Frostbitten (31 page)

“I want her,” Noah said, making my head whip around. He turned so I couldn’t see his face, then said again, “I want her.”

“I’m sure you do,” Tesler chuckled. “And if you’re a very good boy, I’ll let you take a ride, just as soon as I’ve had my fill.”

“I want to go first.”

Tesler sputtered. “Excuse me?”

Noah turned toward him, face still averted from me. “Without me, you’d be humping a frozen corpse. I saved her. I risked my own life to do it. I deserve the first go.”

“And I’m supposed to take seconds?” An edge crept into Tesler’s voice.

“Just once. After that, she’s all yours.”

“Is she?” Tesler advanced on the boy. “How generous of you.”

Eddie stepped between them. “Come on. Let the kid lose his cherry with a female werewolf. How many guys get that chance?”

“I’m not a—” Noah stopped, realizing it wouldn’t help his cause to say he wasn’t a virgin.

He still wouldn’t look my way. He couldn’t. As I stared at him, the anger rose. He’d been nice to me. Even when he’d been gawking, he’d seemed embarrassed. Faced with three antagonists, I’d looked for a friendly face and been too eager to see it, unconsciously shifting Noah into the role of potential ally.

I forgotten what he really was—a punk who’d let his grandfather be murdered by his new pals. Part of me had hoped that there was an explanation. Now I realized there wasn’t. Dennis had taken Noah in and given him a chance to start over. He’d repaid him by hooking up with these murdering bastards. That blood of Noah’s I’d found in the cabin? It could have come from a fight with Dennis, not defending him.

Noah was studiously avoiding my gaze; he might not have a rapist’s heart, but he still saw me as an object. He wanted me, and what I thought of that didn’t matter. The only person whose opinion counted was Tesler.

“Fine,” Tesler said. “He’ll get a werewolf for his first time… just as soon as I’m finished.”

“You’re a little rough with the ladies, bro,” Eddie said. “Let the kid go first. He’s been good. He deserves a reward.”

Tesler glanced over and fixed his brother with a look that made Noah flinch. Eddie didn’t even blink.

“It’s just a girl, Travis,” he said, his voice low. “No big deal.”

“She’s not just—”

“Just a girl.” Eddie met his brother’s gaze. “No big deal, right?”

I remembered what Dan had said, how Tesler had promised his brother he’d stop raping girls. The two stared each other down for a minute, then Tesler turned that stare on Noah, as if hoping he’d get the kid to back down. Noah blinked, but nothing more.

“All right,” Tesler said after a minute. “Here’s the deal. Blondie here is indeed a proper prize, so let’s do this properly. If you want her, you have to win her… by challenging me.”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake, Travis. The kid can’t—”

“No, that’s fine.” Noah’s chin lifted. “I accept.”

“Great.” Tesler headed for the kitchen, thumping Noah on the back as he passed. “Give me a minute to grab a beer, then we’ll get started.”

“In the meantime,” Eddie said to Noah. “Take a look out front, make sure we aren’t about to entertain any unwanted guests.”

I hoped that meant I’d be left alone while Noah and Eddie went outside, but I knew better. Noah got on his gear and left. Eddie just walked to the window to look out. I could probably take him, but not without alerting his brother.

Noah had no hope of beating Tesler. I don’t know why he’d even agreed to try—teenage ego, I suppose. But the more I thought about it, the more I wanted Noah to win that match. Not that I’d prefer Noah. When it comes to rape, there is no “prefer.”

But if Noah won, he’d get time alone with me, time in which Tesler could expect to hear noises, even sounds of struggle. And that would give me the perfect opportunity to escape. Tesler wasn’t the only one who could easily take on a boy like Noah.

But there was the rub—Tesler could take the kid, no question, meaning there was no chance Noah would win the challenge. Unless…

Tesler sauntered back into the living room, chugging his beer.

“So what’s the handicap?” I asked.

He raised his brows, not lowering the can.

