“Are you excited?” Turning to me, he reached across the interior and grasped the sleeve of my dress.
“Still a little nervous, Sir,” I whispered, glancing the other way as Cole took his place behind the wheel. I was glad to be in the comparative sanctuary of the car but all too aware Sean’s driver could look at me whenever he wanted. Frustrated arousal bloomed, and I pressed my thighs together, squirming against the black leather seat.
“Nervous or horny?” Sean fixed me with a stare, his lips curling as if he already knew the answer. “Does my little bride-to-be enjoy being the center of attention?” He eased across the seat toward me as I shook my head.
“No, Sir,” I insisted. “No, I loathe it.”
“Let me check.” He arched an eyebrow, patting his lap in clarification. “Get over my lap now and let me check.”
“Sir?” I managed to stretch the word into three syllables, my gaze flitting to Cole. His attention might be on the road, but if Sean got his way, we might be offering a tempting distraction.
“Over my lap.” His terse tone told me in no uncertain terms how he felt about being made to wait. Heart racing, I edged across the seat toward him.
“Please,” I implored him, although I didn’t know why. In all the time he’d held me captive, Sean had rarely shown mercy and never listened to my opinion, but still, all I could do was beg and hope. “Sir, not here.”
“Yes, here.”
Tugging on the leash still connected to the collar at my neck, he jerked me forward, catching me as I stumbled and guided me down over him. In the end, I went without a fight. With my hands tied behind me, it was perilous enough being manhandled while we were on the move. I didn’t want to end up in the footwell for good measure.
“That’s better.”
Face pressed into the leather, I gasped for breath as his hands moved over my body, edging up the obscenely small skirt and dipping between my legs. Of course, I was dripping with need. I was always horny.
“Lovely.” I could hear the smile on his face. “Just as I suspected. You’re ready for me.”
“Oh God.” Heat bloomed in my face as he explained the obvious to anyone who cared to listen.
“Time for this.”
I tensed at his words, twisting to see him rummage in his jacket pocket. I froze in panic—nothing positive was ever produced from Sean’s pockets.
“Nothing to worry about,” he assured me, holding up a small white butt plug. I clenched, a wave of terror crashing over me as I realized what he had in mind. “Just a little something I bought for you. Arse in the air.”
Lifting his left leg, he forced my hips up as he dipped the end of the plug along my wet seam. The threatened intrusion and its cold temperature were more shocking than the sensation itself. I actually enjoyed anal sex but hadn’t planned to be plugged on my wedding day.
“Beautiful,” he mused. “So good of you to lubricate it for me.” Splaying my cheeks with his free hand, he dragged the plug along my body, nudging at the hole he wanted to fill.
“Please.” I was fraught, not because I didn’t want the plug, but because, like everything else, I had no choice. Fettered and over his knee, I was being plugged while en route to a wedding I’d never agreed to. It was completely maddening.
“Relax. It will be better if you relax, but you know it’s going in, regardless.”
Fuck. Tensing, I fought my body’s instinctive response, compelling myself to breathe and open up for him, but it wasn’t easy. Sean had blown into my life like a tornado, making demands and compelling compliance. This humiliation was only the latest in a long line.
“Breathe, beautiful.”
Squeezing my eyes closed, I pulled in a deep breath, filling my lungs with air before gradually releasing it.
“Good.” He tapped my exposed cheek. “Again.”
Knowing what my resistance would earn me, I drew in another breath before slowly letting the air go. He struck, and the end of the plug, lubricated with my arousal, slipped inside my rectum. By the time I acknowledged the intrusion, tensing around it, it was too late. Sean had pushed it inside me. I gasped at the abrupt sensation as it slotted into place.
“Gorgeous.” Patting the end of the plug, his dark laughter filled the interior of the car. “And just so you’re aware, there’s a pretty little flower at the base for everyone to enjoy.”
Great. I heaved in a breath, my lips grazing the leather seat as I tried to acclimatize to the plug.
