Controlled: The Dollhouse, Part Two (3 page)

I
pushed blindly
through the crowd of people, weaving around tables with no conscious idea of what I was doing or where I was going. I just wanted to get away as fast as I possibly could.

T
oo overcome
to pay attention to what I was doing, I looked up and realized I was in an unfamiliar hallway. The ballroom was right next to the lobby but I must have turned left when I was supposed to turn right.

A
n exit sign
was lit up like a lifeline at the end of the hallway. If I could just make it outside, it would be easy to find my way from there.

I
pushed
through the heavy door and ended up in a dark stairwell.

M
y feet took
the steps as quickly as they could. My heart beat loudly enough that I swore it echoed off of the cinderblock walls and surrounded me.

I
reached
the bottom of the stairs out of breath as relief bloomed in me. But the door opened before I reached it and an imposing figure blocked my path. The door — my only escape! — slammed shut with a sound loud enough to wake the dead.

I
t was too
late to slow my trajectory and I slammed bodily into whoever had opened the door. Powerful arms came up to steady me as hands the size of dinner plates tightened on my arms in a grip too strong to fight.

I
looked
up into the eyes of Julian Berkmore-Sullivan.

B
efore I could react
, he turned with me and shoved me against the door, hard enough that it hurt. The back of my head hit the steel with a hard thunk and I saw stars.

I
t was
an uncontrollable instinct to fight. We grappled for a moment, as I tried in vain to push him away long enough to get the door open. But he easily overpowered me and pinned both of my arms to my side with the strength of his one.

I
opened my mouth
— to beg or scream, I hadn’t quite figured out which— but his free hand moved to cover my mouth and pressed down hard.

“
D
on’t you dare
,” he hissed.

“
F
uck you
.” I shouted against his hand, but the sound was muffled and came out sounding more like
Fugh ewe!

“
W
hat are you doing here
?” The look in his eyes was cold enough to chill me to the bone. “Have you been following me?”

I
raised
my eyebrows at him and he must have realized that I couldn’t exactly answer him with his hand covering my mouth. He pulled it back, but just far enough that I could speak, as if he didn’t trust me not to scream.

“
I
haven’t been following
you — I haven’t even been thinking about you!” The last bit was a lie, of course, but there was no reason to tell him that. “You’re the one who has me trapped in the stairwell, remember.”

“
H
ow did
you know I’d be here?” He glared into my eyes, as if willing me to tell him the truth.

“
I
didn’t
,” I said indignantly, annoyed that he’d peg me so quickly for some sort of insane stalker. “I’m just working.”

“
Y
ou don’t work here
.” The arm that had me pinned tightened, stealing the breath from me. “You work at some shit diner on the South side.”

T
hat surprised me
, the Dollhouse must have given him considerably more information than they ever gave me. I guessed that made sense, he was the one who had paid for the privilege after all. “A friend of mine works for Berkmore and got me the job for tonight to work the benefit.”

H
is eyes narrowed
. “What’s your friend’s name?”

“
N
one of your business
.” No way was I throwing Trina under the bus like that, Julian looked like he was out for blood.

“
T
ell me
.”

“
N
o
!” Darkness brewed in his expression and I could tell immediately that Julian did not like being told no. “Look this is all just an awful coincidence. Let me go, I’ll leave and we can pretend that this never happened.”

A
n emotion
that I couldn’t place moved behind his eyes, but he didn’t let me go.

“
Y
ou left the Dollhouse
— tore up your contract. Tell me why.”

I
hadn’t prepared
for this, not for seeing him again and certainly not for having to explain myself. Why did he want to know anyway? The Dollhouse was full of women who would be desperate to have him. Why spare me a second thought?

“
I
t doesn’t matter
.”

“
O
h
, but it does.”

H
e moved closer
until his lips just barely brushed the shell of my ear when he spoke. Something between us had changed. The air was no longer charged with his anger, but had turned seductive.

T
he fear remained
because of course I was still scared. I knew too well what he could do to me.

“
I
f you don’t tell
me then I won’t let you go.”

“
W
hy are you doing this
?” My voice came hoarse and whisper-soft.

“
B
ecause I can
.”

H
is hair was gelled
to the side, not a single strand out of place. The expensive tuxedo he wore was expertly tailored. But despite the dignified appearance, something uncontrolled simmered underneath the surface. He was taut like a wire that was about to snap.

I
didn’t want
to answer him, didn’t want to give him that power over me. “I don’t have to tell you anything.”

“
B
ut you will
.”

“
P
lease
—“ I didn’t know what I started to say, but the words died in my throat.

T
he arm
that was pressed hard at my waist moved upward. His fingers gently stroked down my cheek and I shuddered.

“
T
ell me to stop
.” The pad of his thumb gently brushed across my lower lip. “You walked away from me once, do it again if that’s what you want.”

J
ulian released me then
, hands falling away and leaving me cold. He even stepped away from the door and into the shadowed corner beyond it. Half of his face was cast in darkness, like a man wearing half of a mask.

