Chapter 30
PIERCE
Ineeded to get Madison out of her wet clothes.
Though I’d rather push her against a tree and fuck her again.
Force her down to her knees in the mud.
Feel that hot mouth on my flesh.
Hear her moan as my cock slipped deeper and deeper down her throat.
The image of her like that, my come filling her mouth, flashed through my mind with every step.
Meanwhile, her teeth were chattering, and her lips were turning blue.
My plans for her certainly did not include her dying from exposure. Dammit. Angry at myself for letting it go this far, I wrapped my hand around the back of her neck and pushed her forward.
This was not the time. I needed to get her inside where it was safe and warm…like in my bed.
Once under the canopy of dark foliage, the splatter of rain took on a hushed cadence.
The storm had stifled all animal activity, leaving the lush forest a hollow shell.
The stillness was unsettling, broken only by an occasional clap of thunder.
Knowing she needed to warm up and get into dry clothes, I stopped and swept Madison off her feet.
Then I carried her along the faintly trodden path I used as a boy.
The thought of carrying her past the mansion and walking until we found a place where no one knew my name, where I wasn’t a Worthington, and where she wasn’t a nobody to be ground beneath my ambition, had its appeal.
Somewhere her life wasn’t in danger because of me.
Somewhere I could be judged on my own merits and not the actions of my ancestors.
But it was impossible. Soon my hands would be as bloodstained as the ancestors I despised.
My own merit. As if I had any character left.
That my father would have been proud of the despicable things I had done left a vile taste in my mouth. This poor girl was a pawn who didn’t even know she was on the board. And I had taken her like a savage in the mud and gravel, with no thought to her comfort.
No, that wasn’t true. I saw the desire in her eyes. I felt the way her body arched against mine and the way her tight cunt squeezed my cock as she came with my name on her lips. I’d feasted on her need as if starved.
With her head on my shoulder, I risked a glance down as her soft breath caressed my neck.
Her midnight black hair clung to the hollows of her cheeks as it fell, wet and straight, over her shoulders.
Her usually vivid sapphire eyes had taken on a faded denim color in their sadness.
The only spot of true color in her pale complexion was her bright red lips, which were plump and slightly swollen from my heartless kiss.
I had done this. I had drained the blush from her cheeks.
She wouldn’t be the first person sacrificed for the good of our family’s fortune, and she certainly wouldn’t be the last. But she may have been the one least likely to ever escape my grasp.
Through the turmoil of the raging thunderstorm, two hulking wolfhounds broke through the forest gloom, their wiry fur bristling along their backs. Their mouths opened with fangs bared, low, rumbling growls emanating from both.
Madison screamed. Her body stiffened while she wrapped her arms tighter around my neck.
Raising my voice above the din, I commanded, “Lucifer. Hades. Heel.”
The massive dogs immediately ceased barking and sat back on their haunches, waiting for my next command.
Madison’s heart raced against my own. Her nails sank into the back of my neck, but I didn’t mind.
With her brow furrowed, she glared up at me. “I should have known you’d be the master of a pair of hellhounds.”
I smiled and held her tighter. “Technically, they are wolfhounds.”
Tompkins must have discovered the car wreck and set the dogs loose to search for me. Knowing him, he was probably close behind, griping over the muck on his polished shoes.
In no time, these woods would be filled with calls from my staff.
I had hoped to sneak Madison in through the rear hall boot room to avoid the prying eyes and questions of my staff, but that was not to be.
As the sound of distant shouts reached us, I turned to Madison. “Not one word to my staff. Do you understand me?”
With her palms pressed against my chest, she leaned as far back as my arms would allow. “What happens if I say no?”
“Instead of getting locked in a bedroom with access to food and a hot shower, I lock you down in my wine cellar with only a dirt-packed floor.”
“You wouldn’t.”
“I would. I intend to keep you for a while, so it’s up to you.
Would you like to be kept as my sweet little pet, well-fed and warm, or would you prefer to be kept as a prisoner in a dank cell, waiting until I summon you for my needs?
” I slid my hand from the back of her thigh to her ass, giving it a squeeze, letting her know exactly what I meant.
She sucked in an angry breath through her teeth. “There are so many things wrong with that sentence I don’t know where to begin.”
Loosening her grasp from around my neck, she ticked them off on her fingers. “Keep me? Like a freaking pet? A prisoner? Summoned for your needs? Holy shit! Do you hear yourself?”
I missed the warmth of her skin brushing mine. The corner of my mouth lifted as I scanned her face. The blush to her cheeks had returned. It pleased me. My gaze lowered past her face to her gaping blouse. Perhaps if I goaded her further the flush would sweep over the lush curves of her breasts.
“What part angered you the most? The idea of me calling you my pet or the fact that you liked the idea.”
The flush crept lower.
“Did not.”
I leaned in close until the tips of our noses almost touched. “What did you picture first? My fucking you from behind while you’re on all fours or me putting a collar around that pretty neck of yours?”
Her mouth opened on a shocked gasp.
I leaned in and bit her lower lip. “That’s what I thought.”
“I didn’t say anything!”
“You didn’t have to.”
“I hate you.”
The dogs fell easily to my side. “So you’ve already told me.”
She only thought she hated me now.
Wait until she learned I knew Jameson wasn’t dead.