Page 121 of Pure Vengeance

“Were you Saul?” The pain in her head escalated, threatening to elevate the bile in her belly to her mouth. “Was I talking to you the entire time I thought I was getting to know someone new?”

A part of her didn’t want his answer because, on a subconscious level, she’d already acknowledged the probable truth. HewasSaul. But she needed to hear him say so, needed to know that the whole empire of romance she’d created in her head had been built on nothing but ash and dust.

“That was me.” Lawes’ tone was disturbingly matter-of-fact. “I wanted to thank you for that, actually. Becoming ‘Saul’ made this whole thing much easier.”

Itwashim!She bit down on the swelling sickness as she grimly accepted his explanation. Shehadmade it easier for him by throwing herself into the flirtations with Saul. Hannah had been so desperate to believe in the possibility of a new love in her life, she’d been ready to overlook just about anything, including how well Saul had blended to her needs, liking what she liked, and pressing all of her buttons.

He’d seemed too good to be true because he was.

“I hadn’t expected you to be looking for a partner.” His smirk was unbearable, goading her with the unspoken recrimination—how badly could she have been affected by captivity if only a few years later she was ready to look for a kinky lover?

The accusation ripped at her soul, tearing at her values because she, too, had never been able to reconcile the query.

“But hey, it turns out, I was looking for one, too.”

“I didn’t mean it.” Hot tears slid down her face as she whispered the reply, shame mingling with her dread until her emotions were smothering. “I didn’t mean any of it.”

“The things you said to Saul?” He laughed dryly. “Oh, I think we both know that’s not true, little girl. I know you remember what we talked about….” His voice trailed away. “What youaskedfor.”

His hand fell to her left breast and traced the outline of her nipple. Beneath her blouse, her bud came to life at his touch, betraying her the way her body always did. Hannah groundher teeth together, fighting the urge to respond in any other meaningful way. It was awful enough that she couldn’t hide her attraction to the way he treated her, but she didn’t need an unsolicited mewl to escape as well.

Why did I put on such fancy lingerie for the date?

She turned her head toward the daylight spilling in through the net curtains at the bay window to her left. Even if Saul had been real, he wouldn’t have deserved the effort of such expensive underwear. It seemed that no man did.

“Look at me.” His voice commanded just enough gravity to order her compliance.

Slowly, she glanced his way, although the longing to look back at the light gnawed at her, along with the underlying question of her underwear.

“Do you deny the things you told Saul?” One of his dark eyebrows arched, daring her to defy him as his fingertip continued its feathery circuit of excruciating agony.

Of course, she’d said those things. They both knew she had. She’d told Saul some of the dirty things she wanted him to do to her. Some of the same things Lawes had coerced her into when he’d held her. As ever, his game—this anguish—was only designed to torment her further.

“Those words weren’t for you.” She hissed the insult, meeting his knowing gaze.

Even she was surprised by the venom in her voice, her thundering heart assuring her that maybe this wasn’t the ideal time for her rudeness, but it was too late. He deserved it. He might as well know how she felt.

“Watch. Your. Tone.” He leaned closer, pinching her nipple as he sent the warning.

Fuck.She processed the pain, refusing to allow her lips to convey the hurt, although she was sure her eyes expressed it.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Lawes, sir.” She wasn’t sorry in the slightest and was certain her tone revealed as much, but she responded in the so-called appropriate way.

“Hmmm.” Unimpressed, he straightened and withdrew his hand. “You’ve had your question.”

“You didn’t say if you w-were going to harm me.”

“I said you’ve had your question.” His gaze flitted from her face to his left fist, which had previously been hidden behind the chair. “But then, I remember you never could keep that mouth quiet, could you?”

The blood drained from her face as he lifted his hand to reveal what he was holding. His fingers gripped the end of a black strap, and swinging in the middle was the all too familiar sphere of a ball gag.

Shit. She couldn’t do much to hide her despair at the sight, a dozen memories of that and the other, even crueler, dental gags he used on her flooding to fill her senses. Lawes had wielded the things freely before, silencing his captives whenever it pleased him, and ithadseemed to please him.

“I thought you’d remember.” His dark laughter swirled around her. “I also recall how much you enjoyed being gagged, little girl.”

“That’s not true,” she started, but even before he flashed her a glare, she knew it was a lie. How she wished it was true, though. How every fiber of her being desired that she loathed the gag, but both she and Lawes knew better.

Hannah still didn’t understand why, but being gagged was a fast-tracked and guaranteed way to liquify her sex. Once she could no longer speak or protest, she’d be all too willing to play his victim—yielding because she had no choice but also brazenly reveling in his authority—and she hated herself for it.

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