“It’s going to take a lot of those to make it a fair fight,” I said.

He sputtered beer as he lowered the bottle. “Fair fight?”

“Foreign concept?”

Eddie chuckled. Tesler only snorted and continued drinking.

I walked over to him. “Why tell the kid he can fight for me when he doesn’t have a hope of winning? Either tell him no or make it a fair fight by handicapping yourself.”

“How? Tie both hands behind my back?”

“What are you worried about?”

His smirk froze, eyes icing over. “Worried?”

Noah came inside, cold air blasting down the hall.

“I guess there’s no way you want him winning,” I said. “If he gets first dibs, he might show you up.”

He hit me so fast I didn’t see it coming.

As I lay on the floor, Eddie shook his head, as if to say,
What did you expect
?

Noah had his coat off, boots still on, hair salted with snow. “What’s going on?”

No one answered. I got up, swiped away blood trickling from a scrape on my elbow, grabbed my discarded towel and cleaned my fingers. Then I walked up to Tesler.

“Struck a sore spot, did I?” I said.

When he raised his hand to hit me again, I didn’t flinch. Dismay flashed in his eyes before he tossed the empty can aside and stalked back to the kitchen.

I started to follow.

Noah caught my elbow. “Don’t bait—”

I shook him off and walked into the kitchen. Tesler was rooting through the fridge.

“I can see why you’d be worried,” I said. “He’s seventeen. What he lacks in finesse, he’ll make up for in vigor. He’s in his sexual prime… And how old are you?”

He popped open a beer.

“About forty-five, I’d guess. Getting a little harder to, well, get harder, I bet.”

He kept his gaze fixed on the fascinating contents of the refrigerator. To get angry would be to confirm it.

“That’s about the same age as your hubby, isn’t it?” he said. “Got some experience with little blue pills?”

I laughed. “Definitely not. Clay doesn’t need pills—or rape—to get it up.”

The look he turned on me was pure hatred. And I knew that I’d just sealed my fate. Blow this, and I wouldn’t just be raped, I’d be raped, beaten and killed—and no swift painless death either. A cold ball of panic congealed in my stomach, the little girl voice screaming at me, demanding to know what the hell I was doing. I stifled it.

The key to not getting killed was not to blow this chance. Push, push and push until I got what I wanted, consequences be damned.

“No offense,” I said, “but I’d prefer the kid.”

He smiled, teeth bared. “I’m sure you would.”

He guzzled the beer. I walked closer, making no attempt to cover my nakedness, and stopped a foot from him.

“How about you fight me instead?” I said.

He stopped with the can at his lips, then lowered it. “What?”

“Let me fight in the kid’s place. That will make it fair. Same deal applies. I win, he gets me. You win…” I looked him in the eye. “I’m all yours.”

He looked back at me and for the first time since we’d met, I wasn’t afraid. Clay had been right—stand my ground and Tesler wouldn’t stand his. His face darkened with fury, and I knew there was only one thing he could think about, only one thing he wanted: to regain control.

There was no logical reason to grant my request. Better to let Noah challenge him, beat the crap out of the kid and teach him a lesson. Take on me, and he could lose, opening himself up to the unbearable humiliation of losing to a woman.

But if he won, he would truly win, and the spark of defiance in my eyes would be doused forever. He could regain control, beat the crap out of me and even Eddie couldn’t complain about it. Take me in a fair fight, then take his prize when it would taste the sweetest.

When Tesler opened his lips, I knew what was going to come out. Two words.

“You’re on.”

Once the initial thrill of success passed, I realized I was in deep shit. I might not have any external injuries from my plunge into icy water, but I felt like I’d swum across the English Channel. Every muscle ached and I was dead tired.

If I didn’t fight, though, I could skip the “tired” part of that cliché. I’d just be plain old dead. And that’s what I had to remember. Physical injuries were one thing, but I would not lose a fight for lack of will power. I just had to work past it. I could rest all I wanted later.

