one of my keepers did the deed for me.
Cade stood amidst my meager belongings, dominating them. The rage I had witnessed near the wall was barely contained behind a sheen of civility. No one discerned the menace but me. There would be no aid this night.
“Come in.” He held the door open farther for me. For the rest of the group, he appeared the concerned mate, ready to forgive my crimes. When that could not be further from the truth. The unknown nature of his retribution sent slithers of apprehension through my system. I could handle myself in any situation, any circumstances that I could fight my way through. Except I could not fight him, could not defend myself in any way against him. Otherwise my men paid the price. What’s more, by the glean in his eyes, he knew he had won.
“That will be all this evening. Please don’t disturb us for any reason, regardless of what you hear.” He winked at his men, who masked their chortles with coughs.
My cheeks flamed as I passed across the threshold. He had blatantly told these men exactly what he planned to do with me tonight. I was not virginal by any stretch of the mind, but I had never been free with my body. He had all but smacked my ass and staked his claim in front of them.
Bastard.
I would never be his. My body, yes, but my soul …
Never.
I stopped short at the sight of my bed, the navy covers turned down in anticipation. The door slammed shut with a resounding thud. Metal screeched as he secured a deadbolt and trapped me inside. I did not move, just waited for him to pounce. My breath caught in my throat, and I squeezed my eyes shut.
Fingers dug into my jaw and tilted my head back.
“Look at me.”
I ignored him, keeping my eyes closed.
The rage I had only sensed in him exploded, and I found myself pressed up against the wall with one hand around my throat while the other was clenched like talons around my face.
“Look at me,” He growled, and his hot breath washed over me.
I cracked my eyes open and poured every ounce of my hatred into that one glance.
“You will never pull a stunt like you did yesterday. Do you understand? I wanted to be nice, give you a chance to get used to the idea of our situation, but you have forced my hand. You are to shower and rid your form of dungeon stench. You will return to this room without a single stitch of clothing on and lie on the bed. Tonight and every night from here on out, you will fuck me as if your life depends upon it. From here on out, you will not wear clothes unless I desire it. You will not eat or sleep unless I make it so. And I can promise you this, Alana, if you ever pull a stunt like that again, I will give you the spanking you so richly deserve and then fuck you anyway.”
He released my body, although I remained up against the wall. Would he really give me a few minutes?
“Go,” he ordered and pointed to the bathroom. “Leave the door open.”
With every ounce of bravado left within my arsenal, I side stepped him and marched to my bathroom. Although, not before I noticed the rather large bulge in his pants. I wanted to vomit.
This was truly happening. Cade would, as he said, fuck me. I did not realize I was shaking until I attempted to unzip my pants. My hands shook so violently the zipper became stuck midway down. Knowing the small bit of time he afforded me was limited, I squeezed myself out of my pants with the zipper only halfway undone.
The shower was lukewarm, but it was more than I had experienced in days. There was something so primal about what a shower did for a body. Slicking off the dirt and grime from the last few days, I decided my hair needed a good washing as well. My teeth chattered from the tepid water but I did not care. Closing my eyes I stood underneath the spray and let the water rinse the last suds from my body.
Resolved at the night to come, I opened my eyes to shut the water off. Cade stood half-dressed on the other side of the shower glass, watching me. There
Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child