This is it. Her last month before she sells herself into a life of misery for the sake of her father. Christy downed her third glass of champagne for the evening before once again removing her fiance's hand from her back again. She smiled her empty smile at the frivolous conversation between some governor - or was it a senator? - his mistress, and Raoul's entourage.
How many of these ridiculously vain banquets had she been to since entering this horror story? Each evening was a different excuse for Raoul to dress her up and parade her around his political friends in an attempt to worm his way into a party nomination. God she hated him. She hated the expensive dresses, his touch, his constant attempts to bed her, his idiotic conversation, the sight of his plaster smile. All of it. Most of all she hated herself.
This is for father. Christy reminded herself in a desperate attempt to survive one more evening. Scanning the venue for the waiter with the champagne, she wrenched herself away from Raoul with an excuse to find a bathroom. She grabbed two glasses and slipped down a dark hallway away from the party.
"Well, this is beautiful!" She exclaimed after gulping down one glass of champagne and setting it on the marble tile next to the wall. She turned a corner, following the beautiful paintings away from the dreadful party. Another corner and the sounds of the party faded away and for a moment she felt her life was her own again.
The only light in the dark hallway came from a small window. Drinking the last of the champagne she peered out at the stars and dared to dream of a life that was her own. With a sigh she set the empty glass down on the windowsill. She hung her head in a moment of surrender. A life for a life, that was the deal.
In this moment of pure vulnerability, she was too lost in herself to hear the soft click of a door closing or the soft sound of leather on marble. No, she heard nothing and found herself unable to scream when a pair of strong arms wrapped themselves around her covering her mouth and keeping her from doing anything but kicking her legs out in an attempt to wiggle free.
In a flash of flailing limbs and dark velvet, Christy was squashed against the deep maroon painted wall by her captor. There was a blast of musky air and a dizzying smell of spicy cologne before her captor quickly flipped her so her back was pressed against the wall. Her blue eyes were slammed shut in an attempt to hide her fear and panic.
"So Raoul has a sent a spy to sneak around my home in search of secrets?" A dark, orotund voice whispered menacingly in her ear. Yet at her hip she felt a soft reassuring pulse as his hand gently squeezed her, surprising her eyes open. To her amazement she found herself no longer in the dark hallway, but in a dungeonesque, stone-walled room with flaming wall sconces pinned to a painted wall by a tall dark figure. A dark figure wearing a white mask that revealed only a strong jaw and glowing green eyes. His hand pulsed again as he removed the other from her mouth only to quickly press against her bare shoulder.
"Well?" His voice was commanding, terrifying, and for some reason warming her belly.
"I- I'm not- I was just looking-" She stuttered out at the masked man.
"Don't lie to me!" His voice swelled as he pressed her shoulder harder against the wall, but pulsed again at her hip soothing her. She winced away from him- half from fear and half from the warm feeling rising in her. "I know you are his fiancee." He practically spat hate in her ear.
Pulse.
"I'm not a spy!" She cried turning to look deep into his eyes, feeling tears welling in her own. Why wouldn't he just leave her alone?
Pulse.
Suddenly her head snapped back against the wall as he slammed his lips against her in a brutal kiss. Maybe it was the kiss or maybe it was the knock on her head but she saw sparks of light and her head began to spin. How long had it been since she had last known a man's touch- besides that of the repulsive Raoul?
Pulse.
Her captor pulled from the kiss and brought his lips to the shell of her ear. "I have spies of my own." He placed a gentle, fleeting pec on the spot just below her ear.
Is that blood? She tasted the coppery tang as she licked her lip, savoring his flavor. It had been four years at least. First she had been caring for her mother in the hospital, after she passed Christy was too consumed by loss to even look at a man. Then her father fell ill and Raoul had called her with his offer.
Pulse.
"I know it's all a farce." His voice called her back to the dungeon and the velvet she now clutched in her fingers as he kissed and nibbled his way down her throat.
Pulse.
"I've seen how you loathe his company- his touch." He sneered before lathing the crux of her neck.
