Echo (Bleeding Hearts #1)(16)

I stood there and waited for him to say something, anything. It took him forever.

“Now the rest.” His voice was thick, and it disarmed me.

I was wearing a simple white cotton bra and panties. There was nothing sexy about me. If anything, I looked virginal. The irony was too painful to consider.

I reached behind my back and unclasped my bra, allowing it to fall to the floor. I tamped down every instinct I had to cover my breasts as the cool air hit them, hardening my nipples. The only thing I could do was focus on the next task, shimmying out of my panties and kicking them aside.

It was all out there now. He could see every part of me. I hated it.

“Now get down on your knees and crawl to me.”

I hesitated, and this earned me a cruel reminder of his control.

“Don’t make me ask twice.”

I sank to my knees and allowed a couple tears to spill from the corners of my eyes. This was the ultimate form of humiliation, and he was getting off on treating me like an animal. I couldn’t understand how someone could be so cruel. So callous.

And yet, I crawled. The carpet burned against my knees, and when my cheek grazed his thigh, I jumped.

“So skittish,” he whispered, tangling a hand in my hair and jerking my head upward. “I like that.”

“Please don’t be rough,” I blurted.

“You don’t get to make those requests,” he said. “Remember?”

His response made my blood run cold. Because it implied that he had every intention of being rough and that he would thoroughly enjoy it. More tears came, and I couldn’t hide them. He wiped them away with his thumbs before he continued his instructions.

“Stand up and put your palms against the wall.”

I rose up again and edged towards the wall, being careful not to trip myself. I only had my hands to guide me, and he made no effort of helping. But as soon as they were planted firmly in place, I felt his presence behind me.

He gripped my hips and pulled back at the same time he kicked my legs apart. I stumbled into the position reluctantly, every muscle in my body tense and ready for a fight. Then his hands were on me. Everywhere.

His touch was confusing. It was gentle and warm, and he didn’t even try to hide the sound of his pleasure as his palms roamed over my skin. His pained groans told me he’d been waiting a long time for this moment.

He started at the nape of my neck, drifting down my sides and over my ribs. I shivered when he squeezed my ass in his hands, then glided back up my stomach. When he cupped my breasts, something else flared to life inside of me. A strange sensation that burned in my gut and left me feeling a little bit drunk.

My breathing changed as his lips found my neck, and I couldn’t control it. I was panting, hard. My fear had transformed into something else entirely.

“Do you like my hands on your body?” he whispered into my ear.

I whimpered in response, hoping he wouldn’t make me answer him. That was too cruel. It wasn’t desire, it was biology. My body was adapting to the situation. Doing what it needed to survive. That, I was certain of. Because if I had liked it, liked the hands of this monster, that would have made me a monster too.

His teeth scraped along my throat, all the way down to my shoulder, leaving a certain trail of red marks. It burned, but it made my heart race faster too.

“I want to do everything to you,” he rasped. “Depraved things I haven’t even thought of yet, but that I certainly will.”

When he knelt behind me and dug his fingers into my hips, I cried out. He laughed and then buried his face between my parted legs. I forgot the pain of his grip when his tongue lashed against me. It was soft and gentle at first, and the traitorous desire that simmered inside of me now boiled over.

A sound of surrender escaped my throat when his tongue pushed inside of me. I’d never been so exposed in front of a man before, and I could only imagine how flushed I must be. Moisture clung to my skin and my palms grew weak against the wall. I trembled when something zipped up my spine. My belly contracted, and my body grew so stiff I knew I would explode any second.

I squeezed my eyes shut and gasped for air as my toes dug into the carpet. I was so close. So close. Any moment now…

My pleasure fled in a violent shock of pain when he sank his teeth into my inner thigh and bit down. My scream echoed off the walls of the room as I collapsed forward.

He licked at the wound and kneaded my ass cheeks in his hand before he leaned in and drew in a long breath. He was inhaling me, and I wanted to die of shame.

He stood up behind me and pulled my back against his chest as he nipped at my ear. “You didn’t think I would make it that easy did you, Brighton?”

I wanted to cry, but I was in shock. He hadn’t even been inside of me yet, and already I could feel him everywhere. I was certain my hips were bruised from his grip, and he had marked my shoulder and thigh already with his teeth. A shiver ran through me when his arousal dug into my spine.

“Turn around,” he ordered.

I could barely hold myself up, and it showed. I spun in his arms, pressing my back against the wall as he caged me in with his body. He was large. I could feel it now. His body was lean and muscular, and much taller than mine. I felt his eyes on me, his gaze burning through me as he decided on his next method of torture.

It didn’t take me long to find out what that was. He dragged my fingers down to his cock, wrapping my palm around him. It was so thick my fingers didn’t even touch, and suddenly I couldn’t swallow.