9 Chapter 8

Her foot pressed hard on accelerator-she didn't care that she was crossing the speed limit now. She saw from the mirror that the gun was still aimed in the direction of her car. The toll plaza was near but before she could even approach it, the car jerked into an abrupt stop.

"No!" She screamed in panic and pressed hard on the accelerator. She heard the screech of the metal wheels against the tired and saw smoke arise from the back of the car.

"No no no!" She screamed and hit the steering wheel. Tears of frustration and fear brimmed in her eyes and her heart skipped a beat when she saw the two black cars come to a halt near her car. She did what she thought would be the only thing left to do. She got out of the car and aimed the gun in the direction of the men who approached her in masks.

"Stay away! Or I swear I will-" She was cut short as an agonizing cry tore from her throat and pain began to shoot from her left arm. On reflex, her hands dropped the gun and held on to the injury on her arm as she fell on her knees. One of the men in the black was already in front of her. Before she could react, she felt a sharp prick on her neck.

The last thing she was before drifting off into unconsciousness were hard steely grey eyes.

His eyes trained on her beautiful peaceful face but it did nothing to sate his anger. His blood boiled with rage as he clenched and unclenched his fists to calm the raging storm down.

She ran away from me? Me? The fucking mafia king? How fucking dare she?

He wanted to badly hit her however he was surprised that he wasn't feeling so violent. However, his ego was badly hurt and he wanted to satisfy it. No woman had ever treated him the way this woman did. He just couldn't understand her however, he wanted her. Even now he couldn't control the unfathomable lust rising inside of him.

When he had kissed her, he couldn't control himself-her soft luscious lips against his warm ones drove him crazy with desire and he wanted nothing more then to take her then and there. But he knew better; she deserved the respect and dignity that she deserves. He wanted to make her his queen yet she resisted and for that, he needed to teach her a lesson.

Today was full of surprises-he had clearly underestimated her. He had let his guard down in front of her, a mistake he won't be making again. He brought her to his public place, another mistake. And when she pulled his gun out on him, he couldn't act immediately because his cover would've been jeopardized.

To the world he was known as Shehryaar Ghulari the successful and youthful CEO of the country's most biggest cooperate Firm-Indus Enterprises but to the underworld, he was known as the mafia king, feared by all. He was leading two lives out of which he enjoyed his darker life more but he still needed a link to the outside world-his enemy as he saw it and in order to better understand it. That's why he couldn't risk his identity becoming exposed. If it became public about his other role, it would made unnecessary compilations for him and he already had enough problems to deal with. He was angry. No, he was outraged. When she left so randomly, he had no problem tracking her down since he had already planted a GPS tracking chip in her body when he kidnapped her. There was no way that he was going to let this go unpunished. And he was going to do just that.

The nerve of you Anissa. I'm going to put you in your place and make sure that you never forget it!

A sadistic smile turned on his lips as he thought of what he was about to do with Anissa. He walked fluidly in her direction as she laid tranquil on the flush bed. He had brought Anissa to one of his safe houses in the outskirts of the capital city. She was still unconscious from the drug he had given her.

When he stared at her lovely face, she was so peaceful in her sleep that her terror etched expression flashed before his eyes. And what puzzled him was the fact that her panic and fear wasn't directed from him-it wasn't out of fear from him that she reacted so rashly. It was something else. She was afraid and suffering from something else that made Shehryaar's actions cause her terror and fear from an already occurred event. He couldn't understand what though. He was so used to seeing people fear him because of him that he could easily tell the difference from her fear. It was directed against him but not from him.

Well, he was about to find out soon enough, je needed to be a bit more patient.

Gently, he placed his arms under her shoulders and knees and lifted her in her arms-her small frame fitted so perfectly in his embrace. He stared at her beautiful face as her chest rose up and down in silent breathing. She would wake at any time and now wasn't the time for him to mess around. He needed to focus.

He walked swiftly to the designated room and sat her sleeping form on a chair. He knelt down at her level and took her wrists in his large hands. Fighting the urges deep within, he tried to control himself as he stared at her creamy dainty wrists. He felt anger at himself for putting her through this torture but he had no choice-he needed to punish her in order to teach her a lesson. Planting feathery kisses on her right wrist and carefully locked it in place under the cuffs attached to the arms of the chair. Being even more careful of her left arm since with held an injury from earlier, he wrapped the same cuff around her wrist and backed away.

