Touch of Fire
Page 15
“You should have taken the twelve years,” he whispered as the air shifted.
He went to stand, and a massive hand pushed him back into the chair.
“You forfeited the game. You get to watch,” the voice thundered. What appeared out of the dark made me scramble backwards and my chair toppled over at the man-beast that stood next to Kaine.
A collar wrapped around Kaine’s neck, yanked his head back against the chair, and his hands slammed down on the armrests, locking in place so he couldn’t move. The fear and horror in his expression equaled what ran amuck in my blood.
“Please,” he whispered, raising his gaze to the thing.
“You folded,” it hissed. “We had her for six years and you folded.”
I stepped backwards into a solid wall of groping hands. And when Kaine’s gaze jumped to mine, a hand flew over my mouth. Fabric tore and I struggled against the insistent hands.
“Why?” I managed to ask and successfully squirmed out of the invisible grip that accosted me. My only option was to step closer to Kaine and the beast. My options were limited, but right at the moment, my focus wasn’t on what was coming; it was locked on the devil’s statement.
My meek question caused the beast to laugh and he turned his red eyes in my direction. I blinked at the rush of fear and familiarity that swept over me.
Without a word, he waved a clawed hand and it was as if I stepped into a multiplex with multiple movies playing. Visions of Kaine filled the space. I scanned the multiple screens, showing multiple card games. It took me a few moments to see the pattern, to see where his games with me diverted from his normal modus operandi. I dropped my gaze, utterly confused.
Kaine played poker, and collected hard time from the players when they lost, but not once did he exchange sexual favors when the players won. The screens multiplied until they were nothing more than half-inch frames, all showing the same brutal beast, and then the walls went black.
The next view provided made my knees buckle. Kaine’s face as he brutalized me earlier was not the smug smile I imagined, but tear-stained and horrified as I lay unconscious and bleeding, tied to the table. There was no joy in his eyes, just the raw pain of the horror he was visiting on me.
“I can’t do this.” He pulled out of me, leaned over, and placed a kiss on my back. The constant flow of thick blood trickled to nothing; then he waved his hand over me and the binds holding me in place released. He scooped me up into his arms and gently kissed my lips.
“I’m sorry, baby,” he whispered before he laid me on the soft bedding that appeared.
I dropped my gaze to his, trying to fathom what the hell was going on, but he stared at a point on the floor between his feet.
The next glimpse I was provided showed his hand as I moved six years into the pot. I stared at the straight flush just before he threw his hand down. Folding. He knew his odds of winning were high, yet, he folded.
“Why?” I asked again, and his gaze rose to mine.
The beast stepped into my line of sight. “The game is over,” he growled. “Kaine lost his bet. Now you’re mine.” He grinned and his sharp teeth gleamed in the darkness. The cloth covering me shredded and the next thing I knew, I hung upside down with both my wrists and ankles bound to a pole, leaving me completely exposed.
“Kaine!”
“You took the gamble,” his voice answered, but it carried the complete defeat I felt. I dropped my head back to see what was coming. The beast stood next to Kaine and when his pants dropped, I struggled against the bonds.
My shakes rattled the chains that held me, and he circled around, stopping between my legs, letting me have a full view of Kaine.
Kaine closed his eyes and turned his head, unwilling to watch.
“You will watch until I tire of her,” the beast growled. Kaine’s head snapped upright and his eyes went wide as though someone tapped them open. “Then you can have what’s left.” The words flowed over me, creating the surreal panic that I couldn’t wrap my arms around.
“Please, don’t,” Kaine said and his chin trembled.
I didn’t have to ask “don’t what,” and the scream of agony ripped through me as efficiently as the devil’s double wide. He didn’t just have one double wide, either, and the plunge nearly split me in two.
“No!” Kaine struggled but his screams of protest were drowned by mine until a strip of duct tape clamped down on his cries.
I should have listened. I should have heeded his warning and as I watched the tears paint his face, a memory materialized.
The wail that escaped from my lips was his name, and as our gazes locked, I understood the tender moments, the way he took me when I won the bets. It was a lover’s touch and now I understood his anger at my not remembering him. The pain that fractured my soul had nothing to do with the devil’s wrath.
It had everything to do with Kaine.
A lifetime ago, when I was on one of my earlier gambling binges, I had run into a downward spiral and Kaine slid into the seat next to me. The sparkle in his eyes, along with his close proximity, had the same effect on me as it did two weeks ago. I was completely smitten.
But instead of my losing every cent I owned, my luck turned hot and I ended up with him in the penthouse for the weekend. Kaine was my one and only affair with something other than cards while I was still married.
Stolen nights at the casino became weeks on end. Kaine knew how to make me laugh and he was the best fuck on earth. Sobs ripped through me now that I understood his comment about wanting to give me a fuck I would never forget.
How in the hell could I have ever forgotten him?
Shame bit me harder than the beast and I screamed Kaine’s name. The pain in his eyes shredded my soul. The devil spilled more than just my blood as he drove through me, hell-bent on destruction.
I derailed Kaine’s mission. I took hell’s main soul collector and turned him against his master. I turned him into a loving man. My mind filled with every tender moment, every smile, every kiss, and I screamed again.
Piece by piece, memories of our history unfolded until we stood in this very room, in the same situation. My greed and his inability to make me see reason, to make me take what I had and run like hell, pounded me harder than the beast slowly tearing me in two.
That time, when the devil came for me, Kaine traded his soul for mine.
He took my place in the chains and the last dark shadow of memory was the beast stepping in front of him and yanking his head back just before the devil whispered, “Open wide.”
The End
About J.E. Taylor
J.E. Taylor is a USA Today bestselling author, a publisher, an editor, a manuscript formatter, a mother, a wife, a business analyst, and a Supernatural fangirl, not necessarily in that order. She first sat down to seriously write in February of 2007 after her daughter asked:
“Mom, if you could do anything, what would you do?”
From that moment on, she hasn’t looked back.
In addition to being co-owner of Novel Concept Publishing, Ms. Taylor also moonlights as a Senior Editor of Allegory E-zine, an online venue for Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror.
She lives in Connecticut with her husband and two children and during the summer months enjoys her weekends on the shore in southern Maine.
Visit her at www.jetaylor75.com and sign up for her newsletter for early previews of her upcoming books, release announcements, and special opportunities for free swag!
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You might also enjoy other books from J.E. Taylor’s backlist:
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From the mountains of New Hampshire to the streets of New York City, these novels take you on a journey through some of the darkest days in Steve Williams' FBI career.
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"Hunting Season goes where few venture, mixing a compelling crime thriller with supernatural forces. The action and drama is thick and fast and I guarantee you will not be able to put this book down." - Poppet, author of Seithe and Darkroom.
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A protector. A lost soul. A siren looking for salvation.
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FRACTURED FAIRY TALES
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Visit Ms. Taylor’s website for more information on any of these titles!
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