AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Somehow on the trip, she’d convinced herself that he was attracted to her and wanted to help her, and maybe the way things were out on the ranch didn’t translate to more enlightened relationships between men and women. Perhaps he thought he was helping her, but since she was too stubborn to accept help, he’d had to take drastic measures—like an intervention with a drug addict.
She slipped past his bed to go back to her room when his hand shot out and grabbed her, pulling her back onto the bed with him. Her bathrobe bunched up around her thighs as he flipped them so he loomed over her. His hand slid up her thigh and between her legs, his fingers teasing just over her clit for a moment. It was enough to confuse her—to make her unsure if she wanted him or not. Even if her body did, she didn’t. She hated him. He was the embodiment of why she didn’t trust men. Weren’t they all savages under the civilized exterior? Wouldn’t they all do whatever they could get away with and rationalize it?
Luke Granger had decided he could keep a slave on his ranch and save some money. And past experience without getting caught proved his point. He sat up then and put her over his knee. It happened so fast she couldn’t find the words to protest before her robe was up around her waist and his hand was coming down hard across her bare bottom.
She squirmed and struggled against him, screaming at him to stop. Indignant. Pissed-off. Humiliated. Scared. The threat of him was a reality now. He grabbed her wrists in one hand, the non-spanking hand. She would have bitten him, no matter the cost, if she could have reached him.
“Let me go you fucking bastard. I hate you. You are a sick motherfucking psycho who should be locked up!”
He ignored her screaming and kept spanking her until she’d reached her pain threshold. Her cursing and yelling turned to begging.
“Luke, please. I’m sorry, please.” She didn’t know what she was apologizing for. She’d say anything to make him stop. It hurt too much for pride to get in the way. In her mind, she reasoned she could just let go of it for one second to make him stop this, then she could reclaim her identity in the light of day when the pain had faded.
“You don’t come into my room unless I send for you. Do you understand?”
“Y-yes.”
“Yes what?”
She recoiled and resumed struggling, not yet ready to give in to the next step in her degradation.
“My hand isn’t even tired. I can keep going.”
Just the threat was enough at this point. “Y-yes, sir.” If he didn’t kill her, she’d jump off the balcony. “This is why I hate men. No one hurt me. But any one of you could have done what you’re doing now. Isn’t that enough reason to hate and not trust? How do I know when a man looks at me like you did in the diner that he isn’t planning to act on his fantasies? I don’t. None of you can be trusted.”
He’d gone to stroking over her skin where he’d struck her. She tried to pull away when his finger dipped between her legs.
“You’re wet. Dripping.” He practically growled when he said it.
“Stop it.”
“No. Say ‘Sir, please stop groping me,’ and I’ll think about it.”
“Never.”
Another sharp slap landed on her ass.
“Sir, please stop groping me,” she whispered through her tears. She was glad they were in the dark, because her face must be the color of a maraschino cherry.
He gathered her in his arms and held her, stroking her hair...comfortingher.
“Please just kill me if that’s what you’re going to do. Don’t do this on top of it.”
“Shhhhh. The first week or so will be the hardest, after that you’ll be happy with me.”
He was insane. Completely certifiable if he thought she could ever be happyobeyinghim, being demeaned and degraded by him, reduced to athing—not even a real person anymore.
“Was Trish happy?” she asked, her tone accusatory, but the answer he gave wasn’t defensive or the one she expected.
“Very.”
“Were you?”
His voice changed. Veronica was surprised when it came out choked. “Yes. You look a lot like her.”
And did both of them look like his mother? Because that was in the serial killer handbook. Mommy issues. But she was far too wise to say that thought out loud.
“Go back to bed now. I’ll let you sleep in since we were out so late.” He kissed the top of her head and she went back to her room, thankful at least that she had a room away from him. The memory of his lips pressed against her forehead seared into her brain, keeping her from sleep for a long time.