“What do you say?”
I wanted to roll my eyes. Did he seriously expect me to express gratitude for the way he’d spruced me up like a turkey at Christmas? This was Sean Hyland—of course, he did.
“Thank you, Sir.”
It was easier to play the role of grateful submissive face-first over his lap, but still, the idea jarred me, goading what had once been my self-esteem. I didn’t deserve this. I was worth more than this. Yet the thought lingered—if that was true, why was I so affected by the treatment? Why did I secretly crave more of it?
“Up you go.”
His tone was unemotional as he righted me, easing me back to a seated position at his left side. Clenching and squirming against the latest addition to my perverted ensemble, I glanced at him, and at that moment, it all fell into place. This was who Sean was—a dispassionate bastard who thought nothing of demeaning and exhibiting me in front of his leering friends. This was the man who’d taken me, the one who’d bullied me into marriage.
Blinking away the well of frustrated fear threatening to rise, I turned away, my gaze scanning the outside world as it raced by. He was also the man who’d moved me, stirred things in my soul I hadn’t even known existed. This was all so messed up, I was never going to be able to reconcile it.
How could I have been so stupid to be abducted? Me, of all people, with all the connections and experiences I had working with The Syndicate? And speaking of my old friends, where the hell were they when I needed them? Evidently, Saul hadn’t cared for me at all if he could leave me to rot with Hyland. He must know what fate had befallen me by now, yet in all the days I’d been held, he’d never come—no one had.
I was on my own.
“Hilary.”
I jumped at Sean’s voice, the weight of my woe so heavy, I’d been completely lost in my thoughts.
“It’s okay.” He leaned closer, turning toward me as one hand rose to my face. I closed my eyes tightly, an instinctive response to his looming palm, but to my surprise, it wasn’t pain that greeted me but the gentle caress of his fingertips. “I know this is a lot.”
That was the fucking underestimate of the millennium.
“I understand.”
Fighting for composure, I blinked my eyes open, wishing I could wipe my tears away, but with my hands tethered, that was impossible.
“Here.” Concerned blue eyes flashed as his fingers rose and dabbed the tears away. “You’ll be okay. We’re going to do this, and you’re going to be adored. Once you’re legally married, I promise I’ll give you everything you’ve been denied the last few days.”
His warm breath washed over me as that tantalizing brow arched. I knew precisely what he referred to, and my pussy clenched at the promise.
“I’m scared.”
There seemed no harm admitting it. What did I have to lose? I was already on my way to my fate, about to become Mrs. Sean Hyland, whether I wanted to or not, but the worst was, deep down, I didn’t know. Sean had opened doors no one else had ever found. He knew me, could play my body like an instrument. If he learned to ease up on the constant subjugation, it wouldn’t be all bad being his wife. Maybe I would survive, flourish even?
“I know.” His voice was tender as he stroked the side of my face. “You’re a smart woman, Hilary. That’s one of the many reasons I want you so much. You know what’s at stake today.”
“Yes, Sir.” I nodded against his palm—the same hand which had spanked me, the same one that had teased and denied.
“Just
keep being my good girl, and things will be fine.” His lips curled as if some devilish plan was unraveling in his head. Unease churned. I still had no clue where we were going or what he had planned for our wedding day. “Get through today, and I will reward you.”
Get through? The words resounded in my mind, far from reassuring.
Pressing himself against my breasts, one hand reached down, grabbing my behind while the other rose into my hair.
“Any questions?”
Was he serious? I had a thousand questions, none of which he wanted to hear, and fewer still, he was likely to answer.
“More of a request, Sir.” In the end, none of my queries were sufficient, but one concern demanded clarity.
“A request?” His brow rose as though he couldn’t believe my audacity. “Go on then. I’m feeling generous.”
Pulling in air, I steeled myself.
“I know you like to show me off.” Fresh embarrassment heated my face, a hundred reminiscences rushing to my mind of how I’d been exposed and degraded.
“I do.” He grinned, no doubt musing on the same memories.
