Total pages in book: 132
Estimated words: 126564 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 633(@200wpm)___ 506(@250wpm)___ 422(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 126564 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 633(@200wpm)___ 506(@250wpm)___ 422(@300wpm)
I opened my mouth, letting out a desperate scream.
“I see you need a little reminder on how our get-togethers go down.” Craig fisted my hair harder, burying my face into the rich wool linen, suffocating and shutting me up at the same time. Locks of coppery hair fell from my scalp, scattering on the mattress.
“Come on, now, Hal-Pal. It’s been years, and you know I never overstep. I’ll just cop a little feel. Keep you in top-notch.”
His fingers patted along my inner thighs. I clutched my legs shut, bucking and escaping his touch. I couldn’t breathe. The safest solution was to let Craig do his thing and get it over with. But I didn’t want to be safe. I wanted to inflict pain on him. I wanted revenge. I wanted his blood.
Not today, Satan. Not today.
Craig never went all the way when he assaulted me. He never penetrated me in any way. Never kissed me, even. But he always touched where he was not supposed to. Even when I pleaded—begged him—not to. Especially when I begged him not to.
He liked tugging one off while assaulting me.
Getting off on my pain.
To him, I was the simpleminded Thorne child, the forgotten black sheep. His to play with.
His hands found the spot he was looking for, and he cupped my sex through my panties from behind, squeezing hard, letting out a satisfied groan.
“Here we are. Now let me just…do this…right quick…last time as an unmarried man…”
I heard his zipper roll down, and I screamed hard into the duvet. The pressure inside my head was so intense, I thought it’d explode. I tried to give him a roundhouse kick, but he moved away quickly. He stepped back between my legs from behind. He held my head tightly, pushing my face down onto the mattress so no one could hear me.
“Now where were we?” He chuckled.
Before I knew what was happening, Craig flew off of me. I righted myself, pushing my dress down. I caught a glimpse of the red marks his fingers left on my thighs. Ransom fisted Craig’s dress shirt, slamming him against the walled mirror. The mirror broke and collapsed at their feet, the alarming noise drowned by the soft jazz music seeping from under the closed door.
“Fatal mistake.” Ransom smashed Craig’s head against the broken mirror. “The worst one you’ve made in your miserable life.”
Eyes dead, jaw flexed, Ransom thrashed my sister’s fiancé against the broken glass again and again.
“Wait! Wait! I can explain!” Craig cried out, trying to wriggle away from my bodyguard’s grasp. He stood no chance, and he knew it.
“You can try while I smash your fucking head in, but you won’t succeed.” Ransom’s voice was as blank as his eyes. Blood stained the shards of broken glass behind Craig’s head. The glass was flat, so it didn’t pierce through the skin, but my heart was still in my throat.
“Look, she’s not…she is not like us, man! Her mind is…she is simple, all right?”
In response, Ransom flung Craig across the room, over the bed. Head down, ass up, he was now in the same position I’d been in moments earlier.
Seeing him like this, at a point of such disadvantage, made me want to weep with relief.
“Let me demonstrate what it felt like for her.” Ransom pushed Craig’s face deep into the mattress while ripping Craig’s tuxedo pants down. His boxers tangled across his ankles. From my spot in the corner of the room, I stared at his soupy skin, the way his knees bumped together in fear. He retched, collapsing forward. Then he vomited all over the bed.
“What were you going to do to her?” Ransom demanded, his hand still fisting Craig’s hair. A better woman would have stopped Ransom. But I thrived on the scene, buzzing with adrenaline.
I hated Craig and couldn’t help but feel triumph and relief. He was finally getting what he deserved, after all these years. All those tears.
Craig’s muffled voice—blocked by the linen and his vomit—tried to answer the question.
Ransom tugged him up by the hair. “Repeat that.”
“Nothing!” Craig cried out, tears streaming down his splotched face. “I swear!”
“Wrong answer. I’m giving you another chance, before I get creative with your punishment. Fair warning: my taste runs eclectic, and I’m a very adventurous man.”
Craig looked delirious with pain and fear.
“What were you going to do to her?” Ransom leaned down, whispering in his ear. His fingers tightened on Craig’s hair, pulling some of it out. His golden tresses fell next to my red-hot ones. Together, they looked like orange-tipped flames.
Craig closed his eyes. “I—I—I was just…I thought…I mean, I normally just…”
“He touches me and jerks off,” I found my voice from my spot in the corner of the room, hugging myself protectively.
“How many times?” Ransom asked without looking at me.
“Four,” I replied, including this one. The only impediment that stood between Craig and his goal was the man who was hired to protect me.