Naked and shaved and bound for the wrong man.
If I didn’t hate Jethro enough, it was ten times worse now.
I sniffed back tears as Kes stood up and wrapped his arms around me. My breasts pressed against his chest.
Hisnakedchest.
Goosebumps broke out all over.
My nipples are against his skin.
I moaned in despair as he cuddled me like any normal lover. “Don’t worry, Nila.”
I gasped, drowning all over again. “Please, Kestrel...please, don’t do this.”
Kes ran his hands through my hair, tugging on the elastic holding my bun in place. His touch was gentle but persistent. He managed to free the rope of hair, and, with tender fingers, fluffed out the thickness so it blanketed my shoulders and back.
I shivered, comforted somehow.
Ever since he’d secured the blindfold around my eyes, I’d been borderline catatonic. Every few seconds my heart threw in an extra beat, turning my internal balance into a gyroscope with no direction. But somehow, not seeing him kept my mind distanced.
I was free to float away—to leave my body and slip into the darkness of anonymity.
“Do everything I say and you’ll get through this.” His lips skated over my jaw. His touch was so different to Jethro’s—dominating and soft—but lacking sparkle, connection...love.
I arched my chin away from his mouth. “You’re asking me to obey you while you rape me?” A morbid laugh escaped.
Kes’s breath whispered over my exposed breasts. “Yes. It’s the only way.”
“Only way for what?”
My heartbeat boomed in my ears as he took my hand, guiding me from the pool of woollen trousers around the edge of the bed.
“Only way to make this work.”
I scowled behind my blindfold. Makewhatwork?
The debts?
His twisted fantasy?
I hated moving around naked. I hated him seeing me.
My skin pinpricked with nervous sweat; I was lightheaded with panic. And that was just with Kestrel. He didn’t scare me nearly as much as Daniel or Cut.
If I couldn’t survive this, how would I survive the other two?
Another moan echoed in my chest. This couldn’t happen. It was the worst nightmare imaginable. Three men. Three rapes.
And Jethro. Where the hell was he? Why wasn’t he here to oversee what his family would do? What would he claim once everything had been taken from me?
My heart?
He lost that the moment he made me consent to this god-awful condemnation.
Kes kissed my cheek, pushing me so I fell onto the bed. The mattress sprung beneath me, cushioned and fresh. I winced as I bounced against my tied wrists.
“I’m going to place you in the centre.” His strong arms caught me, manhandling me until I was where he wanted. His every touch caused my skin to crawl. My stomach rolled as I kept my legs pinned together.
