Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 85490 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 427(@200wpm)___ 342(@250wpm)___ 285(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 85490 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 427(@200wpm)___ 342(@250wpm)___ 285(@300wpm)
“You shut them down?” Her eyebrows raise and she looks impressed. “You must be pretty good.”
“Do you want to play, Laura?” She goes very still. I can tell she didn’t like hearing her own name. I laugh softly at her reaction. “You’re not wearing a mask anymore, little demon. I know who you are.”
“I know that.” Her cheeks flush and she crosses her arms over her chest. “This is stupid. You could be anyone behind that mask.”
“Isn’t it better if you don’t know?” Yes, it’s so much better. I like that I can be anyone, or I can be myself, and it doesn’t matter. I’m anonymous, I’m hidden. For right now, I’m the Jackal.
And based on her expression, she agrees. “You know my family then. You realize this is stupid, right?”
I gesture at the blindfold. “If you want to play, come pick it up.”
She doesn’t move. Her eyes stare at the strip of silk at my feet then back up to my mask and down again, clearly warring with herself. I need her to walk over, bend down, and take the silk into her hands so fucking badly it’s like every cell in my body will break down if she doesn’t do it. This anticipation is driving me wild.
“Two rules,” she says. “First rule. You won’t let me get hurt, no matter what. And second rule. The game stops if I say the word ‘artist.’ Do you understand?”
“I understand. But there might come a time when you want me to hurt you.”
She licks her lips. Her plump, beautiful lips. I want to devour them—but not yet. “Maybe. We’ll deal with that if we get there.”
I nod slowly. “Okay. I agree to your terms. Now, come pick up the blindfold.”
She takes a hesitant step forward. She’s so tentative, so nervous, but also made of steel. Her walls are fifty feet high and miles thick, and I’m not sure I’ll ever get past them, not fully. But this game, and the games that might come after, are all about chiseling through her wards and her gates and her moats, and getting deep into her core. Metaphorically, of course.
“What are you going to do?” she asks.
“Blindfold, little demon.”
She’s not used to taking orders, and after a little more hesitation, she lets out a frustrated grunt and throws herself forward. She bends down right in front of me and snatches the silk fabric off the blanket and stands up straight, barely a few inches away.
“Now what?”
“Put it on. Make it tight.”
She glares at me for only a second this time before she obeys. Good girl. She’s starting to understand how the game goes. She ties it on, and I step forward, one hand on her lower back. Her body reacts instantly, but instead of going hard and sharp, there’s a softness to her skin.
“What are you doing?” she asks.
“Making sure you can’t see.” I test the knot and tug at the edges. “Very good, little demon.”
“I’m not afraid,” she blurts out, and I believe her. Coming from anyone else, that would be an obvious lie. But this girl’s chin is up in the air, and her body language screams defiance.
“Good. I don’t want you to be. I want you to trust me like you did the other night. Can you do that?”
“I don’t know. Maybe. I’ll try.” She shifts slightly in my grip and pushes herself back. She staggers, but she doesn’t fall over, and her hands push out into the air to steady her balance.
“The game’s simple.” I move to the side and her head follows my voice. “You’re going to start walking. You’re going to keep walking, listening to my orders, until you reach the edge of the roof. When I tell you to stop, you’ll stop. If you don’t, you will walk off the edge, and you will die. If you can obey, and you can trust, then you’ll win.”
“What happens if I don’t?” she asks, head tilted, hands waving slowly through the air.
“Then this will be the last time we ever see each other.” I move closer, voice lowering. My body’s trembling with anticipation. Her chest heaves up and down as she takes deep breaths, and I can’t help but stare at her breasts. I’m tempted to run my hands up over her chest and tease her nipples with my thumbs until she moans. But that would be going too far, too fast.
“That’s not much of a threat.”
“It’s not a threat, little demon. It’s a promise. If you want to play with me, I need to be sure you’re up for the game. Can you handle it?”
Her jaw works. I can tell she’s frustrated. This isn’t as fun as dangling out over empty air and enjoying a beautiful view, though I plan on rewarding her in the end.
This is terrifying. She knows that if I let her, she’d fall to her death, and she’d never see it coming. I own her, so long as she does what I say, and she keeps the blindfold on, she’s all mine.