Chapter 32
thirty-two
The scent of forest and expensive cologne clings to my sweatshirt as I glare at Aiden getting mauled by that bitch.
His leather belt trembles in my fist, itching to strike. Snapping the slat off the headboard and slipping free of my binds—that was easy.
But seeing this? This is hard.
I’d heard enough through the closed doors of the ballroom. Watched him burn down the engagement in front of everyone as they opened a crack, only to let Hailey cling like she still has a claim. Maybe I should correct her delusion with the buckle end of this strap.
But then I see it—the fear behind Aiden’s blue eyes. Not fear of her. Fear of me leaving.
And he loves to chase.
So I run. Tight jeans, thick-soled sneakers, full sprint toward the woods. Let’s see how Mr. Fancy Suit keeps up in the muck.
“Stop! Ashlyn! Don’t—”
Hailey hits the ground as he throws her off and barrels after me. His heavy strides pound through the night. Branches snap. His breath cuts sharply through the air behind me.
The trees are widening, growing closer together and becoming easier for me to hide from him, but not for long.
“Fuck off!” I scream, feral, before he scoops me into one arm.
“Want me to drug you again? Because that’s what’ll happen.”
I swing the belt at his head, but he crushes my wrist until he stumbles and drops me. His body lands hard across mine, pinning me flat. Nails, teeth, kicks—useless. In two heartbeats, I’m slung over his shoulder, legs dangling helplessly.
Just like that time I stole his precious penknife my first summer at Crest in retaliation for taking my brownie. Except I seemed to be able to inflict more damage than I am now.
“One more fucking word, baby girl, and your punishment’s going to be even worse. I promise you.”
“Make it worse, fucker.”
The belt cracks across my ass, making me yelp. He answers with three more in brutal a rhythm. My body jerks in his grip, but he doesn’t falter.
“I’m starting to get used to this view,” I grit out, panting. “Your favorite thing now? Parading me like cargo?”
Silence stretches. Only his steady strides and the winter night breathing around us. Then, low, against my hair: “No. My favorite thing is burying myself inside you until you make that throaty sound.”
A spark bolts through me. I grind my thighs together, praying he doesn’t notice.
Back in the lot, a Maserati chirps to life. He tosses me into the passenger seat, buckles me in like a child, and leans close. His jaw is so smooth I want to bite it. But I don’t. I’m angry. I’m supposed to be angry.
Watching him destroy what he was ordered to do isn’t the same as earning me, though. I’m nervous he won’t go far enough. He needs to prove himself.
After the agony of seeing him standing on stage with Hailey, I’ve settled in my mind what I need.
I want the ring. The public proposal. A green dress and a commitment of forever. It used to be enough to have him love me and look at me the way he once did. Now? I want everything.
Or I’ll fuck Landon in front of him.
“Sit there and be still,” he says with a warning glare.
I don’t protest. Before he leaves my side, he stares at me for a long moment, and I almost imagine he’ll kiss me.
He lingers, thumb pressing into my arm, rolling up and down like he’s searching.
When it finds the bump of my birth control implant, his eyes narrow, then turn victorious.
“Ouch! What the hell are you doing?” I ask, breathless, confused, and now…maybe a little scared.
“Don’t move.”
In a swift motion, he skirts to the side, slips behind the wheel, and presses the gas, flooring it with a screech of the tires as we peel out. The engine screams, headlights cutting through the dark. With Talon, I’d claw the door in terror. With Aiden? I lean back and enjoy the ride.
That is, until he eventually swerves us toward the Theta Manor’s cellar door.
The smug smile slips off my face when he lifts me from the seat and carries me down the crumbling stone steps.
“We— We’re not going to your room?”
His chuckle is demented. And cruel. “Oh no. You lost that privilege. I told you not to talk to any other guys. I told you to stay put. I told you I was fixing things, and instead of believing me and trusting me enough to handle it, you decided to disobey. And so now? Now, baby? You get stricter rules.”
“No more nice daddy?” I ask, almost hitting my head on a low beam as we enter the musty stone hall. He covers my skull with his palm and kicks open a wooden door.
“No. Stern and fucking pissed off daddy is here now. Because that’s what you deserve.”
He sets me on my feet and shuts the door, locking it behind him.
The little dank room holds a moldy-looking full-size mattress with sheets and a nasty cream comforter on it.
Iron headboard and footrails obviously made for bondage.
Chains hang from the ceiling, and there’s an old wooden pillory in the corner next to an upholstered chest.
