Her eyes watered, and I could see fear creeping into her.
“He deserved every last little bit of torture,” I said. “And that wasn’t even the last bit! Oh, no. That was only the beginning. He’s still alive.”
A tear ran down her cheek. I reached down and wiped it away with my thumb.
“Don’t worry, beautiful Sara. You’re not like him, are you?”
She shook her head tightly, the tears starting to come heavily now.
“Please—”
“Don’t ask me again to let you go. I won’t. But I won’t torture you like that, either. Not if you’re not a bad person. You’re not a bad person, are you?”
“No.” Her voice was a crack in the dark air of the library.
“Then I won’t hurt you. But you know something, Sara? It’s true. I’ve never made anyone feel good—really good—before.”
My hands moved slowly behind her back to unclasp her dress.
“You can feel everything?” I asked.
“Rien—”
“Good. Then this should be very, very fun.”
Sara
I gaped as Rien’s hands moved around underneath my back. I hadn’t lied—I could feel every touch of his.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“Having a bit of fun.”
He unzipped the back of my dress. His hands moved up and slid my shoulder straps down.
“No,” I said, unwilling to believe that this was happening. “No. Rien.”
He leaned forward and kissed me on my bare neck. His lips burned my skin with heat. Despite myself, I felt my body respond to his touch. His hand moved down over my breasts, my stomach, and came to rest on my hip. He clasped me there and kissed me lightly on the underside of my chin.
“You’re the only one who’s ever commented on my sculpture,” he said. His mouth was right next to my ear. “Did you know that? Most people ignore it. I’m glad you can appreciate art, even if you didn’t understand what I meant by it.”
“What… what—”
“You thought I felt trapped, yes? Trapped in the glass globe. But I am the artist. I’m not trapped anywhere. You’re the one who’s trapped.”
“Rien, please—”
“Trapped here with me.”
His hand moved down and pulled the hem of my dress up. I gasped as he slid his hand underneath and pressed his fingers against my panties. A ferocious aching heat tore through my body at his touch down there. I wanted to twist away from him, but I couldn’t move. Worst of all, as his fingers began to slide up, I felt a terrible need for more, more pressure.
“Don’t—”
“No? You don’t want this?” He pulled his hand away, and a whimper escaped my throat involuntarily at the sudden departure.
He smiled. The gold in his eyes shone brightly.
“Don’t lie to me, Sara. Liars get punished. And you know what my kind of punishment is like.”
I made a choking cry as I looked away. This wasn’t me. I wasn’t here. This was only a character, I thought. I could get through this, as long as it was pretend.
Only pretend.
“This is new to me, too, Sara,” he whispered. “I’ve never made anyone feel… good like this before.”
He put his fingers back where they had been, stroking me through the fabric. I held back a moan. The strokes were setting my body afire, the spark of desire kindling an ache between my thighs that his fingers did nothing to relieve. His other hand grasped the top of my dress and pulled it down, exposing my breasts.
“Rien—”
“Hush. I know what you want. I can tell from your breath.”
I bit down on my tongue as he bent over and kissed the tip of my nipple. The touch would have made my back arch against the couch, if my muscles worked. Tears burned the backs of my eyes, but this time they were tears of frustration.
His tongue came out and licked me, curving around my nipple. His dark hair tickled my skin. I could feel everything, yes—the roughness of stubble on his chin on the underside of my breast, the softness of his hot tongue. And his lips—
“Oh!” I cried aloud as he sealed his lips around my nipple and sucked hard. The fire in my body roared to new heights. The hand under my dress slid under my panties. I nearly screamed as his fingers explored my folds.
“God, you’re wet,” he whispered. His breath chilled my nipple, making it harden. “You must want me so badly.”
No. I didn’t want this. I didn’t want this. I didn’t want—
“Ohhhh!” I moaned. He had plunged his fingers into me, and my body clenched around him. I wanted to buck against his hand, I wanted him to thrust his fingers deep into me, again, again, again…