“I know.” Her reply was breathy, demonstrating her apprehension, though she desperately hoped he might mistake it for arousal. “And I’m sorry, Mr. Lawes. Locked up in the basement, it hasn’t always been easy to see what you’re trying to achieve.” April gulped, intentionally fluttering her lashes at him as she continued. “But being back in this room now, I can see the difference it has made. I’m no longer the same woman who was paralyzed with fear at the dentist, and I have you and Mr. Fuller to thank for that.”
That was easier than she’d assumed it would be, her timbre genuine because her words were true. While April wanted out of this place more than she’d ever desired it before and while she would bring Lawes to his knees in a heartbeat, just as soon as the chance allowed, it didn’t change the reality of her new situation. She truly didn’t fear this chair anymore. April’s resolve to get the hell out of this situation was now the primary driver for everything, and she guessed if she could win her liberation, the dentists would never hold the same fear again.
If she could ever bring herself to attend one again, of course.
Lawes leaned closer to her body, his green gaze sparkling at her assertion. “You have no idea how happy it makes me to hear you say that.”
She forced her lips to curl into a smile. “I just wanted to let you know, sir. I’m sorry. I know I’m not supposed to be so bold, but—”
“But you are bold, aren’t you, April?” His words cut her off, and her lips parted in response. “You have been right from the start—impossible to suppress, even though I have tried many times.”
Heat bloomed in her cheeks at Lawes’ assessment, even though it made no sense to be embarrassed. He was telling the truth. April’s instincts had been to fight from the get-go, and she would never stop fighting.
“Yes, sir.”
“And you’re sorry?” There was that eyebrow again, cocking at his own sarcastic tone. “You’re sorry for the way you’ve behaved?”
“Yes, sir. I am. I know I’ve been difficult.” She ran her tongue along her lower lip in what she hoped was a seductive display and watched his responses carefully.
Lawes’ widening grin reassured her the gesture had been well received. “That you have.” He laughed gently with the admission. “The most difficult patient we’ve ever had, Ms. Page. A constant challenge. A constant…” He hesitated, presumably trying to find the right word.
“Pain in the ass, sir?” April offered the answer with a furtive smile, observing the way his face lit up as the words registered.
“Right,” he replied with a heartier chuckle. “You have definitely been that, April.”
Lawes’ expression shifted into the powerful one again, the one that had the ability to pin her to the chair without the use of straps and binds. “But you forget, over the last few weeks, we have gotten to know you. I have gotten to know you, April.”
Something about the intensity in his gaze fogged her brain, and she gulped again, frantically trying to remember the plan…
“Mr. Lawes?” It was all she could think to say, and his expression left her in no doubt. She had to say something.
“I know more about the woman who sauntered into my office that first day,” he explained. “The one with all the bravado and all the answers, except the ones pertaining to why she found herself there in the first place.” Lawes sighed, one hand rising to stroke the loose strands of her hair from her face. “I understand her better now. I know what makes her tick and the things that make her come for me, even when every fiber of her body wants to protest and resist.”
The heat at April’s face burned brighter, his appraisal all too accurate for her liking.
“I know that woman, little pet. I have known her, caged her, and colored her delectable ass more times than I can remember. Haven’t I?”
April’s throat dried at the question. His face was no more than five inches from hers, and somewhere in the back of her mind, she wished he’d just close the distance and fucking kiss her—even though that desire wasn’t logical. It wasn’t what she was here for. It wasn’t part of the plan, yet still, she desired it. More critically, she desired the end of his assessment. His words were killing her, ebbing away at what little bravado she’d erected in defense of the continual onslaught of this place.
“Yes.” The word slipped from her mouth though April was sure she hadn’t given the order for it to do so. “Sir.”
His expression softened. “And I’ve had the opportunity to fuck her, too, haven’t I? To slide my fingers and cock into her sweet body. Into the slick folds of her juicy cunt and the exquisite tightness of her backside.”
