Bound at the Ball (Siren Publishing Allure) by Lea Barrymire Read Free Book Online Page B

long strides he took that he was very tall. He forced her to walk quickly to keep up with his pace. The grip on her arm wasn’t painful, but it was tight enough that if she dallied or stumbled, she’d be bruised.
    He led her past a maze of legs and feet, always with a warm hand wrapped around her arm. She felt like a docile animal being led to slaughter. She could be taken, killed, mauled in an instant, and she wouldn’t see anything coming because she had her head down like the good little submissive. Did she dare look up, though? The male hadn’t hurt her and seemed to be dragging her through a sizable crowd without allowing her to be bumped or harmed. For the moment she felt better following directions and keeping her head down.
    They passed through a doorway, and instantly it was quieter. They must have passed through a sound-disrupting barrier because she hadn’t heard the sound of a door closing. She took the chance to tilt her head and look at as much of the room as she could. Shock froze her steps. There were multi-colored pillows piled on the floor in one corner and a low platform along one wall. The item that caused icy dread to flow through her veins was a padded table that had shiny chains dangling above it.
    He means to torture me.
    She twisted quickly from the hand holding her arm and backed toward the wall. Fighting from the male’s grasp was a bad idea, but if she was to be tortured, she’d fight him as much as she could. Fear raised her heart rate, and she could feel the effects already working through her body. Her arms shook as she raised them in defense. At least there was only one male in the room. If she’d torn away while in the crowd, she would have seen hundreds of eyes boring into her before they hurt her. Slowly she brought her eyes up, cringing in anticipation of the anger she knew she’d see in the male’s face.
    What she found was a staggeringly masculine male staring with a smirk on his lips. No anger shown on his hard face, but his green eyes held something so much more than laughter. She flinched from the look, but her body understood it. She could feel her belly warming and fear crept through her mind. She shook it off. There wasn’t much she could do about the way her body reacted to him. If she was honest with herself, he was the most delicious-looking male she’d ever seen. His hair was a dark amber color, long and pulled away from his face with two long braids that dangled over his shoulders and rested against a very wide chest. His jaw was hard and square, but she could tell that he smiled often by the small lines around his eyes and mouth.
    She couldn’t stop herself from looking him over. The fear she was battling faded some when he didn’t do anything but look at her with amusement. He was dressed in black pants and a dark gray shirt. The piece of his chest that she could see gleamed slightly in the light. He was either bronzed from being in the suns or was naturally darker skinned. Whatever caused the coloring of his skin was to be commended for creating such a beautiful shade. The bit of skin she could see was smooth and hairless. She fought the crazy urge to lick him, to snuggle against him and bury her face against his chest.
    A low chuckle brought her eyes back to his. A small smile lifted the corner of his mouth. “Are you going to fight me, little girl? Think you can take on a warrior of my size?”
    The question reminded her of her stance. She jerked back up and hid her eyes behind her hands at the idea. She’d be punished enough to put her in bed for days if she actually fought him. Females never raised a hand to a male, ever. She shook her head, unable to find the words to save herself. She swallowed the whimper that threatened to escape. She’d made the mistake of pulling away from the warrior and now she’d take her punishment. They wouldn’t get the satisfaction of hearing her cry about it.
    Long moments crept by, and her curiosity got the best of her.