Page 80 of Breaking Rosalind
“Technically, it was the drink you poured for me.”
“Which you made me down with reverse psychology.”
“Let me go, Cesare,” I say. “The Moirai Group is ruthless to those who hold their operatives captive.”
“Don’t fight it, pet.”
He grips my chin so tightly that I swear I can feel every fingerprint, and glares into my eyes with an intensity that sets my blood on fire.
“You stopped belonging to that firm the moment you took my mark.” He speaks so matter-of-factly, it’s as though there’s a reality where humans are property.
“Let me go,” I snarl.
He flashes me a grin. “You’re mine. There isn’t a single place where you could hide from me because I will always find you, my pretty pet.”
I spit in his face.
The hand holding my chin hostage whips out like a cobra and delivers a slap so hard that my head snaps to the side. Stinging pain radiates across my cheek, and my sinuses fill with the scent of blood.
Clenching my teeth, I hold back a barrage of insults. This crazy bastard and his antics have eroded my common sense and made me forget my professional training. Stupid acts of defiance will only get me maimed. I need to stay focused on finding an opening for escape.
He wipes the spit with his fingers and places them in his mouth. Groaning, he savors each digit as though feasting on nectar.
I stare at his tongue, the pulse between my legs pounding hard with a cocktail of terror and another sensation I refuse to name.
Cesare leans so close that his face becomes a blur. His scent is earthy, smoky, intoxicating. It clouds my thoughts and dulls my senses. I hold my breath, waiting for him to strike.
“Bad pets who don’t accept their place earn punishments,” he growls through panting breaths. “And you’re about to receive a lesson in obedience.”
THIRTY-ONE
ROSALIND
Shivers break out across my skin and down my back. I can’t catch a fucking break. I want to close my eyes, turn my head, and shut out all traces of this insane bastard, but he’s looming so close that I can’t even block him out.
“How did you escape?” he growls.
“What?”
“When you knocked me out and left me in the bushes to die. How. Did. You. Get. Past. The. Guards?”
“That blow wasn’t fatal,” I say, trying to keep my voice from trembling. “It was only meant to?—”
“Answer my fucking question.”
I gulp. Telling him will only help close breaches in his security, but staying silent is equally dangerous.
“One of the men talked about driving into town to run an errand,” I lie. “I hid in the back seat of his car and stayed silent until he was distracted.”
“Who?”
“I didn’t catch his name,” I say.
He draws back, his nostrils flaring, his gaze assessing. “If this is bullshit…”
“Why would I lie?”
“Everything about you is fake,” he says with a sneer. “I used to watch you fawn over my cousin at the club like an eager sub, but that was just a ploy to gather information on me.”