Total pages in book: 24
Estimated words: 22167 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 111(@200wpm)___ 89(@250wpm)___ 74(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 22167 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 111(@200wpm)___ 89(@250wpm)___ 74(@300wpm)
I don’t bother grabbing a shirt and leave my feet bare. I open the front door and run, the dogs following in pursuit. It’s fucking not safe for her here at night. There’s literally nowhere to go, and the only thing she might find is some wild animal that would tear her limb from limb.
I should never have left her alone. She hasn’t come to terms with it. I should have stayed there or handcuffed her to the shower. I thought she was fine, but obviously, I was wrong. Maybe I can’t read the little bird as well as I thought. I smile, thinking when I find her, I will start taking my showers with her in them. Fuck, why would she do this? She knows I’d rather die than hurt her.
The dogs stop. I feel relieved because that must mean they have something. A branch breaks, and the sound of rustling leaves blasts through the silent night air. I glance down and see one of her nude high heels. She must be close, and if she was running with these, she’s probably injured. I'll have to punish her for putting her safety at risk. What the fuck was she thinking? I thought she understood me. I’d fucking die before I let anything happen to her. Under no circumstances is she ever allowed to get hurt. If I have to tie her up to keep her safe, I will, because she is now mine, and I take good care of what belongs to me.
Timber and Tiger jump into the small valley and bark. I run down and join them, and there is my Little Bird, sitting on the cold, hard ground, nursing her arm. I can’t really see her face in the darkness. My first reaction is to check her ankle; she slides back on the ground as I approach.
“Fuck you.”
“It would be your pleasure, Little Bird, but first, I need to see what kind of damage you did to yourself.”
She bites her bottom lip and gives me a nervous smile. I am not sure if she fears me or likes to play games. “So this may not have been the brightest thing I’ve ever done.”
I walk over and take her ankle in my hands.
“Looks like this is a habit with us. Me hurting myself and you being there to fix it.”
I don’t say a word, lifting her. I get lost in her warm body cradled against me while her arms go around my neck and she leans into me, giving the illusion that she trusts me.
I open the door to the cabin and rush her to the bathroom. “Strip,” I demand.
She sits there immobile before giving me a look of disgust while she wraps her arms around herself. “I will not.”
“You think if I wanted to do anything to you, your arms would have a shot in hell of protecting you? You’re just lucky that you’re not over my knee right now for the stunt you pulled. Don’t make me repeat myself, Little Bird. Strip.”
Clarissa bites her lip, turning her face away from me. I know I sounded like an asshole, but I am pissed. She could’ve seriously hurt herself.
“Either you do it, or I do.”
“You said you wouldn’t rape me.”
“Oh, for God’s sake.” I walk up to her, my hands on the hem of her short black dress. I stare into her eyes and notice a shift. The fear that was there a moment ago is now gone. It’s been replaced with something else—curiosity, lust, desire. She licks her lips, and I tear the dress off her, exposing her black cotton panties and black lace bra.
“Do you want me to rip the rest off, or do you want to do it?”
Clarissa keeps her eyes on me as she removes her bra, letting it fall to the floor by her feet, and then shimmies out of her panties, leaving her bare entirely to my hungry stare. I am hard as a rock from just looking at her body. My dick could fucking cut through steel at this moment.
“Happy?” she asks.
I close the gap between us. “Not yet, but the night is young.”
My hands are on her in an instant, though not in the primal way that I want them to be. I examine her body, checking every inch for any marks of damage she might have caused herself when she ran away from me. I turn her around, and my blood runs cold. My hand twitches, and my fingers shake as they brush against her bare back.
“Who did this?” I ask, my voice cold. I am no longer a man but a monster. My throat is dry, and the only thing I can focus on is how I will kill the man who left welts all along her back.
“It’s nothing,” she says, trying to move away from me, but I am not having any of that. I grab her and pull her to me, holding her captive in my arms.