Pandora's Box (9 page)

Chapter Eighteen

The stranger pushed her into the stockroom.

“What do you want?” Her voice warbled, high-pitched, and highlighting her fear. She hoped he failed to notice.

“Where should I start?” He slammed her face-first into a stack of cellophane-wrapped boxes. “You in my bed. My dick deep in your pussy.” He leaned against her, his weight pressing her against the overstock, trapping her.

Madison locked her knees to keep them from knocking together. Just a voice; that’s all her attacker was. He could kill her in here or—big gulp—rape her. And no one would know. If she lived, she couldn’t even identify him. A faint whiff of rotten eggs indicated he wasn’t human, which meant she wouldn’t find him in a police lineup anyway.

An innocent excursion to the market, and she miscalculated, thinking she’d be safe with a store full of shoppers. Oh, she counted her chickens way too soon!

She’d go down fighting before she let him win. “In…your…dreams.” She gritted the words out, then threw her head back and smashed it into his nose.

He laughed. Not the response she expected. He should be screaming in pain, her skull sure was. At the very least, his nose should be gushing blood.

If he were human, you numbskull!
Just her blasted luck!

“Place your hands flat against the boxes, Madison.”

“No.” Foolish to argue with him? Probably. Making herself obey without resistance went against her personality. His fingers were still wound tighter than a tick in her hair, stinging her scalp. Maybe going docilely into a warehouse alone with him could be considered more foolish than fighting back. “Why should I?” she demanded, forcing steel into her voice.

Hot lips touched her ear, a scalding tongue licked her lobe. She shuddered with revulsion and attempted to draw away, but his arm circled her shoulders and his fingers curled around her throat.

A threat? Hell, yeah.

“Do as I say, and Amos will have his mother for another day.”

“Don’t you dare sully his name by uttering it from your despicable lips!”

A grating chuckle. “You fail to recognize the severity of your situation, kitten.”

She gulped at hearing Micah’s nickname for her.

A rock of his hips into her bottom pressed something hard against her butt. Was that an erection? “I’m the one wearing the crown of gold, making me the King of Control. Now, place your fucking hands against the goddamn boxes.”

Submit? Or revolt?

“I won’t let you rape me.” Oh, yeah, her voice definitely shook.

Another chuckle skittered chills along her flesh in the worst way. “Rape. Such a nasty word of inaccuracy…when I own you.”

“Own me!”

She attempted a futile, angry revolt, but her attacker slammed her back against the boxes, his hot hand squeezing around her throat just enough to restrict airflow. During the brief struggle, his other hand snaked around between her waist and the crates.

The snap of her jeans easily gave way to the pressure of his fingers. The clicking of her zipper, as loud as a tornado siren in the silent backroom, sent panic snarling through her as fast and destructive as a category five twister. His hand shoved inside her pants, beneath her panties. Useless to squirm, the way he held her pinned. She still tried. And still failed miserably.

His fingers touched her curls. Implementing a Nix-taught technique, she went boneless. The attempt failed. Her attacker held her clamped too tightly by the throat against the freaking containers.

Even though she couldn’t see him, she could almost picture him grinning. “I like a challenge, Madison. Keep it up.” He nipped her earlobe and slid his hand lower.

God, his touch was hot! Too hot! Nearing the temperature of scalding water. As he caressed her curls, panic surged through her limbs, giving her strength. Slamming her hands on the boxes, she shoved backward. He didn’t budge.

He responded to her mutiny by squeezing her windpipe until she squeaked and choked. “I’d bet even after all that marital fucking and pushing a baby out, you’re still tight, kitten. Another minute and you’ll be unconscious,” he taunted. “Then you’ll be a defenseless lamb to whatever I please.” He traced the seam of her vagina with a finger. The subtle threat of violation terrified her. “Panic setting in yet, kitten?”

Yes. No
. At least unconscious she wouldn’t know how he sullied her. As darkness wrapped around her vision, everything inside her rebelled against giving up.

Madison twisted and brought her elbow up at the same time, connecting with his nose. A crunch and a howl were the only confirmation she received that she’d connected with her intended spot. Along with the ache in her elbow.

She took off at a dead run. Cereal cases behind her, she resisted the temptation to look over her shoulder. Grappling with her slipping jeans—she couldn’t afford to trip over them—she tugged them up, held them with a hand and kept the doors to the grocery store in view—her primary goal. Safety in numbers.

