Dark Need by Clarissa Wild

Chapter 28

Soren

After I’ve broughther some water from the river to clean herself up, she fishes her clothes from my bag and puts them back on while pretending nothing happened. I don’t mind.

I’d probably do the same if she brought it up again.

What I did to her was filthy beyond belief. And not once, but twice now have I slathered her in my cum.

I should be ashamed.

I should.

But instead, all I can think about is doing it again.

And again.

And again.

Until I see that face again, until I hear those moans again, until I can release myself inside her once more.

Fuck.

I don’t enjoy thinking or talking about what she does to me or my body. The way she makes me crave her beyond belief … it’s impossible to describe. And the more I give in, the more I want, the more I need.

It’s never enough.

This is why we need to keep moving.

We’re close to a city now, so I hope she doesn’t notice. I don’t want her running off to try to escape me. I’m sure she’d try. The thought alone still irks me. Not just because she’s in my hands, and I’m supposed to keep her safe and bring her where she belongs …

But also because I want her to stay.

Because her running away from me only affirms what’s been circling through my head like a vulture picking at my brain: She doesn’t want me.

She fears me.

And I don’t know why that bothers me, but it does.

I shouldn’t care for her wanting me, nor should it surprise me that she’s still afraid. It’s in my very nature to make people scared and worry about their life. It’s my job, after all.

Do what you’re told.

Complete and utter control.

And now I have lost all of it.

I clench my fists as I walk, forcing myself to forget the throbbing cock in my pants.

The longer the metal has been off, the harder it’s become to stop me from ravaging her.

And failing my only job will cost me dearly.

I lower my head and sigh. When the time comes, I will pay the price. But for now, I have to complete this mission, no matter the cost.

We walk through the forest until we get to the top of the mountain again. We need to be up high for me to judge where we’ll need to go. The edge is right in front of me, so I walk up to it and pause, gazing out at the horizon in front of us. The forests down below are teeming with life, birds chirping everywhere, the roaring of bears following suit.

“Wow …”

I peer over my shoulder at the girl who approaches the edge, carefully watching her step as though she’s afraid she might fall off if she gets too close.

I hold out my hand, and she glances at it briefly before finally placing her hand in mine. It feels oddly warm, soft, delicate, a featherlike grasp that makes me want to swoop her into my arms.

But I ignore the urge and allow her to take a peek over the edge.

“It’s … gorgeous,” she murmurs.

I hum in agreement. I rarely ever come here, if at all. But I know how to find my way around any forest thanks to years of training in the wild, and these are the moments when it pays off. Nature may be savage and unyielding, but it has its moments of beauty too. The kind that would quiet any soul, living or dead.

“What’s that?” she says, pointing at something in the distance.

Bright lights in a row near something gray.

Fuck.

I quickly tug her back down the mountain again and head straight back into the woods.

“What are you doing?” she asks. “I thought we were going to have a break up there.”

“Time to move,” I bark, still dragging her along.

“No, wait. Tell me what that was,” she says.

If I did that … she would try to escape.

Suddenly, she jerks free of my grip. “Can’t you be honest with me, for once?”

I stop in my tracks and gaze at her with furrowed brows.

The pain in her eyes makes me question my decision.

If I speak the truth, would she still betray me?

“It was a road, wasn’t it?” she says.

My fists ball again as I nod.

A sparkle lights in her eyes, and I hate it.

I hate it because it makes her look so enticing, so pretty.

And I will have to squash what little hope she has left.

My jaw tenses. “It was nothing.”

She frowns. “But it was.”

“It doesn’t matter,” I growl. “Now come.”

It’s not a question, and she knows.

This dynamic will never change, and I know she knows.

I can see it seeping into her bones, the poison, the hatred.

The same kind I would get from all of my victims, but none were as painful to endure as this. This look right here. The loathing.

Fuck.

“Fine,” she says through gritted teeth, marching right past me as though she can’t stand the sight of me.

