Total pages in book: 101
Estimated words: 93482 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 467(@200wpm)___ 374(@250wpm)___ 312(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93482 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 467(@200wpm)___ 374(@250wpm)___ 312(@300wpm)
He would tell my mother, and then there was no telling what she would do.
At least I knew where I stood here. Father Manwarring may use me, corrupt me, but he wasn’t lying to me. He wasn’t pretending to love me. I knew exactly what this was. There was something coldly comforting about that.
I stood and locked the door. If the butler tried to come in, he wouldn’t be able to and as long as we weren’t too loud, I could tell my mother the door was locked for confession.
The dress I put on this morning was made of a soft wool blend, and when I lifted it over my head, tossing it on a dresser, I shivered in the cold air of the room.
“What now?” I asked, not knowing what he was expecting of me this time.
“Now, I want you to tell me who you belong to.”
“I belong to you,” I said, my voice coming out monotone.
“See, I don’t think you believe that.” He stood, grabbing his phone again. “I think you need to be reminded that I know what is best for you.”
He stood in front of me and tipped my head up so I was looking into his beautiful eyes.
“I am a —”
“I know exactly what you are, angel,” he said, talking over me. “I know you were silly and tried to rebel. Just like many, many women before you, you were taken in by a con man. It’s not your fault, but I think you have proven that you are not ready to make these kinds of decisions on your own.”
I opened my mouth to argue, to remind him I was a grown woman, but he placed his thumb on my lips, pushing it inside my mouth, and my body responded to his touch, his attention, in ways I couldn’t control.
“Hush now, be my good angel. Atone for your sins, but once this is over, you will never think of him again. Do you understand?”
Could he do that? Could he take away the pain and the guilt that I was still feeling over Raul’s death?
He removed his thumb from my mouth, replacing it with his lips, and I melted into his kiss. Desperate for him to take away my pain.
His teeth sank into my lower lip, and I groaned at the sting, shocks of electricity spreading through my body. I could feel my nipples tightening against my cotton bra, and my panties getting wet.
The way my body responded to Father Manwarring only further proved the point that I’d never loved Raul. If I’d loved him, if there was real chemistry or a connection between us, I wouldn’t have felt half of the things I did from a single kiss from Father Manwarring.
With his hands on my hips, he pushed me back toward my bed, stopping just as the backs of my thighs brushed against my duvet cover.
“Turn around,” he growled. “I want your hands flat on the bed.”
I didn’t think, I didn’t argue, or even consider not obeying. Instead, I turned my brain off and just did what he said. Finding some solace in not having to make choices and not having to fight for what I wanted.
All of those decisions, all the arguments. I trusted all of it with him, knowing that he was about to show me something else about myself that I didn’t know before.
He put his phone on the mattress right in front of my face and started the video again.
“Do not move, do not make a sound,” he demanded.
I stared at Raul’s face, the sweet man I knew nowhere to be seen. I watched over and over as he said he didn’t love me, that it was a scam. There wasn’t even a hint of remorse on his face.
“Watch him, angel. Feel the pain he is causing you, feel the hurt and the betrayal,” Father Manwarring said as he ran his hands down my back, his fingers barely skimming across it. He unhooked my bra, but left it still attached to my arms and resting on the bed.
Then I felt his lips at the base of my neck. He slowly moved down my back, leaving a trail of soft kisses down my spine. It felt so good. Shivers and sparks darted over the sensitive skin, a little bloom of warmth left every place his lips touched.
While he kissed my back, his hands went to my breasts, massaging gently, not pinching this time. His hands were so warm against my cool skin, I closed my eyes for a moment to revel in the feel of his attention.
“Open your eyes, angel,” he said. “Watch.”
When I looked up, I saw the mirror on the vanity across the room. He could see my face clearly, but more importantly, so could I. I didn’t look like myself, with my perfect makeup and styled hair. My hair was a mess and my eyes were wide and brighter than they had ever been, still red from the tears, and my lips were darker and plumper. My breasts hung down under me, supported by only his hands.