She began to stir and jolted awake. A scream tore through her as pain throbbed from her left arm. Her head was also pounding. Her eyes went frantically from her shoulders to her wrists, realizing that they were cuffed to the chair.

"What?" Her voice came out shaky and she tried to pry her hands out of the cuffs-when they refused to budge and her wrists began to ache, she realized it was hopeless and terror began to take hold of her body. She looked around the dimly lit room and it looked like a torture cell. There were chains hanging from the ceiling and there were a number of various shaped dangerous looking knifes and tools dangling off the dirty walls.

Her blood ran cold as she realized that she was in here for a purpose matching the contents of the room.

"Good evening sweetheart."

She jumped in her seat when the familiar deep voice of Shehryaar reverberated off the walls of the room. She began to choke on the sobs that surfaced and looked at him with unfiltered fright. He sat at the far corner of the room almost in the dark. His eyes shone in the little bit of light that came from the single lamp that hung from the ceiling.

There was utter silence surrounding them. Her heart was erratic and blood drummed in her ears. Her flight response was kicking in and she tried to struggle out of the binds that held her. His chuckle stopped her movements. Gulping, she saw that his eyes gleamed with a sadistic glint as he stood to his full height. Her body began to shake and stomach knotted up.

"Please," she began but was immediately silenced when he approached her and she saw the look in his grey eyes-rage. Unfiltered and impassive. His handsome face was void of all emotion but his eyes gave him away as he looked down at her.

"Why did you run away from me, Tara?" He asked, his voice came out calm and collected. And that scared her even more. Anissa was sure that he would hit her but he didn't and stood towering her. Slowly, he knelt down to her level, his hands resting on top of hers as a myriad of emotions flashed through his eyes until they went blank and a cruel smile spread on his lips.

"What did I tell you that I don't tolerate under any circumstances, Anissa?" He inquired. By now she had figured out that he only addressed her by her full name when he was being dead serious and he was just that right now.

"Well, answer me?" He growled. She flinched at the tone of his voice that sounded so cold and detached. She wracked her brains to remember what he had told her but her mind couldn't recall a single a thing because her fear was too great and overcame all her senses.

"I-I don't remember," she mumbled stupidly. He scoffed and squeezed her hands so hard that his nails dug into the sides of her hands causing her to cringe in pain. "P-please," she sobbed lowly. His eyes narrowed at her. "I had told you that I don't tolerate," he said through clenched teeth, abruptly gripping her jaw roughly. His blazing grey gaze burned into hers. "Disrespect!" His hand tightened on her hand in a death grip so tight that she feared that it might cut off the blood supply to her hand.

"Lack of discipline." He stated and his hand travelled down to her throat, his fingers wrapping around her slender neck. She was too shocked to respond. The alarm and panic had paralyzed her.

"And disobedience!" He spat and suddenly the grip around her neck increased. He began to choke her, cutting off all of her air supply. Her struggled but her hands were tied down. Her eyes rimmed with tears as she tried to gasp for air. She began to see black dots in front of her eyes and her head was feeling light.

His eyes shone malevolently. All he saw was red as his hand gripped tightly around her delicate neck.

"Sh-Shehryaar, I c-can't."

He immediately released her upon hearing his name come from lips. To him, hearing his name come from her was the most melodious ever. But it still wasn't enough to sate the ragging storm of fury inside of him.

She gasped hungrily for air and coughed hard. His hand had left marks on her flawless neck. He sighed deeply and jumped to his feet. He was so close to killing her.

It's all her damn fault! Why the hell did she have to disobey me?

He was pissed and it did nothing to deter his anger.

"You disrespected me Anissa," he started and walked towards the wall that held all the dangerous looking tools. "And you disobeyed me. These are two crimes that I cannot let go unpunished." He said, his voice dripping with venom, his back turned to her.

