My father had pulled me into the house, and explained to me that love couldn’t be forced. He’d told me “You can’t force chemistry to be there if it isn’t there. You can’t make someone love you; it’s just not how it works. It’s the same for when you find it; you can deny it. You can even lie to yourself, and pretend it isn’t there, but it is. Someday my, Emma, someone is going to make you feel as if you’ve been sleeping for your entire life, waiting just for them to find you.” I missed my dad, and his wisdom.
Jaeden just watched me as I got lost in my own head. I closed my eyes as he expelled what sounded like a rapid fire spattering of cussing. “Why are you out here?” he asked as he adjusted his pants and stepped away from me.
“I’m hunting the wolves.”
“What if I could show you where they are? What would you be willing to give me?” he asked with his eyes on my mouth.
“What would you want?”
“I want to ride you for hours, to fuck you until you can’t scream anymore because your voice is gone from screaming my name; until your throat is fucking raw. I want to shove my hard cock inside your soft wet pussy until it’s ruined you for every other man’s touch.”
Is that all? Sign me up and pin a tail on my ass! No, Emma, bad Emma.
I wasn’t aware that my mouth had dropped open until he raised his hand and closed it. “That’s what I thought. That’s my price, Emma. You, for one entire night, doing anything I command you to,” he replied hoarsely.
“Name something else,” I whispered not recognizing my own voice.
“Get on your knees, and suck my cock.”
“Why are you being such an asshole, Jaeden?” I shouted in frustration. I was soaking wet from his touch, from his fingers being inside of me. My nipples were as hard as pebbles and throbbing, which was new since I’d never once felt them do that before I met him.
“Why are you telling me no when your body wants it?” he shrugged as he took a step toward me, and I took a giant step backwards.
“I’m not that kinda girl,” I growled. Or at least I hadn’t been until I’d met him. When I was with him I lost my grasp on reality, and did things I’d never have done otherwise. I wasn’t the kinda girl who spread her legs in the dirt and really wasn’t sure I wanted to.
“Oh but you’re the kinda girl who watches as a couple fucks? Tell me, Emma, when you watched them, did you pretend it was us? Did you want me to press you against a giant oak tree and ride your soft flesh until you exploded on my shaft?”
“No,” I whispered hollowly.
“Little liar. I can see you struggling to ignore what is happening between us, but sooner or later you will give in to me. Call it intuition, or whatever you want to call it. It’s going to happen, and you’ll scream for me. And it won’t be a no coming out of those beautiful lips, it’s going to be more, and harder,” he continued relentlessly.
“Why are you doing this?” I asked with a thickness in my throat from the hurt I felt at his words.
“You know what your problem is, Emma? You still expect people to be nice. You expect them to behave as they did before the world went to hell. Problem is, they were always this way, now there’s just no one to stop them. I’m used to getting what I want. Maybe that makes me shallow in your book, but I’m not taking you by force as others will do. I’m trying to be understanding, but it’s against my nature. I was never a good guy, so don’t expect me to be one now.” I flinched at the anger burning in his voice.
“You’re an asshole!” I shouted as I fought against my eyes tearing up.
“I’m an asshole? I’m the one who keeps saving your pretty little ass. Grow up, Emma. Go back to the safety of your shelter and shove that pretty little nose back into the romance novels you read. That’s the kind of man you’re looking for, right? You’re looking for someone to wipe away the tears and become your knight in shining armor?”
“I never said I wanted anything from you! I asked about the god damn wolves so they don’t kill anyone else. I didn’t look for you because I wanted a friggin’ hero! Fuck you! You’re nothing but a bully,” I cried as I turned to march off. Something was off about him, and I didn’t like this Jaeden at all.
He was an arrogant prick!
“Walk away, Emma!” he shouted.
“I am!”
“Watch your back little girl, there’s monsters moving in!” His parting words sent a chill down my back.