A panicked giggle hit the back of her throat, and she clamped her teeth down on the sound. She’d been in the safety of numbers when he forced her into the back room. And no one lifted a finger to help. Even Nix failed to see her abduction.

Tackled from behind, she slammed into the unforgiving concrete floor. Air whooshed from her lungs loudly, and she had none to spare. He lay on top of her, squashing her lungs and leaving her unable to drag in a breath of relief.

She attempted a struggle, but her attacker gripped her wrists and wrenched them behind her back, upward toward her shoulder blades, ripping a cry from her lips.

“Cease,” he snarled into her ear, pressing a knee into her lower spine. As long as he held her arms at a painfully unnatural angle and dug his knee into her spine, she held no plans of moving. Period. Broken bones wouldn’t help her current situation. So, yeah, just call her Docile Dolly.

He tugged her to her feet. Madison whimpered at the pain shooting from her arms into her shoulders and settling as a dull ache in her teeth and head.

“I’m surprised by the trouble you’ve become.” He sounded disgusted.

“So sorry to disappoint!” she snapped, aware sarcasm tempted him to further violence, but beyond caring. “Not!”

“Fuck!” He screamed at such close proximity, he deafened her left ear. “What the fuck has gotten into you?”

“What do you want?” Madison forced out between painful breaths of air.

“The Birminghams teach you how to fight?”

She guessed he referred to the elbow-to-nose trick. “Yeah.”

One hot hand held her flush against the crates, while the other hand smoothed over her hips, squeezed her ass cheeks, and slid down her legs. His hand dragged up the inside of her legs, alternating between the two. Patting her down for weapons?

As he neared the juncture of her legs, she held her breath. He cupped her crotch, rubbed back and forth with the heel of his palm.

“Stop!” She kicked back, and he smacked the back of her head. He jerked on an arm, ripping a whimper from her and eliminating her struggles.

He stroked her jean-covered vagina again. “The sweet pussy of a kingdom beneath my palm.”

He kissed the back of her neck and licked the spot. Madison cringed and wanted to pull into herself to shy away from the humiliation. It wasn’t enough the demon violated her and Amos’s mental stability, oh, no. Now he wanted to play with her physically, too. Even an outmanned soldier should glean all the information she could, she reminded herself. He overpowered her with strength. He wouldn’t control her wits.

“Are you the demon from the thunderstorm?”

Lips touched the back of her ear. “Don’t recognize the sound of my voice, kitten?”

His hand shifted away from her crotch. His touch burned as it moved across her abdomen. “You’re ovulating.”

Eyes popping wide open, she prayed she interpreted his statement wrong.

“I’ll be back for you soon. When I return, I want Phoenix Birmingham gone.”

No way in hell would she let Nix leave her defenseless. Not until he taught her everything she needed to know to protect herself and Amos.

“If he’s not gone, I’ll skin him while you watch.” She shivered at the image he painted with his words. “Afterward, I’ll fuck you in his still-warm blood.” Gagging at the back of her throat, she never doubted he would make good on his promise. “Don’t disappoint me. This is your only warning. Do as I say. Or I promise, you will regret it, Madison.”

Chapter Nineteen

Madison’s unnatural disappearance prickled Nix’s worry. He knew with certainty she wouldn’t walk off and leave her son. Not willingly. And Amos’s vague “he needed to chat with her” left Nix more concerned, not to mention a tad cold. If the “he” in Amos’s sentence meant a demon, his worry grew exponentially because she wasn’t prepared to tangle with one of them. Not yet. Three weeks wasn’t nearly enough time to teach her all she needed to know to defend herself from the paranormal community.

“He won’t hurt her,” Amos said, which brought Nix to a dead stop.

“Who is he? And do you know where he took her?”

“There.” Amos pointed to the stockroom and Nix practically dragged the boy toward the doors. If he’d been alone, he would’ve gone at a dead run; the bad feeling in his gut turned sour.

As they neared, the doors burst open and Madison flung herself into Nix’s arms. Stumbling from her momentum, he wrapped an arm around her waist and butt-bumped against a cooler packed with meats, saving them from hitting the floor.

