DELETED SCENE FIVE
TEARS OF TESS
Copyright PEPPER WINTERS
“Ami?”
I hunched, sliding down the wall of the glass shower. No. I couldn’t stomach company.
Suzette entered wafting her hand at fogging steam. “Ami. You need to get out now. Master Mercer has arranged a late dinner for you.”
Food? I couldn’t think of food. I’d throw up all back up again.
Suzette turned off the shower and ducked to my level, holding a fluffy towel. “Here. Hush now, you’re safe.”
Those two little words again.
My eyes couldn’t stop the stem of tears and Suzette shuffled closer, patting my wet shoulder. “It’s okay to cry. Get it out. But I hope you’ll realize this is best place for you. Here nothing else can touch you, but Q, and that isn’t such a bad thing. Is it?”
I wiped away moisture on my cheeks. “No,” I whispered. And really, the knowledge only Q could touch me was like winning the lottery. He’d been nothing but sensual and possessive. Never evil and hurtful. He drew emotions and feelings from my body even I didn’t know I had.
It wasn’t so bad to be owned by a master like Q.
It could’ve been worse. So much worse.
PROLOGUE
TEARS OF TESS
Copyright PEPPER WINTERS
Three little words.
If anyone asked what I was most afraid of, what terrified me, stole my breath, and made my life flicker before my eyes, I would say three little words.
How could my perfect life plummet so far into hell?
How could my love for Brax twist so far into unfixable?
The black musty hood over my head suffocated thoughts, and I sat with hands bound behind my back. Twine rubbed my wrists with hungry stringed teeth, ready to bleed me dry in this new existence.
Noise.
The cargo door of the airplane opened and footsteps thudded toward us. My senses were dulled, muted by the black hood; my mind ran amok with terror-filled images. Would I be raped? Mutilated? Would I ever see Brax again?
Male voices argued, and someone wrenched my arm upright. I flinched, crying out, earning a fist to my belly.
Tears streamed down my face. The first tears I shed, but definitely not the last.
This was my new future. Fate threw me to the bastards of Hades.
“That one.”
My stomach twisted, threatening to evict empty contents. Oh God.
Three little words:
I was sold.
Teaser:
Q was safe.
I was his.
It made perfect sense in my fucked-up mind.
His strong arms and stocky frame screamed builder. Hell, I loved he stood so big and strong. He could dominate me so easily… but never did. He treated me like glass. Special cut-crystal—placed me on a pedestal where I had to shine and remain dust free and perfect.
His face was unreadable as he murmured, “You want more?”
More. Such a dangerous word.
I shook my head. “Not more. Different.”
Three men guarded the exit. Arms crossed, lips stretched against dirty, rotten teeth. Leather Jacket Man stood in the middle. Our eyes locked and the same evil energy assaulted me, casting oozing black shadows. Unable to look away, my very existence stuttered under the weight of blackness. My instincts had been right.
I was in deep shit.
Q dropped his gaze to my lips. “Je suis à toi.” Something feral heated his features; he pressed his mouth against mine in one fast kiss. “It means, I am yours.”
Q growled, running hands over his sleek hair. “Answer me, esclave. Is it really so bad to be owned by me?”
“You can’t lie. Not now. Not when your body blares the truth.” He moved his fingers, stroking inner parts of me, throbbing with the need to release.
He was right, I couldn’t lie and I cried harder.
I frowned. “What do you want?”
“I want to own all of you, esclave. Including your name.”
“You are mine. I can do what I want with you. I can dress you. Fuck you. Send you away. Loan you to others. You belong to me. And you’ve finally realized it isn’t romantic, it isn’t sexy or fun. It’s something no one should want or desire. You’re a captive.”
He shook me, his headache etching eyes with pain. “My role as your master is to debase you to the point of having no feelings, no emotion, no hopes or dreams. I tell you to fuck another man, you ask for how long. I tell you to wear something, you do not fucking chop it up in defiance. You wear it and appreciate what I give you. You’re mine, esclave. And it isn’t a fucking happy ever after.”