“But please, Sir, don’t let anyone else touch me, or....” My voice trailed away, my throat drying as I considered how best to explain myself.
“You don’t have to worry on that score.” His expression hardened. “I’ll display you as I see fit because it makes me hard, and I know you secretly love it, but no one else is ever going to have you again.” Fire burned in his eyes with the vow. “Want to know why?”
I wasn’t sure I did, but I was so engrossed in his captivating gaze that it was easier just to acquiesce.
“Yes, Sir.”
“Because you’re mine.” His mouth grazed over mine, his lips hot as they teased. “And no one touches what belongs to me.”
Chapter Seventeen
Sean
ARRIVING AT THE CHURCH, I glanced at the gray sky. St. Felix had been my parish once, the place I was baptized and received my first communion. It was the only place I could contemplate taking my marriage vows, and fortunately for me, the local priest was a close family friend and someone who knew and accepted my family’s darker proclivities. I’d run the outline of the ceremony past him a few days ago and received nothing but praise for my commitment to the Bible. The Good Book told women to submit to their husbands, which wasn’t going to be a problem as far as my marriage went.
“Church?” Gazing out of the opposite window, Hilary turned to me with wide eyes. “We’re getting married in a church?”
“Of course.” I smiled, amused at her shock and still completely floored by how fucking hot she looked. “What did you expect? There is only one way of doing this properly.”
“I...” She paused. “I just didn’t think a clergyman would approve of my attire.”
“Perhaps not all of them,” I concurred, reaching forward to tweak the nipple nearest me. “But Father Joseph is a friend of my family and understands my needs.”
“Oh.”
At that moment, the door opened. Cole was waiting to offer me a smile.
“Ready, sir?”
Straightening, I nodded to him.
I was ready—ready to make Hilary my wife, ready to seal the deal in the eyes of God, and ready to smear the reality in Morrison’s face.
“Yes.” Stepping out of the car, I adjusted my bow tie. “Please make sure Miss Mantle follows me in.”
Cole smiled. “Yes, sir. Will she have someone giving her away?”
I turned at the question, my gaze landing on the blonde waiting to be mine. The leash I’d attached to her collar hung between her protruding breasts, and her face was almost as red as her fabulous arse was going to be once she was my wife. It was funny, but in all the time I’d detained her, I’d never even asked about her family, her wishes, or who she might like to attend. None of that mattered. No one was coming except those I trusted. The guest list was non-negotiable.
“Hilary will be walking herself down the aisle.” My lips twitched, imagining the scintillating view. “My men have instructions about security once she’s inside.”
“Very good, sir.”
Crouching down to get one last look at her, I offered what I hoped was a reassuring smile.
“See you inside, beautiful. Don’t keep me waiting.”
Closing the door, I met Cole’s gaze. “I’m relying on you to make sure she doesn’t do anything stupid. Not that she could get far in those heels, but... you know what I mean.”
“I do indeed, sir.” Cole grinned. “You can rely on me.”
“Good.” With a glance back at the enormous car which had ferried us to the church, I lifted my chin to the sky as I wandered inside. The clouds were still heavy, but if I didn’t know better, it seemed as though they were thinning, as if the sun might break through at any moment.
Hilary
FIDGETING ON THE VAST back seat all alone, I considered my options. With my hands bound behind me, there wasn’t much I could do to get out of the car. I’d need Sean’s driver to help me, and until then, I was trapped, like a lamb waiting for slaughter. Apprehension knotted, blossoming into tension that tore at me, demanding an answer—what was my plan? How was I going to get out of this? Even as I fought to catch my breath, I knew the likely retort. I wasn’t getting out of this. Any hope I had of avoiding my date with destiny had been cast aside when he put me in these fetters and bloody heels. It had been hard enough making it to the car with Sean’s help. God only knew how I would make it anywhere else.