“Amos!” Madison scrambled out of his arms, crouched, and grabbed Amos in a hug fierce enough the boy protested with a groan. She released him to clasp his face between her hands. “You okay, baby?”

“Yep.” Amos pulled out of her embrace.

“Madison, are you okay?” Nix asked, watching her closely.

“Nix!” She rose to her feet and put a shaky hand through her hair. “He’s here. In there. He made me go. He touched…he said…oh, God! We gotta get out of here.”

Nix gathered her in his arms, unconcerned what the other customers would make of it. He offered support through touch, the only way he knew to provide it. Trembling against him, words tumbled from her mouth. He glanced over her shoulder and caught sight of Amos waving at the stockroom. Framed in the door’s small, square window, a pair of eyes glowed. He thought he saw a flash of teeth, maybe a toothy grin, before the demon disappeared.

“We gotta go now!” she said in a hushed whisper. She jerked back out of his arms, caught the edge of her jeans, tugged them up, but not before he caught sight of pink panties. She re-snapped her pants with shaky fingers, leaving the zipper open like a gaping mouth with metal teeth. She’d been accosted, and the thought turned his blood to slush. The possibility the demon might’ve raped her fucked with his conscience. It would mean he’d failed as her protector.

Catching her with a hand to her nape, he pulled her close, aware Amos watched with wide, curious eyes. Against her ear, he whispered, “Did he—?” He took a breath, fearing her answer, as he forced the question out past numb lips, “Did he rape you, Madison?”

A small jerk and a breathy, “No.” He released the pressure of his grip, but maintained a light hold. Their gazes touched, held. “He violated me…with his…fingers.” A shaky breath exited her lungs, and Nix wanted to commit murder bad enough his teeth ached with the need. “I’m okay.”

No, she wasn’t okay. He could pretend with her for now. “Your pants aren’t zipped.”

“Oh.” She peered down, looking nonplussed.

“Here.” He brushed her hands aside. “I’ll do it.” He tugged the zipper into place, his fingers connecting with the smooth, soft flesh of her abdomen. Nix swallowed hard. Violated and tormented while under his care, now was not the time to be thinking of her flat on her back with him inside her. Certainly lusting after her at a time like this made him an asshole.

Chewing on his lip, he tried to think what she might be feeling. “It’s nothing to be ashamed of. It wasn’t your fault.”

Her blue gaze scalded him like a feral hit connecting squarely with his eyes. “I’m not ashamed. I’m pissed. He said he’d be back soon, Nix. And he wants you gone.”

“I’m not leaving.”

“He said he’d skin you alive if you were still here when he returned.”

“Still not leaving.”

Surprisingly, she held back any argument and nodded.

“Was that all of his message?”

“Yeah. I’m okay. You can let go of me now.”

Unaware he still held her until she pointed it out, Nix kneaded her neck and felt her muscles relax beneath his touch.

Every time he touched her, he thought of sex. No, not just sex, pleasuring her until she couldn’t take any more and screamed in release over and over again. She posed a possible danger of becoming an obsession. He hoped he could resist her allure. He’d developed an obsession with the erotic visuals in his head. And what he could imagine wouldn’t be half as good as the real thing.

The possibility scared Nix. Madison wasn’t the type of woman he could man-whore around with and later exit her life without a goodbye. She was the type of gal a man committed himself to, made a family with, and proudly showed off wallet pictures to his buddies. Any man would be proud to call her his.

Without trying, Madison made him want more than he could have. A normal life outside of Sherlocking. A dangerous elixir for a devout bachelor and lifelong occult hunter. His line of work meant he couldn’t offer her safety anywhere, at any time. All he could bestow upon her would be one hellish nightmare after another, fighting supernatural monsters with no right to live anywhere except in horror movies and graphic novels.

He skimmed his fingertips over the column of her throat, the red imprint of another choking stark against the pale backdrop of her flesh. Even knowing she’d been manhandled, he reluctantly released his hold. “He choked you?” She nodded, and Nix’s anger surged into a pounding headache. Gritting his teeth, he mentally cursed the demonic bastard. “He made a mistake giving us time to prepare.”

“He’s going down, Nix.”

“Back to Hell,” he agreed.

“I want him dead.”

Yeah, so did he, but he had no idea how to accomplish that. Realistically, he’d settle for tossing the bastard back into the pit long enough to figure out how to protect them.