Descent (Black Heart Romance presents Heaven & Hell)

Chapter Twenty
Hallie
I have to get him out of the temple.
Force clearly isn’t going to get me anywhere with him. My heart thuds at the thought of what I’m
about to say, but I have to be realistic. I know Calvin will fuck me tonight whether I want him to or
not, but I might be able to control the location.
“Why don’t we go? Dinner’s over and you’re clearly eager to get on to… the next part of our
evening.”
Calvin grabs the base of my neatly styled chignon and tugs my head back. “Stop.”
My tummy twists. “Stop what?”
“Trying to control the situation. I am not Jackson. I’m not any of the idiot boys you’ve entertained
before me.” He gives my hair a firmer tug. “I am in control of this entire night. I am in control of what
happens to you and where.” He tugs my hair harder, forcing my body back against him. As I arch to
accommodate his shoulder, he says in a steely tone, “If you want something, you ask me for it, and you
ask sweetly. You do not lie, you do not manipulate, you do not control. All of those things are off the
table the moment I put my hands on you. Is that clear?”
I swallow and nod tersely.
“Good,” he says warmly, a reward for my acquiescence. He releases my hip, and a moment later
I feel the back of his hand brushing the exposed curve of my upper back. “Now, if you fight too hard, I
might fall back a step and bump into that priceless statue you were admiring. You wouldn’t want that,
would you?”
Goosebumps erupt across my skin as his fingers glide over the sensitive nape of my neck. When
a few seconds pass and I still don’t answer him, his grip on my hair tightens.
“I said, would you?”
“No,” I whisper quickly, handcuffed by a helplessness that isn’t fair at all.
On one hand, I don’t believe he would really destroy a priceless artifact to punish me for not
behaving appropriately.
On the other hand, I can’t be sure. He is a lunatic, after all.
He pushes me forward again. This time, I think fast and shove my left hand between my breasts
and the wall. I figure it can act as a buffer so my beaded bodice isn’t scraping the ancient sandstone.
Given the choice between natural hand oils and scratches from little blue beads, I have to imagine my
hand will inflict less damage.