Read Online King of Me by Mimi Jean Pamfiloff - Free Book Online Page B

from the corner of my eye, I saw his hand lift high into the air. In it he held a whip with multiple arms and knots on the ends, the kind that looked like it could take the skin clean off.
    My heart isn’t black. I’ll never love you.
    He roared with laughter. “Says the woman who slit a man’s throat today and enjoyed it; just as I’d hoped. Now try not to move. This will only hurt a little,” he said with a sinister tone that clearly meant it would hurt a lot.
    My mind, perhaps to protect me from the horror, instantly focused on a place that was safe, a place where King couldn’t go: my heart. He could never touch it. I would be safe there.
    I felt a sharp pain and heard my cries fade into the distance.
     
    ~~~
     
    The gentle sound of waves caressed my mind in a peaceful dream, a dream where my body lay resting on powdery sand, the warm sun cocooning me in a blanket woven from clouds and tropical air. I couldn’t recall ever feeling so at peace or so comfortable. Was I dead? Was I somewhere inside my mind, hiding from King?
    I rubbed my eyes and slowly sat up to take in the long stretch of sand and deep green forest skirting the pristine beach. The sun was high in the sky, about noonish, and I wasn’t wearing a stitch of clothing.
    No clothes. I winced and then closed my eyes, pushing away the dark images of King, of that horrible island. If this was a dream, I didn’t want to wake. Not ever. I would rather die naked in a strange place than return to that nightmare.
    How could he do that to me? How? It didn’t make sense. Not when King needed me to free him from his torment.
    Mack had been right, that’s how. That had been a monster back on the island. And that monster wanted me to fall into some dark, delusional state where I’d learn to love him. After he’d beaten and raped me.
    No. I shook my head slowly. That had to be another one of those strange visions like I’d had in Vaughn’s cell, or like the time of Justin’s death when my mind had been there but my body hadn’t.
    Maybe I’m having a vision now.
    But as I surveyed my body, the burn marks on my wrists and ankles, which were red and raw, certainly felt real.
    I blew out a heartbroken breath that hurt just as badly as my wounds. I suddenly felt the bile creep from my stomach and launch over my naked chest. “Oh God.” I flipped over and heaved.
    After a minute or so, the pain subsided. I stood and stumbled my way to the water. Dream or not, I didn’t want to be covered in my own sick.
    The warm ocean water simultaneously stung my fresh wounds but felt soothing on my trembling body. I walked out as far as I could and then dove head first into a cresting wave. Yes, the water felt real. The salt in my mouth tasted real, too. But how did I get here? This couldn’t be right.
    Another of King’s tricks? After all, the man had powers I couldn’t begin to comprehend, one of which was the ability to crawl inside my body and show me his memories. He’d done it once before.
    Yes. That had to be what was happening. The only issue was that this felt real, not like a memory or watching a movie.
    My head pounded and my stomach began to cramp again, but I held it together. And that’s when it hit me. My nausea and headaches only came when my mind didn’t want to accept reality. It’d happened on the day I’d learned about being a Seer and I’d felt my two conflicting realities collide.
    Christ. It just happened when Mack tried to warn you about King.
    But this can’t be real. I felt my face turn hot and more bile creep up.
    There was my proof: more resistance, more nausea.
    I dove underneath the waves, allowing the ocean to pacify my angry, frayed nerves. When I brought my head up for a breath, I spotted a young woman with dark hair and skin, wearing a white dress, standing on the beach and staring at me.
    I stared back but didn’t speak. Besides, what would I say? “Hey! I’m naked. Got any idea where I am and how I got here?” Instead, I