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 deter mined 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.

When I felt that, the little girl in me went wild, gibbering with fear. I squeezed my eyes shut, struggling to quiet her. And then… and then I opened them and released her. I let that base terror shine.

And, oh, how he loved that, lust clouding his eyes. He pinned me harder, his crotch moving on mine, grinding until it hurt. Blood dripped from his lips onto mine. Sweat plinked into my eyes. The hated smell of him filled my nostrils.

I shrank back. "I-if I surrender… " I swallowed.

"Yes?"

I licked my lip, tasting his blood. "If I do what you want… "

"Yes?"

"Will you let me go afterward?"

"You'll do what I want? Everything I want?"

I nodded.

"And you'll behave? Be a good girl?"

I nodded.

He lowered his lips to my ear and whispered. "Then you aren't going to want me to let you go. But yes, when we've both had our fill, you're welcome to leave."

He moved his lips over mine again and hovered there. I lifted my head from the ground, and I kissed him-and it was just as nauseating as I'd imagined. I concentrated on the taste of his blood, nipping his lip, drawing more. He mistook my biting for passion and kissed me harder.

I closed my eyes so he wouldn't see my revulsion, but I don't think he would have noticed anyway. When he broke the kiss, his eyes were unfocused, dark with lust, his body relaxing against mine.

His lips moved back to my ear. "See, it isn't so bad, is-?"

I smashed my elbow into his throat so hard he fell back, gargling.

I rolled and slammed my palm into his nose. Blood spurted. He gave a strangled cry, but recovered fast. I was already on my feet and he didn't make it past a crouch before my foot connected with his jaw, toppling him backward. A second kick and he spun, his forehead smacking the fireplace as he fell.

As I watched him lying there, on his stomach, blood pooling, I realized I didn't need an elaborate escape plan. Just kill the bastard. Kill him and-

A hand grabbed my ponytail and wrenched me back. I sailed off my feet, but twisted, finding my footing and coming up swinging. But Eddie still had my ponytail wrapped around his hand and yanked me like a dog on a leash, keeping me from hitting him.

"Enough," he said. "He's down. You win."

"The hell she does." Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Tesler wobble to his feet.

"She wins," Eddie said.

The brothers faced off in silence. I expected Tesler to argue. I prayed he'd argue. Blood streamed into his eyes and he could barely stand upright. Just give me a few minutes more, and I'd never have to worry about Travis Tesler again. He had no chance of winning, not now, after I'd tasted victory-could still taste it, his blood on my lips.

But apparently his confidence had taken a bruising, too, enough to sink under the weight of his survival instinct. "Fine," he said. Then he turned to Noah and snapped, "Get her out of my sight. You have twenty minutes. Then she's mine."

ESCAPE

NOAH HUSTLED ME to what was obviously "his" room, judging by the clothing on the floor and on every piece of furniture. He got me inside, then closed the door. At this point, the ideal strategy would be seduction. Lower his defenses, as I had with Tesler, then take him out and escape.

But as repugnant as the thought of kissing Tesler had been, faking attraction to a teenage boy was out of the question.

I managed to sit woodenly on the edge of the bed, then steeled myself to pull off my shirt, praying that would be all the distraction needed to get in a good, incapacitating blow. But I wasn't the only one who was nervous. Noah locked and double-checked the door, then moved to the window. He peered out, not pulling the blind, just squinting into the darkness as if expecting Tesler or Eddie to pop up like drunken guests on his wedding night.

And while he was engrossed in the view, with his back to me, I crept up behind him. Too late, I noticed my reflection in the window glass. He wheeled, his hands going up as they had in the woods, unsure whether to fight back or just ward me off.

At the last second, he went for option three-get the hell out of the way. I managed to catch his shirt collar as he dove past me. I whipped him off his feet again. Unlike in the woods, I couldn't just throw him aside-the Tesler brothers would hear the crash and know it wasn't just rough sex… at least, not after only two minutes in the bedroom.