Disorientation hit me when I didn't recognize the room, but the shimmering Mediterranean off the side of the balcony was unmistakable. The room around me just wasn't the suite I'd shared with Rafe.
Memories of the night before tormented me in a sudden flash, my bones aching with the fear that pulsed through me. I gasped as my lungs filled with a sudden shock of air, my hand flying up to my neck to touch the sore spot where the needle had pierced my skin. My heartbeat thudded relentlessly, making it hard to breathe past the panic that seized me as I glanced down at where the sheet had fallen to my waist. I grabbed it, pulling it back up to cover my bare breasts. The space between my thighs felt wet as I shifted my legs, reaching under the blanket to touch myself in horror.
My hand touched a dried substance on my stomach, my entire body freezing solid as I realized the implication of what it must be. A wet dream, even a drug-induced one, wouldn’t paint my stomach with my own release.
My other hand covered my mouth as I swallowed back the urge to be sick, pushing past the violation to take in my other injuries. The reality of what had happened to me while I slept could consume me later, after I found a way to safety.
After I was away from the man who I’d thought I’d known but could never have suspected the truth of his deception. Of who he really was and what he might be capable.
Everything hurt—the consequences of my flight through Ibiza Town in the middle of the night. I looked to my left as I swung my legs over the edge of the bed as slowly as I could, determined not to make a sound.
Rafael's shocking eyes met mine, cold fury in them as he leaned his elbows on his knees and watched me like the predator he was. Silent and deadly, studying me as I froze in place. I bit my bottom lip as I considered my options, unable to take my eyes off his. I didn’t dare to turn my back on him after what he’d done. Licking my lips again, I fought to find the words to speak to him.
To find a way to communicate with the man I'd loved, and not the monster he'd become when I left him.
"Rafe," I murmured, my voice trembling with a quiet plea. He lifted his elbows off his knees, sitting back in his chair and staring at me in the bed with that cruel tilt to his head.
"Princesa," he returned. Shoving off the arms of his chair, he stood and stepped toward me until he was directly in front of me. He towered over me, suddenly seeming even taller than he'd ever been before. He held out a hand, watching me to see if I accepted it.
It felt like a test, like one last chance to appease the nightmare simmering beneath his skin. One last chance to survive with the pieces of me intact, but I couldn't take it.
I couldn't force myself to take that hand. Not after what he'd done and not knowing the answers to all the questions I had.
“Why am I naked?” I asked instead, ignoring what I knew would probably be the last kindness he showed me. The cold fury on his face faded as he dropped the hand to his side, replaced by the burning infernos of Hell as his nostrils flared and he ground his teeth.
His intense eyes burned into mine, a quiet warning in the silence before he growled his answer. “Because you’re mine.”
“Did you touch me?” I whispered, my bottom lip trembling as I watched the cold smirk transform his face into something crafted from my most beautiful nightmares.
“I think we both know the answer to that,” he said, stretching up a hand to catch a lock of my hair in his grip and twirl it thoughtfully. “Or was my cum on your body not enough of a clue for you?”
“Why are you doing this?” I asked, a sob catching in my throat as I looked around the room in fear. "Where are we?"
"We're home," he said, releasing my hair but refusing to back away from where he stood. It was too close for a conversation, as he practically breathed on top of me and I had to tip my head back at an unnatural angle to look up at him. I shifted back in the bed, desperately needing to put space between us.
I moved slowly, sensing that fast movements would be provoking to the predator watching me like he would devour me at any moment. Fear skittered down my spine when his hand twitched at his side as I moved, looking like he wanted nothing more than to reach out and grab me so that I couldn't have that desperately needed space. He refrained, but somehow I knew it was a temporary reprieve.
"This isn't my home," I whispered, staring up at him as I fought to swallow around my parched throat.
"It is now." He reached over to the nightstand, grabbing a water bottle and twisting off the cap. It was half empty already, and I stared at it for a moment before shaking my head.
As much as I wanted that water, I didn't trust it.
"If I wanted you drugged, you'd be drugged, Isa," he said, jabbing the water in my direction. "I don't need to hide it in your water like a coward when I can just inject it straight into your pretty little neck."
I swallowed, taking the water with a muffled whimper and tossing back the entirety of it.
"I just want to go home. I don't know anything, and I promise I won't tell anyone about you. I swear it, Rafe. Please," I begged. His right knee touched the very edge of
