me then by kissing me, his warm lips pressing against mine. Sweeping his hand into my hair, he growls. "God, you taste better than I imagined. You're like caramel." He pulls back, but leaves his hand in my hair, stroking it. "I wish you could kiss me back, pretty girl. Beast thought you would taste like vanilla... but your flavor is much more complex than that."

Who the hell is Beast? Another captor that I haven't met yet? A crazier one? This guy has more than a couple of screws loose, I realize. And he has friends.

Rian nods to himself. He pushes up my white nightie, pinching a spot on my thigh. "Okay. On three..."

Then I feel a prick on my thigh and a burning sensation that quickly spreads out, licking my skin, warming flesh that I didn’t even know was cool.

For a pulse-pounding, stomach-churning moment, nothing happens.

Then my toes move.

I stare down at my feet as best I can. I wiggle them to confirm this is real, and it is. The paralysis is ending.

A sound comes out of my throat that I didn't plan on making. Something between a sob and a laugh. My first voluntary sound in days and it's completely humiliating; I absolutely don’t care.