Chapter 24

Maddy woke with an ache in her jaw, recalling how firmly Stefan had struck her while the two men holding her gave him the opening. It had been a cowardly act, and certainly it hadn’t been necessary to ensure her compliance at that point, for she’d already been bound by her hands and feet, and they had stuffed her into a bag. Just before closing it, he’d punched her so hard she had passed out, and she had no idea for how long she’d lost consciousness.

It was long enough to have her installed in Stefan’s room. He must be confident of his ability to control her, because he hadn’t bothered to tie her up. She shuddered when she realized he was caressing her breast in a heavy-handed fashion as he squeezed and groped hard enough likely to leave bruises. With a grunt of outrage, she elbowed him in the solar plexus, which sent him jerking back, and she was able to roll away onto the other side of the bed and scurry off it.

He was glaring at her. “It would be better to comply. You are going to pay for everything you have done and every bit of trouble you have caused me over the years, but your continued defiance will only cost you more pain. If you can be sweet with me, perhaps I will forgive you sooner, though I assure you, you will not escape this evening with your skin completely unmarred.”

She glared at him as she circled around, trying to keep the same amount of distance between them as he advanced toward her by coming around the bed too. “I shall never cooperate with your foul and disgusting plans for me. I am a married woman, and you have no right to do these things. My husband will destroy you. Of course, you must have realized that, for you were far too cowardly to show up for the duel.”

He clenched his jaw, and his face took on an angry red shade. “Do not speak to me that way, you bitch.”

She yawned at him. “Such a deep wit.” She glared, surprised to discover she wasn’t nearly as frightened of him as she had been in the past. “Were you always this weak?” She shook her head, allowing her disdain to show. “How you could ever think I would want someone like you boggles my mind. Even as a child, when you began your inappropriate campaign to acquire me, I knew how disgusting you were. Now, I also realize how pathetic you are.”

“You bitch,” he said again, making up for lack of originality with ferocity as he screamed the word at her loudly and forcefully enough to cause spittle to fly from his mouth.

She continued to back up, keep the same distance between them, and when her leg brushed against a chair, she seized it with both hands, using it to ward him off as she stopped backing away. “If you found a way to overpower me, you might take what you want, but you will never get my heart. I will always loathe you and look at you as the disgusting worm you are. If you let me go now, it is possible Colin might just kill you quickly and be done with it rather than torture you for hours first.”

He paled and trembled, and her words had obviously struck their target, but he firmed his shoulders in a petulant fashion and stuck out his lower lip. “He isn’t here to do anything to me. It is your job to please me, and you are displeasing me most grievously. I assure you: you will pay for every slight.”

“Why would you even want me? Not only do I have no desire for you, but you also repulse me. I do not understand this compulsion that grips you, Stefan.” She eyed him with detached curiosity, truly perplexed.

She recognized there were some parallels between his obsession and Colin’s, which was troubling, but she found Colin’s need for her far less disturbing than Stefan’s, particularly since she also desired him and was starting to soften toward him. Perhaps both men shared the same kind of sick obsession, but they had implemented carrying it out differently.

Stefan was intent on owning and controlling her, and he gave no concern at all for her pleasure. In his world, she existed solely to please him, and she was an extension of himself. Whereas Colin had taken her in a jealous fit, and he’d refused to return her, but he cared about her and her pleasure. He loved her.

It wasn’t this sick, soul-deep need to control and own her that Stefan so patently displayed. There was certainly an element of that to Colin’s emotions, but he still maintained a conscience and morality. He was still capable of caring about others and regarding her in the equation, seeing her as a distinct person.

In short, she believed Colin could still be redeemed from his darker urges and desires, whereas Stefan had firmly immersed himself in them, not only embracing the impulses, but glorying in them. There was no fixing him.

“I will have you. Stop moving.” He barked that command to her when she took another step back. Apparently, one more step was more than his capacity for rage could handle, and he rushed toward her.

She marveled at his stupidity even as she brought up the chair and thrust it forcefully against his stomach, nailing him directly with one of the firm wooden legs so ornately designed with the Baroque pattern.

He gasped and fell backward, clutching his stomach as he dropped to his knees. “Even if I weren’t already married, I would never marry you, Stefan.”

He was still gasping, so his words were somewhat breathy when he said, “I still get to keep your inheritance if you are dead.”

“How will I please you if I am dead?” She was still holding the chair out, and it occurred to her it would be simple enough to bring it down on his head and end him once and for all. She was sorely tempted, and she recalled the conversation she’d had with Colin the night before.

At that time, she had been all for being the one to drive the sword through him, and she still felt that way, but she couldn’t help also being squeamish about what might follow after, including the sound and the mess. She imagined his skull would make quite a thunk and then a squishing sound as it yielded to the hard wood, and envisioning the spray of blood accompanying it made her wrinkle her nose.

“You will not be dead, dear sister. You shall simply be locked in the cellar. No one will know you are there, and I can visit you at my leisure. You shall be dead to the Ton, and your miserable husband will stop looking for you. No doubt, he will quickly lose interest, for he is a man with a vast number of options, and you can mean very little to him. I shall win.”

She laughed at him. “You are a fool.” She brought back the chair and whacked him with it, having underestimated her aim. Unfortunately, she hit him more in the shoulder than the head, and though he cried out in pain, it didn’t incapacitate him the way she had hoped. She lifted the chair, about to hit him again, when the door burst open, and Colin entered.