Page 92 of Phantom

“Do you honestly think I’d just let you walk out that door, little muse? You’remine.”

“Yours? Why? Oh, I forgot. It’s because I’m the key toeverything, right?”

Please, tell me you’re not using me to get to Rand…

“You heard that, did you?” He narrows his eyes. “Youarethe key to everything. I don’t know how the fuck you could take that as anything but a compliment, but if that’s what you’re mad about, you’ll just have to trust me.”

I groan and push ineffectively at his chest. “Trust you? With all your secrets and lies?”

“I’ve never lied to you, and contrary to what your spoiled ass believes, you haven’t earned the right to learn all my secrets.”

“But you’ve earned the right to know mine? That’srich. Let me go, Sol.”

“No.” The intensity in his dark gaze has me squirming and my pussy fluttering, but I hold strong.

“Let. Me. Go!”

He leans in, not letting me look anywhere else as he growls deep from his chest, “No.”

I narrow my eyes, but freeze when he bends down and inhales up my neck, ending at my ear with a deep moan.

“Fuck, Scarlett… why didn’t you tell me the truth? Knowinganyoneelse touched you today has had memurderous, but I’ve waited for you to come clean. Did you really believe I wouldn’t know you saw him? That I couldn’tsmellhim on you? I can smell another man on you as well as I can smell your arousal right now. Here—” His hand suddenly finds the apex of my legs and I gasp. His other hand strokes down my neck. “And even here.” His sharp inhale against my throat makes me whimper.

I bite my lip to keep from giving in, and I push lightly against his chest. He pulls away to meet my gaze.

“Let me go, Sol. I’ll scream. Someone will hear me.”

A Cheshire smile lifts the left side of his mouth.

“Oh, you’ll do more than scream, pretty little muse. You’llsing.”

“I’ll what—ah! Sol!”

I’m suddenly upside down and Sol’s—admittedly shapely—ass is in my face as he carries me down the hall. “Put me down! Let me go! I hate you, Sol!”

“Wow, yet another lie. I’m disappointed in you, Scarlett. You just can’t stop yourself, can you?”

“I’m not a liar! Drop me right now!” I demand and pound my fists into the backs of his thighs. But it’s no use. “I’ll scream if you don’t!”

“I’ll make you sing for me, my angel, my pretty little muse. I’ll make you understand thedemonI truly am. Then we’ll see if you still want to run away from me.”

I hear him sifting through a drawer before grabbing something.

“Help! Help! Please, somebody!”

I’m screaming at the top of my lungs one moment, and plopped onto my feet in front of the fireplace in the next. Once I gather my bearings, I dig my heels into the soft carpet to run but Sol captures me easily with one arm around my waist.

Pushing and kicking against him is futile. He’s bigger than me and actually trained in martial arts, but I flail anyway. While holding me with one hand, he grabs both of my wrists with the other and begins wrapping something hard and plastic around them.

“You know, I wasn’t sure how I could use these at first, but I installed this while you were sleeping. And now, you’ve given me an excellent idea.”

“What’re you doing? What are ‘these’?”

I freeze and try to figure out what is binding me. A thick layer of black sparkling beads and skulls shine back at me thanks to the firelight in the room.

“Are these Mardi Gras beads?”

Before I can register that I need to keep fighting him, he pulls my bound arms over my head to attach the wrapped beads to a hook in the ceiling. I have to stretch and stand on my tiptoes to keep from dangling from the ceiling.