H
e beckoned
toward the door with a sardonic wave of his hand. “Go.”

B
ut I didn’t
— couldn’t — move so much as an inch. The force of him was like a gravitational pull and I was caught in its path.

I
remember
how I awful I had felt for the last few weeks. The memory of his hands on my skin burned like the slice of a knife. The memory had refused to fade even with all of our time apart.

I
t was
wrong and I knew it. He was married. And he was Julian Berkmore-Hathaway. The gulf between us couldn’t be any wider if I dropped an ocean into it.

J
ulian watched me closely
, as indecision and desire warred inside of me. He must have seen the resolve inside of me break because the small smile that crossed his face was frankly predatory.

“
C
ome here
.”

A
nd I went
.

H
is hands felt
like they were everywhere at once. He pulled me against him until we were enveloped in darkness. I couldn’t see him, but I could feel him. He was all hard muscle and a heat that threatened to consume us both.

A
hard mouth
crashed into mine. His teeth pressed hard into my lips and his tongue demanded entrance. I opened underneath him like a hothouse flower blooming in winter.

H
e wrenched
my hands above my head and held them there with one hand. My body fought to be closer to his, my back arching until the hills and valleys of our forms meshed perfectly together.

T
he kiss deepened
and he pressed down harder as if he would crawl inside of me and truly make us one.

A
fire burned
in the pit of my belly, so deep that it was nearly painful. I could feel his erection straining hard against his tuxedo pants as it pressed into the soft flesh of my belly.

H
e broke
the kiss and I whimpered at the loss, but his mouth moved lower. It slid over my chin and down to my neck like a trail of fire that burned even as he moved on to the next sensitive spot.

H
is free hand
came up and pressed against the front of my shirt. He ripped hard at the fabric, tearing it. Buttons clattered to the floor as the shirt was split open.

C
old air rushed
across the skin of my chest that was covered only in the lace bra that I wore, raising goosebumps. His head bent and bit my nipple through the thin cloth, just before sucking it forcefully into his mouth.

I
dissolved
. Shudders rocked through me at the painful pressure of it. He still had my hands caught above my head. I pushed against his grip, desperate to touch him — desperate for release.

B
ut he only pressed my
wrists harder against the concrete wall, the force of it bruising my skin. I was caught between the pressure of his hands and his mouth, unable to fight what he wanted.

N
ever able to fight
.

H
is mouth did not cease
its relentless pressure but his hand moved downward and slipped easily inside the waistband of my pants. His fingers moved through the small patch of hair, searching and finding the center of me.

A
thick finger
pushed inside of me and I moaned.

“
A
lways so wet
,” he murmured against my overheated skin. His head came up and he gently bit the side of my chin. “Is it just for me or do you walk around like this all of the time?”

I
shook my head frantically
, unable to answer. My hot cheek pressed against the cold stone behind me, but it wasn’t enough to soothe the burn.

H
e kissed
me again and the action was harsh and possessive. “I’m going to fuck you, Dalea. Right here against the wall.”

“
O
h
, God—“

“
J
ulian works too
.” I felt his smile against the skin of my neck but his voice was stern. “Tell me that you want me to fuck you.”

A
second finger
was added to the first, stretching and filling me. I barely had enough brainpower to form a coherent thought, much less figure out how to make words. But I would also do anything to ensure that he didn’t stop.

“
I
-I want it
.”

“
N
o
.” His voice was sharp, but one thumb pressed against my clit in small, tight circles. “Say it. Tell me that you want my cock inside of this tight little pussy. Say that you want me to fuck you.”

A
flush bloomed
on my cheeks. If there had been enough light, I knew he’d be able to see an embarrassing pink spread on my exposed skin.

“
I
can’t
…please.”

H
is fingers moved wickedly
inside of me, pumping in and out in an agonizing rhythm.

I
gasped
when his lips moved back to my breast, sucking and biting hard enough that it would leave a mark.

H
is hands tore
at my clothes, shoving my pants down to my ankles so I could kick them away. I pushed the suit jacket off of his shoulders, desperate to have more of him exposed. My fingers ran down the ruffled front of his tuxedo shirt, wishing I had the nerve to rip it off of him.

H
e worked
at the zipper of his pants until his erection sprang free. I felt it bounce gently against my hip. His hands moved away and I cried out at the loss, but then they were at my hips.

J
ulian lifted
me up until my feet left the floor and I hung on the shelf of his hands. The tip of him rested against my entrance as his chest rose and fall with harsh breaths that were in tandem with mine.

I
strained against him
, desperately wanting to finally consummate the dance we had begun so many months ago. But he pulled away before we could make any further contact and his grip on me was like a steel vice.

“
S
ay it
, now.”

I
could feel
the rapid speed of his heartbeat where our chests pressed together, but his voice was emotionless, as if he could wait for me indefinitely.

“
I
want
you to fuck me!”