Page 104 of Dance of Deception

There’s a whisper of movement behind me.

A hand grabs my waist.

I shriek, twisting, slapping vainly at the iron grip that holds me. But Carmine is stronger, faster. His fingers dig into my hip as he spins me around, slamming me against the wall.

My chest is heaving. His lips curve in amusement, dark eyes gleaming. “Too slow, little dancer.”

I bring my knee up, aiming for his balls, but he dodges at the last second and I catch his thigh instead. He grunts, his grip loosening.

I wrench away andrun.

The hallway twists ahead of me, a staircase looming at the end.

I take the steps two at a time, my dress a torn ruin, my breath ragged, my muscles screaming.

A hand wraps around my ankle like iron.

I let out a strangled cry as I’m pulled back, my kneecap banging over the steps as Carmine drags me down, pain and adrenaline tangling in my veins. I twist, kicking, clawing.

My body slams down the stairs with bruising force. My vision blurs from the impact, my breath stuttering as Carmine is suddenly over me, pinning me to the floor with his weight. His grip is firm, his body pressing into mine just enough to remind me how much bigger and stronger he is. One hand is on my chest, the other shoving my dress up, his fingers curling around the fabric possessively.

“Caught you,” he murmurs, dark satisfaction in his voice.

Hot, wild rage sparks inside me. I slap him hard across the face, my palm cracking against his cheek. His head snaps to the side from the impact.

For a long breath, nothing moves.

“Feral little thing, aren't you,” he murmurs.

His palm collides with my cheek, sending a searing jolt through me.

It should enrage me. But instead heat surges in its wake, my breath ragged from the vicious thrill of it.

I don’t stop to think. I claw at him, nails raking over his chest and over the still-bleeding wound. He growls, his grip loosening just enough.

I tear myself free, scrambling to my feet, my dress torn and bloody from where his cut smeared against me. My muscles scream in protest, but I run.

Blindly.

I don’t know where I’m going, only that I need to put as much distance between us as possible. The mansion stretches out in an unfamiliar maze, doors and corridors blurring as I surge forward.

A second staircase looms. Without thinking, I take it, hurtling down the steps in a desperate bid for freedom.

I shove open the doors at the bottom and stagger down the hall, through a set of double doors into?—

The fucking library.

The fire still crackling in the hearth. The room is exactly as I left it.

I whirl, chest heaving as I head for the opposite door?—

I never make it.

Carmine grabs me from behind, his arms around me like steel. I thrash, trying to twist free, but his grip is unrelenting.

I crash to the floor with a choked gasp, the force knocking the breath from my lungs.

Carmine is on me in an instant, pinning me face-down, his hands caging me in, his breath hot against my cheek.

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