Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 80576 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 403(@200wpm)___ 322(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80576 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 403(@200wpm)___ 322(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
“I’m sorry,” I squeak. The sting from my hair being yanked by the man causes tears to well in my eyes even more. “What do you expect from me? Do you want me to just give up? I have to fight to the death. You know this.”
He tugs my hair harder, forcing my head to go back so I have to stare into his demon eyes. My throat stretches—so exposed. I wonder if he’ll bite down and suck from my blood like an ancient monster that tales are told of.
“I was fucking kind to you this morning, and you repay me by trying to throw me down to the foyer of my family manor? Did you actually think that would work?”
“I hate you. I always have.” The words shoot past my lips like a bullet before I have time to think them through. Before I have time to really ponder the consequences that will come from such a defiant utterance.
Apollo’s eyes darken. Fury is visible. Wrath is inevitable.
“You don’t know me.”
“I do. You pretended to be the nice guy. The hero to save me. But you’re the villain in the story.”
He smirks. “Yes, well… Villains are made. And you just created the worst villain of all.”
“All I wanted was out. To forget you and the Godwin name forever. But you refused.”
“No one forgets the Godwin name. Never. And right now… You’ll remember right now forever,” he snarls.
I want to apologize. I want to plead for compassion. I want to reach into the depths of his evil and pull out even an ounce of humanity.
And yet, I want to kill.
I want to decimate. To destroy. To rip his flesh from his bones with my teeth. Beg or kill. Plead or destroy. Fuck him. The powerful woman in me won this battle. The courageous queen in me takes full control.
I spit in his face, smiling when I can see the shock caused by my rebellion twinkle in his eye.
“Fuck you,” I say as my eyes lock with his, daring him to unleash the true villain inside.
Show me.
Show me the villain I created.
“Right now,” he repeats. “Right now, you will remember for the rest of your life.”
Without wasting another second, Apollo takes hold of my body and lifts me off the ground.
I try to fight him off, even though I know it’s pointless. He’s bigger. Stronger. Apollo will win this battle regardless of how hard I struggle.
But that doesn’t mean I won’t try.
“Don’t you dare fucking touch me!” I scream as I try to scratch out his eyes.
Gripping my hands above my head, he flings me back hard against the bed, only giving me a second to realize I’m completely nude at this point—and on a bed—with a man raging.
“I will do more than touch you.” Gripping both my wrists with one of his beefy hands, he pauses long enough to stare into my eyes. I can feel his breath against my face. His cologne poisons my nose and nearly seduces me with its toxic fragrance. My body reacts to the close proximity, no matter how much I internally curse it for doing so.
I take a deep breath and cease in my struggles.
Still clasping my hands above my head, he reaches for his belt buckle and releases it from his waist.
His eyes tell me what he’s going to do even before his actions do. The fury pulses all around the darkness of his demanding eyes. I know this very moment that I have no choice but to succumb to his vexation.
“When you went to war with Godwins, did you think you’d win? Surely, you know the kind of people we are and what we do to people who cross us. Are you a fool?” he asks as he wraps the leather around my neck, pulling it through the clasp.
I shake my head. “Please,” I beg.
“No!” he bellows as he tightens the belt. “You are Mrs. Godwin. Mrs. Apollo Godwin. Do not show weakness! Do not beg! You are the all mighty who can take down someone in this family. Right?”
He tightens the belt even more as he straddles my body. He releases my hands, so I’m able to pull at the leather to no avail. The more I struggle, the tighter he pulls.
“Can you breathe?” he asks with a seductive evil lining his question.
I can’t speak and can only shake my head. Blackness threatens to take over as my ears ring. I really can’t inhale as the leather gets tighter and tighter.
“Look at me,” he demands. “Eyes on me, princess.”
I open my eyes and stare into his, silently begging for my life. My trachea feels the pressure of the belt, so much so that I can’t even swallow the saliva building up in my mouth.
“I want you to remember this. Whenever you think something I do, or something I dictate is so awful, I want you to remember that it can always get worse. Stop acting out against me. Stop thinking you are a match.” He tightens the belt, causing blackness to edge around my vision. “If you doubt me, if you disobey me, if you ever question my actions, just know that it will be much worse for you.”