FreeNovel
Chapter 0283
The ferocity of Nichola s’s protection of me gave me more comfort that it probably should have. I certainly didn’t
want Nicholas to kill anyone, but knowing that he would go to any limits in order to keep me safe helped me feel
truly cared for.
Still, I decided to move beyond that topic, for fear the anger would root in him and cause him to seek out
vengeance for me.
“Susie wasn’t at breakfast,” I said. “I’m worried about her, so I’m going to check on her. Would you like to join me?”
Nicholas softened somewhat at the subject change. “Susie’s okay. She probably just wants to
rest.”
“She won’t mind me checking on her.”
“I think you probably shouldn’t,” Nicholas said.
“Why not?”
He pressed his lips hard together and would not answer.
Odd. Was he hiding something?
“I’m worried. I’ll only stay a minute,” I said. “When I see she’s okay, then I’ll leave.”
I understood Susie liked her alone time, especially after events where she was forced to be so social. So I knew she
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtmight not want me to stay for a long time. But surely she wouldn’t mind. me checking on her. After all, she often
did the same for me.
Nicholas didn’t argue further, so I continued walking down the hallway towards Susie’s room. Nicholas fell in step
beside me.
At Susie’s door, I knocked lightly. I waited a moment, but there was no reply.
Did she leave? I should check.
Slowly, I turned the kn ob and pushed open the door.
Susie was indeed in her room, and she wasn’t alone.
Mark had his arms around Susie’s waist, with her pulled tightly against him. Susie’s own arms were wrapped around
Mark’s shoulders.
Their lips were connected in a passionate, deep kiss. Both were so caught up in it, they didn’t seem to notice me at
the door. Not even Mark, who was usually the most observant.
For a moment, I’m stunned speechless. I knew they had been flirting and that they cared
+15 BONUS
progressed this far.
Mark began to unzip Susie’s dress.
Nicholas placed a hand on my shoulder and guided me from the room. He gently shut the door behind us.
I couldn’t stop from blushing at what I had just seen. They were going to…!
A small bit of joy filled me. Good for them, for finding happiness with each other. For stealing precious moments to
bind their affection.
Yet, bitterly, I also felt jealous. I hated this side of me. It wasn’t fair to anyone.
My last ‘intimate’ encounter had been a moment stolen by Terry.
“You were right,” I said to Nicholas in the hallway. “Susie is fine. More than fine, actually. But indisposed.”
“I imagined,” Nicholas said. “Mark was… upset when he saw the footage of Terry and Susie.” Fresh guilt washed
through me. I shouldn’t feel jealous. Susie had a terrible night too. She hadn’t been chained to a bed, but she still
had to endure Terry’s relentless flirtations and sexual harassment.
At least she had Mark to help her sort through it now.
Nicholas watched me. He must have seen the change in my mood. “Are you okay?”
I shook my head no. “Terry stole many things from me. It could have been worse, I know that. But… I feel like so
many things are tainted now.”
I wrapped my arms around myself. Nicholas stepped closer. I leaned into his warmth.
“Which things?”
“Being naked. Being tied up.” I didn’t hate the thought of surrendering control, but it could only be with a man of
my own choosing, one I trusted about all others. A man like Nicholas. The last was the hardest to say. “Being
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmkissed.”
“Piper,” Nicholas said, claiming my attention. Looking at him, I returned to the here and now, no longer chained up
in that torture room in Terry’s mansion.
Nicholas lifted his hand near my cheek, hovering just over my skin. But he didn’t touch me. After everything I’d
been through, he was likely waiting for consent.
He didn’t have to. He was the man I implicitly trusted.
I covered the back of his hand with my own, and brought his palm to my cheek.
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“When you are ready,” he said, voice soft, “I will replace each and every memory and desire he tainted in you with
a brand new, much more pleasant one. And I will do so happily.”
I turned into his hand and placed a kiss onto his palm.
“Any desire?” I asked him.
“Yes.” No hesitation.
My heart melted a little. My affection for this man seemed immeasurable, growing all the
time.
“I wouldn’t mind a kiss?” I asked.
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