Page 1 of Pandora's Pleasure

I failed to escape.

A blur of movement caught my attention as someone stormed toward the BMW. The driver’s side door was flung open and Carter Godman dragged me out, pulling so violently I knew there’d be bruises later. My heart pounded and I felt heady from the rush of fear.

Soon, everyone would know I’d tried to leave.

Struggling with Carter would only make things worse. Maybe I could talk him out of telling my parents.

They were here, somewhere, mingling with the other distinguished guests in the ballroom—drinking the Godmans’ champagne, eating their canapés, and working the room along with the rest of Washington’s elite.

Carter’s decision to steal away for a smoke break out back had been badly timed—he’d caught me attempting to drive off in his brother’s car.

There were no words exchanged between us; not when a member of the valet staff could be the eyes and ears of the tabloids.

My future brother-in-law was just as cruel as the rest of his family. No doubt he’d suffer no repercussions for treating me like this. With an ironclad grip on my forearm, he hauled me back inside his family’s manor.

I teetered on high heels, tripping on the hem of my beaded pink tulle gown as I tried to keep up. Feeling humiliated, I prayed we’d not encounter any of their staff along the way. Only a Godman would dare treat a Bardot in this fashion.

We finally made it to the private sitting room, where Carter caged me between his body and the wall, gripping my throat. A trickle of sweat snaked down my spine.

Carter stared down at me, his expression furious. “Just where do you think you were going?”

I’d known they would try to talk me out of leaving if I was caught, but I hadn’t expectedthis.Now I realized what they really thought of me.

“Nowhere.”

“I don’t believe you.” His pupils were dilated, proving he was garnering pleasure from threatening me.

This was what privilege looked like; all wrath and revenge with no fear of any consequences. Carter was the youngest son of a trillion-dollar banking tycoon. But his cockiness prevented him from advancing in his daddy’s business—his temperament was too unstable to trust with any kind of responsibility.

His father, Gregor Godman, had wealth that was beyond comprehension…the kind of new money that allowed him to own islands. He was a man destined to sit in the most distinguished seat in the Oval Office in less than thirty days—if all went well and no one fucked up. Unfortunately, that includedme.

Six months ago, when I was still a naïve nineteen-year-old, I’d met Gregor’s oldest son, Damien. It had not been by chance. We’d been unaware at the time that our relationship had been arranged by our parents.

I’d hardly seen Damien Godman over the last few months. When our paths did cross, he was dismissive and rude. Clearly, the realization of what we really were to each other—a fusing of two dynasties—had been just as devastating for him.

I’d been purposefully caught in the crosshairs of his family’s empire and ambition and there was no getting out of this alliance.

And now Carter and I were alone in one of this ostentatious mansion’s thirty rooms, where he could do whatever he wanted to me and get away with it.

I tried to wriggle free. “Your brother—”

“Isn’t standing here.”

“You’re hurting me.”

He relaxed his grip on my throat slightly. “We expected more from you, Pandora,” he said in a low sinister tone.

“Damien will wonder where I am,” I insisted.

“Wait until I tell your fiancé that you were ready to walk out on him on the very night of the big announcement.”

I swallowed hard at the thought.

“It isn’t what it looks like.”

He made a harsh noise like a game show buzzer. “Wrong answer. Explain to me what you were doing trying to drive off in my brother’s car.”

Looking over his shoulder, I saw the plush couch where I’d sat a few weeks ago while having high tea with the matriarch of their family. We’d swapped pleasantries to pass the time and I’d tried my best to impress her, sharing details of my elite schooling in Switzerland. I’d proudly told Mrs. Godman about my flair for learning foreign languages, competing in sports and refining my culinary skills, and that I also had a natural aptitude for computer science.