Page 17 of Cruel Betrayal

I try to scream, but only a muffled sound comes out.

There’s something stuffed deep in my mouth.

I choke, head whipping from one side to the other, but all that surrounds me is plastic.

That’s when I see the wall covered in pictures of me. Hundreds of them spanning nearly a year.

Fuck.

“Oh, good,” a man says as he walks into the room with a copy ofPeter Panin his hand. “Now our date can begin.”

He’s still in the shadows of the room, his face hidden, but a wave of his cologne hits me.

It’s the same smell that’s been lingering around my apartment.

Tears burn in the corners of my eyes as I try to scream again.

This can’t be happening. There’s no way this is happening.

“Calm down, Jade, this is only going to hurt a little bit.”

Chapter Six

EZRA

My minx is sobeautiful when she screams.

Welcome to your gilded cage, love.

I know I shouldn’t think like that. Maybe I shouldn’t want her to be scared of me.

In time, she’ll learn that I’m the only person in the world capable of protecting her, though. She won’t scream when she sees me.

As I flick the cap off the syringe, Jade falls silent.

Her eyes widen, and she shakes her head, trying to draw back.

It’s no use, though. I wasn’t a boy scout when I was younger for nothing. Even back then I knew those knots were going to come in handy.

I take off the silk handkerchief I stuffed in her mouth. I want to be able to hear her voice, as well as her full screams.

If she would just cooperate, we would’ve been testing out my knot skills in the bedroom, but unfortunately, my minx has always been a little difficult.

I’ll be the one to tame that fire, though.

She lunges against the binds, trying to get free of the table she’s tied to. “I don’t know who you are or what you want from me, but my family will pay you to let me go.”

“Don’t need their money.” I put the syringe to the side.

I don’t want to sedate her if I don’t have to. As long as she doesn’t strain herself too much, we might be able to have a conversation about my expectations going forward.

Jade glares at me as she stops struggling, her chest heaving. “Then what the fuck do you want?”

I smirk and crouch down beside her head, trailing a finger along the side of her face. “There are a lot of things I want with you, love. It’s going to take some time to get them all, of course, but in the end, I’m sure you want the same things.”

“No.”

Chuckling, my fingers trace down to the graceful line of her throat. “Not an option.”