I Owe the Tyrant Four Little Heirs novel Chapter 23

Before the words had fully left her mouth, Jareth lunged forward. His hand clamped around her throat, and he slammed her back against the floor-to-ceiling glass window.

“Are you tired of living, Niamh?” he snarled, his voice a low, violent growl. “Say one word about this to anyone, and I promise you’ll regret it.”

“Cough—cough—” A strangled cough escaped her lips.

Damn it. A little more pressure and he’d snap her neck.

“Did you hear me?” he demanded, his furious eyes boring into hers when she didn’t respond. If it had been anyone else, he would have done far more than just choke them.

“Jareth,” she rasped, forcing the words from her constricted throat. “If you have the guts, then just kill me now.”

She was seething. How could such a brutish, violent man even exist?

“You want to die?”

“If I don’t,” she challenged, her anger overriding her fear, “this mouth of mine might just let your secret slip one day, don’t you think?”

“You—!” His grip tightened, his eyes sharper than knives.

The next second, he shoved her away from the window, throwing her onto the nearby sofa.

Before she could react, he was on top of her, pinning her down. One hand was still clamped around her neck while the other snaked under her skirt, his cold fingers landing on the bare skin of her stomach.

“Don’t—!” The word tore from her throat in a panicked cry.

Her plea hit Jareth like a physical blow. Suddenly, his mind was ripped back to that night five years ago. As he tore the dress off the girl in the dark, she had cried out those same words, in the exact same terrified tone.

He had been drugged that night, his senses blurred. In the pitch-black room, he had been rough with her, his actions driven by a fire he couldn't control. He’d never even seen her face. When he woke up, she was gone.

Could it be the same person?

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