*Rule 7*
Lie.
Grace's P.O.V~
This nightmare seemed worse than all of the others. I woke up screaming and crying in the middle of the night. I felt arms suddenly wrap me in a strong and warm embrace.
"Grace!" His deep voice lured me back to reality. He counted to ten, just as he did before to calm me down. I opened my eyes before looking up into his jade orbs. I panted and buried my face in his bare muscular chest, apologizing over and over again for waking him up as I continued to cry. He caressed my bare back and arms. "Shh~ It's fine." He whispered, moving his fingers through my hair. "Calm down." He brought me to lay back down. My tears began to slow and I closed my eyes while I felt his hand slowly rubbing my back in circles. "What was the nightmare?"
"The Fire," I answered. "It's always the fire."
I didn't mind being wrapped in his arms. The disagreements and mutual dislike between us suddenly didn't matter. All that mattered was that I felt safe and protected like nothing could hurt me. It was a new feeling. There were so many things that I always had to do on my own that I never realized how much comfort the arms of another person would be. I fell asleep soon after that with my head on his muscular chest.
***
I woke up alone. It was strange how I would wake up and he would never really be in bed. He was always up before me. They both were. I could hear some music playing in the living area and I got dressed in a t-shirt and some jeans before putting my hair up and my glasses on. I didn't feel like putting on makeup that day. More than anything, I just felt tired. I strolled out into the living room to see Knight working out in the middle of the floor.
I couldn't stop staring. His shirt was off. He was only wearing a pair of army shorts and sneakers. He was doing pushups while I watched the muscles on his arms flex. I could feel my cheeks turn red when the scene before me reminded me of his body on top of mine, pushing into me. I eyed the tattoo that almost covered his entire back and the scars on him that revealed just how much pain his body was used to. I could feel my body heat rise as I was mesmerized by the man on the floor.
"Good morning." I choked out, trying not to sound phased as I secretly eyed him while going into the kitchen and getting a bottle of water. He only let out a short hum in response, focused entirely on what he was doing while he switched to his back to start doing situps. "Damn," I muttered under my breath, thinking he wouldn't hear.
"Did you say something, Kitten?" He asked while I walked back to the living area.
"No, nothing. Where's Josh?" I questioned, quickly changing the subject.
"Store." He answered, continuing to a different exercise. I could feel the heat in between my legs rise. I couldn't believe myself. I'd never really felt turned on by anyone before, but it was like having sex opened a doorway I didn't even know existed. I suddenly found myself wanting him to touch me and make me slip into ecstasy again. My frustration grew when he started doing pushups again.
Get ahold of yourself, Grace. I scolded myself and my body before trying hard to look away from the muscular, sweaty, rough, insanely attractive-
"Kitten!" His booming voice suddenly snapped me out of my own aroused mind and into the arousing reality before me. He was standing in front of me, panting, with his hands on his hips.
"Sorry. What did you say?" I questioned, unable to stop myself from staring him up and down.
"Get me a towel." He ordered. My cheeks were probably a deep red as I went to get a towel. I gave him the towel as he drank a bottle of water in almost one gulp, I found myself wishing I was the water and immediately felt ashamed at the thought. I went into the bedroom and out onto the balcony, leaning over it to look at the horizon. It was beautiful and it was beginning to take all of the thoughts of his seemingly perfect body away until-
"Hey, Princess." His deep voice made me jump a bit before turning to him. Speak of the devil. At least at that point, he had on some regular clothes, but his jet black hair was slightly wet. He must have taken a really quick shower. "Come here. I have something for you." I didn't want to be anywhere near him, in fear of losing my own sanity and jumping him, but I was curious. I hesitantly moved from my spot and went inside, sliding the glass door closed behind me.
He gently took my wrist and brought me over to the bed before sitting me down on it.
"Close your eyes." He ordered.
"Why?" I looked at him suspiciously.