Her eyelids fluttered at his statement. Yet again, every word was true. Her pussy spasmed at the memory of the many hot and infuriating times he had screwed her. No one had ever claimed her the way Lawes had, and even though Fuller had also taken his fill, there was something about his partner that compelled her. Lawes was impossible to forget. April knew when she finally got away, the man would haunt her dreams… probably forever.
“Haven’t I?” His voice was insistent.
“Yes, sir. Yes, you have.”
Shit. She couldn’t believe the raspy little tone which had concurred with the admission, but there it was. The evidence she guessed Lawes sought—the proof even now, he could affect her. And as usual, she was giving him precisely what he wanted.
It’s okay, she told herself, even as his face neared her own. It’s okay so long as it assists the plan. Make him believe you loved his attention. Hell, make him believe you’re in love with him—whatever it takes to fool him.
“Yes, I have.” Lawes’ lips grazed April’s mouth. “And I have loved every fucking minute of it.”
Twenty
April
“How’s that tooth now?”
April blinked at his question, her brain trying to reconfigure despite his searing expression, which was now just inches from her face.
Tooth?
The intensity of the last few minutes had overwhelmed the alleged throbbing in her jaw, but as Lawes mentioned it, she recalled why she was supposed to be here.
“It’s still there, sir.”
She flushed harder at her reply, mentally cringing at the pathetic nature of the response, but then that was April these days, wasn’t it? She had lowered herself further than she ever thought possible. She had done it over and over—to survive for sure—but also to gain pleasure. To chase the orgasms Lawes seemed able to rip from her exhausted body. Despite her desperate desire to escape, there was no denying the way she had clung to that promise of pleasure. A memory of her humiliating display in the harness flooded April’s mind again, and she fought to catch her breath.
Lawes chuckled, the warmth of his minty breath washing over her. “I am pleased to hear that,” he murmured. “Do you want me to take a look, little pet, or…” He paused, his brow arching again. “Is there some other reason you wanted to be up here alone with me?”
April gulped. Crap. The way this man managed to disarm her was unnerving. Smart, handsome, and cunning, Lawes was quite the opponent, and as his lips broke into another fierce smile, she was certain that was exactly what he was. Her nemesis—one she must fight, to rise up and prevail against.
“I…” Her words dried before they had even started, and she had to coerce the answer from her lips. “Yes, please, sir.”
“Fine.” He nodded slowly. “Though I can’t say I’m not a little disappointed, April. I had hoped there was something else on your mind.”
Her heart raced at that. There was something else on her mind. There was always something else on her mind, namely either lust or liberation these days.
“I don’t know what to say. Sir.”
Lawes drew away. “Yes, you do.” His voice was that soft, teasing tone once more, the timbre which obsessed April’s dreams, and almost certainly always would. “It’s only you and me up here right now. I haven’t asked anyone to assist. You can tell me anything, April. We can d
o anything.” Lawes’ brow rose with the assertion, and something about it made her heart hammer harder.
“What do you mean, Mr. Lawes?” She sounded the usual mix of pitiful and needy, but April didn’t care anymore. Her pride had been pulverized a long time ago. It had been Lawes who had crushed it.
“You know what I mean.” His gaze was knowing. “I can take a look and treat your tooth, or…” He ran his tongue over his perfect white teeth.
“Or?” She could scarcely take another breath, the energy between them at this moment a real, living thing.
He tilted his head. “Or we can find another way to use the time we have.” He winked at her, the devil in his eyes telling April precisely what he had in mind.
Even though she shouldn’t want it—April shouldn’t want anything from him, and she sure as hell shouldn’t want him that way—she couldn’t deny the powerful lustful fog which clouded her head. Her core tightened in that discernible way it seemed to whenever the men pushed her into new depths of depravity—with hot, controlling arousal that made it impossible to think.
