Awakening Rielle Read Online Free

held it out to her expectantly.
    "Why?" She was quickly losing the ability to mask the anticipatory fear in her voice.
    "You think The Immortal is just going to take your virginity because you offer it? You're going to put it on, take your clothes off, and when your worth is determined you will have an offer."
    Rielle bit her tongue as she grabbed for the blindfold and held it in her hand. He looked at her pointedly, expectantly. "Who are you exactly?" she asked, feeling suddenly emboldened.
    The corners of the man's lips lifted into a deviant smile. "You can either undress now or later, but whatever you decide you will put on that blindfold."
    Rielle searched his eyes, looking for something, anything that he might reveal about himself. The deep brown hinted that he was more than just a good-looking face, that he wasn't just some inconsequential lackey for The Immortal.
    After a quick exhale of breath Rielle slipped the blindfold on over her eyes and secured the ribbons of it behind her head. Her world turned black, devoid of light save for the faintest strip of golden light around the edges that she assumed was from the fireplace. She didn't care too much for darkness, but knowing it would all be over soon was enough to keep her mind preoccupied from her fears.
    She felt the warmth of his skin again as he took her hand, and a moment later he was pulling her feet into a quick stride. The changes in ambient temperature were the only indication that they were moving from her room into the hallway, followed a moment later by the descending of not one but two sets of long stairways. She couldn’t tell how long they'd walked before coming to a stop in a room that smelled of petrichor. She couldn’t tell if they were still inside or if he'd led her outside. She could neither hear nor feel any rain, and the space was only slightly less warm than her room with the blazing fireplace.
    "Wait here," he commanded brusquely before retreating, his footsteps fading into silence. The steady sound of her breathing was the only thing she could hear, even as her ears became highly attuned to her quiet surroundings.
    Why was she being forced to wear the blindfold? Did The Immortal want to keep his identity secret for his own sake, or was it just part and parcel of the theatrics of The Immortal: ageless man who lives in the castle in the sky? She shouldn't care. She didn't care. It wouldn't be much longer until she could leave his home and Raving Thistle forever, never again forced to sleep under the stars unless it was her choice rather than her lot in life.
    Three minutes of silence passed before even the air itself stood still, the quiet coming to such a deafening loudness it suffocated her ears. The crescendo of her beating heart mixed with the building pressure of silence came to a head with a subtle pop! before the room went back to normal, her chest heaving rapidly with the intake of oxygen.
    Rielle sensed she was no longer alone. There was a distinct displacement of atmosphere directly in front of her, as though the air were passing around a warm body of mass to her front, emanating heat in her direction. "Hello?" she whispered. The sound didn't make it far before reaching the unknown figure. She had no doubt it was him : The Immortal. Where the hell had he come from?
    Only the black fabric of the blindfold she wore across her face hid his true identity. If it slipped off just an inch she would have a glimpse of him, could unravel some of the mystery of the man who allegedly survived off the purity of virgins. Her purity soon enough.
    A solitary finger picked up a corner of the hem of her shirt and slid beneath the fabric, moving across her torso from hip to hip, the faintest touch of his skin brushing against her own. When his finger disappeared the wall of bodily warmth moved closer. She could reach out and touch him easily; it wouldn't even require moving too far.
    "Undress." The Immortal's voice was a whisper, too low to detect any