Total pages in book: 164
Estimated words: 156728 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 784(@200wpm)___ 627(@250wpm)___ 522(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 156728 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 784(@200wpm)___ 627(@250wpm)___ 522(@300wpm)
A swing draped in vines, suspended from an ancient oak, swung in the steady breeze. It was getting colder, and her throat burned as if she were breathing in tiny shards of glass with every gasp. Her legs trembled with each stride, the muscles threatening mutiny. She hadn’t eaten since that morning, hadn’t been sleeping properly for weeks, and her body was beginning to present its bill.
Daisy reached up to push hair from her eyes. Her elaborate updo had devolved into a sweaty tangle of pins and frizz, listing to one side like a sinking ship. Her locket had returned to her neck, safe and sound, after her run-in with—
A pulsing thunder tore through the air, and Daisy froze. The buzzing, repetitive whir came fast, moving closer, loud enough to overshadow the music, and out of place in this Gothic wonderland.
Lights flashed, defining black clouds above as a helicopter appeared, lowering as if set to land. Bare feet rooted in moss, Daisy shaded her face and stared as the chopping wind from the propellors moved the tree line as it started to descend.
Daisy rushed for cover beneath a crumbling folly sculpted of four stone columns that held up half a roof. The shh-shh-shh-shh of the helicopter blades swished like swords through the air, louder, closer, pushing her hair back from her face as the wind whipped, snapping leaves from branches that twirled in little tornadoes across the ground.
Its belly lights blazed like eyes that never blinked, blinding her as she tried to look up. The fabric of her beaded dress plastered against her ribs as the scent of fuel overpowered the salt air.
Her lungs locked. What was happening? Had someone been hurt? Was there an emergency?
Lights threw the grounds into stark relief, illuminating the hedges and giant shrubs so their manicured faces glared at her with gaping mouths and frozen green expressions.
Shielding her eyes, Daisy clung to the stone pillar claimed by ivy and time, and watched in curious dismay as the helicopter landed in the not-so-far distance.
Things were getting curiouser and curiouser around here.
Her heart beat wildly against her ribs. Whatever was happening, it didn’t feel planned. It felt—”Mmph!”
A hand clamped over her mouth from behind.
Daisy struggled, her scream of panic muffled against fingers that tasted of antiseptic soap.
“Shh.” The voice was soft and measured. “Struggling will only make this more difficult. For you.”
Dr. Tannhäuser.
Her eyes widened. Thrashing and kicking, her feet came off the ground. He pulled her body back from the column, his chest fitting itself to her spine, dragging her back then pinning her against a flat bed of stone. The hard edge of his belt buckle snagged on her dress, inches above the unmistakable press of his arousal.
She bit his fingers and spit the second he ripped his hand away. “Get off me!”
“Yield.” His hand dropped from her mouth to her throat, fingers digging into her pulse in silent warning. “Your heart’s racing faster than a terrified jackrabbit. No need to be afraid, Daisy. I’ve seen you in far less.”
She jerked, but there was no escaping his hold.
“Now, now. We discussed this. Resistance only prolongs the procedure.” His thumb stroked the side of her neck, turning her jaw until her wild eyes found his. “You remember, don’t you? How thorough I can be?”
She screamed, and his hand clamped tighter, pressing against her windpipe, reducing her cry to a thin wheeze.
“I certainly haven’t forgotten. We have much more time now. No one around to interrupt us.” His free hand trailed along her hip, gathering her gown. “Let’s see how you’ve fared so far.”
His cool fingers tickled like reptiles on her thigh, sliding upward with practiced efficiency, pushing fabric aside, finding the hidden heat underneath.
“No.”
“That word doesn’t work here.”
She clamped her thighs together so hard her muscles screamed.
“Disappointing, Daisy.” His foot hooked around her ankle, trying to force her stance wider as he held her bent over the paved slab. “Be a good girl and spread your legs. We can do this the easy way or the hard way. Either outcome’s satisfying for me.”
“No!” she growled through gritted teeth, but it only took a split second for him to force her body to comply. His fingers pushed past her folds, cold and invasive, probing at her entrance with methodical persistence.
“There we go. Almost—”
Rage unleashed inside Daisy, feral and rabid. She twisted and bit down on his wrist, sinking her teeth into his flesh with a feral, animal response that bypassed thought entirely. She tasted blood. The crunch of bone.
His hand retracted, but she didn’t loosen her bite until he shoved her away. Her arm scraped the cold stone. She rolled to her back and kicked her foot into his chest, sending him staggering into a column.
She wrenched herself forward, twisted upward. But she didn’t run away. She ran toward him, driving her knee into the soft junction of his thighs with every ounce of rage her body possessed.