I’d never seen him so vulnerable, so heart-stoppingly beautiful.
“You like me.” His grin grew. “You really like me.”
I gave a playful laugh. “Oh, Forest, I don’t just like you. I’ve loved you since I was fourteen. I’ve been hopelessly in love with you since the moment we met.”
“Why didn’t you ever say anything?”
“Because…you were gay.”
He huffed a laugh. “But I’m not gay.”
“You picked a piss poor time to tell me that. Why? Why didn’t you ever say anything to me? If you felt the same about me, why didn’t you say anything?”
He bit at his lower lip, worrying it between his teeth. Drawing away from me, he rubbed at the back of his neck.
“I didn’t want to hurt you, and you didn’t seem that interested, to be honest.”
“I can’t believe we wasted so many years.”
He blew out a breath. “Perhaps it’s best.”
“How? How can it be?”
“I didn’t hurt you.”
“You didn’t hurt me right now, you big lug. I’d say I survived just fine. And might I just say, for someone who only has sex with men, you’re quite talented with your fingers and mouth.”
His expression darkened. “I was trained well.”
“Oh, Forest!” I couldn’t believe what I just said. How insensitive could I be? “Shit, I’m sorry. I didn’t—”
He pressed a finger to my lips.
“Don’t. Don’t ruin what was easily the best moment of my life. I want to have sex with you. I really do, and if we ever get out of this, we’ll figure the rest out. But don’t cheapen what just happened. You’re the light that will get me through. When things become their darkest, I’ll always have this moment to see me through. You like me.” He tweaked my nose, teasing me. “That’s worth a million suns to banish the darkness.”
“And you like me.”
“I like the way you taste, and I love the way you scream. I can’t wait to do that again.”
I glanced down at his erection. “And what about you? We may not be able to have sex, but there are other things we can do.”
“Like what?” His brows lifted with interest, and I loved the way the intensity of his gaze focused on my mouth.
It was my turn to bite my lower lip. I reached between us and took him in hand.
“My turn to see how you taste.” Slowly, I went to my knees.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Forest
I stared at Sara, eyes heavy with desire, my lips parted in stunned disbelief, and my need palpable as she touched me for the second time. It was all I could do not to come right then.
She liked me.
She’d been in love with me since we first met?
It didn’t make any sense with what I knew. I didn’t believe her.
I would have known.
How had I not known?
“Forest?” Her soft voice floated up to me.
The sight of her on her knees, hand on my dick, her eyes staring up at me with that satiated smile from the orgasm I just gave her was the most beautiful thing in the world. The sweet taste of her still lingered on my tongue.
She made me an instant addict.
I’d never get enough of her, and I couldn’t believe my eyes or the sparks of electricity shooting through my body.
She was running her fingers along my shaft.
Touching me.
Holding me.
Loving me.
Her nails lightly danced along the rigid length of my erection while she gripped my balls with her other hand. My hips bucked. I hissed with the exquisiteness of her touch. Then jerked uncontrollably with the urge to fuck.
We couldn’t have sex.
I hated that, but there was no way I could expose her to any of the vileness Snowden subjected me too. I sucked in a breath as her head dipped forward.
Soft and succulent, her lips wrapped around the crown of my cock. Warm and velvety, her tongue circled lightly around the bell-shaped tip. Blissfully amazing, she swallowed me whole.
Or tried to.
Slowly, she fluttered her tongue from the tip to the root and then all the way back up the length. My toes curled. My thighs flexed. I tried to keep my hips still.
I was a big man with a big dick and could do some serious damage if I didn’t take care.
Her hand moved up and down my engorged length while her other hand cupped my balls.
So tiny.
So gentle.
So different from a man.
Instead of aggressive and hard, she was tender and soft. Instead of quick to the chase, eager to get the deed done, she took her time. Nearly reverent in her touch, she explored with intense curiosity.
Her fingernails gently grazed my balls. It was insanely arousing. No man took that much time to stimulate me.
Rock hard before she started, I didn’t think it was possible to get any harder. But I did. I glanced down, thinking I’d see the crown of her head. Instead, she glanced up at me, eyes soft and mouth stuffed with my dick.
Holy hell, that was erotic as shit.
She was trying to swallow me whole and was enjoying this.
Enjoying me.
She liked me.
I still couldn’t believe it.
All these years, I hadn’t had a clue, yet here we were. In the most unlikely of places, we found each other. This only solidified my resolve to make sure she remained safe.
Her fingers continued their slow tease while her tongue lapped along my length. She swirled it around the flare of my crown, teasing the tip. Each sensuous lick coiled heat in my balls and drove me insane with need.
I wanted to pick her up, thrust her against the wall, and slam into her pussy as hard and fast as I could. I ached to fill her up and welcome the warm embrace as the walls of her pussy wrapped around my cock.
It killed me that I couldn’t.
She tried to take me in deep, but there were limits to what she could handle. Too entranced by her efforts, I kept my mouth shut and simply enjoyed this simple pleasure.
Hell, there was nothing simple about any of this.
