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And I’m laughing.
“I will say this though,” Rage says, wiping the tears from her cheeks. Her back straightens as she looks me in the eye. Her expression grows serious. Her smile falls. “There’s a lot more to us monsters than we let on.”
I look out over the prison. “I think I’m beginning to understand that.”
“So, what’s your next plan of action?” She asks, clapping her hands together.
“What makes you think I have one?” I pull my knees up to my chest.
Rage stares at me for a long moment, then flashes me a knowing smile. “Nothing makes me think you don’t. But, whatever it is, you better get moving on it. And soon.”
“Why is that?” I ask, curiously.
Rage sighs. “Because, if I know Smoke, you have a lot less time than you think.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
You have a lot less time than you think.
I’m on my knees, fishing under the mattress for the garments I’ve hidden while Rage’s words play over and over again in my mind. She wouldn’t tell me why she thought I had less time, but whatever the reason, it’s time to try out Dr. Ida’s last tip for surviving captivity.
Seduction.
Smoke wants me. I saw it in his eyes. I felt it against my back.
It’s all I have to work with. A hope. A feeling.
Smoke was only gone for a few hours. Rage left shortly after Smoke came back. He hasn’t spoken a word to me since. He’s colder than before. If Rage was right and Smoke named the bacon, then maybe, he’s trying to place distance between us. Or maybe, it’s simpler than that and he doesn’t want to be around me.
I’m nervous, shaking all over as I take a shower and scrub my skin with a washcloth until it’s smooth. I towel dry and brush my hair, then shave and groom using the electric razor I find under the sink. I dress quickly and look in the mirror, adjusting where necessary.
My pulse is pounding in my ears as I give myself a once over. It’s only been three days since I jumped from the car, but I’ve always been a fast healer. My bruises have mostly faded except for the scrapes on my right arm, which are scabbed over.
It’s the best I can do with what I’ve got.
But will it be enough?
I take a deep breath and push open the bedroom door. I find Smoke sitting on the couch with his arms stretched over the top, a cigar in his mouth. A bottle of whiskey at his feet. He looks deep in thought. His legs spread. His arms resting across the back of the couch.
There’s a radio in the corner playing “Take it Out on Me” by Florida Georgia Line.
“I like this song,” I say to get Smoke’s attention.
Smoke turns his head toward me and freezes, cigar halfway to his full lips. His eyes widen as he takes me in, looking me up and down.
“What the fuck are you doing?” He asks between gritted teeth. He’s angry. His vein pulses under his neck tattoo. His nostrils flare.
I let his anger fuel my determination, and I walk with as much confidence as I can muster into the center of the room wearing only a sheer black bra that pushes my breasts up and amplifies my cleavage, along with a matching pair of sheer panties, leaving nothing to the imagination.
“What?” I ask, feigning innocence. I look down at my body. “You don’t like the way I look?” I’m teasing him, or at least I’m trying to. The fire blazing in his eyes tells me that I’m either doing it very right or very wrong. It doesn’t matter. I can’t give up now.
I sway my hips from side to side, hooking my thumbs in the sides of my panties.
“What are you trying to prove, hellion?” Smoke rasps. His pupils dilate.
“I’m not trying to prove anything,” I say, leaning over I pluck the cigar from his hand and take a puff before placing it in the ashtray on the end table.
Smoke clears his throat and shakes his head. “You don’t know what the fuck you’re doing,” he grates. His eyes linger on the scrap of fabric between my legs then travel up to my breasts where my nipples pebble under his gaze.
“I think I do,” I say in the seductive tone I’d practiced in the bathroom earlier.
“Such big words for such a little girl,” Smoke drawls.
“I’m not a little girl!” I shout, taking a step forward, before reminding myself of what I was trying to do and freezing.
Smoke smiles, knowing he’s gotten to me. “What exactly are you playing at here, little girl? ‘Cause no matter what happens,” he grabs the whiskey off the floor and tips it to his mouth. He swallows and sets it back down, licking his lips. “You’re gonna lose.”
That’s what you think.
I don’t answer. Because I’m focused on his full lips. The way his tongue darts out to catch a falling drop of whiskey.
Shit, get it together, Frankie.
“You might be twenty-two, but all I see is innocence. You ever been fucked before, hellion? ‘Cause, I’m betting on no.”
“Does it matter?” I ask, running my fingers across my breasts.
My heart is pounding so hard it shakes me the way hard-hitting bass rattles a trunk. I never pictured my first time. There were never enough minutes in the day for myself, never mind for fantasies or daydreams. Even if I had pictured it, attempting to seduce my kidnapper while quaking like the floor beneath me is shifting would probably not have come to mind.
I put on my best smile and unhook my bra with shaking fingers. Slowly, I drop it. He’s watching my every move. When my bra hits the floor, his mouth gapes open, but he quickly corrects himself as if he’s given too much away.
“I’ve seen plenty of naked women before. I’ve seen YOU naked before. You ain’t gonna shock me, hellion.”
“I’m not trying to shock you, Smoke,” I say, dragging out his name on my lips as if I’m enjoying the way it sounds rolling off my tongue.
“You’re playing a very dangerous game, little girl,” Smoke warns. “Stop before you lose.”
“So, play it with me,” I say, rubbing circles around my taut nipples with my fingers. The way he watches me makes me want to grab his head and thrust his lips against my breasts. “And we’ll both win.”
“I’m not fucking around. This is your last warning to cut this shit out before you end up in a position you’re going to regret…” His eyelids are heavy. Hooded. “And I’m going to enjoy.”
“I just want to feel good. Don’t you want to feel good?” I snake my hand down into my panties and rub my clit painstakingly slow. I’m supposed to be putting on a show for him, making him want me. It’s supposed to be fake.
Then why am I soaking wet?
“Alright, Hellion,” Smoke smirks wickedly. “You think you can handle it? Then, come the fuck on.”
He unzips his pants and pushes them down far enough to reveal the V underneath. It leads down his trail of abs to a very large bulge straining beneath the fabric of his boxer briefs.
Doubt. Panic. Worry. Unease. Terror. Horror.
They all crash into me at once along with a surge of arousal so strong and so unexpected I stagger on my feet, drunk with it, with lust.
“A fuck is a fuck. It won’t buy your freedom. It ain’t that easy.”
I kneel on the floor and spread my fingers on his hard thighs, hoping he can’t feel me shaking. I smile up at him through my lashes and lick my lips.
He grabs my wrist roughly. “It’s not a fucking joke, little girl. You think you’re smart, and I know there are a lot of motherfuckers out there that will fall for this bullshit, but in case you haven’t noticed, I ain’t like other guys. I can see right through this act of yours. I ain’t buying it. So, I’ll warn you one last time before shit gets real and your pussy is too full of cock and your head too full of regret. You can’t buy your freedom with pussy because your freedom ain’t. For. Sale.”
“It’s not an act,” I lie, defensively. I try to yank my wrist from his grip, but he holds me tighter, his fingernails biting into my flesh.
