Page 59 of The Harbinger

I turned my head, and he wiped my upper arm with the pad, then jabbed me with the needle, the sharp pain lasting no more than a split second.

“All done. Not so bad, was it?”

I shook my head as he pressed the Band-Aid in place, then lowered my sleeve as he capped the needle and discarded it in a special bin.

Sacha walked me out of the control room and into the dressing rooms, then shut the door behind us. “How are you feeling?”

“Messed up in the head.” I reached behind and searched for the knot tying my gown together, my fingers brushing against my shoulder blades and down my spine.

“Here, let me help you.” Sacha swiped my hands away and pulled at the tie, his fingertips brushing against my shoulders. I tensed as his gentle hands slid the soft fabric down over my shoulders and let the gown drop to the floor, leaving me bare to him once again.

I shivered, ripples of yearning rushing up my spine.

He turned me around and pressed down on my shoulders, making me sit on the cushioned bench against the wall, his stony frame leaning over me. “Just how messed up are you,milaya?” He tucked stray hairs behind my ear, and goose flesh broke out across my skin, my nipples tightening in betrayal.

His gaze trailed down my frame, followed by the back of his knuckle brushing against the side of my breast.

I let out a faulted breath and closed my eyes, his touch flipping my stomach. His knuckles moved against the underside of my breast and up toward my nipple. I pressed my lips together, my chin tipping up as I leaned into him, needing something to distract me from whatever had happened in there before. A low, breathy moan vibrated my throat and tickled my lips, causing my cheeks to heat. I bit into them as an unexpected throbbing had me clenching my legs.

Pinch.

Twist.

I reared away, retreating from the pain. My lids shot open, and my gaze landed on my nipple, caught between his knuckles, my tears blurring my vision. A slight whimper escaped me, my hands petrified at my sides.

“You embarrassed me.”

I leaned back, and his knuckles tightened, sending warmth and compressed pain through me. “I’m… I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to.” I gripped his wrist in a futile effort to abate the ache.

Sacha stood above me, his dark eyes flickering with something I couldn’t understand.

How could he be upset over something I couldn’t control? It wasn’t as if I wanted to disappoint him —

“Ooow,” I gasped as his fingers twisted a little more.

“I have some place important to be, and you’re coming with.” He paused as if mulling over his decision. “And that means you’re going to do as you’re told, won’t you, Mia?”

I nodded, hoping my agreement would set me free, but his fingers tightened, and I hunched over, exhaling a silent cry.

“Say I understand, Sacha.” He pushed my shoulders against the wall, forcing my posture up.

A warmth flooded my belly with swirls of unease and burning as I forced out the words he wanted to hear. “I—I understand, Sacha.”

He released his punishing hold on my peaked nipple, then brushed his thumb against the abused flesh, soothing the growing ache. I hissed through my teeth and clenched my thighs.

“You are not beyond punishment,milaya.” He withdrew his touch, his hand sliding away from my shoulder. I slumped forward, bringing my arms to my chest, my nipple aching.

What sort of person am I becoming? His actions shouldn’t have stirred an untamed force within me, like nectar to a dormant bee. I shook my head with disgust and tucked tight across my chest.

“Get dressed.” He left out the door, leaving my legs shaking and my belly swarming with unrequited attention.

I slipped my boots on as I pondered the unfamiliar feelings inside me. Once I’d finished dressing, Sacha ushered me down the elevator and out of the hospital doors, where the bodyguards waited with their heads swiveling around like vultures looking for prey.

It was hard to look at him. So I kept my gaze cast toward the moving scenery of tall buildings, both old and new.

It was wrong to think of him.

But my intrusive thoughts played movies in my head of his tender care, negating his threat in the bathroom, his hand wrapped around my throat with the promise of sudden death.