When she failed to deep throat me, she resorted to teasing me, gently at first, only taking the tip into her mouth.
Each groan, each thrust of my hips, none of it encouraged her to take more. Then her devilish tongue rubbed against the sensitive underside just beneath the rim. I think I saw stars. I practically levitated, rising on my toes.
I reached down and twisted my hands in her hair and tried like hell not to take control.
I didn’t want to force her and treasured anything she could give. But then she added a hand, twisting it around my shaft, stimulating me with the friction of her fingers and the delicious heat of her mouth.
My moans filled the bathroom with my pleasure, my frustration, and my desire to make this last as long as possible. Tension built in my thighs with anticipation of the orgasm gathering in my balls. Despite my size, she sheathed her teeth with her lips and glided up and down my cock until I was delirious with pleasure.
Guttural groans erupted from me as her head bobbed up and down my length—the blissful need for release built until I couldn’t contain it.
I called out her name, warning her until I swelled with pleasure. My face pulled tight with the need to hold off and pull out, but she bobbed down, placing me deep into the back of her throat.
I warned her.
I convulsed as she sucked on me.
It was all I needed to hurtle off the edge as I lost the battle for control. With my hips bucking, I came in her mouth and shouted her name violently.
Sensation spiraled through me as each wave of my orgasm rocked my solid frame. Her name fell from my lips, a pleasure-induced litany of emotion I no longer kept contained. There was no longer any need.
Sara belonged to me now, and I belonged to her.
As for the rest? I would figure it out.
Snowden only thought h
e’d won.
He didn’t know I was still putting chess pieces in play.
I pulled Sara into my arms and drew her close.
There was no revulsion.
No violent wrenching in my gut as I touched her.
She fit perfectly in my embrace as if she’d always belonged there.
Sara felt like heaven, like I had finally come home.
“How did we not know?” I kissed the crown of her head. “How did I miss what was right under my nose?”
She gave a soft laugh. “I don’t know.”
A soft knock interrupted our privacy.
Paul called out. “Ten minutes. I strongly suggest you be ready to greet Mr. Snowden when he arrives.”
Fuck.
“And so it begins.” Softly, I kissed the top of her head.
“Forest…”
“Shh…whatever happens, remember it’s just a body.”
I needed her to believe the lie. Once Snowden arrived, he would be my primary focus. I couldn’t protect Sara if I paid too much attention to her.
Snowden would zero in on that and make things ten times worse. I did, however, vow there would be one thing he would never use against us.
I wouldn’t let Snowden do to Sara what he’d done to Skye.
Whatever it took.
Those words were fast becoming my mantra.
I hoped I had the strength to stay strong. With the way things were stacked against me, there was an excellent chance I would fail.
After kissing Sara one last time, I headed out of the shower, drunk with happiness, head reeling with our admissions of love to each other, and with my mouth still tingling with the beauty that it had been to kiss Sara.
I could get lost in her for days. We had so much time to make up for.
Instead, I braced to face a monster.
I left Sara to dress and approached Paul.
“Any word on what I should wear? It seems silly to dress when the menu of the day calls for rape.”
Oddly, Paul’s eyes pinched at that comment.
I’d come to terms with what I would endure. Several choices faced me. I could run from my fate, meet it head-on, or pretend it wasn’t happening. I intended to meet Snowden head-on.
It would off-balance him.
Paul tossed me a circle of leather.
“A collar?” I shrugged. “Not very imaginative. Is that it?”
He blew out a breath. “Cuffs for your wrists and ankles.”
“Of course. We wouldn’t want to forget the cuffs.”
I dropped the towel and strapped the leather collar around my neck. The four heavy-duty D-rings attached to it told me the day would not be easy.
“I’m assuming naked is the attire of the day?”
“Shut up.” Paul’s shoulders twitched. He shoved a pair of wrist cuffs at me. “Put these on.”
“Nice and wide, love the rings.” The cuffs had the same rings as the collar. Sturdy and meant for restraint. Whatever Snowden had planned for me, there wasn’t a snowball’s chance in hell I’d get free.
Not that I would try.
Instant obedience.
That was the deal.
After I put the cuffs on, Paul slowly approached, a wary expression in his gaze. He made a show of kneeling before me, which put my dick at eye-level.
Thankfully, after the orgasm I’d just had, my dick behaved. Long and soft, the fucker rested.
Paul strapped on the leather ankle cuffs while I stood over him and tried every trick in the book to avoid getting hard.
Not an easy feat since all I thought about was how Paul’s mouth would feel on me after Sara had taken me in hers. I was sure it would be different, but different better, or different worse?
“Arms behind your back.” His command shot through me.
They were simple words, but fuck if I didn’t respond like a rabid animal. My dick gave a little shudder, and it didn’t escape Paul’s notice. He was still eye to eye with it.
“I see.”
“You see shit.”
Paul stood and moved behind me.
“Really? The thought of me restraining you turns you on. What else do you like?” He leaned in close and pressed his hand against my back.
“I’d like for you to take your filthy hands off me.”