A skinny door behind the main one leads to either a closet or a bathroom. But it’s shut.
He whirls to face me, black suit jacket flaring out at the sides. Fury and molten lava swirl behind his eyes. Fuck. He’s insanely attractive when he’s mad.
“Strip. Everything off.”
Taking my time, I remove my sweatshirt and dangle it on the end of my finger in front of him, then let it drop. Then I do the same with my tank top and finally my bra.
“If you don’t hurry the fuck up? I’ll burn those off your skin.”
I turn around and shimmy out of my jeans, letting my hips sway until I can practically hear his dick filling with need.
The snap of the belt across my bare skin sends me surging toward the bed, scrambling up onto it.
“What are you doing with me?” I ask as he straddles my waist with his thighs.
Silence is his only reply as he sets to work securing my wrists to restraints bound to the headboard. He does the same to my ankles, though I do get one swift kick to his throat before he grabs it. In response, he bites the side of my foot until I yell out in pain.
“That’ll bruise,” he says, smug as hell.
With frustration, he tosses his suit jacket to the floor and loosens his tie, then wraps it around my face until I’m blindfolded.
“Yeah, asshole. What’s your plan?”
“My plan is to gag you unless you shut your mouth and listen.”
I close my lips and kiss the air with an audible smack.
He grips my cheeks so tight, I almost choke on my tongue. “Here are the rules for getting out of here… First? Whenever you’re free, you’ll greet me in the kneeling position. Hands in your lap. Second? You’ll address me as lord.”
“Yes, lord— Ouch!” The belt whips against my naked thigh.
“You’ll only speak when I tell you to.”
“It will be kind of hard—”
Cold air rips across my skin until I shiver as a loud bang sounds through the room, and then, a hard ball with the flavor of rubber is forced inside my mouth. A gag.
He’s gagged me…
“As I was saying. No talking. Except to say, yes, lord. No escaping or attempts to do so.”
Joke’s on him. I’m quite happy where I’m at. If he feeds me. And brings the blanket up. Perhaps an air purifier. And my tablet so I can watch my show.
Besides…
I know exactly what to say to get out of this if I want to.
I hold the information that would crush Aiden.
But it would also hurt me, too.
“Nod if you understand.”
Darkness is all I can see, other than slight movements beneath the tie. I must not move fast enough because he grasps my hair and nods my head for me. Then lays a little smack on my cheek.
“I’ll be back.”
Shifting of the mattress. Creaking of a hinge. Solid slam of a door. Footsteps shuffling along dusty stones. Then…silence.
“Mm!” I yell behind the ball. But there’s no answer.
The echo of his last words lingers in the stale air. Which is starting to make my nose run. He said he’d be back, but not right back…
He can’t just leave me here, can he?
At first, I settle in to relax. Maybe take a nap or paint pictures with my eyes closed. But frustration grows as every moment passing by morphs into irritation, then a need to break free. I wiggle my toes. Then my fingers. My arms…
I’m bound up tight to the rails without the ability to move much. If he leaves me here for long, I’ll be kind of glad to make him clean up after me. He’ll deserve it.
It feels like hours. Perhaps it is. But the tapping of a step bounces off the door, and I attempt to lift my head.
Finally, the door creaks open again and slams shut with finality.
There’s someone in the room. Probably Aiden. But he doesn’t speak. Doesn’t move.
Just knowing he’s there without doing anything makes me squirm. My pussy clenches, missing him. Clit throbs with some anticipation. He has me here. What will he do with me now?
I think about spitting words through the gag, but also want to meet his iciness with my own. Plus…what if it’s not him?
A delicate brush against my collarbone sends me lurching forward, yanked back by the chains. The fingertip dances down my body slowly. Sending a wave of goosebumps over my skin. I sniff back a whimper. Of pleasure…
Of unease.
It reaches my nipple and circles it lightly, teasingly. Both my breasts feel heavy as I arch my back into the sensation. My peaked buds beg for a tongue. A suck.
I let loose a wanton sigh, kicking my feet with anticipation. Saliva drips down my lips like a hungry bitch. Waiting to see what will happen next.
Needy lips suckle on one nipple, while fingers pinch the other. Harder. Squeezing it until I try to back away while still moaning for more. Stubble tickles the skin of my tits, scratching me and scraping until finally the suction releases and I drop back against the pillow.
Heated touch trails down my abs and pauses, then vanishes. Replaced by a light breath hitting my lower thighs, tickled by the moist warmth of the air.