And I’d be lying if it didn’t affect me.

“I didn’t choose this,” I growl.

“Oh, like that’s supposed to excuse you from your actions?” she muses.

I know it doesn’t matter. And I don’t know why I even care.

“I’m doing my job,” I add.

“And your job is to do something cruel,” she says.

“How do you know?” She doesn’t even know where she’s going, but I follow her anyway.

“Because that’s what you people do. You said it yourself. You torture people to make them confess their sins. And if you can’t torture me in that House, you’ll just do it somewhere else, won’t you?” she says. “Who are you bringing me to? Who else is going to have his way with me, huh?”

I take her wrist to make her stop and look at me.

“No one,” I say as I grab her chin. “No one … will touch you.”

Her lips part, but no words fall off her tongue even though she tries. And I can’t stop looking at her soft, succulent mouth, wishing for a taste.

I’ve never desired a woman like her the way I do now.

And that is the sole reason I will not allow anyone to touch her.

Even though I know that after I bring her to our destination, my job will be finished, and I will have no more control over her. But that thought haunts me. Makes me want to destroy everything in my path until nothing is left except her and me.

What has she done to me?

Before I can ask, she jerks free of my grasp, and the spell is broken.

“Stop lying,” she hisses. “If you’re going to ruin my life, at least be honest about it.”

“It’s not my choice,” I growl.

“Well, we’re out here now in the middle of nowhere with no one to tell you what to do,” she says, folding her arms. “I’d say it’s damn well your choice.”

The fire in her eyes has never burned this bright, and it stirs something inside me that makes it hard to ignore her pleas.

She sighs out loud and parks herself against a tree. “Whatever. I know I’m only a pound of flesh to all of you.”

I stand in front of her, planting my hand against the tree, trapping her inside.

“You are not.” My hand instinctively moves up to her chin, caressing her jawline with my thumb. “Not to me.”

She shudders, her cheeks turning bright red as I lean over her, wanting nothing more than to grab her face and …

Sudden rustles behind us make her eyes widen, and I turn my head toward the sound.

A bear sniffles around in a bush not far behind us.

“Oh my God,” she murmurs.

I place my hand over her mouth to stop her from making a sound.

The bear noticed us.

It lifts its head and roars.

“A bear!” April’s squeal is enough to kick off the adrenaline in my body.

Within a second, I’ve grasped her hand and drag her along with me as I run like hell. The bear is right behind us, chasing us like we’re a toy to play with … or meat to consume.

But I refuse to let this be our end.

Especially not hers.

But the bear is faster than us, faster than her.

And when it gets close, I grab the nearest long stick I can find and shove her behind me, bracing for impact.

“Soren!” April squeals.

The bear charges. I lift the stick and point it right at him.

I shield her with my body, spreading my legs and arms wide to prepare to take him on.

The impact of his body against mine is overwhelming, and I can barely take it. The stick falls to the ground within an instant as the bear crushes me with its weight. Its jaws are right at my face, breathing out a putrid smell, and I push it away with all my might not to get eaten alive. Its claws rake at my arms, and I fight off the pain from the gashes it leaves.

“RUN!” I bark at April, who squeamishly cowers in a corner near a tree.

No fucking way will I let this bear get anywhere near her. I’d rather die than let that happen.

She nods and runs off, but she’s not nearly fast enough.

And the bear turns its attention to her.

She’s the prey.

But I’ll be damned if I let her be his prey.

She’s mine.

And I roar out loud as I reach for the stick on the ground and jam it straight into its side.

The beast howls in pain and slumps sideways while backing off. With the stick still stuck in its side, it runs off, away from us, away from April.

And I breathe out a sigh of relief.

Only for the pain to come rushing back in.

All this time, I’d been running on adrenaline, but it took so much energy to hold that beast back that I can’t get up. So I just lie here for a moment and close my eyes, hoping, praying, that she makes it out alive.

Even if I don’t.

Even if she’ll hate me.

At least I tried to save her.