"Please, just let me go." She started to cry, no longer letting the fear numb her senses. She was being honest now-no more courage, no more bravery or even wit. She just wanted one thing now and that was the warm embrace of her parents. "I just want to go home. I didn't do anything wrong. I just want to be away from here." She sobbed and choked on her tears.

Her cries of pain caused a wave of excitement to run down Shehryaar's spine as he threw his head back and laughed hard on her predicament; how pathetic, Tara. He thought gleefully.

She froze from her crying as she saw the man laughing like a maniac.

"Oh my dear, don't you realize by now." He said and turned to face her. Her breath hitched in her throat when she saw the empty depths of his eyes-the grey disappearing behind the dilated black pupils. It was as if she was staring into a soulless empty vessel. "I was nice enough to give you a choice but never again. Now I'm going to have my way with you. But first, I'm going to punish you for your misbehavior earlier." He stated coldly.

"But I didn't do anything wrong. You kidnapped me. why wouldn't I want to get away from you? Don't you get it by now? I don't want to marry you! I hate you!" She shrieked at the top of her lungs. "Let me go right now!"

He chuckled dryly. "What you want is irrelevant. You will soon come to know that what I want, I get. And I want you. Period." He deadpanned and turned back towards the wall and opened a door and disappeared behind it.

She was relieved that he left but what would happen now? She couldn't comprehend. This much she knew by now from his demeanor that he was going to hurt her. What she had assessed about his personality so far was that he was a selfish bastard who did everything he wanted regardless of others feelings. What kind of person does that? But she was foolish to expect this from someone who kidnapped her and is forcing his intentions on her and he was clearly crazy. He had serious anger management issues. And punishment? He was going to punish her for something she did in her defense? She needed to get out of here and fast. Who knew what Shehryaar was capable of? She began to struggle against the cuffs until her wrists burned and she knew they were bleeding now. Her tears wouldn't stop streaming down her cheeks.

Oh God, please save me. Please save me. She silently prayed. A few minutes passed by. Suddenly her mouth went dry and throat parched. Her stomach began to grumble with hunger and she realized that she hadn't eaten or drunk anything for almost a whole day. She couldn't tell about the time since the room had no windows or anything that could lead to the outside world except for the door that she stared at with longing.

"Oh God, please I just want this nightmare to be over. What did I ever do to deserve this?" She sniffed, whispering to herself.

The door flew open. Her heart paced as she saw Shehryaar walk into the room along with two other men dressed in black.

"Over here." He ordered in a cold loud voice. The men placed something on the ground and immediately left when Shehryaar snapped his fingers. After the door closed, Shehryaar turned to face Anissa and her terror grew even more from the look on his face-his lips turned into a vicious and insidious smile and an evil glint reflected in his smoky grey eyes.

"Now Tara," he murmured in a voice as soft as velvet as he leaned down and cupped her cheeks tenderly.

"You denied me so many times and I don't take well to rejection. I'm going to punish you in such a way that you will never forget who you belong to." He sneered and released her jaw. Fresh tears began to flow from her eyes and her heart thudded violently against her ribcage as she saw him walk to the large box that was placed on the opposite side of her chair. He opened it and pulled out a poker stick but she gasped in dread when she saw what was at the other end of the poker stick-red hot metal that blazed brightly to reveal Shehryaar's name.

Her body shook violently and she tried to struggle against the cuffs again-an attempt to get away from this deranged man.

"You know Tara, what I love the most. I'm a very possessive man and I love to brand my property. It's almost, my favorite habit." He said as he stared at his name on the poker with fascination. "Whether it be my toys as a child, or an animal, I would brand them with my name. And now that you're my woman, you should feel honored that I'm going to brand you." He let out a bleak chortle and walked back to her.

"You challenged me again and again Anissa." He declared furiously, his eyes gleaming dangerously. She shivered under his cold scrutinizing gaze.

"Now you'll see what I'm capable of. And this is just the start of our life together. If I want to make you my Queen Anissa, then be sure that I will first make you my slave and have you groveling at my feet-I will draw immense pleasure in breaking your spirit. Though I admire it immensely, it'll be the first that has to go." He claimed.

"No please. Please don't hurt me. I won't do it again. Please." She cried out hopefully that her pleas would reach him.

