My dad is encouraging me to do this, and something in me wants to obey and please him, to see the approval in his gaze.
“Come, Tessa,” Sean says then, breaking the spell.
No. The fear returns. “No.”
But Sean clamps a hand around my arm and drags me away anyway. Trapped in my narrow dress and stupid shoes, I can barely keep from falling as he hauls me across the terrace, never stopping to let me catch my breath. The people part to let us pass, and for the second time tonight I’m following a man I don’t want to follow through the crowded hall, toward a fate I seem to be unable to avoid.
***
Sean drags me out, into the cold night, and I’m glad I’m still wearing my coat. Ice knives through my exposed legs, but the reason I shiver has nothing to do with the temperature.
A manicured garden, lamps shedding yellow light on us, and the shiny expanse of the lake below. On this strange scene plays out one of my worst nightmares—a repetition of a memory that will always haunt me.
“Let go of me.” I jerk my arm, and finally he releases me. Pain radiates up to my elbow, and tears crowd the back of my eyes, burning like fire. I refuse to let them fall. “Bastard.”
“Now, now, Tessa.” He looks mildly amused, and fear mingles with anger in a nauseating mix. “Mind your manners.”
“My manners?” My tongue is finally loosened. “You dragged me out here against my will.”
“Really? Why didn’t you say anything?” He taps his ear. “I didn’t hear any protests.”
Jesus. He’s right. I said nothing all the way. “You caught me by surprise, is all.” I did try to pull away, though, as we moved across the room. Before I open my mouth to tell him so, he laughs.
He’s standing on the lawn, with the whiff of the lake on the air, the stars twinkling in the clear skies overhead, laughing. Laughing at me.
My face heats up with humiliation.
“Goodbye, Sean.” I turn to go, not sure where I am, and not caring.
“Stop right there.” He’s right behind me, and a sob catches in my throat. “You’re not going anywhere.”
“You can’t stop me.” I start moving again, and he grabs my waist, halting my progress. Fea turns my limbs to ice. “Let me go, Sean, dammit.”
“You little slut,” he whispers, and I feel dizzy and disconnected from my body. “You thought you could get away? Your daddy gave you to me.”
“He can’t give me away.” My teeth are chattering. “This isn’t the Middle Ages.”
“Where big money is involved, baby, the laws you know don’t apply. Didn’t your daddy explain this to you?”
“You’re sick,” I mutter and try to pry his hands off me. “Get off of me!”
He’s breathing down my back, and there’s nothing I can do. I glance around, but there’s no one to help me.
“You’ll do as I say, and be nice and sweet,” he whispers in my ear. “Otherwise the deal I convinced my dad to make with yours is off, and your daddy won’t be happy.”
“I don’t care!”
“You don’t say. What will you do if daddy dearest withdraws his financial help? What then, little bitch?” He shakes me until my teeth rattle, then turns me around so fast my foot twists, and I start going down.
He keeps me upright, though, and sneers in my face as I get my feet back under me, my breath wheezing. Black spots swim in my vision.
“I don’t care,” I manage and take a wobbly step back, as much as his hold will allow me. “He can’t sell me. I’m not his property. Let me go.”
His eyes narrow, as if he’s noticing my words, my refusal, for the first time. “You have no choice, Tessa.”
The hell I don’t. “Let me go, or I swear I’ll scream.”
“Will you now?” He’s suddenly crushing me to him, crushing his mouth to mine, biting my lower lip. The pain makes me cry out, but he swallows the sound, forces his tongue against mine. Invading me.
Just when I think I’ll pass out, he pushes me off him, then raises his hand and slaps me. Hard.
The world spins, black mixing with red and green. The back of my head impacts on something hard, and jabs of fire go through my back.
What…?
I blink, and find myself on my back in the wet grass, staring up at the night sky.
“Bitch,” Sean is raving, walking back and forth in front of me, hands in the pockets of his dark suit. “You thought you could break up with me? Me?” He shakes his head at the absurdity of the concept. “You’ll pay. I’ll make sure of it.” He turns to me and jabs a finger at my chest, glaring. “One word from me, and your dad’s deal is history. He worked for years to get this far. You think he’d hesitate even for one second to comply? You think you’re important to him? Are you that naïve? You’ll have to work hard to appease me.”