Chapter 9

CHAPTER 9

RICHARD

T he thick Persian carpeting masked my footfalls as I approached her bedroom door. It was slightly ajar. I could hear Elizabeth's gentle sobs as her lady's maid tried to soothe her. If I were a better man, those cries would upset me, but they didn't. I was as ruthless in pursuing what I wanted in my personal life as I was in business. It was how I have managed to amass this large fortune and can now afford to mastermind this little project of mine.

Imagine having the power to not only control someone's life… but their entire world? To manipulate their reality to such a degree they no longer have any sense of time or place? Any imbecile could kidnap a woman and keep her chained in the basement. That didn't require intellect or even finesse. It required no more than essentially a hole in the ground and a trip to a hardware store.

Where was the challenge in that? Where was the excitement in conquest?

Now, kidnapping a woman and tricking her mind to believe she was now and always had been a woman living in the late 1800s, that took skill and planning. I was now in control of not only her life, but also of those around her, who had absolutely no idea the crime they were helping me perpetuate.

It had taken months to set my scheme into motion, even longer if you counted the time I spent searching for just the right woman.

I remembered the first time I saw Elizabeth.

The moment my obsessive need to possess her body, soul, and mind began.

She was sitting on the grass in St. James's Park, reading a worn copy of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice . Sunlight glinted off her dark brown hair showing hints of mahogany tucked among the curls. A soft breeze kept playing with one errant curl. I watched as she repeatedly tucked it behind her ear only to absentmindedly have to tuck it back again after it came loose. She also had the most adorable way of biting her lower lip whenever she seemed to be in deep concentration.

I was determined to learn more about her.

After following her to the University, it was a matter of a few well-placed bribes to learn her name and where she lived. From there the rest was easy. Glancing over my shoulder, I looked at the leather portfolio that rested on my desk. In there was every scrap of paper I collected on Elizabeth. Report cards, employment records, medical records, old photos, the police report on her parents' death.

The more I learned, the more I knew she was perfect for what I had planned.

A beautiful, innocent woman alone in the world… in need of protection.

My protection.

When she auditioned for the play I specifically produced to ensnare her, she had no idea she was really auditioning for me.

For her new lifetime role as my ward, my possession.

Despite making my fortune in the modern world, I despised it. The constant clamor of endless noise and stress. No matter where you went there was the blare of countless advertisements, glowing screens, distracted people numb to their own existence. It was an abomination.

Several years ago, I came up with the plan to retreat as much as possible from all of it. To return to a simpler time, where there was peace and order to the world. A world of literature and music, not ceaseless discordant shrieks that passed for entertainment. A world of fine dining with an appreciation for food and wine, not plastic-wrapped garbage eaten on the run. I bought this estate and ripped out all the electricity, replacing it with candles and softer gas lighting. Gone were the trappings of the modern world, replaced by authentic replicas of Victorian furnishings. Rich tapestries, artwork, and hand-painted wallpaper. No detail was overlooked.

Why the Victorian era?

It was on the cusp of the modern era, affording just enough technology to make life more comfortable but still retain old-fashioned values on home life and a person's place in this world, especially if one were a member of the aristocracy.

It was a time where a woman knew her place and accepted a man's rightful dominance over her. That was what I found the most appealing. The vulnerability and dependence of a woman on a man's benevolence. In the Victorian era, a woman was still regarded as a beautiful possession, to be petted and spoiled but also kept docile with a firm hand.

Unfortunately, I knew finding such a paragon of perfect Victorian virtue in the modern era would be pointless. To approach a woman with my plan to return her to the nineteenth century would only produce two candidates: the simpering submissive type likely to bore me within a few weeks and the cunning type requiring endless legal contracts and promises of large sums of money in exchange for their cooperation.

Neither held any appeal for me.

If my plan was going to work, it needed to be all-consuming.

This wasn't some game to be played out with the players allowed to quit whenever they wanted. This needed to become the new reality of the woman I chose—no questions asked.

Complete psychological and physical immersion.

She would need to be my captive in both mind and body.

Taking a step forward, I entered the room without knocking. I was lord and master in this world, no door was barred to my entrance.

Elizabeth turned in shock, holding the folds of a white linen nightgown closed with a tightly clasped fist between her breasts.

"Leave us," I commanded her lady's maid without even sparing a glance in her direction. My entire focus was on Elizabeth. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the woman drop a quick curtsy and without sparing a glance in my ward's direction, she quickly did my bidding.

Standing in the center of the room, she never looked more vulnerable or beautiful. Her hair tumbled past her shoulders in a wild mass of curls. Her cheeks were stained a bright pink, either from embarrassment or crying I did not know. Observing her silently, knowing the longer I remained so, the more on edge and unbalanced she would become, I watched as she nervously slipped her full bottom lip between her teeth and bit down. So my little treasure bit her lip when she was anxious as well. Good to know.

Casting her eyes on the floor at my feet, Elizabeth's voice was faint as she said, "I'm very tired and would like to go to bed."

The corner of my mouth lifted in a knowing smile. "That is why I am here, dear one."

Shaking her head, she took a few steps back. Unknowingly, she crept closer to the fire. The soft glow from the flames perfectly illuminated her form in silhouette through the thin nightgown. I could see the gentle curve of her hips and the tucked-in nip of her small waist. She had beautiful long and lean legs, the kind that would wrap tight around a man's body as he thrust into her.

"Please. I'm sore. I can't anymore," she begged prettily.

My cock swelled at the sound. There was just something so empowering about having a woman completely at your mercy.

"I will not share your bed… tonight ."

