Page 74 of Angelic Vengeance

Say it.

“No.” I took a bite from the food, though it was flavorless on my tongue. Maybe I could handle Ruiz by myself and not have to tell Zach about–

“Nothing?”

There is your chance. Say something.

I shook my head. Out of the corner of my eyes, I glanced at Ruiz’s folder poking from under the sofa. I must’ve dropped it when I fell asleep.

“Are you sure?” He pushed, his words sharper this time. “You seemtense.”

I turned my head to face him, my words sharper. “Everything’s fine.”

Guilt flowed through me, so I forced myself to focus on the food I was chewing. But then, it went down the wrong way and I couldn’t stop coughing.

“Here.” Zach reached for a glass of water at the far end of the table, and handed it to me.

I drank the whole thing, hoping it would also calm down my anxiety.

Not even a moment passed before my head swarmed. My vision slowly blurred as I carefully placed down the empty glass. I rose from the sofa to get some painkillers for the headache I thought I was getting, but my legs gave out.

“What the hell…” I slowly sat down on the carpet. “I don’t feel good…” I looked over my shoulder to see him staring intensely at his plate. “Zach?”

He closed his eyes when I said his name; jaw locked in place.

My arms gave out next and I fully fell to the floor, my whole body going numb. Though, the ache in my chest persisted, getting deeper by the second and I didn’t even know why.

The last thing I saw was fragments of his footsteps approaching me in slow motion. Then, just darkness.

I groaned, raising my head slowly and squinting my eyes due to the pain in my temples.Did I fall asleep sitting?

I didn’t comprehend how dark it was until Zach stepped out from the shadows.

Relief washed over me. I was confused, tired and hungry.

But he was here.

I tried to stand up and get to him, only to realize I couldn’t move. I glanced down, seeing ropes tying me to a wooden chair. I twisted my wrists, the cotton burning my skin.

“You’re such a pretty little thing tied up like that, baby.”

I looked up again, only for my head to pound with pressure. “I– Ah… What happened?”

He stepped forward, the sheer moonlight coming from a window to my side casting him in a blueish accent. Stopping in front of me, he motioned around the room with his hands. “I soundproofed the walls and everything. Isn’t that romantic?”

My head slowly tilted as I tried to make sense of his words. The frown on my face only seemed to worsen the headache throbbing in my temples.

He stepped closer, leaning down to my level and meeting my eyes; his, a night storm at sea. My chest raised as I followed his hand movement when he touched my neck.His fingers brushed past my collarbone like a rough feather, lighting my skin on fire in its wake.

When he reached the hem of my shirt, he pulled the material to the side, exposing the faint purple of a mark on my breast. My pulse accelerated, the memory of how I’d gotten it, resurfacing… His teeth pulling, lips kissing and sucking, until my skin bruised, leaving behind a hickey in the shape of an unmistakable ‘Z’.

“When you agreed to be mine, you gave me the right to do whatever I wanted to you.” His deep voice wrapped around me, though unlike before, the warmth was missing, replaced by suffocation.

Despite my fast heartbeat and the blush intensifying on my face, I couldn’t shake off the bad energy between us. “Okay… I’m not into whatever kink this is. Untie me already–”

I didn’t get to finish my sentence.

He grabbed my face, squeezing my cheeks and studying me with harsh eyes – scanning my features; searching for something I didn’t know. My brows furrowed and my stomach turned, a sick feeling spreading through me when his gaze didn’t melt into mine.