Page 35 of A Midnight Romance

Lux

A warm, sticky breeze floats across my face, prompting my eyelids to peel open. Fresh paint fills one nostril while the other remains clogged and sore. My limbs feel heavy and my thoughts are clouded. In a panic, I realize my white sundress is ripped at the collar, exposing the top of my chest.

What happened?

Where am I?

Dragging my eyes to one side of the room, I spot a window covered in a black tarp.

“Ahh,” I gasp, trying to pull hard against the tight resistance holding down my arms. Panic grows inside my chest when I attempt to slip my arms free but can’t do it. I blink a few times to gain my bearings, and manage to make out a blurry figure hunched over a table in the room’s corner.

“Hello?” I manage to get out, although my mouth feels extremely dry.

The figure, which I can now tell is a man, slowly straightens. With a calculated turn, he is now facing me and makes my blood run cold the second our eyes lock.

Andrew. Oh my god!

“Good evening, beautiful,” he greets me with a sinister smile. He casually walks closer to the bed, a sick grin still plastered on his face, and lowers himself to sit on the edge .

Sheer panic has me in a chokehold.

He kidnapped me.

Again.

Where the hell is River?

My heart pounds in my chest as I try to remember how I got here.

“Let me go, Andrew,” I demand with an unstable confidence.

His chubby fingers come up to my cheek, then run down my face and onto my bare chest from a rip in my dress.

I shiver in disgust under his touch and recoil from his touch.

“What? I thought serial killers got you going, Lux?”

“Don’t fucking touch me!” I spit out.

“I’m going to do whatever the fuck I want with you,” he sneers, resting his cheek against my chest. His tongue slides out, dragging a long wet, sickening trail until he nudges his nose to push the fabric farther down, exposing my nipples. “I can still remember how good you tasted.”

A desperate whimper escapes from my throat, even though I try to hold it in for fear I’ll show him more of my weakness. Sucking in as much as I can, I muster the courage to stay level headed.

“Stop,” I grit out.

His movements pause and his eyes flicker to mine. “This will be so much sweeter to take you in front of River, but I’m not going to wait for very much longer.”

“He’s going to kill you, you sick bastard.” I clench my jaw. “It’s only a matter of time before he gets his hands on you.”

“Maybe.” Andrew draws back. “Or he’s going to watch me fuck his girl.”

“I won’t let you fucking touch me,” I bite back.

“You don’t have much of a choice, you’re at my mercy,” he says in an eerie tone, pointing at my restraints .

“What do you want?”

His eyebrows raise. “What do I want?”

“Is this all because women won’t sleep with you willingly?” I ask, needing to distract him anyway I can so he keeps his hands off me. “Are you so pathetic that not even your money is enough to convince them?”

“You better shut that pretty mouth of yours before I shove my cock into it.”

“Why are you doing this to women? To me?” I manage to say despite the bile creeping up my throat.

A sly smile rolls across his face. “You were just a fun little bonus. Fate has a funny way of having people’s paths cross.”

My eyebrows snap together. “What are you talking about?”

He walks over to a table filled with objects I can’t make out from here. “Did Daddy never tell you about me, Lux Levinson?”

“My dad?” I swallow hard. “What does my dad have to do with this?”

“He needs to pay for what he did.” Andrew’s teeth clench together. “And you’ll be perfect for that.”

“You’re making no sense.”

“It will.”

“What are you talking about?” I ask, still confused.

“So you really don’t know what your daddy did to me?

” he snarls, obviously losing his patience with me because apparently he believes I should know what he’s referring to, but I’m clueless and wish he’d tell me already.

“Let me enlighten you then. Twenty years ago, my stepbrother was running one of the most well-prolific sex rings on the West Coast until your father put him away.” Andrew frantically paces back and forth as he recounts the story, a knife in hand.

“I was a young kid when it happened, and he was the only person who cared about me. So when he died in prison two years ago, I knew I had to resurrect it in his honor. ”

“What do I have to do with this?”

“Your dad is responsible for my stepbrother’s death,” he yells. “If he had just left it alone, none of this would have happened. He took my only brother from me.”

“So you’re going to kill me?” I ask, pushing away the fear boiling inside from his threat.

He shakes his head. “Now, where would the fun be in that?”

“I don’t understand.”

What does he want then?

He cocks his head to the side and glides the sharp end of the knife up my bare leg, dragging it across the top of my panties.

I inhale sharply. My heart is pounding on the back of my ribcage.

“You were supposed to be at the cabin when the lieutenant showed up at the crime scene, so he could find his daughter beaten, raped, and left for dead. Poetic justice, don’t you think?

” He pauses. “That’s why I didn’t let the other guys fuck you.

I wanted to be the only one who got to you, and boy, was it nice.

That sweet pussy of yours was…” He trails off, smiling into the empty room as if reminiscing on that night.

Another repulsive shiver travels up my back, watching him relive the moments he raped me, and there is nothing I can do about it. “I survived, you prick,” I say with more confidence this time, chasing away my terror.

Andrew’s head swings in my direction, his eyes darkening. “Yes, all thanks to River fucking Thompson.”

“He is going to kill you, just like we killed the others,” I threaten.

He rolls his eyes, as if not in shock. “You think I didn’t know it was you?” He stalks around the bed, kneeling next to me.

Pursing my lips together, I try to pull back. “Get away from me. ”

Andrew ignores my plea and leans in, bringing his lips to my cheek. I squeeze my eyes shut as his tongue darts out, sliding down my cheek and along the seams of my lips.

“You’re fucking disgusting.” I gag on my own words in response to him.

Andrew pulls away and lets out a dark chuckle. “With how much time he spent outside your house, I’m surprised River let you out of his sight this long.”

“You were watching me?”

“Of course I was,” he says. “When I saw him at your house so often, I knew he’d taken a special interest in you. Which only made this whole situation that much sweeter.” His tone drips with distaste.

“You really are a sick bastard.”

“You know I tried to recruit him into our group because of how powerful he is with his technology and all the money and power he fucking has. But of course, he had to fuck with my plans and get in the way of what I want.” He pauses, suddenly changes his expression with his face now softening.

“And then to find out he’s not only a killer, but a stalker ?

” His high pitched chuckle sends chills up my spine.

“Then, of all the people he could be stalking, he chooses the lieutenant’s daughter.

You became the whole package, sweet cheeks.

I could get back at your dad and River.”

Andrew pauses, sliding his phone from his pocket. “River Thompson.”

“River!” I scream, hoping to show him I’m still alive.

“Shut up, you bitch,” Andrew warns before putting the phone on speaker. “Don’t make me gag you.”

“I will hunt you down and make you pay with your life.” River’s voice is dark on the other end .

“Then you better get here,” Andrew retorts. “My dick can’t wait any longer.”

“If you touch a single h—”

Andrew hangs up before River can finish.

“Noo!’ I cry out, tears stinging the backs of my eyes. “Let me go!”

Andrew stalks over to me and straddles my hips. “God, you’re so annoying.” He slaps me across the face and my vision blurs. “I don’t know how River can stand you.”

“Fuck you,” I spit out.

Then he hits the side of my face, and this time everything goes black.