Page 124 of Pure Vengeance

Jail had been a hurdle he hadn’t anticipated, but even the State couldn’t suppress a man like Mark Lawes for long. He was going to be freed one day, and on that day, Hannah Bowman’s card had always been marked. She just appeared completely unaware of the fact.

“Better.” He smoothed her tangled hair back on the headrest. He’d need to get her cleaned up eventually—another job for a time when she was calmer. “But don’t think I’ll forget how you acted or spoke to me just then.”

Fresh fear flickered in her eyes as her pupils darted to follow him. Towering over her, he acknowledged how fucking wonderful she was. That one silent gesture alone was enough to inspire precum from the tip of his rock-solid shaft.

“Let’s get you ready for me.” He tugged at the blouse that had separated him from the fabulous tits he knew waited beneath it.

She squirmed at his words, trying to dodge his touch, and he laughed at her rebellion. Hannah’s defiance had always been a source of fascination for him. Perhaps that’s why she’d reminded him of April so much. The two had never settled into their submission. It was strange, considering how much their subjugation had turned them on, but they’d never stopped fighting.

“No more complaints.” He grinned, lifting his free hand to run his fingers over the strap, helping to silence her. “I love your fight, but you will pay for it.”

She stilled at that, moisture glistening on her brow as she waited to see what he’d do next.

“You know how this works.” His tone was curt. “Behave, and we’ll get along.”

Releasing the first two buttons of her blouse, he allowed his hand to brush over the silky fabric. “This is a lovely shirt, little girl. It seems a shame to cut it, so I’m choosing the conventional route.”

She bit down on the plastic, her fingers splaying as he helped himself to what he wanted. Unfastening the remaining buttons, he stretched back the material to expose her pretty lingerie before he let out a long wolf whistle.

His gaze rose to lock with hers. “Saul was a very lucky man.”

Her brows knitted at his sarcasm but rose as he tugged lightly at the front of the bra.

“This, though…” Releasing the purple fabric, he skimmed his fingers along the bottom of the lacy cup. “This is going to betrickier. There’s no easy way to rid you of it without me untying you first, so it’ll need to be our first casualty.”

“Ooooo.” A long string of vowel noises escaped her throat as her head whipped left and right.

“Oh, yes,” he mimicked. “I’m afraid so. I need to bare my little girl.”

Disregarding her sexy noises, he slipped behind her chair to the table of implements that were laid out waiting. The string of intoxicating noises coming from her mouth were probably complaints, but listening to them was making it difficult for him to think beyond the next step. He’d dreamed about that moment for so long—snatching her, binding her, and gagging her. It was everything he’d wanted, everything that had kept him going night after night when morons like Dylan had rabbited on about hurting and intimidating him, and now he finally had her.

He needed to hold his nerve and make sure the next few hours played out perfectly. Reaching for the wire cutters and the pair of scissors on the table, he rearranged his dick as he spun back to her.

No pleasure yet.His lips stretched wider as he strode back to her side.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Subdued

Hannah

Time protracted, stretching out around her in bizarre pockets she couldn’t understand, but she should have been able to. It wasn’t the first time she’d experienced its odd lengthening. Time had rarely been a friend in Lawes’ basement; it had eluded and stifled her, becoming meaningless as the dark hours bled into days.

But this was different.

She’d assumed all of that trauma was behind her, and watching it all play out around her again was too much.

Just like this bloody gag.

Her tongue flicked around the back of the plastic ball forced between her lips.

Too much.

She despised that he could steal her speech away, but more than anything, she hated what the gag represented—his power over her. The dread coursing through her veins accepted it.Lawes forbade her from speaking, but the sense of helpless frustration was difficult to process.

It shouldn’t be. I’ve thought about being gagged.

Her tongue stilled, acknowledging the accusation. Shehadthought about it many times, especially in the dead of the night when sleep was a distant friend. During those times, the idea of being gagged had been consuming, peaking her pleasure when nothing else would, but she hadn’t dared play with one since she’d been rescued from Lawes and Fuller.

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