Total pages in book: 26
Estimated words: 25205 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 126(@200wpm)___ 101(@250wpm)___ 84(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 25205 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 126(@200wpm)___ 101(@250wpm)___ 84(@300wpm)
Next, I steal a glance at Liam, but his attention fixates on Sebastian, eyes dark and shooting daggers—a cocktail of jealous anger. The chair to the left of Sebastian remains empty. Instead, the doctor—from the house of Cancer—halts in front of me without preamble.
“Lie back,” he orders.
I do as I’m told, fitting my feet into the stirrups he pulls out, and a whisper of air caresses my inner thighs, bringing about a violent shudder. Driven by modesty and instinct, I bring my knees together.
“Knees apart. I can’t examine you otherwise.”
I hesitate too long, and he pries them open, putting me on display for half the room to ogle. I study the ceiling as shame burns my throat. No one’s ever looked at me down there, let alone touched me.
Not even the family doctor.
Not even Liam when he pressed his hand over mine during breakfast.
“Teresa, come over here, love,” the doctor orders a maid standing in my periphery. “The queen could use your hand.”
“Yes, Master Vance.”
I keep my gaze trained on the ceiling as footsteps scurry to my side. A warm hand enfolds mine, fingers squeezing in silent support.
“This won’t take long,” Vance says as he settles between my knees. At the first touch of his fingers spreading my nether lips, I grit my teeth. Teresa gives my hand another squeeze, sensing my discomfort, and I think we both hold our breath as the doctor gently pushes a finger inside me.
I wish I had a clock to watch, hands counting down each excruciating second, or even a speck on the ceiling to focus on as Vance violates my insides. But there’s no escaping this. I bite my lip as my feet tremble in the stirrups. The man is a doctor, and I’m aware that women go through this every day, but considering the circumstances, I feel utterly violated.
I didn’t ask for this. I didn’t even give my permission.
“Almost done,” Teresa says.
My head lolls to the side, and unbidden, I find Sebastian. His jaw is an unshaven line in a face cast from strength and sensuality. But those azure eyes…
They burn right through me. Or maybe they’re burning for me.
As we lock gazes, his nostrils flare. A tick goes off in his jaw. I wish I had a decoder for this man—this silent man whose stare somehow tells me more than words could give away.
There’s more to him than disdain and anger.
He. Wants. Me.
The realization plays on the heightened air between us, and the spell isn’t broken until Vance finishes the exam.
“The hymen is fully intact.” He pushes off on his chair, wheels rolling across the gleaming marble as he waves a hand in Liam’s direction. “Chancellor, the floor is yours.”
Teresa lets go of my hand and disappears into the periphery, her stance by the door becoming that of an unobtrusive spectator.
I suck in a breath and hold it as Liam settles between my thighs. Keeping his gaze averted, he inserts a finger into me, and it’s the first time he’s touched me like this. I despise that he’s doing so under the watchful attention of eleven other men.
His face is carved from granite, and I sense the control he’s holding on to. Without ceremony, he withdraws his hand and steps back before gesturing for Heath to go next. “Proceed.”
Heath barely touches me at all. He doesn’t offer me more than a passing glance either.
Landon, from the House of Gemini, breaks the ice first. “You were young all those years ago, and I won’t lie. I was skeptical, but you’ve matured, haven’t you, Novalee?” His tone is conversational. Not surprising for a Gemini, I suppose.
“I have.”
“Do you mind if I touch you?”
“Do I have a choice?”
“You have a valid point, my queen. I’d still like your permission.”
“I can’t in good conscience give it, but you have my dubious cooperation.”
“You are a feisty little spitfire, I’ll give you that,” he says with a laugh. “I’ll have to take your word and the testimony of my brothers as proof of your purity.” He reclaims his seat, and Sebastian stands, the next in line since Vance was the first to test my virginity during the exam.
“You heard the queen,” Sebastian says with a smirk. “Her cooperation is questionable. I want her restrained.”
Liam scowls. “That’s not necessary.”
“I think it is.” Sebastian snaps his figures at Teresa. “Fetch me a set of wrist and ankle cuffs from the dungeon.”
I shoot a startled look at Liam. “There’s a dungeon?”
He winces. “I was hoping to spare you from that information until later.”
“Why is there a dungeon?” The question shrieks through the room.
“It exists for pleasure,” Liam says.
“Don’t coddle her.” The man I remember only as Libra snickers. “The dungeon is primarily for punishment, so keep that in mind, my queen, lest you end up in my hands.”
I’m close to having a panic attack by the time Teresa returns with a set of leather cuffs. Sebastian wastes no time is fastening my wrists and ankles to the bench legs. He tests the anchors holding me captive, then he circles me, just like he did all those years ago.