Page 13 of The Freedom You Seek

Tears pooled in my eyes, and I cried out when I heard a ripping sound. It took little for me to realize that Jelric had torn open my dress and was busy fumbling around with my underwear.

A sob escaped me. Although I wasn’t untouched by any means, I’d never slept with a man before. Yes, I was aware of what happened in the bedroom between men and women, and so it was pretty clear to me what that hard thing poking my hip was. Panic was spreading through my veins in hot waves, threatening to consume my ability to grasp even one rational thought.

Jelric groaned in triumph as he succeeded in taking off the bandeau keeping my breasts in place, and he was kneading my naked flesh with both hands before twisting my nipples hard. A flash of pain shot through me, and I sobbed.

I made another attempt to free myself. Since Jelric was distracted with my breasts and possibly thought I’d givenup already, I managed to slip out from underneath him, trying to crawl away as fast as possible.

My escape attempt was thwarted, even though I’d almost made it out of the stable box. But then pain erupted in my scalp, and I was hauled back. Jelric had grabbed my hair, and to keep me from escaping, he wrapped it around his fist and pulled hard.

My throat was already raw from screaming, and more tears ran down my face. I stopped struggling, not because I accepted my fate but because I needed to think. However, the panic that rushed through my veins like wildfire made it almost impossible to think clearly. Somehow, I had to escape this man who felt entitled to use my body for his pleasure.

My betrothed climbed back on top of me, his weight pressing down heavily on my body. I was helpless as my mind was about to shut down, and I couldn’t stop the constant stream of tears.

“You’re so pretty when you scream and cry. I’ll make sure you’ll never stop doing so.”

Jelric lowered his head and licked over my skin without warning, tasting my tears, followed by another flash of pain blooming in my face as his teeth bit down hard into the flesh of my right cheek. I felt my skin breaking under his bite, and another agonized yell left my throat.

Jelric continued his assault on my breasts, rolling and pinching my nipples, squeezing my flesh so hard and painful that I knew I’d be bruised all over tomorrow.

“Please…please stop. Please…I beg you to stop.” I urgently needed to find a way to break away, but panic and desperation had won me over.

My pleading had an immediate effect on Jelric—his breath became heavier, and the blazing lust in his eyes multiplied. “You have no idea how much begging turns me on,” he moaned, then freed my hair.

All of a sudden, he grabbed me by my throat and squeezed while he simultaneously ripped away the last bit of clothing still covering my lower body.

He was blocking my airways relentlessly. I couldn’t breathe anymore, and I stared at Jelric in panic. “Please…don’t do that to me. I…I don’t want that.” My voice was barely audible, and how I managed to articulate my pleas was a mystery to me.

Jelric was just panting hard while he was busy opening his belt.

Using his distraction to my advantage, I succeeded in freeing one of my hands, and I grabbed his wrist in an attempt to pull his fingers away from my throat, but it was in vain. He was just so much stronger than me. I scratched his wrist, but a deep moan was the only reaction I got. It was obvious that my desperation and struggle turned him on even more. I whimpered and sobbed as Jelric opened the fastenings of his pants and freed his hard manhood.

Jelric slightly loosened his grip on my throat, and at long last, I was able to breathe in a trickle of precious oxygen. Nevertheless, my struggles became weaker and weaker as Jelric pushed his knee between my legs.

“I’m going to break you in. I own you—and I’ll make sure you’ll never forget.”

“Please stop…please, I don’t want this—”

“I give a rat’s ass about whatyouwant. You’re just some pretty thingIownand will fuck as often asIwant, howeverIwant. And Iwant to fuck younow.”

His breath went heavy and labored, his hand around my throat tightened once more. He guided his manhood toward my center, rubbing it over my bone-dry skin.

A clear awareness surfaced in my mind. I was out of time. If I didn’t do somethingnow—anything—Jelric would rape me within mere moments. Desperately, I tried to push him away once more as my lungs were screaming for oxygen.

My push was unsuccessful, and in defeat, I dropped my hand while saying a silent prayer to the gods.

Even though my thoughts turned sluggish, I noticed somehow that my fingers had brushed against something important on their descent. A desperate hope bloomed in my chest even as black spots danced in my vision. I could feel Jelric angling himself toward my entrance as he kept my legs forced apart with his body weight.

I fought against the dizziness and, with a final effort, wrapped my fingers around the hilt of the dagger I’d touched just a few moments ago. Mobilizing my last strength, I pulled the weapon free from the sheath attached to Jelric’s belt and plunged the blade into his body just as he was about to thrust his length into me. It didn’t matter to me where my attack would land as long as itwould hit himsomewhereand stop him from violating me any further.

Jelric’s lecherous grunts instantly transformed into screams of agony. His hand around my neck fell away, and I gulped in the air I so desperately needed while I was deep in some kind of survival mode.

It was nothing short of a miracle that I hadn’t lost my grip on the dagger. With a surprisingly steady hand, I ripped the blade out of Jelric’s body. Instinctively, I knew I had to stab him again to make sure he’d let go of me.

My sight was blurry, and I missed the shoulder I’d aimed for. The noise leaving my throat bore more resemblance to the cry of a wounded animal than to the one of a human, and I stabbed in his direction another time—and another. Jelric attempted to wrestle the weapon from me while cursing, but I miraculously held on to the blade.

I pulled the dagger free once more and blindly plunged it back into the monstrous creature above me. Warm liquid dripped on my face, and Jelric’s screams of panic and pain transformed into agonized gurgling noises.

My attempt to roll out from under him was unsuccessful, and before I was able to free myself, Jelric collapsed on top of me completely, his blood streaming out of a deep gash in his throat.