Seduced (Royal Expat Series Book #1) (13 page)

Her mouth went dry as
she heard a click downstairs. Colin must be home. Balling her hands into fists, Matilda tried to steel herself. She knew that he would come and confront her as soon as he discovered what she had done. She had to be strong, and she had to be prepared for the worst.

Still, she flinched a few minutes later as she heard Colin’s roar of anger, and his heavy footfalls on the stairs. Her door was barred, and she sat still, hoping that he would think she was out.

“I know you’re in there. Open the door right now,” Colin shouted from outside. Matilda knew that refusing would only make him angrier.

Matilda thought for a moment, and got out her phone. Slipping it into her back pocket, she pressed the record button. If anything happened to her, at least she would have some evidence which could get Colin convicted. Putting on a brave face, she got up and opened the door on his livid expression.

He lost no time in slapping her so hard across the face that she bit her lip. She fell to the floor, her head spinning with the pain of the impact, and tasted the metallic tang of blood in her mouth. On impulse, she spat, sending the red liquid spattering across Colin’s shoes.

He grabbed her by the hair, twisting viciously until she cried out.

“How dare you break into my flat?” he snarled. “I could call the police on you, you filthy little criminal.”

Matilda prayed that her phone hadn’t been damaged in the fall. She couldn’t say anything, only whimper as Colin dragged her head back, intensifying the pain.

“Answer me,” he yelled, shoving her away from him so that she sprawled across the floor. “What were you doing in there? Trying to get the photos?”

“You were blackmailing me to have sex with you,” Matilda said. “Did you expect me to just take it?”

“It would have been better than trying to outsmart me,” Colin said. “Did you really think that I would just leave such valuable photos lying around? You’re naïve. Even if you did manage to find the prints and the camera, I still have them backed up. I have them in internet storage, so even if you destroyed my laptop, I could still access them. And guess what? They’re protected by the best security money can buy. I do work for the royal family, after all.”

Matilda’s heart sank. So he had taken precautions, more than she even could have guessed. She cursed
herself for being so stupid. Now she was in an even worse predicament.

“You’ll never be free from my power, no matter what you do,” Colin said. “You’re under my control and you should get used to it. Maybe I’ve been too nice until now. You probably thought you could play me. You think I’m stupid.”

“I don’t,” Matilda protested. “I just wanted to be free to live my own life.”

“Well, you’re not. You’re not free, and now that I’ve seen what a manipulative little bitch you are, I’m going to punish you.”

Matilda’s heart gave a lurch as the saw the anger and lust making friends in Colin’s eyes. He wasn’t reasonable. He was completely out of control. She knew that he was going to hurt her badly, probably rape her. She had to get out of there
—
and fast. She would not submit herself to this, not even to save her reputation or her family’s.

If only she could get out of here now, she was sure that she had enough evidence on him to convict him. If that was the case, all she had to do was be one step ahead of him and call the police before he did. But that was pr
ovided that she could get out. He was ten times stronger than her, and very clever.

She tried to get to her feet and dart out of the door, but Colin grabbed her easily, throwing her back down with a crash.

“Don’t try to run away, bitch,” he said. “You’re going to lie there whimpering and I’m going to screw you senseless. I own you
—
don’t forget that. You think you can bargain with me and steal from me? Well guess what? You’re never seeing Damian again, and I will always be the only one you can turn to.

“I am the only one who will know the real you. Now quit complaining. I’m tired of waiting for something I can just take whenever I want.”

Matilda tried to back away across the floor as Colin advanced on her, but he was on her before she could get more than a few feet. He forced her hands over her head, and ripped at her t-shirt, exposing her blue lace bra.

“Nice,” he whispered. “Now lie back and enjoy this like a good princess.”

She whimpered, trying hard to squirm free, but he just slapped her across the face. He used one hand to undo the buttons on her jeans, and tugged them down over her hips. He was panting with the effort, because she was putting up as much fight as she could muster.

Amidst her panic, she remembered the provisions she had selected in case this happened. She had a little bottle of pepper spray tucked
into the pocket of her pants, but she couldn’t reach it like this!

Struggling harder, she tried desperately to free her hands. If only she could get to that pocket.

Colin’s free hand was brutally clawing at her soft flesh, squeezing and tugging until she was sobbing with pain and fear.

He shifted slightly, trying to undo his own pants, and Matilda saw her chance. She kneed him with all her might in the groin, and he fell off her like a stunned spider, clenched in on himself with pain. Scrambling to her feet, Matilda grabbed the pepper spray and squirted him full in the face.

He roared with agony, and Matilda knew that she had bought herself a precious few minutes. She had only one option now
—
to run. From that point, she knew that it was far too late to reason with him or to try and compromise. All she could do was flee
—
and hope that she would be able to outplay him. The die was cast. Now it was a war of wills.

-

With her mind in a panic in case Colin came to his senses before she could get out of there, Matilda had no time to think about packing. Quickly straightening her clothing, she looked around for the things she needed. She at least had the presence of mind to grab her passport from where it lay on her desk, and shove the first few things which caught her eye into a backpack before running past Colin’s groaning, prostate form and out the door.

Once she was out the front door of the apartment, her heart felt lighter, but she was still buzzed from the panic and the adrenaline. She was still in shock at what Colin had tried to do, and
even more in shock at having taken him down. She had been incredibly lucky, but it wasn’t even close to being over yet.

