Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 65066 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 325(@200wpm)___ 260(@250wpm)___ 217(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 65066 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 325(@200wpm)___ 260(@250wpm)___ 217(@300wpm)
“Nothing too bad. He told me he was my master. I was supposed to obey. If I didn’t he’d punish me. I was rewarded for my obedience with sexual pleasure.”
Grizz growls a little at that—I’m not sure if it’s the punishment or reward he objects to. “And he’d loan you out.”
“Yeah. I liked that less. Most of those doms respected his boundaries, though.” I shiver and clutch the pen tighter in my left hand, while my right presses to my chest and rubs the itchy skin over my heart. I jolt when I realize Grizz is watching me, eyes narrow. His gaze follows my hand and I drop it in my lap. I wait for him to say something, but he grabs a plate and loads it up for me, setting it down with a decisive clunk.
“Eat. Need to get some meat on your bones.”
I stare at the piled plate, my mouth watering. I haven’t eaten this well in months. Certainly not this much food. I’ve trained myself not to think bad things about Augustine—otherwise I never would’ve been able to endure my life in his lair—but being with Grizz makes all the bad stuff come into focus.
“Jordy,” he puts a hand on the back of my neck as he returns with his own plate. “Eat. That’s an order.”
I snatch up my fork and begin shoveling food in, chewing as fast as I can. My stomach cramps against the sudden onslaught.
“Whoa, whoa,” Grizz says, his hand still resting on my bare neck. “Slow down.”
Instantly I put down the fork and focus on my full mouth.
“Sorry about that,” he murmurs. “I need to watch the orders.”
“It’s all right,” I swallow. “I’m used to them.”
“I want you to be okay. And healthy. Did Augustine really feed you dog food?”
I nod.
He growls and I startle. “Shhh, it’s okay.” His big hand squeezes mine. “I’m not mad at you.”
“I know.” I lift my eyes to his, taking comfort in the yellow blaze of his bear.
“You need to eat well. You’re not a dog.”
“I’m a fox. That’s close enough.”
“You’re a shifter. A lovely young woman. You need real food.”
My cheeks warm. He called me lovely. “Augustine didn’t want me to eat too much. He liked me thin.”
“Liked having you weak and dependent, probably.”
I press my lips together. He’s right, though I feel guilty even agreeing with him. I should be loyal to my master.
Grizz’s face gets tight when I tell him this. “Why? He didn’t treat you well.”
I set my fork down. “He treated me better than the clan did.”
The big man grunts at that. He plows through his food while I pretend to look at my plate, sneaking glances at him whenever I’m sure he’s not looking. The scar on his face isn’t ugly, I decide. The seam makes him look dangerous, not weak. His nose is crooked, like it’s been broken and set badly, but that only adds to his violent aura. Combined with the tattoos, rough stubble and shoulder length golden locks, he looks like a badass biker. The type to live free or die.
I’m confident I’ve gotten away with studying him without him noticing when he reaches out and grips my knee. Instant arousal gushes through me, a flood filling the cup of my sex. I squeeze my legs together to keep from overflowing. I know what it’s like to get turned on—Augustine took delight in making me desire his bite and beg for it as much as he enjoyed hurting me—but I’ve never felt anything like this.
Grizz raises his head, his nostrils flaring. He turns bright eyes to me, high beams in the dark. His fingers give me one more squeeze.
“You finished eating?”
I nod, unable to speak.
He forks the rest of my food into his mouth, eating with his hand on me like it’s the most natural thing in the world. Like he can’t tell my breathing has quickened and the air is filled with my scent.
“You called me sir, earlier,” he says casually. “Why did you stop?”
“You didn’t like it,” I whisper before I can stop myself. He doesn’t need to know how closely I watch him, how I saw his lips press together in the start of a frown when I said it the first time. How I pushed to see how far I could push before his dominance kicked in. Testing limits is just something I do naturally.
He grunts and I feel a second of panic. “You didn’t want me to keep calling you sir, did you?” Did I read the signs right? The thought that I might have disappointed him squeezes my chest.
“No, no,” he soothes, catching my hand. “Relax, Kit. You can be yourself. I want you to be yourself around me.”
“Okay.” I lower my eyes. How can I explain that submissive is just what I am?