Page 60 of Ivory Crown
But then, in one swift motion, he backed away from me. His warm skin receded, leaving me standing alone on the cold balcony. I regretted the loss of his touch instantly, more than I’d expected.
“Come with me, Jade,” he said. “Let’s go back inside.”
And when he gave me his hand, there was nothing to do but take it.
Chapter Thirty-Six: Jade
We were in his bedroom again.
And he was stark fucking naked.
My heart hammered against my ribs as Dante stalked towards me like a predator homing in on its prey. The playful glint that once danced in his eyes was now extinguished, replaced by a chilling resolve.
“Since you’re so intent on trying to escape, I’ll make sure you understand how much you really want to be here.” The icy edge in his voice sliced through the air.
I tried to step back, but it was futile. His hand shot out, latching onto my wrist with a grip that fused iron and fire. He pulled me across the room, and every instinct screamed at me to resist, to fight. But there was no running from Dante Moretti; I knew that much.
He flung me onto the large four-poster bed that seemed more like an altar for sacrifice than a place of rest. The pounding in my ears crescendoed as I struggled beneath him, defiant even as fear laced my veins with ice.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“I can pin you down, but I would rather not,” he said. “Though if you want, we can see who gets tired quicker.”
I didn’t know what to do. I watched as he opened the drawer of his nightstand and pulled out a length of black silk. My heart lurched in my chest, a wild drum threatening to burst with every beat.
“What is that for?” I stuttered, my gaze fastened on the fabric shimmering wickedly between his fingers.
“Well, I wouldn’t want you to get any ideas about running again,” he said, his voice a blend of menace and allure so potent it made my head spin.
“Easy,” he murmured, not out of comfort but as a command, while his other hand busied itself tying my wrists to the cool metal bed posts. His fingers were hot and rough against my skin, and despite everything, my body couldn’t help but react to his touch.
“Stay still,” Dante ordered, his breath fanning over my face. And though I wanted to spit defiance right back at him, I found myself caught in the gravity of his presence, unable to look away from those dark, impenetrable eyes.
The bed creaked under his weight as he secured me, ensuring I couldn’t escape. I was trapped, physically restrained and emotionally tangled in a web of my own making.
“Remember, Jade,” he said, his voice a velvet threat as he checked the knots one final time, “you chose this.”
I couldn’t decipher whether the quiver in my belly was born of fear or something far more treacherous as his hands lingered on my skin, long after the knots were secured. The sensation of being at Dante’s mercy twisted inside me, a heady mix of terror and arousal that left me breathless.
“Look at you,” Dante mused, his tone half-mocking, half-reflective as he took in my bound form. “So defiant, yet so vulnerable.”
“Damn you, Dante,” I whispered, the words slipping out before I could catch them.
“Ah, Jade,” he said, leaning closer, his lips brushing my earlobe in a taunting caress. “The feeling is mutual.”
Then, with a sudden shift, he reached beneath the bed and produced a white box. He extracted a small device. My heart pounded against my ribs, wild with speculation. Its appearance alone promised nothing good—sleek, black, a harbinger of an unknown dread.
“Let’s see how much you don’t like it here,” he said, his smirk a slash across his handsome face. He activated the device with a click that echoed ominously in the silence between us.
“Remember this, Jade,” Dante said, his voice low and dark as the shadows that played across his features. “You’re mine to play with.”
Dante’s words, laced with a dark promise, hovered in the air as he leaned back to admire his handiwork. The sleek, silvery-black silicone device now nestled between my thighs, its cold touch a stark reminder of my helplessness. My cheeks flushed with shame, yet I couldn’t deny the immediate surge of wetness that betrayed my body’s treacherous reaction.
“Pathetic, isn’t it?” Dante chuckled, his fingers trailing lazily over the contraption as if he were a sculptor admiring his creation. “How your body reacts against your better judgment.”
I bit back a retort, knowing it would only serve to amuse him further. Instead, I focused on the rise and fall of my chest, the labored breaths that filled the silence of the room. But even as I tried to steel myself against him, my traitorous hips gave a small, involuntary twitch toward the pressure at my core.
“Still so responsive,” he observed, a wicked gleam in his eyes. He fastened more silk ties around my waist, ensuring the vibrator remained firmly in place.