Total pages in book: 110
Estimated words: 104185 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 521(@200wpm)___ 417(@250wpm)___ 347(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 104185 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 521(@200wpm)___ 417(@250wpm)___ 347(@300wpm)
My heart galloped, and since Ryan couldn’t see my face, I let my terror show through for a fraction of a second.
Then he had me turned to him, his mouth covering mine, muting everything but the loud voice in my head. The one I now recognized as Dr. Vorbusch’s and not my own. I collapsed under his power, unable to fight back, hating every second of it.
When the torturous kiss ended, he gauged my reaction and looked satisfied he still had control.
“I love you.” His voice was devoid of any warmth.
“I love you,” I parroted back without emotion or meaning. A programmed response. But I could feel the damage it was doing to Jason, and I died a little inside. Fuck, I had to do something.
The gun Ryan had brought with him was meant to be used on the man I loved.
He believed I knew nothing of this man handcuffed to a chair. Could I use that to my advantage? Jason was defenseless, and Plavko loomed over him, threatening more violence.
I’d have to get rid of them both before I made my move.
And I could only hope that Jason could forgive me for what I was about to say. “I’m tired, Ryan, and it’s our wedding night.” It was a struggle to make it sound seductive, to dangle the thing he seemed to most want from me. “Let’s go to bed, and you can deal with this tomorrow. Maybe Plavko can find somewhere to put him until then.”
Could I actually hear Jason’s heart breaking?
No, it was the chair he was sitting in. His fury was so intense, it was nearly palpable. Plavko drew his gun and hooked his other hand under Jason’s arm so he could yank him to his feet.
My heart stopped as the gun was wedged beneath Jason’s chin, and he went utterly still. Beside me, Ryan chuckled. His mouth curled into a smile like this was one of the best ideas he’d ever heard.
“Put him in the studio,” he said, waving Plavko off. The tall man nodded and shoved Jason through the doorway.
His tortured voice came from the hall. “You don’t have to do this, L!”
I played my part the best I could, not letting any amount of the massive emotion I felt show in any way.
Not even when Ryan took my hand and led me to the bedroom.
It was so hard to focus because worry crowded so much of my mind. I tried not to tremble as I stood beside the bed and pretended this was what I wanted. Ryan was oblivious, almost giddy with excitement as he pulled his gun from his waistband and set it on the nightstand.
“If we’re going to do this,” I said, “I have a . . . condition.”
He sauntered toward me and kissed the side of my neck, and I had to pretend my skin didn’t want to crawl away. His lips brushed against the shell of my ear. “Yeah? What is it?”
“I need to be in control.”
He pulled back to deliver a confused smile. “I’m your husband. You don’t trust me?”
“The first time I got into bed with you, you strangled me.”
That gave him pause. “All right. I can let you be in control.”
“That’s not enough.” My hands hung at my sides, and I clenched my fingers tightly. “I have to be sure.”
“Hmm.” He was distracted by what he thought was going to happen, and his fingertips traced patterns down my bare arms. “How would we do that?”
I nervously pulled at the undone tie at his neck, sliding it free. I coiled it in my hand, making it apparent.
“You want to tie me up?” His skeptical look made my breath catch. I nodded, my lips pressed together. He considered it, and to my relief, his mouth curved into a playful smile. “We can do that.”
I practically ran to his closet and grabbed a handful of ties, him laughing.
“You in a hurry, darling?”
The memory hit me hard. The hotel hallway where he’d kissed me, but he’d looked different then. Didn’t he have piercing blue eyes? The same ones I’d seen in my nightmares in the parking garage?
I came out with the ties dangling from my grip and forced myself to keep it together. To hold on because this might be my only chance, and I had to save Jason.
Ryan had already shed his tuxedo jacket. He worked to unbutton his dress shirt, and I watched as he pulled it off and cast it aside. There was a hungry look in his eyes, and I had to squash my revulsion when he approached and filled my mouth with his probing tongue.
Do not gag. You can do this.
The faster I got him on the bed, the faster this could be over, so I reached for his belt. I fumbled with the latch, clumsy and hurried, and he seized my hands to slow me down, giving me a questioning look.