Chapter 38 Chapter 38
Audrey
I was on my back when I woke up. My head pounding but the pain of the iron poker spearing my brain faded away when I took stock of my body and realised that I wasn’t just laying on my bed, staring up at the familiar ceiling but I was tied to it.
My hands above my head and my legs-
Cold air blew across my skin. Especially the skin of my mound.
Was I naked?
Yanking again the ropes I tried to close my legs but those were tied as well.
“I know you are awake.” Duncan’s voice floated from between my legs and I froze.
He was between my legs.
And I was naked.
It felt like someone was dripping something cold and wet onto my skin.
I shivered from the coldness of it but mostly from fear.
“I wasn’t pretending.” There was no way I was going to let that fear take over. Sure I was tied naked to the bed and there was a mad man between my legs but I could handle this.
I had to because there was no one coming to save me.
Gabriel was gone.
“When I imagined this night. Our first together.” Duncan’s voice filled me with even more dread. “I always imagined you would be shaved.”
More water was sloshed over my private area and then something scraped against my skin.
A razor.
“Are you shaving me?” Somehow my voice came out steady even though inside I was shaking uncontrollably.
“I just said,” Duncan snapped. “I imagined you shaved Audrey. When I pictured this night you were always so- smooth. I like my vaginas-“
The next touch was his fingers and not the razor and bile rushed up into my throat.
“If you like your vaginas a certain way then I suggest you get one of your own Duncan.” I snapped. “Now fucking untie me and-“
“You sound angry.” His voice shook as he swept his fingers across my smooth mound again.
I sounded angry because I was.
“What is this on you Audrey?”
“What do you mean? There’s nothing on me but these damn ropes.” I snapped.
The light shifted, coming closer.
No wonder the light seemed to be flickering and weird. He had filled the room with candles.
He brought it down to the bed, and craning my head I watched as he stared down at me.
When his eyes snapped up to mine there was nothing but pure hatred in his eyes.
The brand.
Oh shit.
I tried to clamp my legs together but the rope held me spread eagle.
“You let him brand you.” Holding the candle in one hand, he touched the raised red mark that I had completely forgotten about. “Now I wish I’d let you keep your fuzz. Now I can’t stand to fucking touch you.” He spat.
“Good.” I couldn’t help but retort. “I didn’t ask for you to touch me Duncan.”
“But you like it.”
A drop of wax hit me in a scolding drop and I bit my lip instead of crying out.
Men like Duncan liked fear, they got off on it. I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction.
“You like this. I watched Audrey.” Duncan’s voice was growing husky. His hand kneaded my thigh roughly. “I saw all the little games you played together. How you liked him touching you.” Inch by inch his fingers crept up. “How you liked it , hard, so you had no choice but to take it.”
A scream lodged in my throat as one finger slipped against my folds.
“I can make you scream like that, Audrey. I can. You just have to give me a chance. And I won’t hide my face from you. You won’t have to kiss a mask.” His voice was rising. “You can be with a man.”
“He is ten times, no a hundred times the man you are Duncan.”
His finger breached my body painfully. Pushing passed the dryness.
“I am the better-“
I lashed out struggling against the ropes. And the candle went flying out of his hand when my feet hit him in the junk.
Howling he clutched himself.
“You’re not the better man.” Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw the curtains catch fire. The flames ate them up.
“Yes I am.” Duncan back handed me across the face. Rocking my head back. “I’ll prove it to you. I am-“ crushing me under his weight he fumbled between our bodies and I screamed.
This couldn’t be happening.
It couldn’t , I refused to believe it.
“Keep still, keep fucking still.” He tried to smother me with his bigger body but that just made me fight even more.
I slammed my head up, breaking his nose and blood splurged out.
“Let me fucking love you, Audrey stop fighting.” Again he reached between us. Trying to push his flaccid limp dick into me.
“Never.” I coughed. Smoke was filling the air so quickly. But Duncan didn’t seem to notice the way the flames were now licking at the wallpaper.
He didn’t seem to notice anything but me.
“Gabriel never forced me.” One of my ankles came free and I drew it up to knee him. Duncan grunted but didn’t fall to the side like I hoped he would.
“He never hurt me. What we had was-“ my words stuck in my throat as Duncan’s hands closed around my throat and squeezed.
