Chapter 380/The Highest Provocation
Chapter 380
Julie’s POV
A heavy, sickening silence reclaimed the vehicle, offering zero relief from the suffocating terror clawing at my throat. The only sound slicing through the dark was the low, steady hum of the engine, eating away at my frayed nerves with the agonizing precision of a ticking guillotine. Locked inside the pitch-black void of the blindfold, the journey stretched on for what felt like a literal eternity, until the chassis aggressively veered to the side. The vehicle slowed to a gradual, calculated crawl.
My pulse skyrocketed in tandem with the dropping speed, coming to a dead stop as the engine died, sealing us in a stillness that loudly heralded an impending storm.
The distinct, sharp click of the front door unlocking echoed through the quiet, followed by the heavy, deliberate thuds of confident footsteps rounding the exterior. The rear door right beside my frame was violently thrown open, allowing the biting, freezing night air to rush inside and coil around my bare skin like a tight noose. Then, without a single syllable of warning, that same massive, broad palm extended through the dark, its smooth, freezing fingers tracing my cheek with a provocative, sickeningly possessive touch.
I violently whipped my head back with explosive force to break free from his skin, my breath hitching in a ragged, uneven gasp thick with pure revulsion.
"Who the hell do you think you are, you pathetic piece of trash?!" I shrieked, my voice trembling with raw disgust. "Get your filthy, goddamn hands off my body!"
A deep, gravelly, and mocking baritone vibrated dangerously close to my ear, a terrifyingly familiar tone that sent an instant shockwave down my spine.
"Oh, Julie..." he murmured, his breath hot against my ear. "Did your ass honestly think, with all that laughable naivety, that I wouldn’t seek absolute retribution? Did you think I wouldn’t personally beat a lesson into your skin after what you dared to pull against me in your bedroom?"
My lungs locked up entirely, my muscles turning to absolute stone for a fraction of a second as the realization fractured my mind. The name slipped through my clenched teeth like a lethal, burning hiss.
"Jake!"
He let out a short, dry, and thoroughly mocking chuckle, leaning his torso in even closer until his heavy breaths fanned across my face. "The exact man himself, my rebellious little sweet thing. The exact man your ass foolishly thought you escaped."
I ground my teeth together with a lethal malice, a burning rage erupting inside my chest. I violently stomped my heels against the freezing floorboards of the SUV, letting out an unhinged, deafening scream. "What the living hell do you think you’re doing?! Let me go and unlock these goddamn restraints right now, you psychotic, backward lunatic!"
He didn’t offer a single word to soothe my exploding fury. Instead, his powerful, rough fingers aggressively slid behind the back of my head. With a single, lightning-fast swipe, he ripped the heavy blindfold completely off my face. I blinked violently several times, my pupils straining to adjust to the dim, washed-out light filtering into the space.
There he stood, his sharp, ruggedly handsome features carved out of rigid stone, staring down at me with his signature towering pride and naked arrogance. My green eyes locked directly onto his burning blue gaze, which flared with a dangerous, unspoken challenge.
"Jake! Unbuckle these goddamn ropes this instant!" I roared, my chest heaving.
His lips twisted into a cold, thoroughly amused smirk as he looked down his nose at me. "I am going to exact my absolute pound of flesh from you first to thoroughly satisfy my rage," he delivered with rigid finality. "Once my mind is perfectly cleared, then we can discuss these beautiful little decorations around your wrists."
"Stop this pathetic, childish garbage!" I screamed, my entire frame vibrating with an explosive, blinding anger. "Get me the hell out of this car before I personally end your goddamn life!"
He didn’t move a single millimeter to loosen the coarse ropes biting into the flesh of my wrists behind my back.
Instead, his heavy gaze slowly descended, scanning the heavy makeup Stella had applied to my face before trailing down with an open, ravenous hunger to consume every inch of my body. His eyes lingered heavily on how tightly the short crimson silk dress hugged my curves, showcasing an intensely provocative silhouette. His pupils narrowed with a fierce, primal, and deeply carnal intensity.
When he spoke, his voice dragged into a thick, gravelly warmth.
"Your ass looks phenomenal tonight... excessively beautiful, lethal, and a pure provocation to any man with a pulse."
I aggressively whipped my gaze away from his face in deep, unadulterated revulsion, forcing my breathless, rapid words out to shatter his focus. "Cut the goddamn trash, Jake. I have a formal dinner date scheduled with Mike, and his name is going to flash on my screen at any absolute second when he realizes I’m late!"
Moving with agonizing coolness, he smoothly pulled my mobile phone from the interior pocket of his tailored jacket, casually shaking the device right in front of my eyes with an ice-cold, malicious satisfaction.
"To your absolute, miserable luck tonight, I already powered your device completely down," he revealed, his tone dripping with wicked amusement. "Which means there is zero dinner, and the two of you aren’t crossing paths for the rest of this goddamn night. Your ass belongs strictly to me today."
My eyes widened in pure, unbridled fury and shock. "What the hell do you plan on doing to me?" I whispered, a sudden, heavy dread twisting deep in my gut as I stared at his unhinged expression.
He leaned his massive torso and hard muscle deep into the rear seat, completely pinning my frame into the leather, his agonizing calm burning right through my remaining sanity. "Have a little patience and taste the torment slowly, my sweet Julie... why the hell are you so excessively anxious, terrified, and flustered? It’s incredibly delicious to watch."
Before a single scream could leave my throat or my body could attempt a retreat, his powerful, iron forearm locked around my waist like an inescapable vice. He hoisted my frame up into the air with terrifying ease, lifting me clean out of the SUV as if my body possessed zero weight. With my wrists bound securely behind my back, I was left completely defenseless, utterly stripped of the ability to push his massive chest away or break his grip.
I frantically twisted my neck left and right through the darkness, desperately trying to analyze the terrain of this remote, isolated destination. A pungent, choking stench of thick dust, decay, and wild vegetation dominated the freezing air. Looking out at the vast, endless expanses surrounding us, it became brutally clear that we were buried deep within the perimeter of a massive, completely abandoned farmland.
I ground my teeth in bitter defeat, glaring up at his profile as his wide, balanced strides carried my body forward. "Where the fuck are you taking me, Jake?! Put me down, goddamn you!"
He continued marching through the rugged, uneven dirt pathways, his frame as solid as granite. When he spoke, his low, gravelly rasp carried a dark, terrifying undercurrent. "To reunite with your actual family and your own kind. The absolute perfect environment for a girl like you."
An icy wave of pure horror locked my muscles solid. For one blood-chilling second, my mind flashed to the terrifying image of my criminal father waiting for me inside the dark. My voice cracked, vibrating with absolute panic. "What?! My family?! What the hell are you talking about, you psycho?!"