Toxic - Zoe Blake Page 0,13

up in my arms and carried her up to my bed… where she belonged.

Chapter 6

Lizzie

I awoke the next morning to something cold and hard being dropped on my chest and bare stomach.

Startled, I opened my eyes to see Richard sitting on the bed, fully clothed. Dressed in a cashmere jumper and Ralph Lauren Purple Label dark brown suede jacket, he still looked imposing despite his more casual than usual attire. That didn’t make him any less intimidating. He liked to do this sort of thing often. Appear before me dressed and complete while I was naked, making me feel vulnerable and exposed… off-balance.

Richard stroked my cheek. “Good morning, sleepyhead.”

Between shaking off sleep and the traumatic events of the last twenty-four hours, I was having a hard time processing his soft, boyfriend-like tone. You would almost think this was normal… that we were a normal couple greeting each other in the morning like we usually did after a night of normal couple activities, like making dinner and watching a movie.

It was all a lie.

There was nothing normal about this… about us.

We had filled last night with degrading sexual deeds that fed into the shadows he had cast within my soul. Memories of him carrying me to his bed, of him forcing me to crawl to him with a riding crop gripped between my teeth, of him fucking me from behind while he shoved the handle deep into my ass, crowded my already overwrought brain.

Looking down to see what had awakened me, my mouth fell open at the sight. Glittering against my pale skin were countless large loose jewels; diamonds, rubies, emeralds, all of which had to be at least eight to ten carats each.

Sitting up against the pillows, I cupped them in my hands as they slid off my body onto the bed. Richard had his arm high and dropped several more into my outstretched hands, a cascade of shimmering riches.

“Richard! What is this?” I marveled; I couldn’t stop staring at the bright stones as they caught the morning light, sending tiny rainbows across my naked breasts.

Picking up one of the larger deep green emeralds, he said, “Did you know emeralds possess the mystic power of truth?”

Placing the flat edge of the stone against my lower lip, he gently caressed my mouth.

“Legend has it, if you place an emerald under your tongue, it will reveal whether what your lover says is true or false.” His voice was dark as honey.

Without having to be told, I opened my mouth. Richard placed the cold stone under my tongue. The sharp edge cut into the delicate flesh of my mouth as his finger ran across my lower lip again.

Next he selected a bright crimson ruby. Its marquis cut sending sparkles of light through its deep red depths.

“The ruby, with its blood symbolism, has the power to rule over the heart.”

As he pressed the stone just beneath my collarbone, it forced me to lean back. He selected several more matching rubies and began to lay out a necklace of loose stones on my chest.

Picking up a massive, round-cut diamond, he rolled the stone between his fingertips before holding it with the sharp point facing out. Leaning close, he traced the outline of my areole. My sensitive nipples became painfully hard.

Flipping the emerald onto the top of my tongue, I sucked on the now warm and wet stone in my mouth.

“Now, the diamond is special,” he intoned as he etched faint pink lines on the pale skin of my breasts as he circled my nipples. “Made of only one element, it represents strength and unwavering constancy. There are few things on this planet stronger than this simple stone.”

Selecting the rest of the diamonds from my open palm, he arranged them on my chest amongst the rubies. My breathing became shallow as I tried not to disturb his creation. Both his words and his touch entranced me.

“This one is my favorite.”

In his hand, he held the largest pearl I had ever seen. It was teardrop shaped and almost the length of my thumb.

Mesmerized, I followed his hand as he nestled the pearl between my breasts.

Tracing the outline of the pearl with his fingertip, he said, “The pearl symbolizes purity and innocence.”

His warm finger traced a line over my flat stomach. I could feel my abdominal muscles tighten as my breath hitched. Reaching the apex of my thighs, he lightly stroked the sparse curls before caressing the seam between my pussy lips.

My legs trembled as I willingly opened