Page 48 of The Harbinger
I bit back the smile his sarcasm formed, then cleared my throat and found the first Cyrillic letter. “It looks just like the English letter A.”Simple enough.
“Some of them do. And some have the same sounds, but others do not.”
I grabbed all the books, starting withA,and stacked them in their own pile, then did the same with the next letter and the next letter until two hours had passed and I’d organized everything in big piles by the first letter.
Wiping the sweat from my brow, I arched my back and stole a glance at him. Heat swirled in my belly, low and hard, as my gaze crashed with his.
Had he been watching this whole time?
“C-can I take a break?”
I shook out my limp-noodle arms and rubbed the muscles on my shoulder.
“Get it done, Mia.”
My knees cracked as I stretched my legs out from beneath me, causing me to groan.
“Imagine being on your knees for hours,” he said, his voice no higher than a whisper.
“Are you used to that?” I smirked, then wiped it away with a roll of my lips.
“So, youdohave a mouth on you?”
I pinched my lips tight and grabbed the first stack, and the dictionary, then placed the book on the shelf. I slid each one into its corresponding position, my teeth gritting as brown touched white and blues touched reds. My pulse quickened, and the sweat I’d had before from exhaustion multiplied from the mental anguish. It was like nails dragging down a chalkboard or someone chewing with their mouth open, their lips smacking loud and obnoxious like.
“Like this?” My voice vacillated, and my hands trembled.
He cocked his head to the side, his assiduous gaze on my hands. “Now, the rest.”
I gulped, audible and froggy, and grabbed the next stack from the floor. “Great job, Mia,” I mocked under my breath. “I appreciate the hard work.” I rolled my eyes and placed it on the bookshelf.
Warm hands encompassed my hips, and I gasped, his spicy cinnamon zest pooling around me with an invisible grasp. “That’s a good girl,milaya.“ His gravelly low vibration sent swirls into my belly. “Is that what you wanted to hear?” I shivered as his lips brushed against my earlobe, afraid to nod or speak. “Are you so desperate for validation you’d seek it from me?”
No? Yes?
His touch burned on my hips as he sniffed, taking a deep breath along my neckline. His fingers dug in a little deeper when I whimpered on an exhale. Gooseflesh rippled down my leg, pebbling my nipples into a disgusting display of arousal. “Yes.”
Sacha’s right hand slipped under my sweater, his fingertips brushing against my electrified flesh. “To what lengths would you go for that little rush of endorphins, I wonder?”
My legs clenched tight as his hand pushed toward my navel and swirled. The ominous challenge hung in the air.
Ishouldbe afraid of him. I hadn’t forgotten what he’d done to me in the bathroom the night before I’d detoxed. I hadn’t forgotten the terror he’d impregnated deep inside of me. I hadn’t forgotten because his threats were a living, breathing beast growing inside of me. But when he’d rotate his mask into the caring man from the plane, I couldn’t help but let those memories go for a moment and let the illusion take hold.
“What would you let me do to you for that little reward?”
My breath hitched in my chest. “I-I don’t know.” I shelved the book in my hand and tipped my head back against his shoulder with a staggered breath.
His left hand left my hip, his right circling my belly when he threaded his fingers through my hair. “I mean…” he fisted my hair tight against my scalp and tugged my head to the side. “What if I were to put you on your knees like the little whore you are and make you do whatever I asked?” My stomach dropped, and his right hand snaked around my waist, engulfing me in his hold and pulling my body against his hardness.
My heart erupted in my chest as the hair prickled against my scalp. “You’re hurting me.” He tugged my head further to the side, stretching my neck. I squeezed my thighs together, praying the agony between them would dissipate as my center grew slick.
“Keep putting these books away until every single one is where it belongs. Maybe then I’ll give you the praise you deserve.”
Sacha released me, his body like a vacuum sucking the air from my lungs as he returned to his seat.
I rubbed my thighs together, seeking some sort of friction to ease the ache his violence should have taken away.
What’s wrong with me?