“I bet you’re into ropes, restraints, whips, and all the fun stuff.” He smacked my ass. “Good for you…I am too. I love whipping a man until he comes. I bet you’d do that for me, come from nothing but the bite of my whip?”
“Fuck off.”
His voice dripped sin and lust. “You’d let me tie you up, whip you until you were delirious with pain, and then you’d beg to come for me, wouldn’t you? I bet there are far few men strong enough to best you, and we both know Mr. Snowden doesn’t count. He doesn’t have what I have.”
“As I remember, I knocked you out cold last night. If anyone bested anyone, it was me, not you.”
His low chuckle was accompanied by the sweep of his hand across my back and down my buttocks. The fine hairs at my nape lifted, my breath hitched, and blood surged to my groin.
It took considerable effort not to let out a low groan. I’d never responded to anyone like this before. I wanted everything he said.
“We’ll have our time, Forest. Don’t worry; it’ll come. When it does, I’ll show you rapture when you willingly submit to your dominant. I’ll fuck you right over the cliff. We’ll fly together, you and me.”
“Again, with the fantasies.” I snorted, denying his claim even as my body betrayed me. “You’ll do what Snowden allows and nothing more. And I’ll fight you every step of the way.”
“I wouldn’t expect anything less. The harder you fight, the harder you fall. If that’s what you need, I’m willing to take you there.”
He fastened my wrists behind my back, showing little kindness as he hiked them high and put pressure on my shoulders.
Coming around to face me, he crowded my space. Face to face, we stared at each other. I didn’t move a muscle when he leaned in and brushed his lips over mine. It wasn’t a kiss, but more of a promise.
“You’ll find I can be soft as well as hard. I’ll never yield to you, but I can give you what you crave.”
“And what is that?”
“A strong hand, purpose, someone you can submit to without losing yourself in the process.” His lips lifted in a cocky grin. “Discipline. Pain. Pleasure.”
“Easy words for a man who works for a kidnapper, rapist, and murderer. Don’t get ahead of yourself.”
“I won’t. As I said, I’m a patient man when I see something I want. You’re nothing like I expected and everything I want. A treasure waiting to be taken.”
“And yet, you’re not the one in charge.”
The lock to the outer door disengaged. Paul stepped behind me and caved in the back of my legs, dropping me to my knees.
I fell with a grunt and turned my head to glare at him. Paul gestured to the door as it slowly opened.
“You’ll greet your Master like such, on your knees. Now bow down, forehead to the floor. Mr. Snowden has arrived.”
The door swung inward, and the heavy tread of my nemesis rang in my ears. It wasn’t necessary to look up; I would know that sound in hell.
How many times had Snowden walked up to me with a hood around my head, arms strapped to my back, and terror flooding my body?
Too many to count.
But I wasn’t that little boy anymore. I had grown, matured, and was stronger than ever.
I braced myself to do battle.
Not with Snowden, but with my fears.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Forest
“Ah, my boy, I have missed you.” Snowden’s voice thickened with lust. “Now, up! How do you greet your Master?”
I ground my teeth. My vow to never call him Master disintegrated in an instant.
I pushed off the floor and leaned back on my heels. Slowly, I dragged my eyes up his body and tried not to
gag. I met the hardness of his stare with the resolute determination to endure.
“Good morning, sir.” I ground the words out.
“How did you sleep? I hope you slept well.”
“I slept.”
He cocked his head, assessing me. I supposed he wondered if I was being flippant and whether that warranted punishment.
I wasn’t.
My words were sincere.
My body had recovered from the previous day’s abuse.
Sara slept soundly and had been kept safe.
What did I have to be flippant about?
Asshole.
“Is that so?” He eyed me.
“Yes, sir.” I kept my tone even, calm, and non-threatening. I wasn’t foolish enough to inject anything but respect. “I appreciate you letting me rest and for allowing Sara to stay with me.”
Snowden would pounce on that in an instant. My capitulation would come with time. He expected some resistance on my part. But this was the first give I would hand him.
I intended to give him everything he expected and more.
“And where is little Miss Sara?”
“She’s getting ready in the bathroom.” Paul interrupted our exchange and kicked my heel with the toe of his boot.
I didn’t dare look up at him, but he was trying to send me a message to shut the fuck up. I could do that. I turned my gaze down, lowering my head in deference to a monster.
God, how my stomach churned.
“Go get her.” Snowden snapped his fingers in irritation. “I don’t like being kept waiting.”
“I’m here.” Sara rushed into the room.
I couldn’t see her but caught the hesitation in her voice when she saw me on my knees.
“I didn’t mean to make you wait, sir.” Her crystal-clear voice rang with ruined innocence.
There was no way to unsee this.
“Sir?” Amusement tickled his tone.
“Unless you would prefer Mr. Snowden?” She, too, managed to lace her words with respect.
Knowing her as I did, I picked up on the strain in her voice as she tried to keep things light. The poor thing didn’t understand how dark this would get.
“That sounds just about right.” Snowden practically preened. “Did you sleep well, my dear?”
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