"Just do it, Stupid Girl." He demanded. I closed my eyes and waited, listening carefully, on alert in case he should do something that I didn't like. "Hold out your hands." He told me. This was so unlike him. He didn't seem the type of man to give a woman anything, but I held out my hands. I could feel something being placed in my hands before he told me to open my eyes. I looked down to see a small black box. "Open it."
"Is this a trick?"
"No," he scoffed. "Just open it." He sat down next to me as I slowly opened to see two rings. One was a black band, but the other was a beautiful woven one with a purple diamond on the top.
"My God," I gasped, covering my mouth as I looked at the beautiful rings, "these are beautiful."
"I'm glad you like them. I had them custom made and it's designed so that once I put them on, they can't come off unless I take it off." He gently grabbed my right hand and forcefully put it on my ring finger. I could feel it literally lock onto my skin, but it didn't hurt. "They're installed with tracking devices." He put his ring on and a small beep was heard from both of the rings as if they connected to one another. "If you're too far from me, it will alert my ring and send the location to my phone so that I know where you are."
When he explained this to me, I became enraged. I was patient with everything that he put me through, but this. I slapped him as hard as I could and managed to grab his gun from the back of his jeans.
"What the hell was that?!" He growled. I stood up and walked back, pointing the silver pistol at him.
"You deserve worse than that! You've already taken everything from me!" I proclaimed. "My freedom, my first kiss, my virginity! Even worse than all of that, you're making me want things I've never wanted!" He stood up and took a step towards me. "Stay the fuck away from me!" I could feel tears start to fall down my cheeks. "I've never felt hate for anyone, but I fucking hate you!" I growled.
A smirk suddenly appeared on his face as he took another step towards me. Something was weird. It was like he wasn't scared even though I was pointing the gun straight at his face.
"Go ahead. Do it. Kill me."
I wanted to. I wanted to pull the trigger and put all of it behind me, but I knew the instant I took his life, the remorse and the guilt would overwhelm me. Especially since part of me was somehow attracted to this fucked up man. I had my finger on the trigger and I was going to pull it, but I couldn't.
"Damnit!" I cried as I threw the gun down on the floor in front of him. "I'm not like you. I won't take someone's life, even someone like you."
He picked up the gun and walked over to me with a smirk still on his face.
"I thought so, Kitten," he put the gun underneath my chin, forcing me to look up at him. "Also, next time you want to try and kill me, take the fucking safety off," he sighed as he took the gun out from under my chin and switched the safety off, then back on. He backed me up into the dresser and gripped my chin. "If you thought this would go without punishment, you should know just what kind of man I am by now."
He took off my glasses and threw them to the side and took my hair out of the bun it was in. He forced me to turn to the mirror and put his hand down the front of my jeans and into my underwear. He started to rub me there and I covered my mouth to prevent myself from letting out any noises.
"No! Please, I don't . . . want this." I begged, trying hard not to moan.
"You're a terrible liar. Just look at your face, Princess." He gripped my chin again and made me look in the mirror. "Just admit it, it feels good." He whispered as he forced two of his fingers inside of me. I gasped and let out a moan. He took his fingers out of me before I could climax and unzipped my jeans before pulling my pants down. I heard him unzip his own pants.
I gripped onto the dresser when he pushed himself inside of me, lifting my legs from the ground as he thrust into me with all of his strength. I let out whimpers when he lifted my shirt and groped my breast as he let out small groans and grunts into my ear. His voice was turning me on even more. I looked at his face in the mirror. His lustful jade eyes locked on mine. He moved his hand to my neck, gripping it as he continued to pound me relentlessly. I thought he was never going to stop.
"Your body doesn't lie, Kitten," he whispered, "even your hips are moving."
He was right. I was enjoying it. Every time he touched me, I wanted more. His strong arms, his chest, his lips, but especially his eyes. This man. He made me feel things I never thought possible. Even though we hated each other, even though I wanted nothing more than to run far away. I couldn't deny how he made my body feel and it made me have nothing but shame for myself.
