Page 60 of Hush Darling
“Genuine or not, praise feels good.”
“Praise is a vehicle of manipulation. Does it feel good to have a man lie about his feelings only to forget you the next morning?”
“I wouldn’t know.”
“I’ll save you the pain. Praise is just a lie men tell when they want to fuck.”
She scowled at such a hideous outlook. “Not all men are liars. Some love their partners.”
He laughed. “I’m sure some do. I’m not one of them. I plan to fuck you. Hard. Greedily. Selfishly. For my amusement and nothing more. Your body will wear the proof of my depravity in ways you can’t imagine. Praise means nothing to me. It’s an empty, false sense of security. We can skip the bullshit, and I’ll spoil the twist. I plan on having you every which way until I’m satisfied, ripping away any layer of artifice I find. So much so, you might be more afraid of yourself than me in the end.” He took a sip of wine. “Then…we’ll see if I still have use for you.”
“I’ve already accepted what’s going to happen to me, so you can stop trying to scare me.” If his goal was to dehumanize her, she planned to hide her emotions as much as possible.
“Am I scaring you?”
She met his stare. “No.”
“Liar.”
“I’m only scared because I don’t know what’s going to happen.”
“Are you saying you’d rather get on with it?”
If her fate was inevitable, she saw no reason to prolong things. “Yes.”
Chapter 12
Blood and Lies
He chuckled at her bravado. “You’re a fascinating creature, darling.” Steepling his fingers beneath his chin, his dark eyes narrowed on her. “I wonder if removing your choice has made this easier for you.”
Wendy scoffed at such absurdity. “I beg your pardon?”
The side of his mouth kicked up in a half grin. “You pretend you’re a good girl, but I sense something darker under the surface. For instance, if I told you—in detail—all the terrible things I planned to do to you tonight, I bet that little virgin pussy of yours would clench and pulse with anticipation.”
He set his glass down and leaned forward. Lowering his deep voice, he looked at her and promised, “I’m going to objectify you, darling. I plan to fuck every tight little hole you have. Then I’ll leave you dripping, claimed, and marked in such a way you’ll never forget every disgraceful thing you’ve done. And in the end, you’re going to thank me.”
Every shallow breath became more challenging as her legs clenched tight under the table.
“Your cheeks are flushed, and I’d bet my right hand that virgin pussy’s wet. Admit it, you’re pulsing for my cock, like a slut who gets off on the thought of being used. Is your precious little clit starting to throb? I bet you’d come if I gave it a slap.”
Everything he said was true. Her body responded to every word. “Did you put something in the food?”
He laughed. “No, I didn’t poison your food.”
She didn’t mean poison. “I don’t feel right.”
“What do you feel?”
She swallowed. Her body was thrumming with strange energy. “I don’t know. I feel trapped in my own skin.” She fidgeted, unsure why his words were having such an effect on her.
“But you’ve felt this before, haven’t you? I can picture it—you lying on some ruffled bed surrounded by opulence you did nothing to earn. Did it feel good, sliding your fingers through your wet folds, knowing at any moment someone could have walked in and caught you? Did you enjoy the thrill of possibly being caught, darling? I bet you bit your fist when you started to moan, only to discover you liked a hint of pain.”
She couldn’t breathe. How did he know so much? Had he been watching her?
“You tried so hard to bring yourself relief, didn’t you? Did you shut your eyes and imagine someone else’s hands on you?”
Again, he was right, and her startled look likely confirmed his suspicions. She’d tried and tried, but she couldn’t get there. The closest she came was when she wrapped a hand around her throat, pretending she couldn’t get away.
