Page 186 of The Invite
After he showed me another side of him yesterday as he took care of me.
A slight jolt snaps me out of my musings. His gait switches to a descending motion. Are we going down a staircase? The silence also becomes deafening.
“August,” I whisper.
He squeezes my ass. “Almost there, honey.”
I turn my head in the crook of his neck and I’m hit with a shot of his woodsy scent with a subtle hint of leather. I can’t resist having a small taste. His fingers dig harshly into my flesh as I lick his skin and kiss it softly.
Christ! I want to kiss him on the lips so bad. Just once. It’s turning into a desperate obsession. It’s been so long since I’ve felt the small intimacy.
Will he ever allow me the chance?
Maybe I can convince him if he feels our connection as strongly as I do. I don’t even know the S of seduction, so, it’s out of the window.
While I’m mentally plotting the best way to push or entice him, we come to a halt. I lift my head and I swallow against the gust of breath right against my mouth. I just know his face is tilted down and our lips are aligned.
My tongue peeks out to lick the corner of my mouth.
His rough exhale is so loud in the silence that it travels to the tip of my toes. The lustful tension in the air can be cut with a knife. Before that can happen, he places me on my feet and turns me around so my back is against his front.
Touching the sides of my face, he tugs the band over my head.
I blink several times, adjusting my eyes to the semi-darkness.
When the room comes into view, with its low rusty ceiling and tomb-like structure, I lose my grip on reality.
My mind scrambles to stay in the present, but as cold and horrific memories slam into my psyche, the walls start closing in on me.
“I… Gett mme,” I struggle to beg, my vision blackening.
“Nessa.”
Augustus’s concerned voice sounds faint. I’m slipping away from him, but I can’t seem to hang on as my fingers turn numb.
“No!” Someone grabs my waist, holding me back. I have to run.
“Ness!”
“Don’t hurt him!” I shout.
But they don’t listen.
A gut-wrenching sob leaves me. “No!”
CHAPTER – 47
Nessa
An insistent drilling in my head makes my eyelids feel too heavy to open.
I part my lips to speak but only a hoarse noise comes out.
My throat is parched, mouth dry like I haven’t had a drop of water in so long. I shift but my body protests and I cry out at the unexpected sharp ache. I freeze, realizing my arms are twisted uncomfortably behind my back, but I can’t tell why or who did it.
Despite the headache, I recall last night's events. How can I forget? They were among the most special memories of my life, until now.
What I can’t remember is where things went downhill.