“It was nothing. You were meant to be mine Audrey. I was sweet, I was patient. You should have chosen me. Instead you let him brand you like a common whore. You let him put a bastard in your stomach. I was patient. I was right there.” He screamed. “But I’m going to force you to see me now. You will choose me.”
Even though he was choking the life out of me, he plunged his tongue into my mouth. Swiping it against my teeth.
“I will never choose you.” I bit down on his tongue hard, and again his hand lashed out. Smashing against my cheek and sending blinding pain through my face.
I spit blood at him.
“I can give you more,” again his hands closed around my throat, only this time he didn’t let go. My vision spiralled down into a tunnel. The only thing I could see was the ceiling.
And fire. The flames seemed to engulf me.
“What do you have with him that you can’t have with me?”
He was going to kill me, and if he did then the fire would.
“Love.” Something massive hit Duncan and together they tumbled onto the floor.
“What we have is love.”
Gabriel.
I sucked in a breath. Trying to fill my stinging lungs with much needed oxygen. Only there wasn’t any.
There was only smoke.
“Audrey.” Leaning over me , Gabriel’s fingers worked on the ropes. “You’re ok.your ok.”
It sounded like he was talking to himself. Not me.
Like a mantra.
“You came back.” My voice sounded weird. Raspy and croaky. I coughed but that didn’t do any good either.
“Always.” Easily he swung me up into his arms. “But we need to get out of here now.”
I couldn’t agree more. Clinging to him I closed my eyes and pressed my face to his chest.
He had come back. When I needed him he had come for me.
Cold air rushed into my lungs as he stepped into the cold winter air. And it felt good. Better than good but not nearly as amazing as being in Gabriel’s arms again.
He headed towards the tree. Our apple tree.
“I’m sorry Audrey, so sorry that it took me so long to catch you.”
I wanted to tell him that it was ok. That he was here now and that’s all that mattered but I didn’t get the chance.
There was a roar, and above me Gabriel grunted and crumbled to his knees. Dropping me to the rock hard ground.
“She is mine, not yours.” Duncan screamed.
Terrified I rolled onto my side, he was burnt, the skin on his face and hands seemed to be melting. Pain tightened his features but he didn’t seem to feel it.
There was something wooden and solid in his hand, he brought it down again and again onto Gabriel’s head.
“I’m just like you now, just as disfigured just as-“
Gabriel tackled him, blinded by the blood pouring from his head but fuelled by rage.
But he was hurt badly.
“You can’t-“
In the distance I was sure I could hear a car screeching towards us but I couldn’t be sure. The wet sound of wood against Gabriel’s skull made it impossible to tell.
I was going to lose him. And this time there was no going back. He wouldn’t be able to watch me, or chase me and there would be no more catching if Duncan got his way.
My fingers scraped through the snow, desperately trying to find something k could use as a weapon.
Anything.
“Get off of him-“ the roar of the fire drowned out my words.
In the snow, just under the hard mud, something moved. Shifting upwards and my fingers closed around it without even thinking.
Yanking it free I swung it in a wide arm, catching Duncan across the arm with it. He screamed. The skin and flesh on his burnt arms sticking to the -
I didn’t even know what I was holding but did it really matter.
I swung it as his head again, and this time he went down into his knees.
“I will.” I was panting. “Never choose you. I’ll kill,” I
Paused. Could I do that? Take another man’s life.
To my side Gabriel groaned, pushing himself to his feet.
“I will kill you.” Tearing my eyes from the man I loved I stared down the one on his knees.
Duncan lifted his eyes to me. “No you won’t. You don’t have it in you Audrey.”
“Yes I do.” Brandishing the - I glanced at it. Why did it look like a bone? I shook the thought away.
“He’s right.” Gabriel caught my wrist, staring down at me from a mask of blood. “Youre not a killer, Audrey.” He said softly.
Taking the long, mud stained bone from my hand. He smiled, his teeth bloody.
“But I am.” And then he turned to face Duncan, taking a step toward threateningly.
Duncan’s face morphed into something else, fear took over and made his features ugly.
He looked up at the man I loved and pissed himself.
I looked away but I couldn’t not hear Gabriel’s next words.
. “I am a killer.”