Luscious Sins (Bend to My Will #7) Read Free

cry out with pleasure. Vivienne shattering underneath him was ecstasy, and propelled Jacob into a powerful release of his own.
    Warm and satisfied, Jacob held Vivienne in a strong embrace until she fell asleep. Long after, he relished the feel of her in his arms, the scent of her perfume, and he wondered what he had gotten into. Yet he had no inclination to turn away, only to continue what they’d started.
    Jacob hadn’t dealt with a woman like Vivienne. He was out of his depth, as he so often found to be the case with her. As willing as she was to submit, it hadn’t been easy to control her. Vivienne was strong-willed and independent, and not a woman who could acquiesce, just because he didn’t permit falling in love.
    Vivienne meant a lot to Jacob, and he had something in mind for her. He’d been working on it for a while, so it should come off well. Especially after her admission of love, a sentiment he didn’t take lightly, he planned to give her something special. He hoped it created the effect he intended.
    *****
    The next morning after Vivienne left for her apartment, Jacob went out for a run. It was hot and humid, as to be expected for mid-August. He was shirtless, wearing shorts, but soaked with sweat. The days could be unbearable, but at least the early mornings cooled to the seventies.
    An image of a man with cold blue eyes, short-cropped brown hair, and full lips flashed in his mind. It was his biological father, alive and well in his memory. The drunk had been in his twenties then, but without any youthful spirit. “ Come here, Jacob .”
    After all these years, Jacob still shuddered. His father had rough beard growth, which added to his frightening look. “ Did you hear what I said? ” But Jacob was moving away, looking for a place to run, somewhere to hide. As a young child, his father looked bigger than his five feet eight.
    To Jacob, he had looked like a giant, one with big muscles, a man who was heartless. When very young, Jacob had sought his father’s approval. That faded when no matter what he said or did as a child, it warranted brutal punishment.
    The cruel eyes, the deep, scratchy voice, and the nauseating smell of cheap cologne stayed with Jacob. Too often yanked close to his father, and unable to escape, the overpowering smell of alcohol had made Jacob feel ill.
    Now out jogging, separated from the incidents by many years, Jacob fought the flashbacks. As he sprinted over the path along the reservoir, the buildings on the other side a blur, Jacob blinked. The haunting memories wouldn’t go away, and the more he tried to forget, the stronger they became.
    Talking with Vivienne about his abusive childhood had been inevitable. Yet sharing his dark past was like opening Pandora’s box; it let the evil out. That was one reason Jacob had avoided therapy. It hadn’t helped much when he was young, and as an adult, he found it was better to keep the horror locked away.
    Now the lock had been broken. Vivienne knew about him, and she surely would ask more questions. When she probed, it brought the demons back to life. Jacob fantasized about having a silver blade, a magical one that could slay those dragons. It was something he pretended as a child, a shred of hope he had clung to. But such a blade didn’t exist, except in a child’s imagination.
    There was no course of action that would save him, and no way to repress the pain into oblivion. Jacob winced at seeing his father’s face right in front of him, as if it was real. It was frightening, even now. He shuddered at the horrible memories, digging deep for the strength to obliterate them.
    Jacob doubted that he would be able to do so. If he hadn’t so far, the future was unlikely to be any different. He had stifled crying out at the sound of the cord striking his small body, and recoiled at the overwhelming sense of weakness. If only he’d been able to fight back, but he hadn’t been big enough, or powerful enough.
    All Jacob had been able to