Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 67211 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 336(@200wpm)___ 269(@250wpm)___ 224(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 67211 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 336(@200wpm)___ 269(@250wpm)___ 224(@300wpm)
I look down. I’ll obey first, and then we’ll talk.
When he reaches me, I’m staring at the floor, and something feels off. He doesn’t touch me. He doesn’t speak. But a silky gag glides over my mouth and I feel him cinch it at the back of my head. I move my head to look at him but a blindfold slips over my eyes and a low whisper’s at my ear.
“You do what I say and come with me to our room.”
This is wrong. Something’s wrong. I texted him my safeword and yet he’s scening with me. Something cold and hard brushes my wrists. He’s cuffing me. Why is he cuffing me?
I try to speak but I’m gagged so I can’t. My heart races and I try to pull away from him but he’s yanking me to my feet. Is this even Axle? My Axle doesn’t handle me roughly like this. He never gags me. And he would listen to me if I safeworded.
But my Axle doesn’t talk to other women, either.
The blindfold dampens with my tears of frustration, and he’s pulling me, dragging me out of here. I stumble, and he lifts me up, but he doesn’t tuck me against his chest. He’s holding me in his arms like I’m deadweight, and he’s moving fast. I’m struggling against him and I’m screaming against my gag, but it’s muffled and garbled.
I hear someone shouting. I stop moving. I don’t say anything. The voice comes at a distance and it’s Axle.
I writhe against the man carrying me. If that’s Axle’s voice, who the hell is this? I push, trying to get away, but he’s so strong, he’s hurting me. Then everything explodes in confusion. Behind me someone screams in pain and agony and I don’t know if it’s just a dungeon scream or worse, then I’m torn from the arms of the man carrying me. Someone’s wrestling whoever has me and in the midst of confusion, I hear Axle shouting for them to let me go. I fall, hit my head, and everything goes black.
My head feels heavy. So heavy. Where am I? I try to open my eyes, but they feel so heavy. Murmured voices come from above me and beside me and I drift back off to sleep, in and out of consciousness. When I wake again, it’s quiet. So quiet. My head hurts so painfully my stomach clenches. I open my eyes with effort. There’s blinding white light all around me. I’m in a narrow hospital bed with a white sheet pulled up over me. I sit up with a start, then Axle’s by my side.
“Easy, baby,” he says. “You’ve got a nasty concussion. Lay back down.”
I want to relax at the sound of his voice. I want to listen to him. But he’s the man who betrayed me. Still, I need to find out what’s going on, so even though I watch him with a guarded look, I lay back down.
“Where am I?” I whisper.
“The hospital,” he says. “You got injured at the club and we had to bring you here.” His eyes are bloodshot and he’s wearing the same clothes he wore the last time I saw him.
“How long have I been here?”
He reaches over and takes my hand. “About six hours. It’s early morning, and Zack’s on his way in.”
“What happened?”
He sighs, lets go of my hand, and goes to shut the door. “Let’s wait until Zack gets here to fill us in. For now, I want to hear your side of the story.” He sits back down and reaches for my hand, but when he reminds me of the night before, I refuse to take it.
“I stayed in the room waiting for you,” I tell him. “And… well, I was having some reservations about things.” I tell him as he watches me without a word. “I went to get dressed and found a note written to you by Missy.” His eyes darken but he still says nothing. “I went out to the dungeon and saw you kiss a woman.”
“Bullshit.”
My heart wants it to be false. I want to believe him. I need to.
“There’s no way,” he says. “For Christ’s sake, Chandra, don’t you know by now I’d never be with another woman?”
“I know,” I say, a lump rising in my throat. I try to swallow it, but I can’t. It dissolves, and a tear rolls down my cheek. “But it looked just like you.”
“And that’s something we’ll have to discuss with Zack.”
Swallowing, I continue. “So I went to the bar and had a drink but before I could speak to you, and I… I safeworded. But you texted and instructed me to kneel and wait for you in the dungeon.”
I’m afraid he’s going to find something and break it, pound the wall with his fist, or roar like a savage animal, the look in his eyes is so feral.