Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 69524 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 348(@200wpm)___ 278(@250wpm)___ 232(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69524 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 348(@200wpm)___ 278(@250wpm)___ 232(@300wpm)
His lips close over my nipple, his teeth grazing it through the thin barrier of my wet dress. Pleasure floods my body in a strong wave that crashes from my breasts all the way to my fingers and toes. It goes straight to my head, and for a moment, I’m euphoric. Desire layers over my embarrassment, and sparks dance down my spine to heat my core.
“Lovely.” The woman’s voice is far too close.
Oh, god. I remember all of the people that surround us. They’re all bearing witness to my shameful, wanton responses to Dane’s cruel game.
I lift my free hand and try to shove his head away from my chest. He bites my nipple in sharp reprimand.
I yelp, and the woman giggles.
I turn desperate eyes on her and suppress a whimper as Dane returns to teasing my tight, sensitive bud with his tongue.
“Help me,” I beg. I can’t bear further humiliation, no matter how my body is humming for him. “I don’t want this.”
Dane nips at me again, and my knees almost buckle. He steadies me with an arm around my waist and continues to torment my breasts as though this is completely normal and natural.
The blonde fixes me with an indulgent smile, and one blue eye winks through her silver mask. “Of course you don’t.”
“You don’t understand,” I insist, and the words are almost a desperate groan. “I don’t want to be here.”
The woman’s smile tilts. She thinks this is a game.
And Dane is still tormenting my nipples in the way that makes me come undone for him.
“No,” I moan, equal parts horror and lust. I try to keep the woman in focus when my eyes are threatening to roll back in my head. “I’m here against my will.”
She giggles again and sips her Champagne, indulging in the carnal scene like a spectator at a particularly sensual play.
“He kidnapped me!” I burst out.
Someone has to help me. This has to stop.
But Dane doesn’t stop. He drags his tongue up my sternum before his teeth graze my throat in warning.
“Please,” I beg the woman. “This is real.”
She just continues to smile at me. “I’ll leave you two to enjoy yourselves.”
“No! Wait!”
But she doesn’t listen.
No one listens to me. No one will help me.
The cruelty of Dane’s dark game crashes down on me, and I shriek out my frustration. Several people look at us, but they don’t seem alarmed in the slightest. Instead, they’re merely curious. Interested to see what Dane’s pet will do next.
My right hand is cuffed to his left, and his free hand is still in my hair.
My left hand slaps his stunning face with a shocking crack.
I immediately regret it.
His wicked grin is far more terrifying than a thunderous scowl.
“Are you ready to struggle, little dove?”
“I want to leave,” I insist, my chest rising and falling on rapid, heaving breaths.
“It’s too late for that,” he admonishes. “Do you really think I’ll let you go unpunished?”
“Don’t do this,” I beg. “Not in front of all of these people.”
His fingers soften in my hair, and he massages my scalp in soothing circles. “Is it the audience that bothers you so much?” he croons. “Beg, and I might show mercy.”
I lick my lips, shame searing my cheeks. I don’t want to beg him for anything, but I can’t endure more of this erotic torment.
My pride makes my spine stiffen, but I force out through gritted teeth, “Please. I want to leave.”
“You didn’t ask very nicely, but you’ll do better by the end of the night.”
For a moment, I think he’ll refuse. I think he’s going to force me to remain here where everyone can witness my degradation.
Then he lifts me over his shoulder and strides out into the night.
I huff out a relieved breath, but I don’t yet realize that this isn’t over. It’s barely even begun.
20
ABIGAIL
“Where are you taking me?” I demand.
“You asked to leave the party,” he reminds me, like he’s being completely reasonable.
“Take me back to the car.”
“I never agreed to that.” His low laugh is infuriating, and my inner muscles clench.
I cover my face with my free hand, relieved that he can’t see my chagrin when I’m slung over his shoulder.
He’s taking me somewhere deeper in the shadowy grounds of the grand estate. Night has fallen, but Yorkshire is far enough north that the sky is still dusky despite the late hour. I’ve seen enough to know that we’re in a curated garden; I noted perfectly pruned rose bushes and a neat hedge in my peripheral vision. Otherwise, I’m looking down at the dirt path beneath Dane’s designer shoes.
Too late, I realize that the hedge has risen up on either side of me. I’ve been so absorbed in my inner turmoil that I didn’t pay enough attention to my surroundings.
We’re in a hedge maze, and I’m already hopelessly lost.