Chapter 11

Someone was watching her though. He had followed her from the club. His vision was perfect and he could see details from far away. He'd watched as Melissa had dropped her off and left. Dominique had gone in the house and then come back out and sat on her porch. It was screened in but the top part wasn't a normal roof. She could see out of it. He watched her as she looked up at the stars. After a time, he saw her start to slump in her chair.

He walked up to the porch and slowly opened the door. He picked her up in his arms and took her inside. He walked around the house, checking out her place until he found the bedroom. There he laid her on the bed and laid down beside her. His desire for her was strong, but he would fight it for now. He had to make her see him first. Once she finally realized they had a connection, then he would make his move. He laid with her and stroked her face as she dreamed. This one wasn't bad judging by the way her body reacted to it and the noises she made. It made his desire to have her that much harder to deal with but he continued to lay with her until it was almost sunrise.

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Rose was never the same after the first night Nathaniel had taken her. Her will to be defiant was gone. She lost interest in everything. She barely ate or drank. Instead, she went about her daily chores and dreaded the nights. She no longer had her own room. Instead, Nathaniel had her belongings moved to his room. Rose bathed Nathaniel every night and then they laid together in the bed. She waited for him to take her again but he didn't.

Instead, he talked to her about his day and tried to get her to talk to him. She talked a little when he asked her something directly. Her mind kept going back to the night he had taken her innocence from her. She had always thought it would be something magical. That she would marry for love and her husband would lovingly caress her and they would pleasure each other. Nathaniel did not even want to marry her or love her.

Why did he want her in his room if he did not want to continue to punish her and use her for his pleasure? Her mind went back to the morning after he had destroyed her world.

"Calm down, Rose. I have no intention of hurting you."

"You already did, M'Lord. Why bother to state you have no intention of hurting me? I will never forget your awful touch. I would rather die than stay here any longer. Please, release me back to my father."

Nathaniel's face hardened. Rose felt herself shrink down into the bed. He reached out to touch her and she turned her head. He pulled her up and against his body. She sat there not touching him.

"I had no intention of coming to you drunk last night. My intention was to make you mine. I will not take you home. You will be mine. Your place is here with me."

Rose began to cry. Nathaniel released her and left the room after putting on his breeches. Rose curled into a ball on the bed and wept. Ten minutes later, she tensed as the door opened. Several maids came in with water and began to fill the bath. One of them came over to the bed and got her up. She took the night coat off and had Rose step into the bath. She heard the maid cluck her tongue when she saw the bruises. Rose had never felt more exposed than at that moment. For them all to see and know what happened to her made her feel dirty. Eventually, the hot water and scents in it helped soothe her sore body. The maids left and Rose sat in the tub, feeling miserable.

When she felt a man's hands on her shoulder, she tensed. She knew it was Nathaniel. He was gentle as he washed her body. He apologized whenever he touched a bruise. Why was he doing this to her? Why be so gentle now and apologize for every bruise he left? Why did he want her? She was not special. Her body did start to relax with the heat soaking into her. Nathaniel's gentle caresses at first bothered her but after some time they began to make her skin tingle.

When he was done bathing her, he asked her to move forward. He got in the bath with her. She tensed again but he merely held her. After some time, she requested to get out. He permitted it and she saw the scratches on his back. She gasped when she saw the dried blood and how deep they went. She had done that. She was no better than him if she was going to harm someone that way.

She took the rag from him and washed his back as gently as she could. Once he got out of the bath, she rubbed salve on his wounds. He thanked her and kissed her lips. Rose was tense until he released her. He handed her one of her dresses to put on. Once dressed, he left the room.

Rose was brought out of her remembrance when she felt Nathaniel's hands on her. He had not touched her in two weeks accept to hold her at night. Her body tensed as she felt him crawl on to the bed behind her. He had already undone her nightgown in the back. He was pushing her on to her back as he slowly laid on top of her. She felt his naked body press against hers. She lay tense on the bed, waiting for him to hurt her again.

"I will not hurt you, Rose. I promise you that you will feel nothing but pleasure."

Nathaniel kissed her but it was a gentle kiss. He explored her lips with his tongue and when she gasped from his hand cupping her breast, his tongue slipped inside her mouth. His hand was not rough on her breast but rather gently rubbing over her nipple. She began to move her lips under his, never having kissed a man before, she wasn't sure if what she was doing was right.

Nathaniel broke the kiss and gently pulled the gown off her arms. His mouth found her breasts as he continued to move her gown down. He kissed down her stomach and then sat up as he took the gown off and threw it off the bed. He began running his hands over her body and although she was afraid, Rose could not help but respond. She looked down at his body and felt her face flush.

"Do you like what you see, Rose?"

"Yes, M'Lord," Rose whispered.

"I want you to touch me as I touch you."