Total pages in book: 119
Estimated words: 115860 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 579(@200wpm)___ 463(@250wpm)___ 386(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 115860 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 579(@200wpm)___ 463(@250wpm)___ 386(@300wpm)
She tries to distract him even more by spreading her thighs wider and arching her hips in invitation. Lucan lets loose a feral howl that makes my blood run cold. The inhuman sound is full of violence and demand.
A moment later, he clenches her hips with brutal fingers and invades her body in one rough thrust.
Sabelle shrieks.
I can’t take another moment of this. And she shouldn’t have to.
I rip away from the door.
“Stay back!” Sabelle shouts. “If he smells you, he’ll assume we’re attacking him and try to kill me.”
Since her position under Lucan makes her vulnerable, he could rip her to shreds instantly and savagely.
Swallowing bile, I force myself back. “Work free of him. Once you’ve escaped, I’ll help you tighten the chains.”
Lucan nudges her neck with his face, licks his way up her throat, and poises himself to fuck her like a maniac.
Suddenly, he pauses.
“No, we’re almost there…” Sabelle caresses his back and lifts to him in encouragement. “Move with me.”
Lucan thrusts into her again, sinking even deeper. Then he proceeds to plunder her like a jackhammer on stubborn asphalt, pistoning into her in a rough, nonstop rhythm.
Sabelle does her best to absorb his onslaught, but she turns away from him as if she can no longer bear his invasion. Tears spill down her face.
She doesn’t have romantic feelings for Lucan. That fact is all over her face. She’s enduring this terrible scene out of friendship and duty, to help her brother and the cause. But it’s stripping away her dignity and pushing her to the brink.
“Please let me stop this.”
“No,” she sobs. “Don’t. It’s working.”
Bloody hell.
I close my eyes, then force them open again. I’m Sabelle’s safety net. No matter how ugly this is or how angry the destructive forces of magic make me, I can’t leave her vulnerable.
Suddenly, Lucan grabs her chin and squeezes her jaw until she has no choice but to open her mouth.
With a snarl, he plunders her lips and forces his way inside.
Time jerks to a terrifying halt. An icy ocean worth of shock deluges my system.
Oh, god.
This is already ugly. Now, it’s going to get dangerous.
An instant later, my brother lifts his head and lets out a crazed roar.
Right before he wraps his hand around Sabelle’s throat and squeezes like a man possessed.
Without a second thought, I charge toward them. Lucan’s arms flex with muscle and fury as he tries to wring all life from the witch. Her legs flail, and she raises her arms as if she’s trying to summon her magic.
This tragedy can’t compound Anka’s disappearance. I won’t let it. Lucan isn’t Sabelle’s responsibility; he’s mine. I need to man up and find another way to help my brother. I’ll redouble my efforts with Sydney—lie, cheat, steal, seduce—whatever it takes to save him and spare Sabelle from repeating this horror ever again.
With a shout of my own, I hurtle myself onto the bed, lock my forearm around my brother’s neck, and yank back, tugging Lucan off Sabelle.
She gasps, and I’m fucking relieved she’s able to breathe again. I’m grateful when she maneuvers her way out from under him. But it’s short-lived.
Lucan breaks loose from his chains, turns on me with the wild eyes of a madman, and attacks.
Chapter
Thirteen
When riled, my brother has the strength of ten men, and I know as soon as Lucan pins me to the bed and grabs my throat that, despite superior training, I’m in for the fight of my life.
I push at Lucan’s chest, struggling against his hold. But Lucan has gravity on his side, not to mention a grip that’s crushing my windpipe. Without air, I choke and gasp, barely registering a shuffling beside me.
I don’t fucking want to die, but I pray Sabelle gets help rather than putting herself in harm’s path again.
Suddenly, Lucan goes slack and collapses like dead weight on top of me. With a grunt, I push my brother off, then scan the bedroom for Sabelle, who’s primly belting her robe around her waist, looking somewhere between embarrassed and contrite.
“I’m sorry,” she murmurs, swiping away a tear.
Since Lucan is still breathing, I leap off the bed and put my arms around her awkwardly. “For not succeeding? You went above and beyond.”
“No, for being naive. I didn’t believe he would actually hurt a loved one.” She blinks up, looking so contrite it hurts. “He would have killed us both if we hadn’t worked together.”
“How did you stop him?”
“A quick sleeping spell. You intervened enough to free my hands so I could cast it. I hope that, in my panic, I didn’t cast the spell too hard.” She winces.
Another instance of magic potentially backfiring. “You did what was necessary to save us both.”
“None of this would have happened if I hadn’t loosened his chains, if I had managed to stop him from kissing me. If I…”