I have no idea what’s going to happen next, but suddenly everything takes a turn. Sean’s hand lands hard on my bottom, stinging the skin. The unexpected hit makes me yelp into the gag. My hands ball into fists, but I can’t move. I’m not used to being hit. I don’t like it. My instinct is to hit back, but I can’t. Before I have time to think, Sean’s elbow is on my back. The air is forced out of my lungs at the same time his hand grips my pussy. He finds me quickly and forces his fingers inside. I’m dry, not ready for him. Sean thrusts another finger inside, stretching me. He pushes in and out fast, over and over again while I struggle to breathe.

It’s the worst thing he could have done. It feels like I’m on fire inside and out. My mind is screaming to fight him off, but I can’t move. Sean slips in another finger and pushes inside of me, thrusting deeper every time. His elbow lightens and I suck in a sharp breath, but as soon as I do it, Sean knocks the wind out of me again. His fingers move faster between my legs, making my body respond. Damp heat covers his fingers making them slick. He pushes into me up to his knuckles as I fight for air. Holding his hand there for a moment, he leans hard on my back. I fight for breath and then suddenly, he pulls out and I can breathe.

For a moment, the only thing I can hear is my breath. Then the door opens. Horror washes over me. Someone’s here. Sean is speaking softly and I can make out another voice. What is he doing? I hope the other man goes away, but he doesn’t.

Sean says, “This will only be a minute.”

Another voice says, “That’s more than fair.”

Fear consumes me. He’s going to share me and I can’t move. I can’t do a damn thing. I thrash my head on the bed, trying to get the blindfold off. I scream into the gag and shake my head. I know I said I’d do anything, but I never dreamed he’d do this.

Before I can think, there’s a hand on my bottom and I hear a zipper open. Panic rises up within me. It’s not Sean. Sean is standing in front of me. I hear his voice whispering in my ear to keep breathing. But, I can’t. I can’t. I can’t.

Fear twists inside of me, turning to something else. I want to kill him. Before I have time to think, I feel the man’s hard length on my backside. He leans into me, pushing in deep. He sighs and stays still for a moment before he starts rocking. He pushes into me over and over again, each time thrusting deeper. My hands clutch at the bed, and I grit my teeth, trying to bear it, when something presses hard on my back. It’s heavy, like a suitcase. It makes it harder for me to breathe. The guy thrusts harder, more wildly. His hands grip my ass. He rides me until I’m so sore that I can’t stand. My knees start to give out. He pulls out after he comes and walks across the room. I hear the sound of his shoes, his voice.

“She’s tight,” he says.

I hear Sean agree, and he takes the thing off my back. “Very.”

They talk, but I’m not listening. I’m planning on ripping Sean’s face off as soon as he unties me. A hand slaps my cheek and pulls me out of my thoughts. “Breathe.”

My jaw is aching. I’m biting the gag as hard as I can. I must be holding my breath because my lungs feel like they’re on fire. I pull at the restraints, ignoring Sean’s warnings, pulling myself tighter and tighter. My legs spread wider, and my face is getting smashed in the mattress, but I don’t stop yanking. I can’t. I have to break free. I have to. I have to.

Sean’s voice moves through the room until he’s behind me. His fingers push inside and linger. “Push into my hand.” I don’t move. He withdraws his hand. For a moment, nothing happens, then his hand spanks me hard. “Do it.” Sean pushes into me again and I push back.

I can’t breathe. I can’t move. I can’t do this.

My body is covered in sweat. My wrists ache. I’m an incoherent ball of rage and fear. And lust. I don’t understand the last part. I don’t understand why I’m wet or why I want Sean to touch me at all. It makes no sense, but my body responds to him. I can’t help it. I push back into his hands, feeling him inside of me and I want more.

Sean touches me again, stroking me, making me moan. I can’t focus for long. I feel the bonds biting at me. My mind flashes to images of me trapped in a coffin, stuck beneath layers of dirt. I can’t move. There’s no air. I claw at the box, but I’m trapped.

Fear consumes me, swallowing me whole. I thrash again, or try to, but there’s no slack left. My nails claw at the bed. I can’t stand it. Sean’s voice is in my ear, but I don’t listen. I scream into the gag, but I know this isn’t over. This is what he wanted—me completely out of control. It’s what Sean was waiting for. As my mind snaps, Sean rubs his dick across my butt. He presses against the wrong spot and I’m so scared that he’s going to try and fuck my ass. I wait for it. He pushes against me harder this time, but at the last second he moves. His hips slam into mine and I feel his erection sink into me. Sean’s fingers tangle in my hair. He pulls hard, yanking my head back as he fucks me. I feel like an animal. There’s no love in Sean’s actions, no man in the monster. He rides me until he shudders and fills me with come.

