Dark Need by Clarissa Wild

Chapter 7

April

When he disappearsbehind a few trees, I’m completely stunned.

What the hell just happened?

I know the questions I asked were very out there, and I’m not sure I was prepared for the answers, but I didn’t expect this reaction.

Was it because of something I said? Or because of something I did?

I clutch the blanket closer to my body, feeling very cold all of a sudden.

Maybe I shouldn’t have tried to dig so deep, but I was too curious to stop. I mean, when do you ever get the chance to sit down with one of these men and have a one-on-one conversation? Never.

This was the only shot I was gonna have at getting a little closer to the truth, so I took it.

But the way he just said the word “torture” as though it meant nothing to him caught me off guard. I mean, I know sadists exist … I just never expected to talk to someone who does it on the daily like some sort of profession.

And then to actually admit that some get sex as a punishment and others get pain? That just boggles my mind.

But it wasn’t his answers that made me feel so small at that moment. It was the way he looked at me, his eyes penetrating my very soul as though he was searching for my reaction. That’s what made me clench my thighs together and wish I wasn’t so naked.

But I guess it’s too late for that.

The clothes are still warming up by the fire.

And Soren is still gone. God only knows what he’s doing out there.

He left in such a hurry that I don’t even know what to think.

One second, he looked at me like he was about to leap over to me and pounce down on me like a predator … and then he looked twisted and in pain, his face all contorted. I swear I could see him reach for his dick, but before I could process and ask him about it, he stood and left.

Why, I don’t know.

Maybe he was uncomfortable with me asking so many questions.

Or maybe he needed to pee just as badly as I did before.

I sigh out loud. I don’t even dare to run because I’m sure he’s watching me from behind a tree or something.

My cheeks suddenly heat, but I dig my nails into my legs.

“Don’t you ever think like that. Not about this guy,” I murmur to myself.

Suddenly, tiny twigs snapping have me on edge.

“What was that?”

I hear his voice before he appears from behind a tree, and for some reason, the panic subsides. Guess I was expecting a wolf, and I got … well … I don’t know what I got, but it definitely isn’t a normal man.

Though the look on his face is much more relaxed compared to before.

“Uh … Nothing,” I respond, hoping he didn’t actually hear me.

He just throws me another raised brow while approaching. He picks up the clothes and feels them before placing them back. They’re obviously still wet, and I don’t know what it means, but I’m definitely not moving while in this blanket, and I think he knows.

He sighs and grabs the log, repositioning it so it’s sideways from the fire. Then he rummages around in his bag and takes out that same rope again.

Adrenaline immediately rushes into my veins again, getting me ready to spring into action, even with this blanket on me.

“Don’t. Please,” I say as he stalks toward me with those manly pecs that I can’t seem to take my eyes off, no matter how dangerous he is, while he unfurls the rope slowly.

He stands still in front of me, the way he towers over me still making me gulp.

I’m not taking off this blanket.

I don’t care what he says.

He leans in and throws the rope over my body, catching me off guard as he tightens it, along with the blanket, around my body.

“What are you doing?” I ask. “Please don’t tie me up to a tree again.”

He continues to strap the rope to me until I’m completely unable to free myself, and the panic begins to flood my veins. But then he throws the other end around his own waist and ties a knot.

My lips part. “But—”

“You stay with me.”

The raw, gravelly voice with which he says those words enter my ears in a totally different way than how I think he meant it. And I hate how my body responds with obedience when he tugs the rope and beckons me to get up.

But my brain finally kicks into gear, and I dig my heels into the dirt. “No, where are we going?”

He keeps roping me in until my body bumps into his. All the breath is knocked out of my lungs from the sheer force of his taut muscles clenching against my supple flesh.

I whimper as he picks me up and sets me down near the log. His log. The log he just repositioned and is now lying down onto with his head. I stare at him while my body quakes … because his hand is still on my leg, and my pussy just thumped.

Fuck.

“Sleep.”

Sleep?

He wants us to sleep? Now? Out here?

“What?” I mutter, completely surprised by his ideas. “I thought you wanted me out of the house to take me somewhere else?”

“Tomorrow.” He presses down harder on my leg, and it makes me whimper.

I never whimper.

My muscles tighten in response to this unwelcome feeling roiling in my stomach.

I glare at him for a few seconds, wondering if it would just be easier to do what he asks.

I sigh out loud and groan. “Fine.”

I slowly go down, making sure not to bump my head as I rest it onto the log, wondering how I’m supposed to fall asleep with this burly man staring at me from the side.

His hand leaves my skin, and for some reason, it suddenly feels very cold, causing my skin to erupt into a million goose bumps.

He closes his eyes and starts breathing slower, like a bear going into hibernation, and I can’t help but listen to it closely.

Will there ever be a time when I can maybe get up and try to reach that knife I know he’s carrying?

