You Do Bad Things To Me

Prologue

TILLY

I bargained my virginity for this exact moment.

To escape.

To be free.

I wasn’t going to get another chance like this.

I extended a shaking hand and opened the dressing room door, scanning the area to find the hallway and other fitting rooms empty.

Anxiety churned in my gut as I stepped out and closed the dressing room door. Moving down the hallway on wobbly legs, I held my breath as I reached the swinging door that led back out to the front of the boutique.

Please don’t be paying attention.

Placing my palm on the door, I pushed it open slowly and peeked around the edge of the door. I spotted Billie standing next to a rack of dresses with his massive back turned in my direction, his attention fixated on the giggly brunette as she rifled through the dresses for the size I had requested. Resting his strong arm on the rack of dresses, he leaned in to whisper something into her ear, completely oblivious to me.

Adrenaline spiked in my system.

This was it.

My heart pounded.

My only chance.

If I failed…

I stopped the fear-stricken thought before it could unravel fully. Right now, I couldn’t let fear dictate what I was about to do. Not when my body, heart, and soul were on the line. Not when I knew what would happen the second I left this boutique.

Stepping out, I ducked down to use the cover of various clothes racks as I navigated my way toward the open door of the backroom. With each step, I kept bracing for the weight of Billie’s strong hand curling around my elbow to stop me, but it never came.

Not this time.

I rushed towards the door until I reached the boutique's backroom. I hesitated in the doorway, scanning the boxes and racks of clothes still wrapped in plastic until I found a door.

For the first time in months, a flicker of hope came alive in my chest as I started towards it.

Freedom.

I was so close I could almost taste it.

I could almost hear Dad and Pippa’s voices and their relief to know I was alive.

Missing. Held captive. Not dead.

I fought a sob as I rushed towards the door and slammed against the hard metal. The door swung open, and bits of gravel cut into my knees as I fell into the alleyway, the odor of trash and mold filled my lungs.

Ignoring the flare of pain, I stumbled back to my feet and swiveled my head wildly to the right and left.

No familiar black suits came rushing toward me. No shouts. Nothing.

I darted to the right, away from the boutique and the SUV parked out front with bodyguards watching. I pumped my legs toward the steady stream of people walking down the sidewalks.

“Help me!” I screamed. “Someone, please help me! I’ve been kidnapped!”

I nearly plowed head-first into a group of people, but a pair of arms snaked around my waist and yanked me back.

Desperation tore through me.

I clawed wildly at the hands and arms holding me back but stopped short when a male voice shouted, “Ma’am, it’s okay! I’m a police officer. You’re safe with me.”

All the fight drained out of my system at those words. I glanced over my shoulder to meet the concerned blue gaze of the NYPD officer holding me tightly. Sobs started to tear through my chest as the police officer’s arms tightened around me.

“Ma’am, tell me what happened,” he urged. “Take a breath and tell me what is going on.”

“I-I was kidnapped,” I choked out. “My name is Tilly Winters.”

“Who kidnapped you?” His hand went directly to the radio clipped on his chest.

I licked my dry, chapped lips. My breathing was uneven. Frantic. My lungs burned from it all.

“Zadeyn St. Peterson.”

“Okay, take a deep breath for me,” the officer commanded gently. He wrapped an arm around my trembling shoulders as he guided me toward a police cruiser parked a few feet away. “Dispatch, I have a young woman named--”

The next few seconds were a surreal blur.

The gurgle of blood coming from the the police officer’s mouth.

A knife lodged in his neck artery.

The sheer shock in his eyes followed by the slump of his body as he crumpled to the ground.

A familiar tattooed and calloused hand wrapped around my bicep, tugging me out from beneath the dead weight of the police officer’s arm before I fell with him. That same hand, curling around my arm like a cobra suffocating its prey, whipped me around to face those hauntingly frosty blue eyes belonging to the man I had used my virginity to bargain with.

Zadeyn.

My heart plummeted to the pit of my stomach. It thumped erratically there, igniting a flurry of nerve endings.

“I was hoping you’d do this.” His arm coiled around my waist, securing my thrashing body against the hardness of his. His eyes glinted with a dark hunger as he leaned forward to press a soft kiss to the apple of my cheek. “I’m going to enjoy claiming my prize tonight. I’m going to make you scream in pain when I take what you promised. Then, I’m going to make you scream my name while I f**k you.”

Icy terror clawed at my insides. All around us, people continued to walk by like everything was normal. I didn’t bother trying to shout for help. Not when the man in front of me had no issues stabbing an innocent man in the neck and would do it again without batting an eyelash. Numbly, I watched from the corner of my eye as the NYPD cop’s limp body was dragged back into the alleyway by a group of Zadeyn’s lackeys. Out of sight. Like it never happened.

