Total pages in book: 129
Estimated words: 130048 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 650(@200wpm)___ 520(@250wpm)___ 433(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 130048 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 650(@200wpm)___ 520(@250wpm)___ 433(@300wpm)
I tried to get away, but the books behind me kept me prone.
I hissed like a cornered cat.
Slowly, ever so slowly, he straightened and sighed. “I have a problem, Ily.” He chuckled blackly. “Actually, I have a million problems, but the one I’m most pissed about right now is the fact there are most likely a hundred cameras in this room, and each one just recorded me cradling you. Whoever is watching the feed will see a Master tending to his slave instead of using her. They’ll see me kissing your cheek—”
“You didn’t kiss me. You licked me.”
He held up a finger with an arrogant cock of his head. “Ah, ah. Let me finish.” Slamming his hand back against the bookcase, he muttered, “To an outsider, they’ll see a guest who’s already proved dubious about his commitment to play. A man invited on the whim of the owner. The owner who has most likely given his minions instructions to report on my every move.”
His gaze dropped to my mouth again. “So you see…what just happened is bad. Really bad. For both of us.” His teeth clacked together. “I told you not to cry in my presence. I told you not to fight me. I told you not to do anything to trigger this…this sickness inside me.”
The nerve of him!
The goddamn nerve to blame his actions on me.
Typical.
Absolutely typical of every male who took no responsibility for themselves.
“Fuck you,” I snapped. “Fuck you and fuck all of them.”
He punched a few books by my ear, making me jump. “In case you haven’t been listening. That’s exactly what’s going to happen. They’re all going to fuck you, so forgive me if I’m doing my best to prevent that!”
“Don’t you dare twist this around and make it seem as if you’re doing this for me!”
His jaw worked. “Don’t shout.”
“Or what? You’ll hit me? Kick me? How about press that little black button again and electrocute me? That’s what real men do, isn’t it? Torture a woman just because you have a deep-seated psychological imbalance where you’re afraid of—”
“I’m not afraid,” he cut in. “And lower your goddamn voice. I told you not to fight me. I told you—”
“You told me that you’re going to do things and none of them legal. You told me that you were my only friend. A friend who will most likely fuck me over after taking everything I have to offer.” I shook my head. “You told me things I don’t understand, but I’m beginning to…slowly.”
“What do you understand?”
I lifted my nose. “You’re deranged. Diseased. Just like you said at the club.”
“Glad you’re starting to believe me.”
“You won’t get away with this.”
“No.” He sighed. “Probably not.”
I studied him. “You sound resigned.”
“To death?” He shrugged. “Always.” His eyes flashed quicksilver. “But your death? I won’t let that happen.”
“You’ll just torture me instead.” I laughed coldly. “Why do you even care if I die? That might be the only freedom I’ll be given. I’m nothing to you. Just a stupid girl you targeted at a club.”
He scoffed as if I’d told a painful joke. “Oh, how I wish you were nothing more than that.”
My stomach turned to stone. “Don’t you dare say there was something between us. Don’t—”
“You can’t deny there’s something—”
“Evil.” My insides frosted. “That’s what’s between us. That’s what you are.”
“Ily.” He squeezed his eyes closed. “Stop. I beg you. Stop fighting me. Verbally. Physically. Just—”
“Let me go!” I drove my shoulder into his chest. “Quit your gaslighting bullshit and get the hell away from me!”
In a lightning-fast move, he snatched my wrist below my cuff and trapped it behind my back, arching my spine and pressing my bare breasts against his white shirt. Flashing a look at the cameras, he angled me a little more, contorting me until I cried out.
“If you know I’m sick and evil and barely holding on, why the hell are you still standing up to me? Why tempt me with your sadness? Why drive me fucking insane by fighting back when you know what it does to me?”
“Know?” I scoffed, my eyes popping wide in pain. “How could I possibly know? I don’t know you. You stole my life, ow—”
He twisted my wrist, making me squirm against the shelves. His attention seemed half on me and half on the cameras, almost as if he manipulated my discomfort for whoever was watching rather than his own enjoyment. “I’ve been more honest with you than anyone in my entire life.”
Gasping, hating, I bared my teeth. “Am I supposed to be impressed? Do you expect me to swoon at your feet all while thanking you for electrocuting me?”
His fingers loosened around my wrist just enough to let blood pour back into my fingertips. “The first time I did it, I didn’t know what the device would do. The second…I apologise for.” He chewed on a growl. “But you were screeching at powerful, sadistic men. It was the only way I could prevent them from retaliating.”