“I’d like that. Sir.” April swallowed, as though the admission was painful, and in many ways, it should have been, but all of her focus was on Lawes’ handsome face—on those sparkling green eyes, on what he would do next—and as the corners of his lips turned up in response, she no longer knew if this was part of the plan or not.
She barely cared.
“I should bind you.” Lawes exhaled the statement, his strong arms gripping the chair on either side of her head. “I should strap you down and maybe put in one of those delightful gags you enjoy so much.” He flashed her a sardonic expression. “We’d both like that, wouldn’t we?”
April’s heart skipped a beat. The last thing she wanted was to be restrained in any way. That wasn’t going to help her objective one bit, yet the throb in her clitoris threatened to overwhelm reason, reminding her of the brutal truth. Her body craved the treatment he suggested, even though it went against all logic and reason.
“Please, sir.”
For fuck’s sake. What was she doing? Begging? April gritted her teeth at the realization. What was going on? She didn’t beg. She didn’t beg any man for anything, but even as the thought registered, she knew it wasn’t true. She had begged Lawes and the other men on many occasions—for pity, compassion, rest, and for bloody pleasure. The recognition did nothing to subdue the burning at her cheeks, but there it was—impossible to deny.
“You’re pleading for those things?” Even Lawes sounded surprised by the idea.
“No, I…” She hesitated, momentarily shaking off the heavy mist of desire which had fallen over her like a shroud. “I don’t want you to bind me, sir.”
“Oh, I bet. I bet you know precisely what you want, don’t you, little pet? Just like you always think you do.”
She pulled in a shaky breath. This was the moment—she knew it was—the moment she had to throw herself at his mercy and pray. The thought furled within April until it hurt, alleviated only by one other notion—the idea it wasn’t only his compassion she sought to appeal to but his ego as well. That gave her hope. Lawes had a level of self-worth she had rarely known before.
He was the very definition of the word—ego.
“I just want you, Mr. Lawes, sir.” April met his eye at the admission, and even though she strove to deceive the man—to lull him into a false sense of security—she found she didn't even have to feign it.
She did want him.
Her pebbling nipples, quickening breaths, and sodden pussy were a testament to that fact—a startling and perturbing testament.
“I’m sorry. I know I shouldn’t say these things, but it’s true.” The words were falling from her now, escaping in one long breath. “I want you to claim me again, sir.”
April leaned up a couple of inches, and he smiled at her audacious gesture.
“I want to be yours.”
“Oh, you are mine.” Lawes’ gaze shone with certainty as he spoke, a gesture of arrogance which should have riled her… but not anymore. Not now that she was this far down the rabbit hole. “I was the first one to fuck you, right here in this chair, April. The first one to leash you and punish you. You’ll always belong to me, little pet. Whoever else claims you—you’re mine.”
He pounced on her, his lips crashing down against April’s until the force pushed her back into the dentist’s chair. She relented at once, losing herself in the passion of the kiss, and whatever else was going on here, this was definitely passion, desire the likes April had never known before. Intense and scintillating, it was the sort of caress which would be forever branded into her memory, haunting her long after this was over. Long after she’d escaped and put Lawes and his cronies behind bars, April would never forget the way his lips possessed her or the gentle caress of his tongue as it swept inside her.
There would be no deleting Brandon Lawes from her mind.
“Show me, sir.” The words were out as soon as he rose from April’s mouth, freeing her lips to speak. “Show me who I belong to.”
She had no idea how she looked at that moment or how she seemed to him. Of course, April hoped her eyes were dazzling, and her tresses fell seductively down past her face, but she seriously doubted it. After all this time in captivity, she had never once caught sight of her reflection, and in truth, she was glad, but at this moment, she hoped beyond hope, her beauty would be enough to placate Lawes from the standard reaction such insolence would have drawn. She knew her gaze conveyed the desire racing through her veins and prayed it was enough.
Enough for him to be the one captured for a change.
Enough to give her the advantage.
Lawes’ right hand shifted to the back of her neck, pulling her up to meet him.