"I don't-"
"Don't lie to me!" He thundered as he pulled away, letting go of her shoulder to grasp her jaw in a punishing grip. Her eyes met his, the blue clouded by the feelings overwhelming her.
Pulse.
"I know everything." His grip loosened.
Pulse.
"I know about your father, the sham relationship…" His lips fell upon hers once more, this time softer, his tongue slipping into her- tasting her blood.
Pulse.
She crushed him to her, silently begging for more. A deep chuckle rumbled in his chest as he smiled against her lips. He released her chin and trailed his finger down the deep V of her dress only to rise and grasp her breast roughly causing her to gasp.
Pulse.
"Has he ever touched you this way?" His fingered circled her nipple through the soft chenille of her expensive dress.
"No." She breathed.
Pulse.
"Good." His answer was curt, but she couldn't help the swell of joy in her chest at the thought of pleasing this stranger. She felt rather than saw his eyes on her, watching her before falling to her neck again.
Pulse.
"Who are you?" She gasped as pleasured surged through her.
"Can't you guess?" He chuckled before gently biting her ear.
Pulse.
"I don't know." She managed to get out before moaning her pleasure. He growled, his hand leaving her breast to grab her leg and guiding her to wrap it around his waist. The high slit at the thigh ripped waking Christy from her haze.
In a moment she realized the situation she was in and began to resist him, violently thrashing against the body that now pinned her to the wall. What the hell was she doing? Making out with some stranger that knows her secret and could ruin everything!
Pulse.
"Calm yourself!" His voice was loud and commanding again. She could feel his chest vibrate with each word.
"Get off me!" She yelled.
Pulse.
He let her down slowly, leaving his left hand at her hip. Christy's arms immediately crossed over her chest in an attempt to protect her modesty from the man who had just done what her fiance had not been allowed to.
"Let me go." She said weakly, unable to meet his eyes. Expensive shoes, she noted. "I have to get back to the party or they'll start looking for me."
Pulse.
"Come with me." He entreated her with a kind voice. Her eyes raised and saw a softness in the green depths.
"I can't." Her eyes darted away.
Pulse.
"Leave with me now and with one call I will transfer your father to my private residence where he can continue treatment under my protection." His tone was business-like, but his lips gently brushed against her neck.
Pulse.
"He'll find me. He always finds me." She whispered. His lips grew firmer and she couldn't help the moan that slipped from her lips as his tongue darted out to lick up the artery of her neck.
Pulse.
"Leave with me now and we'll be married before he even knows you're gone." He whispered across her heated skin. Her hands turned to press against his shoulders but betrayed her by pulling him closer.
Pulse.
"Leave with me and I'll make you feel like this every day."
Pulse.
"Leave with me and you can live the life you want- we can even get a divorce after your father's health returns." His right hand returned to her breast squeezing and kneading. Christy's eyes rolled back as pleasure rocked her body.
Pulse.
"Say yes." He pleaded, his voice dripping over her.
"Why?" She moaned. This caused him to pause. His right hand grasped her chin, forcing her to look him in the eyes.
"Because I want to take what Raoul desires from him. And he desires you more than anything else." His eyes were bright with a fire that scared her. "This can be a pleasurable arrangement for you." His thumb stroked her cheek.
Pulse.
"Leave with me and you will have all the freedom you would have been denied in your marriage to Raoul." His hands fell from her completely, and she shuddered at the cold that replaced the heat of his touch.
She looked at him. He was a stranger, a stranger who saw her as a pawn he could punish Raoul with. He was giving her a choice.
"My father will be safe?"
"On my life, I swear that your father will receive the exact same treatments he is receiving now, but safely in my private residence." He paused, trying to read her reaction. "You would, of course, be living in the same home after a short honeymoon." He saw her eyes brighten, giving away her silent decision. He offered his hand to her.
Christy gazed down at his hand. I could be trading one devil for another. Hesitantly she slipped her slight hand into his large one. Blue met green for one tremulous moment before he turned and quickly dragged her through the stone hallway.
Oh God, what have I done?