Page 14 of Chain Me
“Where were you?” Dear God. The question slipped out, too puzzling to remain in my head, a weakness I’d mourn later. For some reason, an answer mattered more to me than shame. “Tell me. Or let me guess? Collecting more souls to add to your bounty?”
“My bounty? I was upholdingmyend of the bargain. I’m sure you know all about it.” He waited smugly for a reaction I apparently failed to deliver. His frown transformed into a grimace. “Unless she really didn’t tell you…”
I cocked my head. “Who didn’t tell me—”
“Of course she didn’t.” He released me, raking his hand through his hair as if finally hearing the butt of a ridiculous joke; surprise, surprise, he wasn’t amused. “When have you ever exercised self-preservation?”
Exasperated, I tried to retort, “You—”
“Youbroke the bargain.” His grip returned to the nape of my neck. Using the contact like a leash, he yanked me closer. “Why? Did you fall into league withhim, aiming to see just how far you can push me? You even smell different.” His nose lingered near the crook of my shoulder. Drawing back, he shook his head and refocused his gaze on my mouth. In my quivering lips, he seemed to find an answer to the question he never voiced.
One too terrifying to ponder.
“You’re too pale as well.” He traced my pulse point with the tip of his thumb and my breath stuttered in response. “If you didn’t remove the necklace…”
“I’m leaving.” I tried to step past him, but he shifted, easily blocking my path. “Get out of my way,” I demanded, trying to shove him back. I might as well have tried shoving the wall.
“No.” He stepped into me, forcing me to take a hasty step back. Only for him to take another. Another. Before I could jerk farther out of his reach, his lips grazed my earlobe poised to deliver another insult. “You came to me first.” Once more, he seemed to be speaking only to himself—but his hand crept into my hair, too firm to shake off. “Therefore, youvoided the contract. I’m sure she’s on her way, but it doesn’t matter. I kept my end—”
“Stop!” It was my turn to utter, “What the hell are you talking about?”
“You let him touch you.” He made it sound like the vilest of crimes. “I can forgive that. But not the innocent, childish games.”
He tugged me closer. Too close. I tried to recoil, but his other hand latched onto the back of my scalp, trapping me in place.
“D-Dublin—”
“I will even pretend you didn’t know about your sister’s bargain,” he hissed against my ear. “If that will embolden you to drop the act. Was he your plan for drawing me out sooner? Let me guess—Georgiana is waiting in the wings, ready to resurface?”
“G-Georgie?” I flinched at the third mention of her. Beautiful Georgiana consorting with Dublin about a bargain. A contract. “What did you—”
“I can forgive everything else. Even the flagrant disregard for your own welfare. Everything but this…” He eyed my throat as his upper lip pulled back from his teeth. The slightest hint of fangs teased the air, sending every nerve within my skin on red alert. “I gave you your life, Eleanor. I could concede that much. But your body? I don’t remember relinquishing my hold over it.”
“Stop!” I inhaled, once again fighting for clarity. “You’re not making sense.”
“Or you’re too much of a prude to admit it.” His mouth snapped shut, firm and brooding once more. “I’m starting to think I’ve misinterpreted your little evening. God forbid, I’d almost thought that you were foolish enough to challenge me. But lo and behold, you don’t even have enough damn sense to realize—”
“Or you’re too much of a pompous ass to quit playing games and just tell me what you want!”
The words had barely left my throat when he pulled me in, surging forward in the same swift motion. Our lips met and my body went haywire as his tongue eased my lips apart with a searching swipe that shattered my senses. Pushing him off was my sole aim for grabbing him in return, curling my fingers around his forearms.
But I’d forgotten…
What it felt like to be at his mercy. To have his mouth on mine. To feel his body—living stone impervious to my touch, resistant to my pathetic attempts to tame him.
He easily overpowered me, despite my grip on his arms. Two advancing steps of his herded me back. Back…until my knees struck the mattress and I fell onto the sheets.
He stepped between my splayed legs, robbing me of the chance to regain my bearings. Ruthless, his hand plunged beneath my dress, cupping me with no warning. No growled demands. Just vicious friction.
And it was as if my body ceased beingmine.
Nerves unraveled, enslaved by his touch. The memory of him. Months alone and I’d never even tried to replicate the things he had done to me. I couldn’t. Nothing compared to the stomach-churning sensation he sowed with every stroke of his thumb—ice over burning flesh. My teeth caught my lower lip as he rubbed, testing the thin lace of my panties, grinding the fabric into my skin. Helpless, my head reared back against my shoulders, a cry trapped behind my lips.
I couldn’t resist the fire hissing to life within me, feeding on the motions of his fingers. Rough. Cruel. Relentless.
At the back of my mind, I knew I was hallucinating. This wasn’t happening.
Dublin Helos wasn’t groaning as he urged my legs farther apart, eyeing me the way Lanic had ogled my checkbook. Like I was millions for the taking, his alone to claim.
