Page 109 of Freaks Of Nature

He cocks his head. The dripping sound is coming from him.

I raise my palm in warning. “You need to leave,” I tell him, willing my tone steady. “You can’t keep coming back here.”

Holding my gaze, he doesn’t respond, and my fear doubles.

What if he’s in a trance?

“Get out, Mason,” I repeat more forcefully, using his name this time.

He still doesn’t answer, but his head gives a deliberately slow shake while his dark stare pins me.

His gloved fingers flex.

Fuck!

I swing around to run, but a grip in my hair halts my escape when he crosses the distance to me in a split second. His left hand using the door frame for leverage, he rips me back into the bedroom.

I stumble while he stands firm, locking his arms around my middle and crushing me to his chest.

“Let me go!” I twist in his hold as my feet lose the ground underneath them. My fingernails claw at the bit of skin I catch between his gloves and the sleeves of his black sweatshirt.

The fact that he still doesn’t speak to me only drives my fear higher. My racing pulse chokes my breath. The sandalwood and spice of his cologne strangle me like a noose.

He spins us around, using the momentum to throw me onto the bed. My body rebounds. I’m able to scramble on my knees to get to the lamp before he descends on me, but when I swing it at his head, he dodges my attempt and rips it out of my hands. It crashes into my mirror.

The sound of clattering shards fills the room at the same moment his right hand darts out, seizing the front of mythroat and pushing me onto my back while his left hand cuffs my wrist. His knees come up in between my bent legs, his stance wide as he easily overpowers me.

A pit opens in my stomach. His tousled dark blond hair falls over his face, setting his irises into a shadow so deep there’s no green left. The cut above his eye arches almost mockingly.

I’ve never been so afraid of him. I’ve seen him in this mask, but I don’t recognize the look in his eyes. There’s no trust. It’s like I’ve never met this man before.

His weight drives my wrist into the mattress above my head when his masked face lowers to me, his nose almost brushing mine. “You like being choked, don’t you, baby girl?” his voice rasps through the cloth.

His stare studies me. His gloved fingers flex around my throat, his thumb pressing down on my jugular vein.

“Stop. P-please, Mason,” I stammer, tears streaming down my face. “You promised… you promised I’d be safe with you.”

His lips press to the shell of my ear, his icy breath inciting more shivers. “I lied.”

I want to scream at his betrayal, but my voice chokes on my tears. I know if I pass out, I’ll never wake up again. I’ll be the next girl in the news.

I feel my muscles start to relax as my body goes numb. My free hand shoves at him. My legs thrash. I fight Mason with everything I have.

As I flail in his hold, my right foot connects with the nightstand, knocking it over, and sending my phone skidding down the hallway on the wood flooring.

Fuck!I need to reach it. I need to call Ash.

Thunder roars outside, and in my periphery, the curtain billows in the wind from the still-open window. I see Mason’s eyes flick toward it.

I take my shot, drawing my fist back and ramming the knuckles of my left hand into his Adam’s apple.

The moment his hold on me slips, I kick off and run, swiping my phone off the floor before lunging into the bathroom and locking the door behind me.

Dropped into a crouch, I back up against the far wall. My fingers tremble as I open my contacts and click on Ash’s name at the top. Listening for the dial tone, I wait for it to connect.

Then it rings…

...right outside the bathroom.