“Zadeyn,” I sobbed, trying to wrench myself out of his relentless grasp. “Please. Let me go.”

His possessive grip tightened around me more. “Never, my little wildflower. I’ll never let you go.”

Desperate to appeal to his softer side, the one I knew beneath all the jagged edges and dominance, I allowed the damn of emotions in my chest to collapse. I wasn’t above begging him at this point.

“Please. This isn’t the way to love someone. If you let me go, I’ll--”

“No,” he said flatly, his tone leaving zero room for argument. “I’ve been patient with you, Tilly. God knows I have been more patient with you than I’ve ever been with another person, but I’m done waiting. We’re leaving. Now.”

Tears flooded my vision as Zadeyn pulled me towards the congested street. His fingers dug cruelly into my upper bicep when I tried to fight.

“I’ll hate you if you force me,” I informed him tearfully as the black SUV pulled up to the sidewalk in front of us. “You hear me? I will hate you for the rest of my f*****g life if you force me.”

Zadeyn pulled the passenger door open. “You can hate me all you want. I’ll spend the rest of my life making it up to you.”

My lungs constricted at the confidence in those words. Sucking in frantic breaths, I thrashed violently against Zadeyn’s grip. “Help!” I screamed. “Someone, please--”

A hand clamped down over my mouth, muffling my screams.

“Enough, Tilly,” Zadeyn ordered roughly in my ear. “I don’t want to hurt you, but I will put you out again if I have to.”

A shiver inched up my spine at the threat, but I was past the point of caring. I knew Zadeyn would never kill me. He didn’t want that. He wanted me to submit to him. He wanted all of me. Mind. Heart. Body. Soul. Every inch of me, he craved it.

It was the only card I had when it came to my freedom.

I curled my lips back against his palm, exposing my teeth to his skin. I bit down with a feral snarl, relishing in the pained curses flying out of his mouth as the metallic tang of blood filled my mouth.

His bloodied palm dropped away from my mouth. Out of shock or surprise, I didn’t care. I twisted around to hit him, but he was ready for the attack this time. He didn’t bat an eyelash as my fists collided with his massive, unmoving chest. Instead, he let out a dark chuckle, visibly amused by my need to hurt him.

“Save it for when I’m between your legs, wildflower,” he said. “It’ll be much more fun that way.”

His lips curled back, baring his white teeth at me in a predatory grin. The back of my legs collided with the SUV’s door frame when I stumbled back from him.

A pair of hands hooked around my elbows, tugging me into the passenger seat. I kicked wildly at Zadeyn as he climbed into the seat after me, easily deflecting my feeble attempts to keep him back. The doors slammed shut a second later, blocking out my view of the outside world.

Of freedom.

The tiny thread of hope I had clung to snapped in half like that.

I was trapped. Alone with the monster I had provoked. A monster that took great pleasure hunting his prey before feasting on his prize.

My eyes landed on the sleeve of his crisp white-button, stained a crimson hue. Trails of blood trickled down from his palm. Zadeyn’s eyes, nearly the color of obsidian, flashed wildly as I tried to kick him away.

“Drive,” he barked out.

He climbed over my body and nudged his knee between my legs, using the weight of his body to pin me down into the seat. “You can hurt me all you want, Tilly, but it won’t do you any good. I thrive off the pain.”

Tears streamed from the corner of my eyes because I knew he was right. Physical pain only fueled him. He gathered both my hands, clasping them together, and pinned them above my head.

I watched helplessly as he pulled out a syringe from the pocket of his pants.

“Zadeyn, please. Don’t.”

He pulled the cap off with his teeth, spitting it to the floorboard. “I warned you. You chose the hard way, Tilly, so that’s how we will take this.”

My stomach twisted sharply at the glint of the needle. “This isn’t you, Zadeyn. You don’t have to be like this. Please--”

The needle plunged into my shoulder. I cried out at the sting of pain, unable to move away from the needle buried in my muscle.

The familiar rush of drugs filled my veins, paralyzing me as darkness sweetly called my name.

Unable to move, I watched through hooded eyes as Zadeyn rolled the window down and tossed the discarded needle out. He pulled my arms back down, folding them gently over my torso before leaning over me again. His thumb rubbed circles around the stinging spot in my shoulder as he gazed down at me, the glint in his eyes intense and vibrant.

“Get some sleep.” His lips pressed against mine in a quick but deep kiss that promised more would come. “You’re going to need the rest.”