Cruel Love

A woman woke up in a dark room lit only by a lantern hanging from one of the wooden pillars—the smell of damp earth after the rain filled her senses. The sounds of night insects rang in her ears, one after another. The woman felt her chest, her heart racing at the thought of where she was.

"Was I kidnapped? Am I being kept in a hut in a haunted forest?"

The girl tried to move her hand. Pain. Her hand felt stiff.

"Am I a captive of a perverted mountain demon who needs warmth? No! This can't be happening. I must leave this place immediately," Briana muttered. She stumbled down the ancient-looking wooden bed.

The door handle moved just as Briana was about to leave the bed. The cold hit the soles of her feet to the bone. She could not move and remained rooted to the spot as she stared at the door with her breath ragged. 

"God, please save me!"

The door opened wide. A grown man appeared behind it. Briana gulped harshly. The man looked terrible. Very horrible. It didn't seem like a demon. The figure was a mountain man who was confidently topless. He was only wearing cargo pants that hung down to his hips. That made Briana swallow again.

He was a man with a tall and large body. He had a pair of cold and sharp eyes. His hair was not too long. It was about to the nape of his neck, and there were scratch marks on the left side of his face. 

Briana couldn't stop being scared, even though the man hadn't done anything terrible to her. Maybe not yet. She was counting down.

God forbid that should happen, Briana thought.

"Are you awake?" The man's voice was deep and hoarse. At first glance, it sounded like the growl of a rare desert lion. Briana's whole body broke out in cold sweat. The young woman's eyes kept looking at him, more precisely, watching his movements.

Briana would kick his ass if that big, muscular body took even one step toward her. Briana would do anything if that stranger dared to do anything indecent to her.

But the opposite happened; when the man came forward, Briana could do nothing but tremble in her seat. 

He stepped closer and closer until finally, a tiny shriek escaped Briana's lips: "Don't!"

Suddenly the man's steps stopped. "What's wrong?" he asked, not understanding.

With difficulty, Briana's lips said, "Don't come any closer!"

"Miss, calm down; I don't want to hurt you," he said. 

He tried to be gentler, but Briana couldn't believe it. What criminal would confess when he wanted to harm?

Briana wouldn't be fooled so easily. "I don't believe it," she said with gathering courage. "If you come any closer, I'll kill you!"

The man's jaw hardened. His eyes seemed to darken, and he looked at Annie more sharply. The man was beginning to look dangerous and sadistic.

"Killing you? What's in it for me? You idiot!"