My odds of beating Tesler were about fifty-fifty. I could swing them a little more my way because I had seen him fight before, but I didn’t want to get cocky.

If I lost, I’d be raped, beaten and killed… not necessarily in that order. There was still a chance Joey and Clay would find me in time, but my optimism on that front had faded the moment I sent Joey on his way. I’d led him to believe Clay would kill him horribly for his betrayal. And now I expected him to run back and tell Clay I was in the enemy’s hands… and that he’d put me there?

I wouldn’t be surprised if he’d hit the highway and kept going. In fact, I’d be shocked if he hadn’t.

So I could only pray that fighting for my life would give me all the extra adrenaline I needed.

* * * *

Tesler seemed perfectly happy to make me fight naked—go figure. It was Eddie and Noah who argued—Noah protesting and Eddie acting as if his brother was obviously joking, which eventually forced Tesler to play along and say, sure, he was kidding and of course I could get dressed… as long as I wore my own clothes. What he didn’t realize is that I’d draped them by the fireplace, so they were warm and partially dry.

Noah and Eddie cleared the living room, shoving the furniture against the walls. Then Tesler and I moved into the center of the room and faced off like boxers. He even bounced on his toes for good effect.

“Last chance to change your mind,” he said. “Don’t expect me to hold anything back just because you’re a woman.”

“I don’t.”

“You’re going to come out of this feeling a helluva lot worse than you do right now.”

“I expect to. And I appreciate you giving me the option, but I’m fine. I’ll extend you the same courtesy, though, if you want to back out.”

His expression sent a chill through me, and deep inside, that child’s voice started screaming at me not to fight, never fight, I couldn’t win, I’d only get hurt.

But I wasn’t twelve years old anymore. I could beat this son of a bitch.

“You think you’re tough, don’t you?” Tesler said.

“No, not particul—”

He sprang, palms smacking into my shoulders. The floor disappeared under my feet and my head struck the floor with a crack that sent consciousness on a split-second holiday. I came to with Tesler towering over me, his hand wrapped in the front of my shirt. Before I could register what was happening, I was sailing through the air again. This time I slammed into the wall.

As I wobbled to my feet, the little girl voice in me screamed and sobbed.

Why did you have to fight him? You know how that goes. Never, ever fight. You’ll only get hurt and it all ends up the same, no matter what you do. You can’t fight them. You can’t.

Tesler strode over. “Want to change your mind? My offer’s still open.”

Yes, oh, God yes! It’s not too late. Tell him you’ll be good. Then let him do what he wants. Just go to the place where he can’t hurt you and everything will be okay.

Only it
wouldn’t
be okay. My childhood self had faced many monsters, but none like this. For Tesler, regaining control wouldn’t be enough. Complete destruction of the threat was required. There was no secret place that would save me from that.

I rose halfway, then pretended to collapse, wincing.

He bent over me. “Giving up? Good, because—”

My feet smacked him square in the chest and sent him reeling. I jumped up and hit him twice, then kicked and he went down. I’d aimed for the stone fireplace, and his head struck with a very satisfying crunch.

I walked over as he lay on the ground, shaking his head.

“If you want to quit, just say so,” I said.

He leapt up with a growl. I feinted out of his way. We danced for a while before I landed a blow, then he blocked the second and got in a hard jab… and so it went.

It didn’t take me long to reevaluate those odds and slant them in Tesler’s favor. We had equal experience. But he was so much stronger that each blow sent me flying. He was also mad as hell and determined to put this bitch in her place. I was equally determined not to let him do that. But while his rage fueled his fists, mine fogged my brain—my best fighting tool.

Every time he landed a blow, my old fears surfaced, occupying the part of my mind that should be analyzing his moves and strategizing mine. I kept trying to pull myself back on track, focusing on his style and learning from it. It didn’t work. I was losing and Tesler knew it. I saw it in his eyes as his fist connected and I went down. I felt it, too, as he pinned me, his erection grinding into my thigh.