My Heart's Desire (Barrett 1)

He grinned, his eyes glassy. “Surely even you are not that naive, my dear. I intend to give you pleasure … and to pleasure myself in return.”

Alex pressed herself more firmly against the wall, as if it could somehow protect her from Sebastian

’s onslaught. “You are foxed, Sebastian.” She struggled to keep her voice from trembling. “And you are not thinking clearly. Go now, and I will say nothing of this incident to Drake.”

He threw back his head and gave an eerie, hollow laugh. “Do you think I give a damn what you tell Drake?” he demanded, moving closer. “After the enticing spectacle you made of yourself on the evening of the ball, do you honestly think he will believe you did not invite me to your room tonight?” He loomed before her, fury and lust blazing in his drunken gaze. “In truth, your actions were a puzzle to me as well. My attentions are not good enough for you, but a roomful of strangers will suffice?” He placed his hands on the wall on either side of her head, his foul breath touching her lips.

In a flash Alex ducked beneath his arm and sprinted toward the door. She was two steps from her goal when Sebastian’s powerful arms closed about her waist, dragging her back into the room. She struggled, kicking and fighting frantically, but to no avail. With an unnatural strength born of hatred, Sebastian flung her onto the bed, his body shaking with rage.

“You defiant little bitch!” he ground out, pinning her down with his body. “So this is the way you want it? Fine. So be it.”

In one quick motion he tore her night rail down the front, flinging the remnants of material to the floor. Waves of revulsion racked Alex’s body as she found herself naked and helpless beneath Sebastian’s bitter, hungry scrutiny, utterly exposed to his violent assault. Tears of rage and humiliation burned behind her eyes. Until now, her only experience of lying completely unclothed before a man had been with Drake in tenderness and mutual desire. Nothing had prepared her for the horror of this moment, the sense of despair at this ultimate violation of her self. Everything inside her turned cold.

Seeing the full force of Sebastian’s hatred, Alex began to shake, sheer terror streaking through her blood. More determined than ever to fight him with every fiber of her being, she resumed her struggle, digging her nails into his flesh and kicking him.

“You really are a little hellcat, aren’t you?” Sebastian growled. He caught her arms with his hands and held them over her head, triumph gleaming in his eyes. Then he lowered his head and took her mouth in a brutal, punishing kiss.

Instantly, and without thinking, Alex sank her teeth into his lower lip.

Sebastian tore his mouth away, cursing violently. While he licked the blood away, Alex made one last desperate attempt to escape. But Sebastian’s grip was iron-hard. She was going nowhere.

“Try that again and I will make you sorry you were born,” he ground out, tightening his hold until Alex thought her wrists would snap. She whimpered with pain, feeling Sebastian cruelly prying her legs apart with his knees. In a frantic effort to escape his final invasion, she brought her knee up, attempting to catch him off guard and make contact with his groin. But Sebastian anticipated the move and caught her leg, forcing it cruelly down, then out, opening her farther to him. Hysteria bubbled up inside her and she cried out in pain. Sebastian leaned forward, momentarily pressing his full weight against her.

“For that, you will pay,” he snarled.

Alex winced, knowing that her action had cost her dearly. Now Sebastian meant not only to rape her but to hurt her as much as possible in the process. The baby, she thought to herself helplessly. Please, God, don’t let him hurt my baby. She felt the pressure on her wrists ease slightly and opened her eyes to see Sebastian kneeling above her, his hot gaze raking her as he reached for the buttons on his breeches.

“I am going to enjoy every moment of this,” he muttered, releasing one button at a time, his fingers unsteady from the large amount of alcohol he had consumed. “You have quite a body, my dear Alexandria.”

There was no escape. Alex froze as Sebastian’s swollen manhood sprang free, lurching toward her cringing flesh. The paralyzing realization of what was to come exploded through Alex like gunfire.

Sebastian was going to rape her … now.

The shrill, heartrending scream began deep inside her and split the eerie silence, vibrating through every corner of the room.

“Shut up,” Sebastian hissed, crushing her face with his hand. Alex felt as if her jaw might snap.

“Drake will kill you for this, Sebastian,” she choked out, fighting to keep back the tears.

He lowered himself to her, his words muffled by her hair. “You have that backwards, my fiery duchess. It is I who will kill—”

The end of Sebastian’s sentence was lost in a crash that exploded through the room, followed by a bloodcurdling roar of anger.

“Sebastian, you filthy bastard, get the hell off my wife!”

Chapter 29

DRAKE CROSSED THE ROOM in three strides, tore Sebastian off Alex, and flung him against the wall. Sebastian crumpled and sank to the floor.

Alex cried out Drake’s name, gathering herself into a small protective ball, her eyes wide with shock and horror.

Drake was shaking with the fierce primal rage of a wild animal, the sound of Alex’s scream still echoing inside him. Every muscle in his body was taut, sweat gleaming on his face, as he crossed the room and yanked his unsteady brother to his feet.

“You miserable son of a bitch!” Drake slammed his fist into Sebastian’s jaw, sending him back to the floor with the impact. It was still not enough. Drake fell upon Sebastian, blinded to anything but the explosive need to kill. His hands closed around Sebastian’s throat.

But Sebastian had recovered sufficiently to defend himself. Using the full weight of his body, he rolled Drake off him, then sent his fist into his brother’s stomach.

Drake groaned, doubling up in pain, but refused to release his death grip on Sebastian’s throat. Panting, Drake rolled Sebastian beneath him and, holding him down with one hand, delivered blow after blow to Sebastian’s face.