Page 16

Rachel

Alright. I admit it. I was rash. I should have swallowed my stupid pride and accepted the food.

The longer it was on the floor, the more I regretted kicking it there in the first place.

It mocked me.

Nothing had the right to smell that good. Even as the gravy took on a musty smell, it still appealed to me. I’d eat the skin off the gravy and not utter a single complaint, and everyone knows the weird skin it gets is the worst bit.

Hell, I’d have smothered that idiot’s fucking dick in gravy and inhaled it. I was that hungry.

If it wasn’t for the fact that I had so much stupid pride, I’d have rocked on my seat until it tipped over, hoping that I’d land face first in the mashed potatoes until I suffocated. At least I’d die full up.

But I wouldn’t give Dante the satisfaction of knowing I’d even attempted to eat food off the floor like a begging dog.

I just had to push through it and not think about it.

Although… the thought of being on my knees and begging for things from Dante had a certain appeal to it. That’s when I knew I was truly hungry. I was losing my goddamn mind. Dante was a snack, but Jesus…

The only problem was, if I didn’t think about food, I was thinking about how sore my wrists were beginning to get, and the dull ache in my arms from remaining in the same position for so long.

If I didn’t think about that, then I was thinking about the fact that it currently felt as though there were a team of tiny dancing leprechauns doing an Irish jig on my bladder.

It was uncomfortably full, and I was honestly struggling to remember the last time I had used the toilet.

My stomach let out a growl, as though it was playing the music for the stupid fucking leprechauns and once again, I was back to the food.

Round, round, baby, round, round.

Just when I was about to say a big “fuck you” to pride, and the horse it rode in on, my door crashed open with such force, it bounced off the wall behind it, the handle leaving a dint. The sound was like a bolt of thunder, and I’m not ashamed to admit that I did let out a yelp of fear.

My eyes flew to the doorway, and I saw the shadow of a giant, a giant I knew only too well.

And he looked absolutely fucking livid.

“Rachel,” his voice growled through the room, sending a shiver down my spine at how low and deep it was, the clear warning tone igniting my inner brat.

Probably not the right reaction.

“Yes, Dante?” I called out pleasantly. He stepped into the room and shut the door behind him, sealing out the light from the hallway. He was just a black shadow now. A shadow that was creeping towards me.

Funny how all my earlier troubles were forgotten. I didn’t feel hungry, or sore, or needing to pee. Dante had the ability to invade my entire body without doing a thing. He surrounded me, invaded my senses, and all I wanted to do was mess with him, to see the tick in his throat as I angered him.

I’d devour that tick right now.

Okay, maybe I was still a bit hungry,

My head followed him, twisting to the side as he wandered to the back of the chair and undid the restraints, finally freeing my hands. They flopped forward, and I instinctively stretched them out in front of me and up over my head.

“I hope you’re not expecting thanks for that because—” My words were cut off with a gargle as he wrapped a large hand around my throat and squeezed tightly, pulling me to my feet with a choke.

I tried to pull away, a cough rising in my throat that I couldn’t get out, such was the grip he had on me.

He walked me backwards until my back slammed against the wall.

I tried to speak. I don’t even know what I was going to say.

Probably something stupid. But he clamped his other hand down on my mouth so hard, I could feel my teeth digging into my lips.

I looked at the broken piece of glass on the floor under my chair, and wished I had the foresight to grab it the minute he released my hands, instead of thinking about my comfort.

I had just been so relieved to be free; I hadn't thought it through.

That was probably the biggest mistake I had made today.

“Think very, very carefully about your next words. When I take my hand off your mouth, the only thing I want to hear is why the fuck you think being my old lady means spreading your legs to any of my club members, never mind one as low as him.”

Ahh shit.

Malfoy tattle taled.