“I know you must be angry with me.”
She let loose a mirthless laugh. “Oh hell no. I’m past angry. Try fucking pissed off.”
Dorian winced. “Please give me a chance to explain.”
Jesenia jerked against her restraints.
“I was only trying to protect you.”
She let loose a rushed, huffed breath in an attempt to clear her hair from her face. Dorian crossed the room and reached down, skimming his fingers over her cheek to push the wayward locks behind her ear. Her body tingled at the contact, which only fueled her rage. She didn’t want to react to his touch. Right now she wanted free of this fucking bench that had promised such sweet memories only hours before but now only offered nightmares.
“Let. Me. Go.”
Dorian closed his eyes and sighed. “You have every right to be mad at me, but please understand that I was only looking out for you. I don’t want to see you hurt, Jesenia.”
Damn her emotions. Unshed tears caused her vision to swim. Yeah, she was pissed off at him, but deep down she was hurt. She blinked and the liquid pearls tracked down her nose and cheek. There was no denying it. She’d fallen hard and fast for him.
“Too bad. I guess you get to see it anyway.” She pulled at her wrist restraints. Escape was foremost in her mind. She didn’t want to break down in front of him.
“Ah, lass. Don’t cry. I feel like a bloody arse already.”
She choked down a sob. “Oh yes, let me stop being hurt to spare your feelings.”
Jesenia squeezed her eyes shut as she felt Dorian’s hands undoing the cuffs. She pushed up to her knees as soon as he freed her other hand. Eyes open, she looked down at the restraints on her legs. Her fingers tore at them. She wanted to be free. One last tug had the binds falling off and she scrambled to her feet.
Two strong arms wrapped around her when she would have fallen. Being in the same position all night made her limbs sluggish to cooperate. Shaky legs became steadier and she braced her palms on his broad chest, trying to ignore the sensual heat that threatened to consume her with being in his arms again, and she pushed back but he refused to release her.
“Let me explain,” he whispered next to her lips and then claimed them.
Jesenia swayed into him and kissed him back for a few seconds and then pushed harder, breaking away from his mouth. She sucked in a deep breath and turned her face away. “There’s nothing to explain. You didn’t want my help. So now you have your wish. I’ll leave you alone, Dorian.”
His hands cupped her face, pulling her head until she looked at him again. “But I don’t want you to leave me alone, Jesenia. I just want you to be safe.”
Her gaze met his and she could see concern written there. But her pride was wounded and she couldn’t do this right now. She reached up and gripped his wrists. He didn’t fight her when she pulled his hands from her face. “I need some time, Dorian.”
Moving quickly, she snatched up her discarded clothes and pulled them on.
“I knew you’d probably be mad at my actions, but I never thought it would hurt you this way. I’m sorry.”
She tugged her hair free from the back of her shirt. “Didn’t know? What did you think would happen? You led me here for what I thought was going to be one of the best sexual experiences of my life. I gave you trust that I’ve never given another living soul. Yes, it fucking hurt my feelings when you walked out that door.”
He hung his head. “I’ll give you all the time you need, Jesenia.”
Stuffing her socks inside her shoes, then picking them up, she marched toward the door. She couldn’t look back. Time would hopefully put some perspective on the situation. Right now the mixture of hurt and anger made it impossible to make a sound decision on what she should do next.
Her bare feet slapped against the cold, wet stone floor. She wanted to scream in frustration as she stomped down the dark hallway and toward the door that led her back to where the goth woman had greeted them the night before.
When she cleared the door her legs pumped hard. Her footfalls echoed off the stone walls, still she pushed herself to run faster. She wanted the safety of her room.
* * * * *
Three days. Three whole miserable days without contact from Dorian. Jesenia sighed, pushing back from the desk and the blank computer screen. She’d tried to work, but still her muse wavered out of reach. Thinking about Dorian every five minutes didn’t help either. She rose to her feet.
She tried to set a new hero to the page, but even after making every attempt to describe him as Dorian’s opposite, she couldn’t get the picture of the dark, sensual male out of her head. On an exhale she closed her eyes. The way his shoulders felt under her palms as she clung to him, his cock buried deep inside her. But even more, the way he made her feel when he held her or said her name.