Read Online Soul Catcher by E. L. Todd - Free Book Online Page B

what do you want?” she snapped.
    He rose from his chair and walked over to Accacia. He pulled the child from her grasp and placed his hand on his shoulder. The child whimpered at his touch. “Do as I say, and I will let this young fellow go,” he explained. “It’s that simple.”
    Accacia stared at the child and saw the tears pour down his cheeks. Her heart ached. “What is it?” she asked.
    Drake nodded to the guards, dismissing them from his presence. They closed the door behind them. He stared at Accacia’s beautiful face and hoped his deviant plan was going to work. “When I take you, you will respond with enthusiasm. You’ll desire me the way I desire you, by gripping my back, pulling me into you, and meeting my hunger thrust for thrust,” he said as he stared at her body. “You will kiss me with vigor and moan happily at my touch. You will scream my name and beg me not to stop,” he said. “You will initiate intercourse, ride me vigorously, and reach a state of euphoria alongside me. At any time you deviate from this agreement, I will kill the first child I see on the street, and force you to witness it.” The duke pulled the sobbing child closer to him. “Do we have a deal?”
    Accacia let her gaze fall from the duke’s beaming face to the frightened child. It was one thing to be raped against her will, but to force her to act as if she enjoyed it was more difficult to bear. Lord Drake approached her, his handsome face almost touching hers. His eyes lingered on her wet lips and she could feel his breath upon her face. He waited for her decision.
    She closed her eyes and calmed herself, steadying her heartbeat to a slow cadence. Emotion fled her body and was replaced by the task before her. When she opened her eyes, she saw his expectant gaze appraise her features. She reached up and placed her slender hands upon his chest, and then glided them to the back of his neck, pulling his face to hers. She kissed him deeply.
    She gently massaged his lips with her own, sucking his bottom lip, and then slipped her small tongue into his mouth, where she met his own.
    He moaned into her mouth as he relished the feel of her willing touch. He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her tight against his strong physique and ran his hand through the silky strands of dark hair he adored.
    “Make love to me,” she whispered.
    He groaned in response.The sex was exactly what he wanted, but as soon he pulled out of her, she returned to her state of loathing and hatred. He watched her sleep, kissed her forehead, and held her hand during their meals. She didn’t object nor did she reciprocate.  The duke had been content with this relationship for a long time, but the more time he spent with her, slept with her, looked at her, his feelings began to develop into something more. Lord Drake was in love.
    He knew she didn’t feel the same, however. Despite his wealth, connections, handsome features, and his ability to make her climax, which he knew she did, she still hated him. The duke wanted her to feel the same way he did, even if she wasn’t being truthful, so he threatened her again.
    “I want you to love me, Accacia,” he told her. “To touch me lovingly, kiss me tenderly, and tell me that you love me and no one else. That you cannot live without me and would rather die than be apart from me. I want you to give me your heart.”
    Accacia refused him. “You cannot ask this of me,” she said. “I can be what you want sometimes, but not always . Everything between us would be a complete lie. You can force me to pretend to love you, but I never will. You are wasting your time.”
    Her rejection stung. He sent her to the Prisoner’s Circle to be tortured and beaten until she changed her mind. Surely, loving him cannot be worse than such pain, he reasoned. He told her she could return and accommodate his request when she was ready. She was there for an agonizing three months before she was stolen from