Chapter 8

V ANCE

H aving Clarissa here feels right. I’ve never brought anyone to the cabin before. It’s a place of refuge and peace. I don’t want anyone here unless they mean something to me. My raven means the world.

I stare in the mirror, then gaze at the white handkerchief, now stained crimson with the severed finger inside. I don’t know when all this became my world or when my need for control and power trumped my humanity.

I shake off the self-loathing and get on with it. Walking into the main bedroom, I drop the towel and pull on my jeans before heading to the kitchen.

Clarissa is gone.

“Where is she?” I growl at the dogs. They cast their heads down, telling me they fucked up. I glance at the front door, and it’s ajar. “Fuck.”

I don’t bother grabbing a shirt. Feet bare, I open the front door and run with the dogs in pursuit. It’s not fucking safe for her here at night. There’s nowhere to go, and the only thing she’ll find is a wild animal that’ll tear her limb from limb.

I should never have left her alone. She hasn’t come to terms with it. I should have handcuffed her to the shower. I thought she was fine, but I was wrong. Maybe I can’t read my little bird as well as I thought. I smile. When I find her, I’ll be sure to start taking my showers with her in them. Fuck, why would she do this? She knows I’d rather die than hurt her.

The dogs stop. I’m relieved because it means they have something. A branch breaks, and the sound of rustling leaves blasts through the silence of the night. I glance down, and my eyes fall on one of her nude high heels. She must be close, and if she was running with these, she’s probably injured. I’m going to have to punish her for putting herself at risk. What the fuck was she thinking? I thought she understood me. This situation is not acceptable. I’d fucking die before I’d let anything happen to her. Under no circumstances is she allowed to get hurt. If I have to tie her up to keep her safe, I will because she’s mine now, and I take good care of what belongs to me.

Timber and Tiger jump into the small valley and bark. I run down and join them, and there is my little bird sitting on the cold, hard ground, nursing her arm. I can’t see her face in the darkness. My first reaction is to check her ankle, but she shuffles backward along the ground as I approach.

“Fuck you.”

“It would be your pleasure, Little Bird, but first, I need to see what damage you did to yourself.”

She bites her bottom lip and gives me a nervous smile. I’m not sure if she fears me or likes to play games. “So this may not have been the brightest thing I’ve ever done. Looks like this is a habit with us. Me hurting myself and you being there to fix it.”

I walk over and take her ankle in my hands. I don’t say a word as I lift her from the cold ground. I lose myself in the sensation of her warm body cradled against me while her arms go around my neck. She leans into me, giving the illusion that she trusts me.

I open the door to the cabin and rush her to the bathroom. “Strip,” I order.

She sits immobile, looking at me in disgust as she wraps her arms around herself. “I will not.”

“You think if I wanted to do anything to you, your arms would have a hope in hell of protecting you? You’re lucky you’re not over my knee for the stunt you pulled. Don’t make me repeat myself, Little Bird. Strip.”

Clarissa bites her lip and turns her face away from me. I know I sound like an asshole, but I’m pissed. She could’ve seriously hurt herself. “Either you do it, or I will.”

“You said you wouldn’t rape me.”

“Oh, for God’s sake.”

I move close, my hands on the hem of her short black dress. I stare into her eyes and notice a shift. The fear that was there a moment ago is gone. It’s replaced with something else: curiosity, lust, desire. She licks her lips, and I tear the dress off her, exposing her black cotton panties and lace bra.

“Do you want me to rip off the rest, or do you want to do it?”

Clarissa keeps her eyes on me as she removes her bra, letting it fall to the floor at her feet. She shimmies out of her panties, leaving her completely bare to my hungry gaze. I’m so hard from looking at her body, my dick could cut through fucking steel.

“Happy?” she asks with a glare.

I close the gap between us. “Not yet, but the night is young,”

My hands are on her in an instant, not in the primal way that I crave her, but for practical reasons. I examine her body, checking every inch for any damage she might have caused herself when she ran away from me. I turn her, and my blood runs cold. My hand twitches, and my fingers shake as they brush her bare back.

“Who did this?” I ask, my voice like ice. I’m no longer a man, but a monster. My throat is dry, and the only thing I can focus on is how I will kill the man who left welts all along her back.

“It’s nothing,” she whispers, moving away from me.

Not happening. I grab her and pull her to me, holding her captive in my arms.

“That’s not nothing, Little Bird. I’m gonna ask you one more time. Who the fuck did that to you?”