He chuckled and knelt down to her level and took out a syringe. Anissa studied it-it was filled with a translucent liquid. She began to squirm upon realizing that it might be another tranquilizer.

"Only if you promise to apologize for everything that you said to me Tara." He avowed and waved the syringe in his hand. "This here is a local. If you apologize to me, I might show you mercy and administer this local at the site where I'm about to brand you." She gaped at him in shock. He was still going to go through with his sick intentions. "However, failure to compliance will be met with the dreading consequences that you are already aware of." He affirmed his voice bitter and deadly low.

Anger bubbled up in her. "I will never apologize!" She snapped. "Whatever I said was the truth and I will never apologize for speaking and acting on the truth." She screamed. Even though it was foolish of her to act on impulse, she couldn't help but say what was on her mind. "How dare you treat me this way? I'm not an animal that you can brand! I'm a free human being!" She shrieked and thrashed in the chair, her legs flying and her arms.

Oh God, he's a psycho! Please oh God help me!

Taking the local would've been the easy way out indeed-it would've paralyzed the area and would've made it completely pain free but she refused to satisfy his sick and twisted whims. "Let go of me!" She screamed at the top of lungs, her throat growing raw. His palm landed on her cheek and her screams died down. She panted as her hair sprayed across her face from the impact of his hit on her face. Turning it straight, she was met with the same furious grey orbs.

His face held the same blank expression. "See, I admire that fire in you. It shines in you like a blazing star falling from the sky and can burn anything. But it's too fucking impulsive and troublesome. It has to go. You will submit to me Anissa. I will accept nothing less." He snarled.

"One last chance; Apologize and I'll show mercy. Otherwise, I'm not responsible for what happens next." He jeered.

She was fuming and her anger caused the fear to subside a little.

What the hell is wrong with man?

There was no way she was about to give him what he wanted. Her pride and womanhood denied him that satisfaction. Who the hell did he think he was? He demanded respect and obedience but didn't he know that respect and obedience has to be earned through mutual understanding. He was going to go nowhere with her with his dominant and demanding attitude and she would fight it.

"I will never submit to you! I will never!" She declared fearlessly. "I will always fight for what is right. I will fight for myself. I will never submit."

He smirked. "Oh but you will. I will make sure of it." He proclaimed confidently and she saw him through the syringe away. Her fear increased tenfold as her only chance at a painless torture was down the drain. But if she was going down then she won't back down without a fight.

She felt utter disgust at him and did what she could in her position-she pat at his face and braced herself for his slap but surprisingly, he remained frozen in his place and closed his eyes. His fingers travelled to his cheek where her spit was and wiped it away. He was still calm as he opened his eyes and stared t his fingers where her spit was and stood to his full height. She flinched when he saw him move his hands towards her face and turned her head away and braced herself, squeezing her eyes shut. She waited but the slap didn't come instead she felt a tug at the collar of her shirt and when she opened her eyes, she saw him draw a blade and tear the cloth that was covering her shoulders.

"What are you doing?" She shrieked and began to thrash in the chair. Suddenly, he moved the blade to her throat and pressed hard but not enough to draw blood. "Move and I will fucking slice your throat faster than you can draw your next breath." He growled, his eyes holding the threat. She clamped her mouth shut and stopped struggling. Cold terror ran in her veins as her eyes trailed the blade as it moved from her throat and back at slicing through the cloth of her shirt. He stopped when she left shoulder became completely bare. He had only cut the cloth from where her bra wasn't visible but her shoulder and clavicle was displayed out to her everlasting shame. She whimpered and squeezed her eyes shut. He brushed the back of his fingers on her beauty bone, trailing towards her smooth white deltoids. His touch rose tingles that crawled down her spine. She began to shake and buckled her knees together to gather some courage.

"I love your skin Tara. I can't wait to devour it and taste it. I can't wait to sink my teeth into your luscious skin for it to bear my marks." He drawled, his voice turning husky. But you know, I'll love it even more when it will bear my name for everyone to know that you belong to Me." He declared, his tone heavy with possession and want. He walked towards the box and opened it. Anissa's heart galloped in her chest as she saw him draw out the poker.

Smirking, Shehryaar took out the poker. "Get ready to eat your own words Tara."