OnsetofDanger by Aubrey Ross Read Free Book Online Page B

ashamed of her
body, far from it, but already the scene was taking on a life of its own. She’d
expected Farren to station the guards outside, not allow them to watch.
    It didn’t matter. She couldn’t let it matter. Only something
with massive emotional impact would push Desmond beyond caution, beyond
rational thought, and allow his instincts to take over completely. She had to
become that catalyst.
    Her hands trembled as she freed one button and moved on to
the next. She risked a glance into Desmond’s eyes and felt her heartbeat
falter. The pain and utter devastation reflected in his gaze nearly changed her
mind. This was cruel and twisted and… necessary . The only other choice
was surrender to the Brethren. And she would rather die than endure slavery
again.
    She tugged off her boots and socks then slipped off her
blouse with casual indifference. If she remained completely robotic, Desmond
would believe she was under the control of the Brethren, oblivious to what was
happening to her body. But would that be enough to ignite the reaction she
needed? If Desmond’s Strigo side wasn’t unleashed, she was doing this for
nothing.
    There was only one way to find out.
    Reaching beneath her skirt, she pulled down her panties and
kicked them aside. The guards watched each move she made with wolfish
anticipation. She couldn’t think about them. They were irrelevant to her goal.
She unhooked her bra and let it slide down her arms before she wiggled out of
her skirt.
    Suddenly Farren was at her back. One of his arms spanned her
narrow waist and pressed her against him. “We can take our time, pet. Give us a
moment to appreciate our good fortune.” He cupped one of her breasts and then
the other, teasing each nipple with the pad of his thumb. “Have you ever seen
such perfect breasts, boys? Soft and round, with just enough bounce to make
things interesting.” He lightly swatted her breasts, making them jiggle.
    Heat and humiliation twisted through Caresse, the unwanted
ache even more upsetting than the shame. It had been decades since she’d been
objectified. She thought she’d left these cravings far behind. Farren caught
one of her nipples between his thumb and forefinger then twisted until she
cried out. Desmond jerked against his captors, his features contorted with
rage. Her nipple tingled and burned. Reality blended with memory, melding the
harsh stimulation into something insidious and arousing.
    Desmond made a strangled sound as the guards reacted to his
renewed aggression. One nudged him with the gun while the other tightened his
fingers. Their actions weren’t enough to completely distract Caresse from
Farren. Already she could feel his erection pressing into her back.
    “Your skin is so fair,” Farren murmured as he toyed with her
nipples, “yet it flushes so deeply. You’ll be a joy to flog. I can just imagine
ribbons of red weaving their way across all this soft ivory skin.”
    An image formed within her mind, a taunting memory she
continually struggled to suppress. She was not that person anymore. She was
free from those dark desires, those mindless pleasures. Even so, the image
came, vivid and enticing. She stood chained between two thick wooden posts,
naked and aching, desperate for release. Her body was crisscrossed with lash
marks and three young hosts scraped her tender flesh with their distended
fangs. One raked the length of her neck, another created a clear trail from one
nipple to the other. And Desmond knelt before her, sliding his mouth up her
inner thigh.
    No! She would not think about those years, could not afford
to confuse the past with the present. She’d been a blood-slave then. She’d had
no choice but to surrender to anything anyone wanted from her. This was
different. She was temporarily using her sexuality for a much greater gain. She
would not allow herself to be drawn back into that passive mindset where
nothing existed but physical sensation.
    Farren eased her away then turned