1.
The taste of blood was thick in her mouth, so thick it almost felt solid. Her eyes struggled to see through the veil of red that gushed down from the wound on her head.
It was just a cut, of that she was sure. Though her head hurt like hell, it did not hurt enough to warrant panic over a potential concussion.
He could kill her though, and probably wanted to. She knew that. But rationality had never been one of her strong suits.
She waited, gasping on blood, smacking her lips to clearly taste it. Because if there was one thing she had to do, it was commit this moment to memory.
"On your feet," came a quiet growl from behind her. She shivered, in both fear and delight, and tried to push herself up on wobbly legs, clutching the wall for support. Shakily, she turned to face him.
And there he was, as naked as she'd ever seen him before. No shirt. Just dressed in boxers and her blood. Her stomach twisted in an almost painful way; she couldn't really describe the feeling as anything but bittersweet.
This was the last, she realized suddenly. He would kill her now, in this room, and this was probably her last night to truly appreciate all that life had given her. Which was him.
He hated her, of course. He hated her because some part of him loved her, and she knew this, too. That's why death didn't scare her. As long as he killed her because he couldn't stand that he was in love with her…Well, that was just fine with her.
An exhausted grin graced her face, which could have been beautiful if it were more feminine. Instead it carried a hard, boyish edge that instantly repelled. She wasn't ugly, but she was definitely not pretty.
His eyes, like shards of ice, hardened. "Don't look at me like that," he spat, and she instantly recognized that he now felt he was on the defensive. She knew it would only be a matter of moments before he was on her again.
She sighed, though it was not a resigned sound, and looked out the window behind her. "The sun's coming up," she said. Translation: better hurry up.
When she turned around, his fist met her face, sending her flying back into the window. It cracked but didn't break, since she caught most of the impact on the frame. She slid to the floor once more, feeling her face from the inside out. Cracked jaw, she thought to herself.
That left hook really was something.
"Stand," he growled, just a few feet from her. He stood, hard and resolute, like a statue. His arms hung at his sides, but they were nowhere near relaxed; for a moment, she was fascinated by the tendons showing through the pale, freckled skin.
"Get up!" he barked, and she obeyed.
She was half expecting him to just shove her back down, but instead he stood there, glaring directly into her eyes. There was rage there, and lust, too. He wants me, she sighed in her head and the smile was back on her face.
His mouth contorted in a snarl. He grabbed her face roughly in his hands, making her jaw ache. "Why do you make me hate you?" he asked, almost in disbelief. She didn't really have an answer for that. Well, she did, but the truth would probably just piss him off more.
Of course what she said in response was equally as stupid.
"I love you," she whispered and coughed on her blood.
His hands clutched her face so tightly that she wondered if he was trying to crush her skull. For a moment, he said nothing. She waited patiently, enjoying the wonder of those piercing eyes.
Her heart nearly burst in her chest when he leaned down and pressed his lips to hers, still holding her face as though he wanted to squash it. It wasn't really much of a kiss, more of an assault, but it still made her weak.
After a long moment, he pulled back just slightly, letting his forehead rest against hers. "You're mine," he purred, in a voice both silken and deadly.
Then he threw her back against the window, shattering the glass.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hello, all. I hope you all enjoyed this little taste of what's to come. I must tell you, it's not a typical romance, as I'm sure you can already tell. Hope it makes up for the fact that it even is a romance. Not even really sure I'll continue it, but what the hell. I'll see how it goes. Anyway, please review.