Chapter 12
I’d given Jaeden and his men a wide berth. Almost a month had passed with several more attacks by wolves. I no longer needed to head into town, because the Towner’s in hiding who hadn’t been killed had come to the shelter. Even those who had been hiding in the woods trickled into the shelter just to be on the safe side. It just wasn’t an option to live outside anymore. Jaeden had been right, there were monsters here. After that encounter in the forest, I’d decided to include him on that list as well.
No one went out alone or unarmed anymore. It was a safeguard that helped eliminate a lot of problems for me, especially with the possibility of running into Jaeden and turning into a mindless slut. Today, Addy was out with me to forage some of the remote locations for wild fruits and vegetables while most of the able bodied from the shelter were out hunting game or looking for cattle that had been left in the pastures and chickens that had gone a little wild in abandoned farms. With more people showing up, the food was slowly trickling to the basics and the MREs. Winter in the Pacific Northwest—specifically in our little corner of the world, could begin as early as October and were notoriously harsh, so everyone was scrambling to collect what they could.
“My nails are never going to be the same again,’ she grumbled as she dug up a wild patch of strawberries from the roots.
“Use soap,” I said offhandedly.
“Ha-ha,” she snarked. “What was that?” she asked, and I lifted my eyes from my own patch of berries.
“What was what?” I asked pushing my mind away from what had happened with Jaeden. I looked around at the edge of the woods but saw nothing. There was a fifty foot cliff behind us, so there wouldn’t be any surprises coming from that direction. Below the cliff was a fast running river.
“You didn’t hear that?” she asked as she wiped her dirt-covered hands on her jeans and stood up. I hated heights, but she loved them. She looked over, which made my stomach roll. “Wow, is that him?”
“Is that who?” I asked stepping closer. I felt my heart skip a beat as the sight of Jaeden and his men, along with some women playing in the shallow water of the riverbank came into view. “Asshole,” I whispered.
“Which one is he?”
“The one without the shirt on, with the bimbo splashing him,” I sighed as I pointed him out to her.
“Are you serious? You turned that down!? Do you by chance have brain damage?” she asked with wide eyes.
“Obviously—”
I didn’t get to finish as something smashed against the side of my head. I closed my eyes and touched my hand to where I could feel warm blood trickling from. I could just make out Addy screaming, but couldn’t tell if she was a mile away, or further.
Rough hands groped me, and I knew I was being searched for weapons. It was obvious from the hoots of men as they found my three guns and four knives. Addy was behind me, as my hearing came rushing back I knew she was fighting off an assailant. We knew better than to take our eyes off our surroundings even for a second, and now we were going to pay for that lapse.
I turned my head to see her, and tears leaked from my eyes, or maybe it was blood. I struggled to my feet as hands groped and prodded me. I faced Addy and her attacker, and made a choice. He was ripping her clothes off, as if he couldn’t get her naked fast enough so he could rape her. Thoughts of Bonnie skated across my mind. Were these the men who raped her? Dazedly, I wondered where the wolves were. I struggled and broke free from the hands that had tried to hold me down. I launched myself at Addy and her attacker, shoving them both, and watched as my best friend in the world fell to the bottom of the cliff. It was better than what they would do to her. She at least had a chance of escape since she was the best swimmer I knew.
“Fucking whore!” A man from behind me screamed, seconds before I was hit in the back of the head again. I fell to my knees as the world went black and white, and crawled in the direction of the cliff. I wasn’t a strong swimmer, and heights scared the crap out of me, but again, it was better than what they were planning.
My fingers found the edge, and I peered down to see Addy swimming towards Jaeden’s group and smiled knowing she’d be okay now, she was safe. I looked to where he stood, and knew the moment he saw what was happening. He shouted my name, and I smiled with regret. I should have screwed his brains out. I was now going to die a virgin….which sucked.
I was flipped over, and punched in the face. “Fucking bitch killed Jason!”
I grabbed his arms with what I thought was strength, but it wasn’t. He didn’t wince, didn’t blink. I could barely make out his features. He was missing teeth, the rest that remained were rotten. He smelled putrid, as if he hadn’t noticed all the water in Washington State which was readily available to bathe in. He ripped at my pants and I shook my head.