Total pages in book: 139
Estimated words: 127146 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 636(@200wpm)___ 509(@250wpm)___ 424(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 127146 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 636(@200wpm)___ 509(@250wpm)___ 424(@300wpm)
"Inspect?" I whisper. “What does that mean?”
He releases me like I’m a burning coal, and I don’t bother hiding the fact that my knees shake. I huddle into myself, both from the cold and the fear coursing through my veins. Like he's got all the time in the world, he just stares down at me. I feel insecure, like I’m beneath a microscope…about to be judged. As he watches me, I take the opportunity to stare up at him. His dark hair brushes his eyebrows, and his dark green eyes see right through me like I’m made of glass.
"We can stand here all night," he finally says. "I'm nice and toasty. You, however, look a little cold."
I gesture at my dress and bruises. "And you want me to take my clothes off, knowing I'm already freezing?"
He shrugs. "The faster you strip, the faster we can move on to warming you up."
I swallow around the golf ball-sized knot forming in my throat. My breathing is faster now, my heart hammering against my ribs. Every fiber in my body prays that he’s fucking with me, but I know better. This isn’t some messed-up mind game. He’s serious, and if I don’t give him what he wants, he’ll take it from me.
"Strip, flower, or I'll do it for you."
"What if I want to walk away?" I whisper. "Just leave. No money. No bother. I go home and chalk this all up to stupidity?"
That earns me a chuckle. "I’d say nice try, but you’re smarter than that. I already told you that you belong to me. I'm not giving you up that easily. Besides, if for some reason I allowed you to walk away, do you think I would let you get away scot-free? You walk away, and everyone on campus will find out that you’re a liar and a cheat. Think smart, flower, do you really think I won’t use my status to ensure everyone turns their back on you?”
As he speaks, my heart rate climbs. “I’m not...I’m not a cheat or a liar.”
“You said you want to walk away...If you do, that’s going against the agreement you made when you stepped foot in my fucking forest. You wouldn’t think twice about keeping the prize money...but now that you’re caught, suddenly you don’t want to suffer the consequences. Sorry, love, but that’s not how this works.”
My world shrinks to this very moment. He’s really going to force me to strip or ruin my life. No one will go against him or believe me over him. I’m a nobody who can barely make my tuition payments. “What if we make a deal?”
The corner of his lip curls up, and then he licks them and steps forward. “What kind of deal?”
It seems I have his attention. A terrifying thing. “If I do this. I don’t run and see through whatever you want...you point me in the direction of the cabin and let me still try to get there.”
He laughs. “Twenty-five thousand dollars for a quick fuck in the woods? I don’t think that is worth it for me. I could take you and keep you until dawn. Ruin all your chances of getting there.”
“What do you want, then?”
He steps closer until his heat wafts toward me, causing me to lean in, even against my own will. The smell of peppermint and teakwood fills my nostrils, and I hate that I think he smells good on top of all of this. Especially with what he plans to put me through…
With a look that chills me to the bone, his sultry eyes scan me, from the bruised knees to my messy hair. “Convince me, little wallflower. Is that cunt worth twenty-five K? Show me, and maybe I’ll agree to your deal. But right now, as we stand, I have no proof that you’re worth it.”
Fucking hell, of course he has to be crude too. At this point, the only thing I have left to lose is my dignity, but soon enough, he’ll have that too. I might as well shred the remaining pieces of it myself… At least then, I know he didn’t take that from me, either.
I reach around and pull my dress up and over my head, then toss it down. Anger and pain rip through me. I want to hurt him, to make him feel what I’m feeling right now.
Cold air wafts across my skin, and he stares down pointedly at my bra and panties. “Keep going,” he whispers huskily.
With shaking fingers, I unsnap my bra and let it fall on top of my dress on the forest floor.
His eyes scan my breasts, and I reach to cover them almost instinctively. It takes less than a second for his hands to snatch mine down so he can stare.
I don’t have big boobs, but big enough to need a bra. His eyes devour them, and he licks his lips again before releasing my wrists. I stay still as he slides his fingers around my waist and pulls my body flush against his.