Demon Scorned

Excerpt

Two men, who he knew as only Frank and Jim, came and stood on either side of him. The men were hulks, but they were also mere humans. He waited, remaining perfectly still, not allowing one muscle to twitch as they unlocked the chains on each of his wrists. When his arms fell free, poor Jim and Frank never knew what hit them. Dante head-butted Frank, dropping him to the floor before spinning and catching Jim with a roundhouse kick to the throat. Both men were unconscious in seconds, and he dragged their bodies to the closet on the far side of the room.

He glanced at the big, comfortable-looking bed that he hadn’t been allowed to sleep on once since he’d been taken captive. He figured Bianca thought it was another form of torture for him to hang from that damn wall day after day in pain, and have to stare at where he could be sleeping. He pushed Frank and Jim in the closet, closed the door, and propped a heavy chair under the knob. They’d be able to get out, but by the time they did, he and Bianca would be long gone.

“Sorry boys. There’ll be no bathing Dante tonight.” The words slid off his tongue in a low, threatening tone.

In about five minutes Bianca would be in to check on the bathing progress and make sure nothing had gone wrong. He walked to the bathroom and turned on the water so she’d think nothing amiss until it was too late. He toed the door partially closed, stood behind it and waited for his soon-to-be prisoner. It seemed like an eternity passed before he heard the door open. He could hear every step she took, every step that carried her closer to him. When the bathroom door started to swing open, he reached around it and grabbed her by the wrist. She cried out in surprise, and her eyes grew wide when she saw him.

“Surprise, darling.”

“Shit.” She swung at him with her free arm and grazed his jaw.

Damn, the woman was fast. When she pulled back for another swing, he imprisoned that wrist as well. She stood breathing hard, and he laughed. Before she could land a kick in his groin, he spun her around and held her to him in a choke hold.

“You are so predictable, Bianca.” He breathed the words in her ear, and the sweet scent of jasmine tickled his nose.

“Let go of me, you bastard.” She thrashed against him and his body responded to the tantalizing curves she was unknowingly exciting him with.

“Now, now, didn’t you scold me for such language earlier?”

“Fuck you, Dante. I said let me go.”

“Like you let me go? I don’t think so. You are going to pay for every minute you kept me chained to that damned wall like an animal.”

“Where are Jim and Frank? Did you kill them too?”

“Regardless of what you think, I do not kill without reason. I assure you, they are perfectly safe in the closet. They’ll find a way out, but not in time to make a pathetic play at saving you”

“Where are you taking me?” Her breaths came in hard pants from the struggle.

“You’ll find out soon enough, sweet. Now, are we going to do this the hard way or the easy way?” He loosened the choke hold he had on her, and she immediately tried to take another swing at him. “The hard way it is.”

He yanked her back to him, marched her over to the bed, pushed her down on her stomach, and planted a knee in the middle of her back, effectively trapping her. She struggled, but she was no match against his weight. He yanked the comforter back and tore a piece of the sheet off. He pulled her hands behind her back, tied them together with the fabric, flipped her over, picked her up, and slung her over his shoulder once again.

He headed for the door, and when Bianca struggled again, he placed his hand on her ass, effectively holding her still. “Now the real fun begins.” Damn, the woman has a fine ass.

* * * *

Bianca was petrified. She’d never thought Dante would get his hands on her. It would have been better had he just killed her outright, but she knew he’d never be that merciful. He was going to make her pay for everything she’d done to him even if she didn’t deserve it. She hadn’t killed his brother. She’d get free of him somehow, and when she did, she’d find a way to destroy him.

He’d been walking for what seemed like miles. Her stomach was cramping from hanging over his shoulder, and her arms ached from being tied—Yeah, but try to explain why your ass is tingling where his hand is splayed over it. And she wondered how the hell he’d gone so far with no shirt, no shoes, carrying her trussed up over his shoulder without anyone noticing. He finally stopped, set her on her feet, and yanked her up against him, holding her with one arm while he dialed the payphone he’d halted beside. After a brief conversation, he hung up and remained silent, holding her to him for several minutes until a black sedan pulled up with dark tinted windows. A man jumped out, nodded at Dante, turned and walked away. Dante dragged her to the passenger side of the vehicle, and tossed her up into the seat before crawling over her lap to the driver’s side.

“Don’t try anything stupid, Bianca.” His voice was quiet, deadly, daring…velvety, sinfully soft.

She gave him the most venomous look she could muster. She’d never tell him she was too damned tired to try anything at the moment. Let him keep wondering what she’d do next, even if it was nothing. They drove for about an hour before he turned down a dark lane that led to a huge ranch style house on a secluded lot surrounded by trees. He parked, cut the engine, reached over and grabbed her by the arm to drag her out the driver’s side right behind him. His grip was rough, but not rough enough to bruise her. In fact, she was a little fascinated and confused by how gentle he’d been up to this point.

She fought him, but even as much as she wanted to deny it, Dante was much stronger than she. And knowing that he was still somewhat weakened by her earlier beating scared the hell out of her. Demons of justice were known for their great strength, but she was beginning to think she had underestimated him. He’d warned her a few hours earlier to not do just that, too. She hated being scared. In fact, she could only remember a couple times in her long existence that she’d been frightened.

“I hate you for this.”

“Well, keep a list, darling, because you’re going to be hating me for a whole hell of a lot more than this by the time I’m finished with you.”