“I couldn’t!” I blurt. “In fact, Istillcan't?—”
My words cut off sharply when he pulls the same knife from last night out from behind his back. His hand snaps up, and a cold spark of fear jolts through my center as he brings the sharp edge of the blade right against my throat.
“Say the fucking safe word.”
“Thunder!” I immediately reply in a choked, harried voice. “Thunder!”
Achilles smiles darkly, his eyes piercing mine as the seconds tick by.
“Ahh, so youdoremember it.”
He keeps his hand right where it is for another few moments, the cold steel resting lightly on my trembling skin.
A lightheaded feeling melts over me. An electric sensation skips over my skin, then slowly spreads down my neck and to my chest. I shudder as my nipples and core tighten, heat blooming deep inside me.
I let out a rushing exhale as Achilles calmly pulls his hand away from my throat, letting the knife rest at his side. My eyes drop to the glinting edge as he slowly twirls it in his hand.
I don’t want to think why he brought a knife with him when he was clearly out here looking for me.
“Maybe I brought it forprotection,” he murmurs, seeing where my gaze has landed. “Maybe I knew I was meeting thepredatorwho assaulted me and wanted to guard myself.”
My gaze snaps to his.
“You know that’s not true,” I hiss. “You motherfu?—”
My heart lurches into my throat as Achilles suddenly wraps his hand around my neck and pins me hard against the tree. His massive body invades my personal space until his hard chest is pressed right to mine, and my terrified eyes are staring up into his brutal scowl.
“What Iknow,” he murmurs darkly, “is that I could force you to your knees right now and use that lying mouth until my cum is dribbling down your chin.”
Adrenaline and fear burn in my veins. But defiance is there, too.
I’m not a victim. I’m a fucking De Luca.
My chin juts out, my throat working against his grip as I stare up into his face.
“Do your worst,” I snap through clenched teeth.
Achilles chuckles in genuine amusement.
“So fucking brave,” he muses. “Or so fuckingstupid.”
“I made a mistake, okay!?” I hurl at him.
“Yes. You did.”
My pulse spikes when he leans down. For one jarring moment, I think he’s about tokiss me. Instead, his lips ghost past my cheek, his breath hot in my ear.
“And that mistake wascatching my attention,” he whispers.
A jolt of warm poison surges through my core.
“But now, little prey, I havequestions.”
I gasp quietly, inhaling cool air as he loosens his grip on my throat and stands upright. I’m still eyeing the knife in his other hand, so I don’t see what he pulls out of his pocket until the red lace thong is dangling right in front of my face, the one from Jane Doe’s suitcase that Damiano stole from the police evidence room.
“Questions like what the fuck you were doing hiding your panties in Lochlan’s bedroom.”
I search desperately for an answer, because there’s nowayI’m telling this psycho the truth—that Lochlan Kildare’s bedroom used to beKyle’sbedroom, last year, when he was still at Knightsblood. And that I knew Kyle would be staying in his old room…