Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 80919 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80919 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
Mr. Manchild was going to learn that I couldn’t be broken. I was a person, not a possession.
A woman, not his pet.
He did something to me.
The other night, he awakened something in me, and I had no intention of silencing it.
My entire life I had been asleep in a gilded cage, but maybe if I fought back, if I stopped being so damn agreeable, if I proved to be too much for him, then he would set me free.
“Don’t exaggerate.” Rose rolled her eyes. “She isn’t selling you off. She must think Mr. Manwarring would be a better match. I’m sure all she really cares about is your happiness.”
We met each other’s eyes in the mirror, and we both started laughing.
“I doubt that. Earlier today she saw me eat an apple at breakfast and raged about carbs. It was an apple. I’ve been hiding from her the entire day so I didn’t have to keep hearing how I’m not thin enough or pretty enough.”
“You are absolutely pretty enough,” Rose said. “And you have all the right curves in all the right places.”
“And you are simply adorable and are quickly growing into stunning,” I responded, making her smile. “I didn’t see you earlier. Where have you been all day?” I studied her in the mirror.
Her cheeks were tinted pink, and she wasn’t looking me in the eye anymore. That was very unlike Rose. We told each other everything. I put the eyeliner brush down and turned to look at her directly. “Rose, what is it?”
“Have you seen the new gardener Father hired? He was planting the loveliest rose bushes on the grounds today.” A sweet smile stretched her lips. “He gave me one of the Princess Anne roses. He cut it fresh for me and said that its beauty was a pale comparison to mine.”
“When were you in the gardens?” I asked.
Rose hardly ever spent time in the back gardens. She preferred to stay inside, where there weren’t any bugs or risk of her porcelain skin burning. Unless, of course, she was going for a run around the block, but even then, she preferred gyms.
“I saw him planting it from my window and he looked so hot…” Her skin flushed a deep red as she realized what she’d said.
This girl was never going to be able to hide her embarrassment. Anyone could read her like a large neon sign. “I mean, he looked like he was working hard and overheating, and I brought him some water and we talked for a bit…”
“Be careful,” I warned her. “Do not get too close to the staff. If Mother were to see, the best thing that could happen is she fires him.”
“It’s nothing like that. She wouldn’t…”
When I raised my eyebrow at her, she nodded. “Okay, I won’t talk to him again.”
“Smart move,” I said as Sarah brought out the dress and hung it on a valet hook by the wall. “It’s perfect.”
“It’s salacious,” Rose argued.
“We’re seeing Salome at the opera. Scandal is kind of the theme of the night,” I said, taking the dress behind the privacy screen in my room.
“What dress would you like to wear tonight, Ms. Rose?” Sarah asked.
“I think the pink Dior. One of us should look more like a lady of breeding.” Her peals of laughter were light. Her laughter had always reminded me of bells, and I hoped she got to retain her youthful innocence. I hoped life didn’t stomp it out of her.
The dress fit perfectly. The shiny green silk of the skirt felt cool and smooth against my legs, and the way it moved made it look almost liquid. The corseted bodice was lined with a soft beige fabric that really matched my skin perfectly. A single layer of soft, pale-green tulle covered the lining, and the piping over the boning of the corset was a green that matched the skirt.
Observing myself in the mirror, I could admit it was a tad much.
The slit was dangerously high. I would be able to feel the cold air between my thighs, and my ample breasts overfilled the corset’s cups. It had probably been measured wrong and they had made it a size too small, or the orders had been mixed up and I’d received a more petite girl’s dress.
That just made me love it more.
What would I see in Mr. Manchild’s eyes when he looked at me?
Would he think I was stunning and want to show me off? Or would he hate it? From his reaction to my backless dress, I had an idea which reaction I was going to get.
Would he punish me with more pleasure?
Would he force me to pleasure him?
Even the thought of him taking me in hand made my blood heat. Why did he excite me the way he did? The filthy promises he’d made to me in the billiards room echoed in my mind, and part of me wondered if I was subconsciously calling his bluff.