His clipped words ease some of the pressure bearing down on me. It’s a small reprieve for us both, but I’ll take it. Turning my back to Montgomery, I shrug the blanket around me and work my dress open. By now, Emmaline’s back arches with the force of her cries, and of course poor Sullivan doesn’t know what to do. He’s just a child himself.
“I tried.” His shoulders slump in dejection as I pick her up and discreetly fit my breast to her mouth after a few false starts. “I tried real hard but I don’t think she liked it.”
“Oh, sweetheart, it’s not your fault. I promise.” Shifting my hold, I rub small circles over his thin back, and I have to tell myself the same thing. “Sometimes when she’s hungry,it’s hard for her to enjoy anything else. Even if it’s something she likes.”
“Yeah, sometimes it’s like that for me, too. But I have some crackers left over from yesterday ‘cause I knew I’d be hungry today.”
A sharp pang runs through me at how hollow his little voice turns. Montgomery probably uses food as a punishment for him.
But never again.
Not after today.
“Eat your crackers and then lie down,” I softly tell Sullivan. I wish I could tell him more, but I don’t dare to just yet.
“Turn around and let me see you.”
CHAPTER 28
MARA
Christ,how I hate that voice.
Although it’s the last thing in the world I want to do, I turn on leaden legs. Montgomery runs an unhurried look up and down my body, and I loathe that I can recognize the heat of lust darkening his gaze when it lingers on the exposed sliver of my breast as Emmaline nurses.
“Well, this isn’t something I thought I’d enjoy, but I must say I’m rather intrigued.” His voice roughens with interest. After a moment that drags on for too long, he nods towards the other chair covered in dirt and dust. “Bring it closer and have a seat.”
Eyes are better than hands.The ugly reminder repeats in my head as I drag the chair closer. Of course he couldn’t be bothered to use the cane at his feet to move it.
Montgomery leans back and widens his legs as I settle uneasily in my seat. “How long does she eat for?”
I fix my gaze past his shoulder and shrug. Opening his legs is a subtle threat I refuse to respond to. “Until she’s full.” More like fifteen minutes lately, but maybe I can get twicethat. Every second spent feeding her gives Warren more time to find us.
“Pull your dress down more.”
Endure, Mara. It will pass.
I can’t help the way my lip curls in distaste at his low command, and of course he picks up on it.
“You don’t want to do that for me?” he asks mildly.
Too mildly.
My thighs tense in anticipation for his response.
“My, my…how rebellious you’ve become.” A gleam sparks in his eyes as he crosses his arms. “Let’s see how many punishments you rack up before the hour is through. Tell me, how does your husband correct your insolence?”
If my jaw clenched any tighter, my teeth would break. “He’s never laid a hand on me. He loves me.”
Montgomery barks a short laugh. “Loves you? No, Mara. A man doesn’t love a woman like you. How far your legs or throat can widen to accommodate him, yes, but don’t think higher of yourself than that.”
Don’t give him what he wants. Don’t react.I compose my face back into its stony mask.
“Do you get on your knees for him, hmm? When he’s inside you, do you cry as prettily for him as you do for me?”
From the corner of my eye, I can see Montgomery reach between his legs to palm himself with his marked hand. Of all the events from the past hour, this is the one that instantly chills my blood as the threat suddenly becomes more real than ever before.
Warren was supposed to be the last man I ever saw like this.