Peering past the darkened glass, I could just make out the entrance to the huge church. A church? I shook my head. How could any man of God condone a union like this? We hadn’t even met with him, hadn’t undertaken any of the normal processes which would allow a church wedding, but then, this was Sean Hyland. A man like him could veto just about any rule or regulation. No doubt a generous donation to the church had lubricated the wheels of the deal. My muscles tightened around the plug, which had been unceremoniously shoved inside me.
This couldn’t be happening, could it? I wasn’t really about to make the most important commitment of my life in front of a pervert priest while topless with a butt plug wedged between my arse cheeks.
The door opened at my side, the gust of cool air attacking my exposed breasts.
“Miss Mantle.” Cole averted his eyes as he waited for me. He was about the only gentleman on Sean’s payroll, though still not gentleman enough to see reason and let me go. “Mr. Hyland has asked me to help you into the church.”
“Thank you.” It was excruciating, having to respond politely when I was half-naked and so damn vulnerable. At that moment, I decided to seize the moment. It was the last chance I’d have before Sean got his way. “Can you help me?”
Cole’s eyes flitted to my face. “Certainly, Miss.” Leaning down, he reached for my arm as I slid my feet onto the gravel below and hobbled out of the vehicle. Tugging down the back of my dress with my bound hands, I waited as he closed the door.
“Can you help me get away from here?” My heart hammered in my chest with the plea. “Please, I can’t go through with this. I can’t marry him. Just look at me!”
Adhering to my request, his gaze traveled down my chest. “Your wedding gown is certainly not traditional, Miss,” he agreed. “But it’s Mr. Hyland’s choice.”
“Why don’t I get a say?” It was ridiculous. I was like a petulant child, weight shifting from one foot to the other as I made my case to the driver, the only hope I had—my last opportunity for freedom beyond Hyland.
Edging toward me, he smiled sympathetically. “Mr. Hyland’s word is law, Miss.” His brow rose as if imploring me to see reason. “Every one of us has to understand that. So, while I have compassion for you, there’s absolutely no way I will go against his orders.”
“Please.” I was on the verge of tears again, a gust of cold wind almost taking my breath away.
“Come now.” Wandering to my side, he guided me in the direction of the churc
h. “I know he can be severe, but he’s no ogre.”
That was a matter of opinion.
“And between you and me, Miss.” Cole leaned closer, whispering the words into my ear. “The young Mr. Hyland is a lot more respectful to women than his late uncle, God rest his soul.”
“More respectful?” I turned to meet his eyes.
“Yes,” he confirmed. “His uncle had a penchant for cages and used to keep a different girl there night after night.” Cole shook his head. “You might not appreciate what you have, but I would ask you to be grateful. It seems Mr. Hyland really likes you.” His focus fell to my exposed breasts. “And it’s not very hard to see why.”
“Oh God.”
Closing my eyes, I tried to process what Cole told me. Saul and the others had mentioned Zander Hyland liked to cage and humiliate women he held captive, and it seemed as though some of his tastes had passed to his nephew, Sean.
“Come on.” The pressure on my arm drew my attention back to the awful present. “He’ll be waiting, and if I might offer some advice, you don’t want to upset him at this juncture.”
He was right, damn him. I knew he was, but my feet remained rooted to the spot.
“Miss Mantle?” Cole sounded impatient. “Please, let me escort you. If I have to ask one of Mr. Hyland’s security men, your arrival will be a lot less dignified.”
Glancing down at my exposed body, I could scarcely take another breath. How much less dignified could things get? I already knew the answer. One of those burly guys would pick me up, fling me over his shoulder, and carry me down the aisle like a sack of potatoes, with everything on show. Things were bad, but I wanted to cling to whatever modicum of self-respect I still had.
“Okay.” With a sigh, I stepped forward, guided by Cole. “I don’t want to do this, but okay.” The knot of anxiety twisted at my pitiful admission. I was giving in again, allowing Hyland to infringe my rights, even though this was my best shot at liberty. Glancing behind me, I surveyed the route to freedom with desperate eyes.
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