Page 34 of Ruthless Scoundrel
I want to punch him.
I want to punch him right in the dick.
My fists clench of their own accord, and I raise my arm to strike.
“Do it and you’ll be in shackles so fast,” Jasper says, his eyes still closed.
Wearing the enchanted copper manacles will be worth every second of his surprised and pained expression. I throw my punch strong and true, but Jasper captures my wrist an inch before impact.
His smirk makes my skin crawl as he says, “I can’t believe you’d—”
I open my fist as hard as I can and flick him with my fingers. He hisses in a pained breath, and we lock gazes, his loaded with fury.
The manacle snaps over my wrist before I can even blink. I yelp as he drags me down to the sand and pulls me against his side. I kick and squirm, but he subdues my efforts by wrapping his legs around mine. He holds me tight with one arm, then snaps the other manacle on his own wrist.
“This is what you get, princess,” he growls against my cheek. “Now you’ll have to feel my erection for the rest of the morning until I’m ready to get up.”
“You’re vile!” I shout, twisting and turning to get out of his grasp even though I know it’s useless. He’s so much stronger than me.
“And your efforts to escape are only grinding yourself against me more,” he says salaciously, and the shift in his tone sends uninvited warmth down to my lower belly.
“Taking pleasure in detaining me only proves you’re depraved,” I say, stilling myself to prevent any further arousal on his part.
“Oh, yes, I have averyspecific depravity for bratty princesses being chained up, especially when they’re on their knees, begging.”
The visual he paints only heightens my awareness of the tension in my core. I see myself kneeling in front of him, my hands chained overhead, his thick erection straining against his pants. My legs are spread wide and I’m panting with pleasure. Why is my body responding to this wicked man?
Jasper takes a long inhale through his nose, then chuckles darkly. “What was that about not being able to get you wet, princess?”
Heat flares in my face and tightens my chest.
“You cannot possibly smell whether I’m aroused,” I say, though some part of me believes he can.
His hand trails up my stomach to my chin and he turns my face to meet his gaze. His lips hover just a few inches from mine. His eyes are like liquid pearls, dancing with opalescent light. He wears a dominant smile that’s edging on desire.
“Do you want to prove me wrong?”
“I will,” I say, indignantly.
His eyes shine brighter, and he releases my arm. “Go ahead, then. Reach between your legs and show me your fingers.”
My heart thunders but the rest of me is frozen.
I can’t prove him wrong.
I can feel the slickness when I shift my hips. There’s no way in the nine hells that I’m going toshowhim my arousal. But if I tell him to fuck off now, he’ll know he’s won. Why did I have to open my mouth in the first place? Why the fuck am I evenaroused?
“Are you going to show me, Rei?” he whispers. His voice is so loaded with lust that it envelopes me completely. The air feels too tight in our confined space. My chest won’t fill, and I don’t know if I’m breathing anymore.
Suddenly, Jasper’s demeanor shifts. His face goes stoic, and he releases my chin.
“Get some sleep,” he says, dropping down to the sand behind me. “If you can.”
I stare at the dark canopy of our shelter and begin to breathe again.
Why did my body react to him like that? I hate this man. He has no redeeming quality—other than perhaps his beauty—but that’s beside the point. Yes, maybe he taught me to fish and forage, and no, he hasn’t shackled me since…until now.
That doesn’t make him a good person. It doesn’t make him anything of the sort and I should not be aroused by the thought of him chaining me up and having me naked on my knees begging for pleasure.
