Total pages in book: 27
Estimated words: 25622 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 128(@200wpm)___ 102(@250wpm)___ 85(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 25622 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 128(@200wpm)___ 102(@250wpm)___ 85(@300wpm)
And that’s when I realize the truth, the yearning in my heart I tried to ignore. Out of spite for the hurt Sebastian caused me the night of the ball, I wanted to take this from him, but deep down…
I want it to be him.
“I did, indeed, and I always honor the deals I make.” He removes his hands from my ass. “So we’ll have to take care of this another way.” With a nod toward the floor, he tells me to get on my knees.
Dread fills my soul as I freeze on his lap. We’re already so close, our most intimate places touching in scandalous unison. The mental picture going through my head makes me queasy.
“Please, Novalee. Don’t make me ask you again.”
I don’t want to do this, but I’m still leery enough of Vance to scramble to my knees. Heartbeat pounding in my chest, I lean over his lap and part my lips.
His warm finger raises my chin, stopping me. “I don’t mean for you to do that,” he says quietly as he meets my gaze. “I just want you to watch.”
“Oh.” I blink in surprise as a wave of relief cascades down my spine. Settling back onto my haunches, I wait for him to make the next move.
Wasting no time, he takes his hard flesh in one hand, the pump of his fist drawing my focus in morbid fascination. Not that there’s anything morbid about the doctor pleasuring himself. There’s something beautiful about it, natural even, in the way he sighs with each stroke, his eyes shuttering, neck straining as he gets closer.
The only thing that doesn’t belong in this picture is me.
Neither does the ache between my thighs. It’s not as strong as it was for the last couple of hours, the effects waning, but desire still heats my blood.
Vance lets out a grunt, and I bite my lip, almost as if I can feel his pleasure to my core. He opens his eyes, lids hooded over the lustful haze there, and stares at me as he quickens his pace. He’s a man on a mission, his cock plundering his tight fist until the friction takes him to a climatic end. A guttural cry launches from tight lips, and his release gushes over the top of his fist.
Ragged breaths rent the air for several seconds. He breaks the moment by grabbing some tissues from a box on the side table to clean up the mess on his lap. “Thank you for watching, my queen.”
“You’re welcome,” I say, the words strangled as I avert my gaze, vocal cords unwilling to work.
“Don’t be embarrassed for enjoying the show.” His large palm smoothes down my hair, and then he tilts my chin up with his thumb. “Orgasm is as natural as breathing. You’ll experience plenty next month.”
“Next month?”
“It’s part of the deal. No orgasms while you’re in my house. Sebastian wants you ready for him.”
His admission rears the never-far indignation festering under the surface of my composure. “What did he give you that made you so agreeable?” Testiness creeps into my voice, and it takes everything I have to rein it in. “Liam mentioned there was a trade.”
I want to remind the doctor that I’m not a possession, that I’m a human being with feelings and wants and needs of my own, but I learned my lesson in futility the first day I set foot on Zodiac Island.
Vance smiles as if he heard the objection in my tone. “Get some sleep,” he says, sidestepping my question. He pushes me to my feet before zipping up his pants. “I’ll see you first thing in the morning.”
Chapter Five
Sunlight splashes warmth onto my face. For a few moments, I linger in the calming realm between wakefulness and slumber, safe from reality and the distorted darkness that, as of late, pervades my dreams. Ever since Landon told me about my father’s letter and the potential threat to my life, I’ve had nightmares of an ominous man that looks like Liam but isn’t him.
I know it’s just my subconscious trying to work out my fears, to make sense of my brother’s revelation, but the sense of foreboding in my dreams won’t stop plaguing me.
A throat clears, and my eyes open. Rolling away from the blinding windows, since I forgot to draw the curtains last night, I find Vance standing on the threshold of my room. I might have forgotten to shut the drapes, but I know I closed my door before I fell asleep.
“Good morning.” He walks in without hesitation, the bold ownership in his stride telling me privacy isn’t a right in his house. “I think we should go over some ground rules.”
“Okay.” My voice comes out hoarse from sleep as I sit up and pull the blanket to my chin. The nightgown I found in the closet last night covers me enough, but I can’t help but feel naked, as if his hooded gaze can burrow through layers of fabric and modesty to ogle the skin underneath.