Shoving the coffee table aside, Bill straddled her. Releasing her braid, he grabbed her face in his free hand and forced her to look at him. Underneath him, Chaos stilled. She needed to save her energy. There’d be a moment when she might be able to escape. She needed to relax and wait for it. Squeezing her face in his hand, Bill leaned in close to her. His calloused fingers pulled at her skin. One quick jerk of her head and she’d have his fingers in her mouth. She could bite them off. Chaos decided against that move. He was bigger than her and the pain to his fingers wouldn’t stop him. It’d just infuriate him. She’d lose that fight. Panting from exertion, his hot breath filled her nose and mouth.
“You’ve been flaunting it in my face for months,” he hissed. “I come over to say ‘hi.” I ask you out and you ignore me. I tried to be nice but you don’t pay any attention. Maybe you don’t like nice. Maybe you like it rough.”
“Maybe I just don’t like you, asshole,” she said, not afraid to look him in the eye. She felt his fist connect with her cheekbone and wondered if he'd busted her face. Pain speared her cheek, her eye socket throbbed. It rattled her teeth. A sob filled her chest. Chaos swallowed it whole. She wouldn’t cry. She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction. God, where was Paolo? He said midnight, after the bar closed. It was eleven o’clock. The odds of Paolo getting here before this guy finished with her were between slim and none. She’d learned at a very young age that fate sucked. You were on your own in this world and bad things happened – often. Feeling the weight of her Mother’s necklace against her chest, she said a silent oath. Not tonight. Nothing bad was going to happen to her tonight.
Taking a deep breath, Chaos brought her knee up behind Bill. The motion shoved him forward so he was nose to nose with her. Red faced and sweaty, he smiled a horrid smile at her and angled for a kiss. Chaos reached forward. His balls were now within reach. She grabbed them as tightly as she could. She squeezed and twisted. Lurching back, he howled and punched her in the throat. Chaos couldn't breathe but she didn't let go either. I’m going to die with this jerk’s testicles in my hand, she thought. She squeezed harder.
Bill must have realized the only way to get her to let go was to break her wrist. Still howling, he grabbed the hand that held his jewels in both of his hands and twisted. Her small wrist snapped like a pencil. She felt the pain shoot through her arm. Tears involuntarily streamed down her face now. He’d made her cry. Fury replaced fear.
He rose to his knees and started unzipping his pants. “No need to grab for it, baby. I have it right here for you.”
Chaos gagged at the sight of it in his dirty hands. Pinning her down with one forearm across her neck he worked the button and zipper on her cutoffs. No way. Not tonight. Not you. Out of the corner of her eye, Chaos spotted a lamp cord. The lamp was on the small table beside the shelves. It was behind her a bit but if she stretched her arm she might be able to reach the cord.
Reaching under the table, her fingertips brushed the lamp cord. She felt her shorts slip down over her hips. She had to work faster. A few more millimeters and she'd have it. She shifted slightly, the pressure from his arm virtually cutting off all air. Afraid she was going to pass out, she struggled to move quickly. As the edges started to blur, her fingers found purchase on the cord. Chaos started pulling on the cord. Please. Please. Her shorts, despite her kicking, had reached her knees. She willed her fingers to move faster. Inch by inch the lamp moved closer to the edge of the table. One more inch. She saw it hovering on the edge of the table. Chaos jerked the cord. The lamp fell onto the floor beside her. Bill didn’t pay it any mind. He was too focused on her. Without oxygen filling her lungs, blackness crept in.
“God damn it,” he grunted.
Her shorts were stuck on her work boots. Bill released the pressure on her neck. Straddling her, he turned to work her clothes off. Now or never.
Chaos grabbed the lamp and smashed it on his head. It was a cheap thrift store glass lamp and she'd only counted on it to buy her a few seconds. She prayed it would stun him long enough to give her time to run. Instead, the lamp shattered. Glass scattered like buckshot. It flew everywhere. It sprayed her face and chest. It landed with dainty plinks on the wood floor beside her. Wide eyed, Bill looked stunned and then furious. His eyes narrowed and a low growl vibrated deep inside his body. She was done for. He cocked his arm, balled his fist, and got ready to punch her. Grabbing a shard of glass off her chest, Chaos slashed at his face. Bill lunged backward as her arm arched through the air. The glass sliced across his throat. Chaos gasped and closed her eyes as the blood drenched her face.
Chaos swiped the blood out of her eyes with the back of her hand. The grip on her throat relaxed. With the exception of the gurgle as the blood drained from his throat, Bill made no sound. Her heart pounded in her ears. Oxygen filled her lungs and rushed her head. Bill stared at her in disbelief. Chaos realized she must have sliced his jugular. There was too much blood. It coated her, soaked through her shirt and dripped down her temples.
“Bitch,” he muttered. The slash on his neck moved with the effort of speech. He swung, trying to punch her. His arm moved in slow motion like a puppet on a string. With a final gasp, Bill fell forward on top of her. Chaos felt bile fill her mouth. She swallowed. Fighting panic, she used every last ounce of energy she had to shove his dead weight off her. Naked from the waist down, Chaos quickly moved away from the horror.
Dripping and bloody, she sat on her couch and stared at the dead body at her feet. This is going to be a mess to clean up.
Read more at: http://www.amazon.com/Deadly-Spirit-Savers-Series
Deadly Chaos
by Annette Brownlee
www.AnnetteBrownlee.com
Her Master Defender (The Masters Men Series) Page 24