Chapter 6
June
“Excuse me?”
“You heard me,” he says, jutting his chin forward. “I need to search you.”
“I’m not wired, if that’s what you’re worried about,” I try to save myself from this humiliation. Because that’s what this is about, right? He just wants to exert power over me and make me feel small and insecure.
“You can say that, but I don’t trust your words,” he insists. “I only trust my own eyes.”
He crosses his arms in front of his chest and waits.
“I’m not taking my clothes off,” I say.
“Oh, yes you will,” he maintains. “Or do you want me to do it for you?”
He steps closer, and when I jerk away, his hand flies up and reaches for my me. I wince when his fingers snake around my arm, digging into my flesh, as he keeps me in place.
“We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” he seethes. “One way or another, you’re going to undress and prove to me you’re not keeping any secrets from me.”
My heart hiccups in fear, and his grip only tightens when I try to free myself from him. I am keeping secrets from him, but he won’t find them in my underwear.
“You can’t be serious,” I hiss.
But he’s dead serious. I can see it in his eyes.
Is he going to rape me? Is that what this is about? This is something I was afraid of, but I will take the risk, because my aim is more important than my dignity. It’s more important than anything in the world.
I said I will do anything to avenge my father’s death, so that’s what I will have to do.
Anything.
“So, what’s it going to be?” He probes. “Will you take off your clothes for me, or do I have to do it?”
“I’ll do it,” I say through gritted teeth. “If you let go of me.”
He hesitates for a moment, and pins me down with a dark stare that reaches right into my soul. I want to avert my eyes and hide the truth he could see in them, but I don’t want to give him the satisfaction.
His fingers loosen, and I pull away from him as soon as I’m free of his unyielding clamp. I take a step back to bring some distance between us and pull my sweater over my head in one rapid motion without thinking about it. His face doesn’t move when he looks at me, while I’m standing before him in my bra and jeans, feeling awkwardly exposed already.
“See, no wire,” I say, before I jokingly add: “Except for the one in my bra.”
“I can see that,” he remarks, as he pointedly scans my upper body. “Now the pants.”
His intense gaze feels like a laser burning into my skin as I bow down to unzip my pants and drag them down over my hips. I step out of them as gracefully as possible and lift my chin to meet his observant eyes.
His face remains cold and unreadable, just as before. I can’t stop myself from sucking in a sharp breath of air when he closes in on me and hooks a finger underneath the left strap of my bra.
“What are you doing?” I breathe helplessly as he pulls the strap over my shoulder.
“Checking you,” he says nonchalantly, as if he was going through some paperwork.
I freeze while he pulls down the other strap as well, before removing the cups of my bra and exposing my boobs before his eyes. I can’t suppress a little hissing sound when he reaches up and traces his finger underneath the curves of my tits. His touch feels electric and hot, and so, so wrong.
I don’t find myself repulsed, like I should be. Instead, I have to force myself not to lean into him, or close my eyes and hum with approval.However, I have no control over my nipples hardening under his touch.
What’s wrong with me? This is disgusting. He is disgusting.
“Good,” he assesses, and the sizzling tip of his finger finally leaves my skin.
I sigh with relief, but then he goes down on his knees and does the same with my panties. He hooks his fingers under the hem and drags them down, while I do my best to remain as calm as possible. I close my eyes and ignore the surge of shame that washes over me when I feel his eyes on my most sensitive area. He pulls my panties down to my knees, and I can’t stop myself from letting out a soft mewl when his hands land on my legs and trail over my skin, back up to my hips and then to the back of my body.
Another sound escapes my lips, louder this time—and he laughs darkly as he cups my ass with both hands.
“Do I have to check in there, too?” He asks.
A sinister smirk appears on his face when he looks up at me, while I feel like I’m about to explode with fiery shame. I try my best to conceal the confusing flutter that is spreading through my core. He shouldn’t be touching me like this. He’s a stranger, a dangerous man, a man I hate. But his hands feel so…
I hurry to shake my head. “No. Definitely not.”
“Because you don’t want me to find anything or—“
“I didn’t stuff anything up my ass!” I protest, louder than intended.
That makes him chuckle. “A good criminal would.”
“I’m not a criminal,” I say. “You are.”
He scoffs, and—finally—lets go of me, before he gets back up on his feet.
“A little high and mighty for a blood princess like yourself, don’t you think?”
His gaze falls down to my wrist, and my heart almost stops when his eyes linger on the silver bracelet with the charm locket that holds my father’s picture. No. Not that! I close my hand over the bracelet, terrified that he might take it from me.
“No,” I say. “This is… my mother gave this to me. It means a lot to me.”
He smirks. “I can take whatever I want from you.”
I retreat when he takes a step forward, keeping my hand protectively wrapped around the bracelet while shaking my head. I should never have brought it here. What was I thinking?
“Do whatever you want to me, but don’t take this bracelet,” I say. “Please.”
I soften my expression and look up at him with the pleading eyes of a little girl who is afraid of losing something precious — which, I guess, isn’t that far from the truth. It’s a lie that my mother gave this bracelet to me, but it’s still the most valuable thing I possess.
His dark eyes pierce right through me, and I bite my lip to stop myself from saying anything stupid. I can’t forget who I am in his eyes. I’m Grace Reid, the youngest daughter of one of the most prolific crime families in the Boston area. I must never forget that.
“Fine, keep it then,” he says eventually.
I sigh with relief and close my eyes for a moment, and when I open them again, my gaze falls onto his crotch, where I notice a visible bulge poking against the fabric of his pants. I gasp and take a step back, while heat rises to my ears.
“Don’t act like a silly little pearl clutcher. I’m sure a girl like you has seen a hard-on before,” he says. A condescending smirk tugs at the corner of his mouth. “Take it as a compliment.”
“A girl like me?” I frown at him. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
He shakes his head. “Don’t act stupid. And get dressed. I have seen enough.”
I fix my underwear and pull the sweater over my head before reaching for the pants on the floor.
I hate him. This was so utterly humiliating, and so unwarranted. But I knew something like this could happen. It’s what I signed up for. In fact, I signed up for worse.
And worse could still happen to me, especially after what he just did to me.
“Are you hungry?” He says, as I’m struggling to get back into my jeans.
The question catches me off guard, and I respond with an aghast look before I press my lips together and suggest a nod.
“Good,” he says, already turning away from me. “Me too. I’ll get us something to eat.”
And with that, he walks away, obviously expecting me to follow him into the back of the house.
And I do, like an obedient puppy, with my lips sealed and my eyes wide open.