“You are in a playful mood today, aren’t you?”
April sucked her lower lip into her mouth. “It’s the way you make me feel, sir.”
He sniggered at her reply. “Is it?” he inquired. “And how is that?”
Looking into his eyes, it was perilously easy to give her response. “Hot, sir. Wet. And desperate.”
His fingers tightened in her hair. “Just the way I like you.”
That was an assertion, not a question, but April answered it anyway, sensing, perhaps, the tide was turning in her favor. “Yes, Mr. Lawes, sir. The way I always am for you.”
“You are such a bad little pet,” he growled, lowering his mouth to her neck as he clambered onto the chair, on top of April. “I should punish you for the insolent way you’ve behaved since we’ve been here, but all I want to do is slide my cock into your hot little cunt and pound you.”
She gasped, her hips rising to grind against the friction his body provided. The need to fool Lawes might be part of the plan—integral to the whole thing—but at this moment, she wanted nothing more than everything his hot gaze promised. She wanted his hard length inside her. She yearned for the pleasure it could bring her. Just one more time, she convinced herself as Lawes nipped at her sensitive flesh. She’d submit this last time and take her fill.
It would be perfect.
The perfect way to dupe Lawes, and the perfect way for this fucked up chemistry between them to end.
“Please, sir. Yes.”
His head rose to meet her gaze again, his eyes full of predatory intent.
“Is that what you need, little pet? You need your master’s cock?”
“Yes, please, Mr. Lawes.” She had to make him believe it, and the insistent throb in her clit was making it easy to convince him of that desire. Hell, even she was certain—this was what she needed. “Please let me have your cock again.”
Lawes grinned. “Right here in the chair? The place you used to detest?”
April arched her back at the mental image. There was something inexplicably good about it as though they were tearing right through the final taboo. Yes, he’d fuck her in the dental chair. She wanted him in it, on it, and over it. If this was to be their swansong
, she chose to enjoy every word and feel the chorus resonating through her whole body.
“Yes, sir. Fuck me right here, please, and maybe even…” She paused intentionally, running her tongue over her lip once more in an overt display of brazenness as she waited to see if Lawes would take the bait.
“Maybe even what?” His gaze pierced her even though his hand had already shifted between them, releasing his erection.
“I shouldn’t say.” Her tone was a breathy gasp. “You wouldn’t allow it, sir.”
His brow rose as though he understood the game she was playing, but he didn’t care. For some reason, it didn’t matter. Perhaps it was all just a game, and he was as adept at playing it as she was—better even. Or maybe the lust had gotten to him as well. It had been his suggestion not to call for Matthew or Zander to help. That had been a surprising yet helpful turn of events.
“Tell me.” He angled the crown of his cock at her pussy, and instinctively, she spread her legs, lifting her hips to meet him. “Tell me now, little pet.”
“Over the chair, sir.” April’s eyes fluttered closed as the first inch of him slid inside.
Fuck, that was so good.
He was so good.
“Over the chair?” The question drew her attention back to his face again. “Like the animal you are?”
“Yes!” she answered excitedly. “Just like that, sir. That’s how I deserve it.”
“Yes, you do.” Lawes’ jaw tightened with the decision, and in one fell swoop, he thrust into her.
Twenty-One
Hannah
Hannah, chained to the starting post, had watched April leave with Lawes. He’d carried her effortlessly from the training yard in the way that always left her bemused if not a little horny. It was as if these men were super-human. They seemed able to lift any weight, manage any developing situations, and anticipate most of what transpired within the grounds of the prison they’d created. She shook her head, her hands pressing into the sawdust beneath her. Of course, they did, of course, they were always in control. This was their show, after all, their conception—a living, breathing product of their twisted minds. No one was better placed to know what would transpire than Lawes and Fuller.
Countered: A Dark Suspenseful Gothic Romance (The Rule of Lawes Series Book 2) Page 12