Twisted - Esme Devlin Page 0,52
slide my nightdress up, exposing me to even more of his hot skin.
“Not awful? How very diplomatic of you. We shall have to work on that.”
I cry out as his nails run down the side of my bare body, from my breast to my hip. They are clipped short, but the force of it is enough for that not to matter.
It’s painful.
It hurts.
But it sparks something deep inside me far worse than the ache. Instead of scrambling away in fear, I find myself pulling him closer. Trying to draw him in. Trying to give him more of me, to do with whatever he pleases.
He pulls away from me only to yank the dress up farther, letting it bundle around my neck. I’m exposed to his eyes completely, and I can’t even see him. It’s the strangest mix of vulnerability and excitement. Just like the night when I first saw him, when I was dancing for my life and everything else faded away—except for him.
His mouth comes down hard on my breast, pulling my nipple into his mouth and sucking with force. His hand drags down my side again, this time even more brutally. And all I can do is writhe against him, too desperate to stop.
My hands clutch at his neck, and I’m caught between trying to push him away and trying to pull him in closer. It’s like being devoured by a demon—knowing it’s wrong but not quite being able to find the strength to care.
Who cares?
Not me.
Not anymore.
He’s still grinding against me, dragging me higher and higher.
The more he does it, the more desperate I become.
He pushes against me, and I’m forced to let him; but just he starts to pull away, my hips follow. Chasing him. Chasing some peak I didn’t even know existed.
I’m so close.
His mouth trails higher, layering hot kisses all over me.
He lets out a sigh just before he bites down hard on my neck.
That’s what does it.
It’s the worst feeling and somehow exactly what I needed.
The muscles in my thighs lock up. My stomach clenches. I hold my breath as waves of pleasure take over my body.
He lets go of my neck just to whisper in my ear what a good girl I am, and warmth spreads through my body. Warmth and a strange sense of peace.
I shudder in a breath as I come down from my high, and he stays there on top of me for a while. He doesn’t move, he just breathes me in. His finger traces down my cheek, and I get the feeling he’s watching me.
“Stay here,” he says quietly, pressing another kiss on my lips.
I do as he says while he gets off me. He moves around the room, probably putting his clothes back on and covering his face again.
“Done?” I ask, pulling my dress down.
He’s been quiet for a while.
“Done.”
I pull the blindfold up.
It feels like waking up from a dream.
The man is gone, and the mask is back.
“Sleep well, sweet girl.”
All I can do is nod and watch him while he walks away.
17
Sapphire
I’m sitting in Baron’s office. He’s not here.
In fact, I haven’t seen him since the night we… kissed.
When I was last in here, I’d claimed to have been lonely. While that wasn’t completely a lie, my loneliness wasn’t the main reason for making the deal. I wasn’t that lonely.
But things were still new then. I was discovering new things on a daily basis. Still turning down corridors and finding them bricked up. Still getting confused on my way to the kitchen.
And I knew I was never far away from human contact and conversation, even if it was always with the same man.
Now… now I really am lonely.
He sends Andrei to my room to check on me and secure me to the bed at night. Andrei only ever has two phrases for me—good evening, miss and sleep well, miss.
That is all.
Usually by the time he comes to “tuck me in,” I’ve retired hours before. I sit in the chair that used to be Baron’s, and I try to read the foreign words of the books he gave me. His favorites, apparently. I think one is Latin, and the other, I have no idea what language it is. The words make no sense, but at least I can pretend I’m learning something.
And it was sitting in that very chair that I realized my mistake.
I should have put a timeframe on our deal.
Yes, I won. I beat him at my game. But I wasn’t smart enough