One Day Later
Knight's P.O.V~
I watched her as she cleaned up the living area. She always did things like that when she didn't need to, but I didn't mind occasionally watching her bend over when she wiped down the coffee table and the small dining table that sat in the room.
I watched her talk with Josh a little bit and felt a twinge of rage pass through me. She was always smiling at him and talking so casually with my friend, but when it came to me, she was cautious. I supposed it was my own damn fault. She was scared as hell of me, but I would rather her be afraid. Considering how much she got inside my head, I wanted to keep her at a distance. I became more frustrated when I heard her laugh with him as I put the last of the groceries away. How could I feel so possessive over one little girl?!
I grabbed a beer out of the fridge and opened it using the side of the counter. Josh looked at me and asked for one. I sighed and pulled one out for him, sliding it to the end of the counter. He thanked me and I ignored him as I walked into the bedroom and outside to the balcony. I sat down in one of the chairs and pulled out a cigarette. I lit it as I thought about her. How could any woman be so fucking pure? I've slept with women who looked like models, but this woman was so naturally pretty that makeup wasn't necessary. I wanted to touch her all the fucking time, but I resisted. I didn't want her to get inside of my head, but this girl was already doing that.
"Knight," her sweet voice called out. I looked over to see her with a plate of food in her hand while she peered around the slightly opened glass door. "Are you hungry? I made you some food." She told me as she stepped outside, closing the door behind her. I sighed and took the plate from her before putting it down on the table beside me. "Aren't you lonely being out here all by yourself?" She asked. She was right. I was lonely, but I shrugged off the question.
"I'm used to being by myself. Most times, I like it." I answered, looking back out at the sunset.
"Most times?" She questioned further as she neared me. She was wearing a large t-shirt and some shorts. Her hair was down and she wasn't wearing her glasses. It was obvious she was cold since she had her arms crossed over her. "Well, do you want company?"
"I thought you said you hated me the other day," I sighed, taking another gulp of my beer.
"No one should be lonely. No matter who they are." She replied, taking me aback. Who the hell was this girl? I knew she was kind, but damn, it was no wonder she was always walked on.
She quietly sat down in the chair next to me. Her blonde hair and blue eyes were almost mesmerizing in the light of the sunset. Her lips looked so kissable. She didn't notice I was staring while she brushed her hair back behind her ear. She gripped the pendant on around her neck and rubbed it a little bit. She looked as if she were deep in thought and her expression almost looked sad.
"That necklace seems important to you. You wear it every day." I commented, breaking the silence between us as I blew out a puff of smoke. She snapped out of her thoughts and looked at me.
"It was my mother's. It was the only thing that survived the fire." She replied, putting it back in her shirt. "After they recovered it from her body, they gave it to me. I never take it off." She crossed her slender legs and all I could picture was her petite curvy body underneath me. I gripped the arm of the chair, trying to prevent myself from getting turned on. I had to think of something else to talk about. If I continued to simply look at her, I was going to lose myself.
What the fuck was wrong with me? It wasn't supposed to turn into this. I just wanted to fuck her to get it out of the way. I thought if I did that, my weird attraction to this sad little girl would go away, but instead, every other thought turned to her.
I got frustrated that she was getting so close. I put out my cigarette and stood up from the chair.
"Listen you damn little minx," I snapped at her, making her look up at me in surprise. "I don't know what the hell you're trying to do, but let's get one thing clear," I gripped the arms of her chair and leaned down to her. "I couldn't give two fucks about you or any other woman. So, if you think being kind to me will change that, you're dead wrong." I squeezed her cheeks with one hand. "In fact, I really wish I could kill you, especially since you've become a real thorn in my fucking side, but I don't break promises or deals and this deal puts me on top. So, cut the nice-girl act, leave me the hell alone, and we'll get along just fine." I hissed before letting her go and storming back inside.