Her show of relief was followed swiftly by a flash of defiance. I knew she had caught my implication. "That is why these will be necessary."

Raising my arm, I held out the leather restraints I'd had made specifically for her.

"I'm not going to let you tie me up with those!"

"I'm afraid it won't be up to you, my dear."

"I promise. I won't try to run away. I don't even know where we are!"

Dropping the restraints, I took a few steps toward her. She tried to back up even further but the heat of the flames prevented her continued retreat. Reaching out, I caressed her soft cheek before gliding my hand into her soft curls. Placing my other hand against her lower back, I pulled her forward, pressing her body against my own. Leaning down, my lips skimmed her jaw. Taking the small lobe of her left ear between my teeth, I gave her a teasing bite before murmuring, "I want you to be a good girl and take this nightgown off and go lie down on the bed for me."

Her breath came in quick rasps. I could feel the rapid pace of her heart where it pressed against my chest. As my face stayed close to her own, kissing my way along the smooth column of her neck back to the corner of her mouth, I could feel the barest touch of liquid against my lips.

Her tears.

Flicking my tongue out, I licked the salty drops from my upper lip before tracing the tip of my tongue up her cheek, tasting the tears on her skin.

With my mouth pressed against her cheek, I could feel the movement of her jaw as she swallowed nervously. Then again, when she opened her mouth to wet her lips before speaking. "No. I won't do it."

My grip on her hair tightened. Using my fist, I twisted the hair in my grasp till she cried out in pain. Forcing her head back, I placed my free hand against her throat, squeezing gently. Her emerald green eyes widened in justifiable alarm. "Wrong answer," I growled before forcing her to her knees before me.

Keeping my grip on her hair, I looked down at my captive ward. Her open mouth was only a few inches away from my cock. I could almost imagine the feel of her warm breath against the sensitive tip.

"I see you still do not know your place. Let me make it very simple for you. Your place is to obey me. No questions asked. My word is law. Do you understand?"

"No. I don't understand any of this!"

"You are only confused. Your grief and time at the asylum have scattered your delicate mind. In time, all this will become second nature to you like it was before."

"I don't belong here."

"You belong to me now. Your place is with me."

Reaching up, she grasped the ends of my frock coat, her forearms brushing my engorged cock. "Please. Just let me go."

My response was to twist my hand more painfully into her hair, forcing her head back. "Are you going to be a good girl and obey or do I need to get the strap?"

I was almost disappointed when I felt her shoulders drop in resignation as she capitulated to my demand. "I'll obey."

Releasing her hair, I placed my hands on my hips. "Take off your nightgown."

Since I had interrupted her dressing, it was already mostly unbuttoned down the front. With a twist of her shoulders, it fell in a pool of fabric over her hips and knees. For such a thin, tall woman, she had beautifully large breasts. I thought with pleasure to the not so distant future when I would have an opportunity to slap and pinch them till they both glowed a rosy hue.

"Go to the bed."

As she started to rise up on her knees, I growled, "Crawl."

She lowered her head. Her cascade of hair hid her features and humiliation. I watched as she hesitantly pitched her body forward onto her hands and slid one knee underneath her, then the other, slowly crawling across the thick carpet to the four-poster bed across the room.

Staying by the fireplace, I enjoyed the soft champagne glow of her creamy pale skin and the bottom curve of her ass as I watched her crawl at my command. When she reached the bed, I told her to stretch out on her back.

As she laid there nervously waiting, I took my time taking off my coat and loosening my cravat before rolling up my cuffs. Retrieving the restraints from the floor, I approached the bed. "Open your legs wider."

Her legs trembled as she shifted them open wider, fully exposing her cunt. Instinctively her hands moved downward to shield herself. "Don't. Place your arms over your head."

A sob escaped as her shaking arms came to rest on the pillows above her head.

Wrapping my hand around one delicate ankle, I lifted her foot up and slipped the heavy leather restraint in place. Tightening the buckle around her ankle, I then secured it to the lower bedpost.

Walking to the other side of the bed, I repeated the gesture. "You must understand that this is for your own good. You are prone to night terrors and flights of fantasy. I cannot have you wandering from bed at night lost in one of your own hallucinations."

By now I had her right wrist secured and moved to lock her left wrist in place above her head. She was now helplessly tied spread-eagle to the bed. Reaching down, I pinched one pert nipple before tracing the tips of my fingers over the quivering flat surface of her stomach to the apex of her thighs. Slipping two fingers between her already wet folds, I leaned over her supine body.

"After all, as your guardian, it's my duty to protect you… and see to your needs ."

With that, I plunged two fingers deep into her tight cunt. Her body bowed upward as she struggled against the binds. Pulling my fingers free, I raised my hand to her face. Elizabeth tried to turn away. Grabbing her jaw, I forced her to face me. "Open your mouth."

Defiantly, she slipped her lips between her teeth, keeping her mouth tightly closed. Releasing her jaw, I used my left hand to give her pussy a hard slap.

Her mouth opened on a cry. My fingers slipped in. Rubbing against her swirling tongue, I knew she could taste the evidence of her own undeniable arousal.

Before I could gloat, she bit down hard.

Reaching between us, I twisted her right nipple till she cried out in pain, releasing my hand. Looking at the damage, I could see small red crescents just below my knuckle where her teeth had sunk in deep.

"You are going to regret that, my love."

"No! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" she cried out as her body twisted and writhed beneath the pressure of my own.

I climbed on top of her, straddling her chest.

"Too late. The doctors advised your impudence would require a firm hand." Forcing her jaw open, I stretched her lips open painfully wide as I rose up on my knees and released my cock. She was powerless to stop me.