Mated To An Enemy

He pressed his lips to her throat, feeling the pulse of her heart pounding away in a panicked flurry. He smiled.

Alice tried to move away, but his hand in her hair held her in place.

Roman brought his other hand to her shoulder and gently squeezed her. Alice was a woman of average height; her build was small but strong. Her shoulder did not squish or poke as he pressed her. Instead, it felt firm and soft beneath his rough hands.

Alice clenched her jaw and turned away from him. But she didn’t speak. She didn’t make a sound.

Roman knew she was fighting to stay silent, to keep from him what he so desired. To hear her voice call his name, be it scream or moan. But it only made him want it more.

His hand moved along her shoulder toward her throat, his thumb tracing her clavicle.

His hot breath against her throat filled Alice with revulsion and fear she fought to keep controlled.

Roman kissed her throat again, and again she tried to pull away. He tightened his grip on her hair, and she stopped moving. His fingers on her shoulder slipped under her collar. He pulled back gently on the fabric of her shirt, exposing her light, smooth skin.

He grinned and licked his lips as he leaned forward to taste her flesh, but just as he was about to lay a gentle kiss against her shoulder, he saw something that enraged him.

A sliver of a scar.

Roman’s eyes went wide, and his heart pounded painfully in his chest.

He ripped back the fabric of her shirt, exposing her shoulder entirely.

There it was. Staring back at him, mocking him. A mark.

Roman let go of her hair grabbing both her shoulders. He shoved her roughly against the wall. Alice could not stop the sound of protest that had escaped her lips.

He laid his form against her, pressing himself firmly into every groove of her body, allowing no space between them.

She clenched her jaw and tried to turn her head away as she felt his hunger for her bulging against her leg.

Roman stopped her. He grabbed her chin and held her in position to look back at him. His eyes were lit up with fire like she had never seen.

He growled.

“Who...?� he whispered out between gritted teeth. “Who is the bastard that dared to tame you!�

Alice looked at him with confusion and concern.

Roman growled angrily.

“Not you, doll,� he spat. “The real you... tell me who did this!�

Roman stared intensely into her eyes, searching for an answer, for any kind of response.

All he received was the rage that burned deep within her.

‘That’s for me,’ he thought to himself, ‘All for me.’

His expression softened. He leaned his forehead against hers and moved both hands back to her shoulders.

Roman sighed as his thumb stroked the bare skin of her shoulder. He didn’t dare look again. Knowing that seeing the mark would only infuriate him all over again.

He swallowed down his rage, pushed it back into his mind, and breathed her in.

The bittersweetness of her scent, the panicked thumping of her heart. They folded into each other and wove around him like a warming embrace, easing the discomfort of his restless heart.

“All’s fun and games, darlin’, but it’s time to stop this foolishness,� Alice whispered. Her words were brave and strong, but her voice spoke volumes of the fear she felt.

Roman smiled and nudged her head gently with his own.

“Fun and games?� Roman whispered. “That’s all you are, ‘darlin’’.�

He grabbed her face and pulled back as he stared into her eyes again.

“I want her,� he growled.

Inside her mind, Alice growled and snarled and threw things.

“Go to hell, you fucking psychopath!!� she screamed.

The patchwork she had done on her sanctuary was holding, but it wouldn’t for long if she kept engaging with this monster.

“I see you,� he whispered fondly with a cheery lilt to his voice. “I see you seething in there, wishing you could come out and try to gut me with your tiny daggers.�

He smiled.

Roman moved his hand to the back of her head, once more grabbing a handful of her hair and holding to it tightly, making her raise her chin to him.

He leaned in and rubbed his cheek against hers, bringing his lips to her ear.

“I wish you could too,� he whispered.

His other hand went down to her shoulder. He dared not look at the offending symbol of a connection to someone else, but he ran his thumb over it.

Inside, Alice screamed in anger and disgust.

“Whoever he is....� Roman whispered. “He isn’t here now, is he?�

He pulled her hair, holding her steady, and then he brought his face back to hover over her, their lips only centimeters away.

“But I am,� he whispered. The fires of his eyes filled with a dark desire.

Roman crushed her mouth beneath his own, Alice tried to struggle, and in her mind, she howled and raged.

He pressed his body into hers until his weight kept her from moving. Trying, again and again, to deepen their kiss while Alice did her best to stop him.

The hand that had rested on her shoulder pulled away. Roman punched her, a quick jab to her side. Just enough to make her body react and her mouth open.

Roman thrust his tongue down her throat before she could do anything to stop him.

The doll felt fear and terror, unlike anything she recognized. She was frozen, unable to react, unable to think. All she could do was tremble in dread as his tongue violently probed her mouth.

Alice was trapped within the sanctuary she had built and filled with fury and disgust. She took quick deep breaths through her nose as she bore witness to the assault.

She clenched her jaw as her eyes glanced up at the patchwork of the great window. Then, glancing back at the desk, she could see that the buttons and triggers she had worked so hard to create were already starting to show signs of damage.

If she exerted more control, her triggers would likely no longer work.

She sighed to herself, regretting the moments she had stolen for herself.

There were moments of control that had been planned and accounted for. Sending messages, playing with Nessa, and sharing data. But others were purely for Alice. Wanting to see him, hear his voice, even if just for a few moments through a screen.

Alice looked out her window. She felt the doll’s fear and panic as Roman’s hand moved down her body and his tongue continued its battering.

She took a breath and glanced at her emergency exit. If she used it, there was no guarantee she would make it to Axel.

If she didn’t, there was no guarantee she would survive Roman.

Roman’s hunger for her was growing with each passing moment. How long had he dreamt of this? How long had he thought of this scent lingering on his flesh?

Every time he had seen her fall away inside the doll, he had wondered if he would ever see her again, and though he was loathed to admit it, it filled him with dread.

But seeing the mark had been much worse.

It meant there was someone out there besides himself that saw Alice, the real Alice. That knew her. That needed her.

He couldn’t allow that.

The need for air felt like a betrayal from his body. Forcing him to draw away from her taste, the feel of her.

He pulled away, panting as he pressed his body against hers. He didn’t bother to wait until his lungs had fully recovered before moving his mouth to hers again.

But this time, Alice was unwilling to let him do as he pleased. This time she bit down on his lip, hard, not letting go until she tasted his blood in her mouth.

Roman howled and pulled back from her.

Alice shoved him away.

He stumbled back and caught himself before he fell. Touching his hand to his mouth, he stared down at the blood on his hands with delight. Then he lifted his eyes to her with renewed fire and a bloody smile.

Alice wiped her mouth and spat his blood on the ground, staring back at him with unbridled rage.

“There you are,� he whispered.

“Here I am,� she replied. Then, reaching her hand down to her boot, she grabbed a small dagger with a ringed handle. She slipped it over her middle finger, making sure to extend the finger to him first.

Roman chuckled and stood up straight.

“And here I am,� an angry voice whispered beside his ear.

Roman turned and found himself forcefully shoved against the wall with a dagger at his throat. Before him stood a furious man.

“Hello, Holden,� Roman smiled his bloody smile.

“Hello, Roman,� Holden grinned his Cheshire grin.