Or am I too much of a chicken to even try, knowing he could hurt me for trying? Let alone the fact that I don’t know what happens if I run … how long it will take him to catch me.

Maybe he won’t let me off so easily if I tried twice.

I shiver from the thought, and I turn my head to watch the beast sleep beside me so gently that I almost forget he is my captor … and that we’re literally tied together.

He’s snoring loudly, to the point that it makes me drowsy and I lose track of time. Opening my eyes every few seconds doesn’t help because there’s nothing but trees and a warm fire crackling away. And within no time, my eyes close.

When I wake up again, the sun is already peeking through the top of the trees, blinding me as I try to open my eyes. But when I do, I don’t see the fire or the trees …

Two giant human pectorals are right in my face. I’m snuggled up against his chest, with his chest hair prickling my nose. His arm is wrapped around my waist, cuddling me close.

My eyes open wide. So do his.

And for a moment, I’m caught staring into the eyes of the beast.

A shriek leaves my mouth before I realize it.

I scramble up from the ground, only to be tugged right back down again by the sheer force of the rope around my waist and his. I fall, landing painfully on my ass. I barely manage to keep the blanket in place as I come to my senses after a harsh wake-up.

But a loud roar makes me turn my head to my captor.

Soren clutches his pants with both hands, pure pain settling in his eyes.

His teeth clench together as he groans, his face turning red from rage.

It looks like he’s in physical pain.

But why? How?

I didn’t do anything.

His body thrashes as he dives headfirst into the ground, burying his face and body as though he wants to hide. And I’m left wondering what the hell is going on.

Guilt and sympathy tug at my heart. I can’t let this man suffer while I sit here in silence and watch him. I have to do something.

I lean over to him and hover my hand over his shoulder. Maybe I can get through him. If I could ask him what’s wrong …

When the tip of my finger touches his skin, he turns his head, rage overflowing in his eyes, and he yells the all too familiar words, “GET AWAY FROM ME!”

* * *

A year ago

I didn’t expectto be home so early from work, but my boss wanted to surprise me so I could celebrate my two-year anniversary with my boyfriend. He’s probably still lounging on the couch, waiting for me to get home like he always does, as he works the night shift. But we make it work.

I whistle a happy tune as I walk up the steps of my home and fish my keys from my pocket, shoving it into the lock quietly. I don’t want to alert him that I’m home. It needs to be a surprise.

The package in my pockets makes me giggle. I hope he likes it.

I open the door gently, peeking inside to see if he’s downstairs, but I can’t see him. Maybe he’s taking a shower or a nap. My cat comes running toward me, purring loudly at my legs, and I give her a good petting. Then I go upstairs.

The closer I get, the more I hear a strange creaking noise coming from the bedroom. What is going on?

With my package in my hand, I open the door wide, holding out the package, and yell, “Surprise!”

But my lips immediately start to quiver.

Because in front of me, in the bed, is Eric.

On top of another girl.

And they’re both staring at me.

“E-Eric?” I mutter, unable to believe my own eyes.

“Oh my God,” the girl squeaks, and she pushes him off, fumbling with the blanket like she wants to cover herself up. Like it could hide the evidence of her fucking my boyfriend.

Rage boils up to the surface. “You … you’re fucking another girl in my own house?!” I throw the package at his head. “It’s our anniversary, you fucking asshole!”

“Calm down!” he yells back, scrambling out of bed.

“No! I will not calm the fuck down!” I yell back, and I focus my attention on the girl hiding in the corner of the room. “Get out! GET OUT!”

She blinks a couple of times, then picks up her clothes in a hurry and runs past me.

Eric stares at me without saying a word.

“Don’t you have something to say?” I fight the tears. “On our two-year anniversary?”

He picks up the box I bought for him and opens it up. There’s a renewal ring inside. A different color of the same ring we’re already wearing. It was supposed to be a promise. A vow we made together, to stay pure until marriage. And he broke it.

So I tear the ring off my finger and chuck it at his face. “You ruined it! You ruined everything!”

He makes a face. “C’mon, it’s just sex! It didn’t mean anything.”

“To me, it does,” I yell back, a single tear rolling down my cheeks. “We were supposed to stay pure for one another! And you destroyed everything!”

He approaches me, hands out like he wants to hug me.

So I scream at the top of my lungs, “GET AWAY FROM ME!”

It’s the first time I’ve ever yelled this loud … and the first time I’ve ever said those words to him. And judging from the look on his face, they hurt me more than they hurt him.

“Fine,” he says with a frown, and he gets dressed and grabs his things. “You want to go down that route, do what you want. I’m out of here.”

And he walks downstairs, leaving me in shambles and completely flabbergasted at what I just witnessed. A flurry of rage seeps down into my core, and I run down the stairs to go after him.

But the second he steps out of the door, he flings his ring straight at me.

It lands on the floor, right in front of my feet.

The purity ring I gave him only a year ago.

The promise we made to each other.

All destroyed in a single moment.