Page 6 of Love Me in the Dark

“Tomorrow.” I hold a finger to my lips when she gasps, and her mouth snaps shut, but the dazed look on her face says more than words ever could.

There’s one last thing. The worst part of all. “She’s excited about you. She can’t afford to lose you.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, you’re a virgin.”

Her eyes pop open wide. The color of black coffee. “How would you even know that?”

“You told Rebecca, didn’t you?”

Her mouth works, but at first, no sound comes out. Finally, she croaks, “We did talk about that.”

The clock is ticking. Any minute, Dad could come stumbling in here. “You need to get back on the bed,” I decide, standing. “I have to tie you back up. I don’t want to, but I have to.”

“Forget it. I’m not?—”

“This isn’t an invitation, Leona. You need to get on the bed, and I need to tie you up, or else this is going to get much worsefor both of us. And I hate to tell you, but you’re not the only person who’s completely screwed right now.”

“I am so sorry if I don’t feel bad for you. But if you think I’m going to let you tie me up after everything you just told me, you’re out of your mind.”

I know. But I have to think about Tristan.

That’s why lifting her off the floor and throwing her onto the bed doesn’t bother me, even when she fights like a wildcat, kicking and scratching. I don’t feel it. I’m too busy worrying about my brother, who’s completely innocent in all of this. Everything I’m doing, I’m doing for him. And Rebecca needs to think I’m on her side if there’s any hope of getting past her.

Even though I’m clearly in control, she keeps fighting, her small body struggling against mine, refusing to let me wrap the rope around her wrist.

“Damn it, stop this,” I grunt. “You’re wasting time.” I have to pin her legs down with mine, which means I’m practically lying on top of her and braced on my elbows.

“Don’t… no…” Her breathless pleas don’t do much. I can’t afford to defy Rebecca, not now, not after planning for months on an escape.

Her body, on the other hand, has me wishing we were doing anything but this while lying on the bed together. Her dress has worked its way up around mid-thigh in the struggle, and her creamy skin glows like a pearl in the lamplight. When was the last time I saw a girl’s bare legs? When was the last time I touched a girl’s skin?

I can’t afford the distraction.

But when I pull my gaze away from her leg, I only end up looking into her blazing eyes. “I hate you,” she whispers, and I believe she means it with all her heart.

That doesn’t stop me from giving in to my yearning by crushing her lips with mine.

4

LEONA

How is this happening? And why do I want it so much?

His mouth moves against mine, and something about his kiss unlocks heat deep in my core. I don’t know if it’s all the adrenaline rushing through my system or something simpler. I was already drawn to him, even if we were never allowed to speak. I’ve spent the past year not being able to talk to a single man, much less kiss one while he’s on top of me, moving his body over mine, touching my bare thigh while his tongue probes the inside of my mouth.

I’m on fire, burning for him, crazy and desperate to feel more. If I’m going to be sold, this could be the last chance I ever have to decide for myself what I want. How I want it.

I cling to him, digging my fingers into his shoulders, his back, running them through his silky hair. When he groans into my mouth, I groan back, hungry for more.

Then I groan again, this time because he pulls back. I don’t want him to. I don’t want it to ever stop. It’s like time stands still when he’s kissing me, and that’s what I need. I need time to stop moving. If we could only stay like this forever.

He lifts his head and looks down at me, and it’s like he’s a different person now. All the hardness and anger in his face and eyes have melted away in the heat of the kiss, and the tenderness now radiating from him makes my breath catch in my throat. “I am sorry,” he whispers. “I need you to know that. I’m sorry this is happening.”

“I know.” He couldn’t have kissed me like he did if he didn’t care at least a little. “I’m scared.”

“I know.” But there’s something else, tension running like an invisible thread through his words. The way he clenches his teeth like he’s fighting against something.