Total pages in book: 137
Estimated words: 126510 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 633(@200wpm)___ 506(@250wpm)___ 422(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 126510 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 633(@200wpm)___ 506(@250wpm)___ 422(@300wpm)
When they arrived at Drake’s apartment, he pulled her from the car in his gentle grasp and wrapped a protective arm around her body as he hurried her toward the entrance. Then he dismissed the two men who had accompanied him, men she hadn’t even noticed until then, and they promptly melted into the shadows, leaving her to wonder if she’d imagined their presence.
When they exited the elevator, Drake took off his suit jacket and tossed it, as he did every other time he arrived in his apartment, over the coatrack just inside the door, and he began unbuttoning his sleeves, rolling them carelessly upward as he sought to make himself more comfortable.
“Did my angel enjoy her night in the club?” Drake asked. “Although you rather reminded me of a princess holding court among your many admirers. You were quite the hit on and off the dance floor.”
He smiled indulgently at her as she flushed with sudden self-consciousness. Initially she’d been nearly as excited about a night out at Impulse as one might be over a funeral, but she had to admit she’d actually had fun once she loosened up and let herself go with it.
Being a VIP was pretty cool, but being Princess VIP, as Maddox had quickly dubbed her, was unlike anything she’d ever imagined. She’d compared everything that had happened so far to a fairy tale on more than one occasion, but tonight? It was like a high-tech, futuristic, absolutely rocking fantasy that put the traditional tellings of fairy tales to shame.
She’d smiled, she’d laughed, complete strangers had been nice to her, and even as badass as Drake was, there was no possible way he could have arranged on such short notice for an entire club full of people to all play roles and pretend to suffer her existence. So the only possible conclusion to be had was that . . . magic had happened.
Somewhere out there, she had an invisible fairy godmother who’d waved her magic wand and altered Evangeline’s entire reality. And the best part? It was well past midnight, and her prince was standing right in front of her with an absolutely delicious look on his face.
She threw herself into his arms, hugging him fiercely. “Thank you. It was the best evening ever. But my favorite part was the time we spent together alone in your office when you fed me.”
She promptly blushed, discomfited that she’d just put it out there like that. She made herself sound like a satisfied cat purring because her master had given her a treat.
He cupped her chin and lifted it so their gazes met. “I’m very glad you enjoyed being fed by my hand because it’s something I plan to do often. I am very serious about taking care of you, Evangeline. In all ways. And tonight, I’m going to show you a side of me and yourself that until now you haven’t seen or experienced. Are you ready for that?”
She swallowed nervously, but trust burned tightly in her chest, and excitement scuttled through her belly, suddenly making her jittery with anticipation. Her mouth went dry, and she ran her tongue over her bottom lip. He reacted visibly to her innocent action, his gaze burning a heated trail over her mouth and then lower . . . and lower still.
“Go into the bedroom and undress,” he said softly. “I want your hair down. But leave the stockings and the shoes on. I want you positioned hands and knees on the bed with your knees as far to the edge as you can comfortably support yourself without falling off. I’ll give you a moment to prepare while I make a few calls.”
Though Drake’s tone had been unhurried, the last thing Evangeline wanted was to not be prepared when he made his appearance, so she hurriedly went into the bedroom and undressed, ignoring the natural modesty that screamed in mortification at the explicit set of instructions Drake had given her.
She removed everything, carefully putting all the gifts Drake had given her into one of the small jewelry boxes that had accompanied one of the presents. She tossed her dress into the closet along with the shoes and quickly shed her undergarments and then remembered he’d wanted her stockings and heels to remain on.
Cursing, she slipped her heels back on and then took her bra and panties off, not daring to check her appearance in the mirror as she hastily unpinned her hair. She didn’t want to know what she looked like or what Drake would see when he entered the room.
When she returned to the bed, she eyed it nervously, mentally going over the directions Drake had given her and wondering just how to position herself accordingly. Finally she crawled onto the bed, planting her palms firmly into the mattress and inching her knees back until they were on the edge of the mattress, her legs and heels dangling from the bed.