Read Online Hope Restrained (Estate Series) by M.S. Willis - Free Book Online Page B

how fucking
aggravating you are?”
    He thought of Maddy and grinned. “I’ve heard.”
    One more tug and he led her out of the cell and down a side
hallway that led behind the ballroom and into the right wing. When he neared the
suite he’d made for himself after Joseph had been killed, he pulled a key from
his pocket and unlocked the large wooden doors. The suite wasn’t as large as
Aaron’s but Xander enjoyed having his own space in the mansion after so many
years of having nothing more than a small room inside Aaron’s.
    “I apologize for the mess, but I haven’t had much time to
clean up since you’ve arrived.” He looked over his shoulder and watched Hope’s
head swivel to look around the room. Her eyes casually glanced over the books
and papers strewn about, but would stop every so often on something she found
that interested her. Leading her through the space, he turned right down a
hallway that led to the master bedroom and bath. Hope stopped in her tracks to
see it.
    ~     ~     ~
    The walls were painted a blood red, the dark color broken up
by tapestries depicting mystical scenes and symbols. The furniture was a dark
wood with clean lines and the white linens added the only light color to the
room. The room was illuminated with candles. Sconces hung on the walls and some
floated in bowls set on the tables and chests around the room. She scoffed.
    He looked back at her in response and continued leading her
through the room. When they entered the bathroom, her eyes found that the
bathtub took up the majority of the room, the water appearing to vanish over
the sides. The room was also dimly lit with flickering shadows and flame. He
stopped, locking her chain to a pipe that ran along the wall.
    She stood still, the remnants of the drugs causing her to
sway where she stood. She was tired and hungry, her body weak from the lack of
food and her injuries. When he turned back to her, she noticed how his mouth
twisted and his eyes were dark and hooded. She took a step back, momentarily
forgetting to hide her reaction and his lips finally turned up into the grin he’d
been suppressing.
    “The tub has steps down into it. Should make things easier
considering you don’t have use of your arms at the moment.” He reached up,
pushing the collar higher up her neck so he could untie the straps of fabric
that crossed over her chest. Lowering the straps, she shivered at being
exposed, but also because of the way his sapphire eyes burned into hers. His
face was set in some unreadable expression and Hope was angered by how her body
reacted to his stare. Her eyes dipped down to look at the movement of his mouth
when he spoke again.
    “I’m afraid these clothes are going to need to be burned. Your
blood is all over them.”
    Fury and scorn coursed through body, her skin prickling at
the way she been exposed. When he moved closer, still holding her stare, and
began to unbutton her pants, she forced her rage aside, desperate to regain
control over herself. She had to remain clearheaded to escape, and she couldn’t
allow herself to allow emotion to blanket her actions and decisions. He knelt
to rip the material down her legs and she considered breaking his nose with her
knee. Fighting, however, was not in her best interest as a result of the belt
in which he’d secured her.
    He stood up, leaving her pants bunched around her ankles. Walking
behind her, she heard him pick up something and drag it across the floor. When
he approached her from behind, he stood close enough that the material of his
clothes tickled the exposed skin of her body and his lips brushed her ear when
he instructed, “Sit down.”
    The back of the chair he held pushed into her legs and she
fell back into it. He stepped around, kneeling again to remove the material
from around her feet. When he looked back up at her shadow danced across the
violent beauty of his face and Hope attempted to blink away her attraction.
    Breathe in … Breath
out