My heart is racing, ready to burst. I feel used, cheated, and completely crazy. He broke me. I can’t think. My mind won’t process anything. Slowly, thoughts reemerge through the haze. There was another man. My mind swirls around that thought for a moment. I feel sharper, like I’m waking up. The blind panic is clearing. Inviting another guy in was not part of the plan. I don’t even know who he was. I breathe in slowly, ticking off the minutes on my fingers, waiting for Sean to untie me—but he doesn’t.

The bed next to me dips and I hear his voice in my ear. “Lots of women fantasize about being with two men, but that thought scares you. Not seeing his face, not knowing his name. It’s too much.” Sean’s finger touches my cheek and I jump. He withdraws his hand. “But you needed too much. You keep your mind so carefully under control and I needed it.”

The blindfold unties and I can see him. Sean is shirtless. His pants hang low around his hips. He’s lying on his side next to me, watching me. He reaches for me, brushing the hair away from my eyes. I’m pulling on the restraints as hard as I can. I want to scream at him but he doesn’t ungag me.

“Fear is like love. It has the same depths, the same intensity.” He’s watching me, running his finger along my cheek. He’s concerned that he pushed me too far too fast. Sean continues, “So does pain. You use pain the way I use fear—to forget.” Sean looks at me for a moment and then pushes off the bed.

The ties on my ankles come free first and then my wrists. Before Sean has time to look up, I fly at him, ripping the gag away as I go. I slam into him hard, knocking Sean backward. He hits the floor. Before he has time to blink, I’m on him. My knee is over his throat, but I don’t press down.

I’m so mad, so angry, that spots are blinking bright red and white, glittering like Christmas lights. “What the fuck gives you the right to invite someone else in here! I said I was giving myself to you! YOU!” I want to hurt him, I want to, but I can’t. I wait too long. Sean sees the chance and takes it. He reaches behind me and knocks me down. Sean rolls on top of me, pinning me to the floor with his entire body.

“It’s what I wanted.” He’s so calm, so fucking calm.

I scream and try to claw him, but Sean grabs each hand and slams it to the floor. He leans in close to me. “I want you so broken that you can’t trust yourself. I want you to give all of yourself to me.”

“You said you loved me! How could you share me?” I’m still fighting him, trying to break free. “How could you—” His lips come crashing down on mine before I can get the question out. Sean kisses me, but I don’t kiss him back. I suck his lip into my mouth and bite down.

Sean pulls away, and a bead of blood drips off his lip and onto my face. It rolls down my cheek. Sean won’t let me up. “I do love you. I love everything about you. I can’t believe you bit me.” He blinks at me several times, like I’m the weird one. I thrash under him and almost break free, but he lays on top of me, completely stilling me. “Avery, there was no one else.”

The roaring in my ears is so loud. I don’t think I heard him right. “What?”

“This is where you ask to see the video.” Sean watches me, waiting for rationality to return, but it doesn’t. He explains, “I won’t share you. I won’t ever share you. It was part of what I wanted—you, completely vulnerable to anything and everything I could possibly want—so I made you think there was another person here, but there wasn’t.” Sean stops for a second and watches the information sink into my brain. “I didn’t think you were a two guy kind of girl.” I shake my head, staring at him, wondering if it could possibly be true. My eyes flick to the nightstand—to the video camera. “Do you want to watch it?”

No. But I have to. The bastard. He planned this. The whole thing. My jaw is hanging open. I don’t understand him. I don’t know why he’d make me think that. I’m so mad. I should have known, but there was no way to know—not this. He’s so twisted. I growl, “That was a mind fuck. That’s what you wanted—body, mind, and soul. All of me.”

“Yes,” he nods, slowly admitting it. “I want all of you, in every way. I want to own you. I want you to plead with me, to crawl to me on your hands and knees and beg me to take you. I want you to surrender to me, to my wants, and give me anything and everything.”

“You don’t want me to give you anything. You want to take it.”

“Perhaps.” I give him a look. “Fine, you’re right. It’s not the same if there’s no fight. I want to break you down and make you mine. Doing this let me fuck with you in every way possible, and god, I want that more than anything.” He leans down and presses a light kiss to my lips.