Total pages in book: 28
Estimated words: 26105 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 131(@200wpm)___ 104(@250wpm)___ 87(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 26105 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 131(@200wpm)___ 104(@250wpm)___ 87(@300wpm)
My body runs hot with rage. How dare he want to humiliate me? “Crawl for you? When have you ever crawled for me? When, Liam?”
He slams me against the unforgiving brick behind me, his strong hand circling my throat and tightening with a possessive, terrifying grip. He bares his teeth, his nostrils flared, his breathing ragged and uneven. Raising his other arm with deliberate menace, he uses his teeth to pull up the sleeve of his crisp white shirt. His vicious tug causes the buttons to scatter across the marble floor.
“This look like nothing to you, Charley?” he growls, shoving his wrist into my face.
A choked gasp escapes my lips as I look. I can’t speak. All I can do is stare, transfixed and horrified, at the gruesome scar snaking across Liam’s wrist. The flesh is puckered and pink, a permanent reminder of something that shaped him, changed him. He isn’t the sweet, idealistic boy I once knew. He’s a man with a past far worse than I could have ever imagined. A past I’m responsible for.
“I didn’t want to leave you, Liam. I didn’t want to go. But my mom lost her job, and we were swimming in debt from my dad’s cancer treatments. I had no choice. It was to stay with you and watch my father die or lose you and save his life. Not that it mattered in the end, though. My father’s cancer was in remission, but the car accident took them both in the end.”
I sob, forcing out the truths I’ve kept hidden for so long. “I missed you every day, Liam, but I was swallowed by grief. I didn’t have the emotional capacity for love because I was too busy keeping my head above water and caring for a little girl who had no one but me. My parents died and left me with a two-year-old. I was nineteen, and suddenly I was a parent. You think I didn’t want to be here with you, going to prom, worrying about college? I wanted that more than anything in the world, but I became a teen mom to a baby I didn’t give birth to. I may not carry the physical scars from the trauma I endured, but I sure as hell have plenty of scars you can’t see.”
Liam’s hand tightens around my throat as if my words were too much. The truth always hurts, but it’s volatile when it’s given to someone who isn’t ready to hear it. I knew the risk, but I took it anyway. Witnessing the rage in Liam’s eyes and the tremble in his hand around my neck, I know I’m about to see the ugliest side of him. I welcomed it. Maybe if he releases some of his rage on my body, I’ll feel better.
“I hate you so much right now. I want you to feel how much.”
I struggle against his hand, squeaking out two words. “Show me.”
Liam turns me to face the wall and kicks my legs apart. “You want to be my little slut, Charley? A piece of meat for me to gnaw on? Because that’s all this will be.”
I whimper as Liam slowly lifts the hem of my skirt. He’s teasing me. Enticing me. Torturing me. His piercing eyes hold mine as his fingers glide along the edge of my panties. My mind is heady from his warm breath on my neck and his fiery touch branding my skin.
“Liam.”
“Mmm, I missed my name on your lips. It’s like a prayer, you know. You sound like a devout believer praising the heavens. But the question is, will your god answer your call?” His fingers slide under my panties, and his knuckles brush my clit. “Or will you go wanting?”
“Dammit, Liam,” I whimper in frustration. I want him to touch me. Own me. Mark me. But Liam is determined to make me go out of my mind with lust.
“You know what to do, Charley. Be a good girl and beg me. That’s all you have to do.”
“Go to hell,” I pant.
“I’m already there, darling. Seven years and counting.”
My breath hitches as he circles my clit with the tip of his index finger briefly before removing it. “Okay, then.”
“No,” I plead.
“No, what, Charley?”
“Damn you.”
“You damned me seven years ago, Charley. The boy you knew is long gone, and the devil now wants his pound of flesh.”
Frustration overrides my pride, and I give in to his demand, desperate for release. “Please touch me. Touch me, Liam.”
Liam’s thumb lightly rubs my clit, a featherlight touch that keeps me in agony but doesn’t allow anything else. He knows what he’s doing, keeping me on the brink without letting me tumble over the edge.
This is like the circle of hell. He’s taunting me, humiliating me. Dominating me to keep me in my place. He wants me to know that he’s in charge, that I’m a toy he can play with or discard.