She hesitated a little at the front of the building. She felt as if Colin could come rushing out after her at any moment, and she wanted to get as far away from there as possible.

The phone recording burned in her pocket. She had evidence that Colin had tried to blackmail and rape her. Should she go straight to the police? That way, Colin would have no time to copy the photos or access them from the internet storage he had them in. She could let her father know and his security team could discreetly get rid of them.

That was probably the smartest action to take, but Matilda’s head was still reeling from the intense encounter. Where was the police station? Would they even believe her? Would Colin be there when they got there? What would he say to them? She was sure that he had something up his sleeve, and she dreaded the thought that the photos or her identity would be exposed. The last thing she wanted to do was to cause a huge media scandal.

No, the first thing she needed was to get away
—
far away from Colin, where he couldn’t harm her. Then she needed…that was it! She needed to find Damian. He was the only person she felt she could rely on. She felt safe at the thought of having him as a companion. He would know the best thing to do and help her through it. She would have to swallow her pride and confess to him what trouble she was in. She knew that he would be there to help her no matter what.

With that thought in mind, Matilda headed towards the bar where they had first met, hoping against hope that he was inside. It was on
ly a small sliver of a chance
—
it wasn’t even 6pm yet. There was a bubble of panic in her chest at the thought that maybe he wouldn’t be there to support her.

She
was about to burst into the bar without stopping to think about her appearance, when suddenly she remembered what she looked like right now. Her shirt was ripped from where Colin had tried to assault her, her bra exposed to the world and the flesh of her breast and ribs bruised and scratched. Her hair was all over the place from being grabbed by Colin and from running down the street. She must have looked a complete mess, and several passers-by were giving her looks of alarm as they went about their business.

Quickly she smoothed down her hair with her fingers and pulled a sweater out of her rucksack, covering the ripped t-shirt. Giving herself a quick once-over, she decided that she looked passable enough, and entered the bar.

A few people looked up at the click of the door, curious to see who the newcomer was. She ignored them and scanned the room for Damian, her heart sinking as she didn’t see his familiar face among the few people who were in there for an early drink. He might come in later, but it would be too late by then. This was probably the first place Colin would look. She’d just have to hide out somewhere. Maybe she could even call the police from her cell phone. All she knew was that she was on her own.

She was about to turn and leave, unsure where she was going to go, when,

“Matilda!”

She spun around at the sound of her name, spoken in that familiar voice which sent shivers down her spine.
Her eyes scanned frantically over the crowd, wondering how she could have missed him. Finally, she lifted her eyes to the bar—and saw him behind it, his face a mask of astonishment.

“Damian!” She rushed across the room to where he stood, wearing a green bartender’s apron which did nothing to detract from his broad shoulders and handsome face.

“What happened? Are you OK?” he asked. “You look…” She saw him scanning her carefully, trying to put his finger on what was wrong.

“I…
are you working here?” she asked, momentarily distracted.

“Yeah.” Damian
looked a little bashful. “I knew that maybe you’d lost interest in me, but you’re just too special to give up on. I took a job here so that if you wanted to contact me, I’m right here.”

“That’s…” Matilda couldn’t even find the words. It was such a romantic, sweet gesture that it brought her close to tears to think that he would do that just for her.

“I’ve tended bar before, so it wasn’t so hard. But what’s happening with you? Can you see me now? Are you going to expl—”

Before Damian could go on, Matilda remembered why she was here, and a refreshed wave of anxiety went through her. S
he cut across him, her voice urgent.

“Damian, can you trust me for a little while? I need a favor and I need it now.”

“Something is wrong, isn’t it? What aren’t you telling me? Tell me, Matilda, please!” Damian said, looking into her eyes with such intensity that, even now, Matilda’s heart did a little flip in her chest.

“I will,
just not here. Can we get out of here—please?”

“Of course, babe, but I’ll lose this job.
I might not be able to stay here for you if I leave now.”

“It doesn’t matter, Damian,” she said. “I’m leaving that life
behind me. I’ve decided: I want to run away with you!”

At those words, Damian’s entire face lit up.
His worries seemed to clear up immediately in the face of this news. His eyes brightened, and he let out a boyish whoop of joy, before leaping bodily over the bar to embrace her.

Despite her surprise, the feeling of his warm, strong arms around her felt so good that she simply melted into the embrace, her entire body immediately relaxing as she was encompassed by his comforting hug.

His lips found hers and he kissed her, right there in the bar, to the ragged cheers of the other occupants. She yielded her lips to him, her entire body tingling with the delicious sensation. The kiss was full of the pent-up passion for weeks. It was like the first cigarette in the morning for a chain smoker, or the first sip of water for a man in the desert for a week. How could one person make her feel so good?

He finally pulled away and tenderly brushed
a lock of hair from her face—and frowned.

“Matilda,
this is a serious bruise,” he said.

She started. S
he knew that Colin had hit her hard, but she hadn’t considered that he had left marks.

“I
—,” she started.

“It’s that man, isn’t it? He tried to hurt you.” Colin’s gray eyes darkened and she saw the anger kindle there.

“I don’t have time to explain right now,” she said. “Please, Damian. I’ll tell you everything, just—”

“
OK, never mind that now. Let’s just get you out of here first,” Damian said. Even though he didn’t know what was going on, he was taking charge. His instincts had overridden everything else, and he seemed to know exactly what to do. Matilda let him take the lead, just glad to be by his side again.

-