Page 49 of His Asset
A monster, just like Taurus.
He’d treated Taurus worse than an animal, now he was turning that same treatment on me.
I inhaled sharply, then pushed the palms of my suddenly damp hands down the denim legs of my jeans.Didn’t he realize—hewas the monster, not me.He mightn’t physically be one, but inside he was everything he imagined me to be and more.
“My sister was right when she said you’re not who I think you are.”He shook his head, one side of his lips curling with distaste.“But she was wrong about you breaking my heart.No woman will ever be given that opportunity.”
I blinked.Despite his animosity, his derision, I saw through his façade to the hurt beneath.Though he’d cared about me, his deep-rooted intolerance now blinded him to everything but what would benefit him.
I took a step back.“Get away from me,” I whispered.
He took a step closer, his face flickering as he calculated and planned.“I’m afraid I can’t do that, Bella.”He swept a hand out.“This—you—I can’t let you go now.”
My throat compressed, my breathing erratic.But at least I found my voice, even if it was raw and shook with betrayal and rage.“I’m leaving.I should never have stayed.”
“No.”His voice was calm, but there was steel beneath it.He moved between me and the bedroom door.“You might have escaped from Adam, but you’re not leaving me.Not until I decide what I want to do with you.”
The casual way he said it, like I was a possession to be used at his convenience, made my stomach turn.This was the same man who’d whispered the sweetest words on the balcony, who’d made me believe I mattered to him.
“You can’t keep me here,” I said, but even as the words left my mouth, I realized how trapped I was.Thirty floors up, too intoxicated to take to the air, with nowhere to go and no one who would help me.
His smile was icy, nothing like the warmth he’d shown me earlier.“Can’t I?Who’s going to stop me?You’re not exactly in a position to call anyone for help.”
The fighter I’d seen in the ring was back, ruthless and dominating, stamping out whatever feelings he’d had for me.All he cared about now was what he could gain now that his blinkers had come off.
I glowered, my senses flooding with adrenaline, evaporating every bit of alcohol in my system and leaving my nerve endings vibrating.Suddenly I was clear-minded and resolute.“I don’t want to hurt you.”
He laughed.“Oh, please.Did you forget what I did to your friend, Taurus?He’s twice as tough and a hundred times meaner than you.”
“Actually, I didn’t know Taurus even existed until I saw him in the ring.But yes, I’d count him as a friend now.I’d also say with one hundred percent certainty, he isn’t half as tough or as mean as me.”
Taurus had been backed into a corner, his gentle nature stripped away from him thanks to being forced into the fight ring with Reuben.He’d fought defensively, desperately.But I wouldn't make that mistake.When cornered, I didn’t just fight back, I eliminated threats.Permanently.
I unfurled my wings once again, exposing my upper body along with my true nature as I allowed my eyes to reveal the extent of my wrath.“Did you forget what happened to your men...the ones who disappeared?Six of them, gone, thanks to me.”
His face paled before a muscle in his jaw flickered into life, hard and inflexible.He took another step toward me even as I opened my mouth and released a high-pitched scream his human ears couldn’t possibly hear.
The lights blew out one after the other, shadows sweeping through the penthouse until there was nothing but blackness broken only by the city lights outside the windows.The frequency caught Reuben, picking him up and hurling him through the doorway and up against the kitchen island, the stools crashing to the floor.
I followed him, stalking out of the bedroom, but I wasn’t heading toward the kitchen.My stare was fixated on the glass windows and door leading to the balcony.A smile crossed my face.I was in the mood to destroy things.The glass wasn’t bulletproof, it would shatter as easily as the overhead lights.Then I’d finally be free.
If only I wasn’t so consumed by the moment.
I didn’t realize Reuben had recovered.Didn’t hear him closing the distance between us.I wasn’t aware of his callused hand until he slammed it across my mouth, forcing my scream to stay all on the inside as he pulled me tight against his hard body, his arousal jutting against me.
I stiffened.So he wasn’t immune to me after all.If anything he was turned on by my display of power, probably imagining a thousand different scenarios where he could use it—use me—to his advantage.
The thought terrified me.I’d lived in a facility most of my life, then in a gilded suite of rooms for twelve months at Adam’s.My freedom had been taken away from me from the moment of my birth, and I’d die before I’d yield to yet another human, another man.
My wings swept up high, one then streaking down, its clawed tip extended.The sharp appendage sliced through Reuben’s cheek, his warm blood spraying and his rough breath brushing the top of my head seconds before he swung out his arm, backhanding me and sending me flying.
My wings flailed out, preventing me from hitting the floor hard.But they didn’t stop my ears from ringing, or the blood leaking from one nostril.One of my eyes was already swelling shut when I sat up and touched my face.My voice cracked.“Youhitme.”
He stalked toward me.“And you cut me up.I didn’t want to hurt you, but you left me with no choice.It was self-defense, fighter’s reflex.”
I glared.Adam hadn’t retaliated when I’d hurt him with my wingtip.He’d stayed calm, in control, seemingly understanding my panicked self-defense.
Reuben bent to grab me and pull me up.My breath hissed as I leaned away from him then kicked out, my booted foot connecting to his groin with a satisfyingthud.