Page 48 of Red Dreams

Cassie steps forward eagerly, her eyes darting between Kaden and me. “Can I try now? On her?”

Kaden looks at me, and for a split second, I think I see a glimmer of hesitation. But then it's gone, and he nods curtly. “Go ahead. Show me what you've learned.”

Cassie grins, feral and vicious, and stalks toward me. I back away instinctively even though there’s nowhere to run.

I stare at Kaden, my face bloodless. Every ounce of life I have left has pooled into my heart and is about to burst.

He wouldn’t do this to me.

This has to be a tactic, a Hail Mary of manipulation so he can distract Cassie and find an opening where Ethan and I can escape. Right?

Kaden wouldn’tdothis.

But he does.

He idly stands by while Cassie latches onto my upper arms, finding the same pressure points Kaden demonstrated on Ethan. I cry out as pain lances through my arms, my muscles seizing and refusing to obey. She laughs, high and manic, reveling in my suffering.

Kaden comes closer, giving me the once-over while I stare at him through my watery vision.

“Very good,” he says to Cassie without redirecting his gaze. “Now, watch how she responds to more subtle approaches.”

He trails a single finger down the side of my neck, barely grazing my skin. Against my will, I shudder, goose bumps erupting in the wake of his touch. Kaden's eyes remain cold and assessing.

“The carotid bodies are highly sensitive,” he explains to Cassie. “Even light stimulation elicits an increased heart rate, flushing, and tremors. All automatic reactions she can't control.”

“Stop,” I whisper.

As if to prove his point, he repeats the motion on the other side of my neck. I try to hold myself rigid but fail to suppress another full-body shiver. Humiliated tears prick at my eyes.

“Please, stop,” I ask again, hating how weak I sound.

Kaden ignores my plea. His hands skim down to my collarbones, thumbs resting in the hollows of my throat.

“The suprasternal notch is another key point. Firm pressure here constricts the trachea and stimulates the vagus nerve. You can modulate her breathing, induce coughing or gagging. Take away her air.”

He demonstrates, pressing down until I'm gasping desperately for breath, black spots swarming my vision. Cassie watches with rapt attention, memorizing every cruel detail.

“Now the torso.” Kaden's palms slide over my ribs. He maps the sensitive spaces between them, and my skin crawls with revulsion even as unwanted heat blooms in his wake.

“The external obliques are also remarkably responsive,” he continues, hands drifting lower. “Stimulating the cutaneous branches of the nerves here provokes uncontrollable muscle tension.”

He strokes along my sides, and my abdominal muscles clench painfully. I try to twist away, but his grip is iron, his hands digging into the hollows of my hips.

“Stop, I can't...” A broken sob escapes me.

“You can,” Kaden counters, staring hard into my eyes. “And you will.”

Kaden relents after a few agonizing seconds that feel like an eternity. I sag forward while backing away. Cassie looks on, delighted at her new arsenal of ways to torture while Kaden steps back, appraising me like a prized possession he’s about to bequeath to her.

“The most potent weapon, Cassie, isn’t pain. It's love. Wield it like a blade. Find the soft spots, the vulnerabilities, and press until they bleed.”

He circles behind me, fingers skimming across my shoulders and raising goose bumps in their wake. I shudder, not in revulsion but in treacherous longing, wishing it were like before.

Until Kaden whispers near my ear, “Layla's deepest fear is abandonment.”

I go rigid.

Abruptly, he wrenches me around to face him, gripping my chin. I stare into his eyes, searching desperately for a hint of theman I fell for, the man who held me tenderly and promised I'd never be alone again.

---