Total pages in book: 139
Estimated words: 129268 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 646(@200wpm)___ 517(@250wpm)___ 431(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 129268 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 646(@200wpm)___ 517(@250wpm)___ 431(@300wpm)
With her gaze focused on the bright metal, she noticeably swallows. Her dark eyes find mine while she shakes her head slightly.
My tone is soothing and I add a hint of playfulness although that thump in my chest happens again. “Don’t you trust me, baby?”
She hesitates, merely staring at the cuffs in my hand. Eventually she settles on a muttered truth spoken just beneath her breath. “I don’t want to do this.”
I know she doesn’t, but after seeing her triggered and scared again today, I’m not going to wait to show my mate she can trust me.
“How about if I promise to give you the key and do everything you command me to do?” I offer her. Her lips purse and she narrows her eyes. I need to sweeten the deal. “It’s just me, baby. Just me and only for an hour.” Her posture shifts slightly, but she keeps her arms crossed tight over her chest. “Just one hour,” I say softly, taking a step closer to her. My hand rests on her shoulder, but only for a moment before she leaves me.
Her dark eyes find mine again before she clicks her tongue and walks over to trail her fingers along the velvet covering the silver cuffs.
“I tied it up here too, in case you want to grip it. There’s no way it’ll touch your skin, baby.” Her fingers slip inside the cuff. They’re quality, the best I could find, and nicely padded. They won’t hurt her at all.
“Why?” she questions.
“You’re afraid of giving up control … even when it comes to your mate.”
Swallowing thickly, she stares back at me, the truth of my words sinking deep into her.
“I only exist for you. I would die for you. And you don’t trust me.” It fucking kills me to say it out loud. “I have to do something, Veronica.”
“Fine,” she states with an elegance and finality only a woman like her can deliver. “Do it quickly before I change my mind.”
I smirk at her response, even as I see her shoulders rise and fall with her deep intake of breath, the deep red silk shining in the dim light as she does. She doesn’t wait for me to undress her as she sits at the foot of the bed and lies back with her wrists lifted above her head. The thin straps of her nightgown slide down her shoulders and she doesn’t bother to pull them back into place.
She’ll have plenty of slack until I get to her legs.
Any bit of heated excitement turns bitterly cold as I watch her hold her breath and close her eyes when the cuffs snap in place around her dainty wrists. With a heaviness I never imagined I’d feel when it came to my mate, I tug the handcuffs to ensure they’re snug and secure before moving to the cuffs at the foot of the bed.
The room is quiet. So quiet, the click of the last shackle locking around her ankle sounds impossibly loud. A shudder runs through her body as I take her in.
A gorgeous vampire, laid out on my bed clad in only a thin whisper of silk that hides next to nothing from me. My hand gentles on her calf as I prepare to test her restraints, but she beats me to it, yanking against the restraints.
“Key.” She says the single word with authority although a hint of panic lingers.
I give her a tight smile and prepare myself for her wrath with gritted teeth as I slip the key in between her lips. Instantly her eyes widen as she spits the key out. “Give me the key!” Heated anger I’ve never felt from her before radiates off her. So much so, my wolf retreats.
She yells again, the pain and desperation she’s feeling coming through clearly as I pick the key up off the floor and move closer to place it back in her mouth.
Her gorgeous frame struggles against the chains, but her arms don’t move far enough to reach me. Even if she had the key in her hands, she’d be unable to unlock the cuffs. She’s utterly at my mercy and I can see the moment she realizes she needs me to free herself. Sadness and betrayal flash across her face; in that instant I nearly regret my decision.
“You fucking dog!”
“It’s just for one hour.” My voice is soft, but stern. She needs this. She hisses at my simple statement. “I’m still yours, Veronica. I’ll do whatever you say.”
“Untie me!”
“Anything but that.” Her nostrils flare and her face reddens with rage. Her wrists pull against the restraints to no avail.
“If you come near me to do anything else … anything but untie me …” she trails off as I take a deep breath and lean close to kiss her cheek. Close enough for her to strike me with her fist across my jaw, which she does. I pull back, but I’m not far enough away to miss the second swing. The sharp, metallic tang of blood coats my mouth.