He released me, trailing soft fingertips through my hair. I swayed, broken so easily, confused completely.
“Until tonight, esclave.”
When I didn’t answer, he thrust against my ass, making me cry. “What is this?”
“M—my nipple.”
He bit the shell of my ear, breath gruff and loud. “Wrong. This is mine.” He let me go and I breathed in relief, then froze as he touched my ass. Fingers sent fiery trails along my skin in agonisingly soft strokes, working inward, working down.
“I need you to say it again, then you can go.”
Two options. Two decisions. Neither was easy. Both had consequences. But for now, I chose the one protecting my virtue for another night.
I hung my head and murmured, “Yours.”
Tears of Tess by Pepper Winters
Publication date: September 6th 2013
Genre: New Adult Dark Contemporary Romance
Synopsis:
A New Adult Dark Contemporary Romance, not suitable for people sensitive to grief, slavery, and nonconsensual sex. A story about finding love in the strangest of places, a will of iron that grows from necessity, and forgiveness that may not be enough.
“My life was complete. Happy, content, everything neat and perfect.
Then it all changed.
I was sold.”
Tess Snow has everything she ever wanted: one more semester before a career in property development, a loving boyfriend, and a future dazzling bright with possibility.
For their two year anniversary, Brax surprises Tess with a romantic trip to Mexico. Sandy beaches, delicious cocktails, and soul-connecting sex set the mood for a wonderful holiday. With a full heart, and looking forward to a passion filled week, Tess is on top of the world.
But lusty paradise is shattered.
Kidnapped. Drugged. Stolen. Tess is forced into a world full of darkness and terror.
Captive and alone with no savior, no lover, no faith, no future, Tess evolves from terrified girl to fierce fighter. But no matter her strength, it can’t save her from the horror of being sold.
Can Brax find Tess before she’s broken and ruined, or will Tess’s new owner change her life forever?
DELETED SCENE THREE
TEARS OF TESS
Copyright PEPPER WINTERS
The button popped open and I drew the zipper with its tiny multiple teeth down and down, opening my master’s trousers as if it was the most natural thing in the world.
Some part of me screamed inside the Perspex cage I built. Ranting and raging for true freedom, not phantom vacancy. But I muted the voice. I didn’t need it. It just complicated my already complicated life.
Q might be able to use me as he saw fit, but he’d never touch the most important part of me. That I saved for Brax. For my own survival. I’d opened the locked door again when I was free and not before.
Sighing, I relaxed for the first time since I’d been stolen. This was defense. I could see now how prey coped. Always living with the knowledge of pain or death. It didn’t matter. My body was dispensable. My soul was forever.
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DELETED SCENE TWO
TEARS OF TESS
Copyright PEPPER WINTERS
My lips parted. Oh my, was Brax playing with me? Finally! I nodded, not able to say a word. Could Mexico spice up our love-life, after all?
He gave me an indulgent smile, pulling me from my chair. Other guests at tables close by grinned as Brax hugged me. He whispered in my ear, “Let me swim for an hour. Then I’m all yours.”
My heart raced, kicking against my ribs. “Promise?”
He answered with a peck on my lips.
We left the outdoor restaurant, hands linked, carrying our beach bag with our kindles, sunscreen, and water. The best loungers around the pool had already been claimed. Couples and families all lay sweaty and content under the Mexican sun.
“We’ll go on the beach. I think I remember them saying you could hire cabanas for a few hours. Some shade would be good.”
I squeezed his hand. I knew he preferred to be in the sun, but I couldn’t handle much. My alabaster skin lived up to my last name, Snow, rather well. The sun liked to turn me into a burned shish-kabob rather than bronzed goddess. Guilt crushed me with the force of a heavy wave. After everything Brax gave me, after how considerate and kind he’d been… why did I still need more? I was a heartless bitch who didn’t deserve him.
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DELETED SCENE SIX
TEARS OF TESS
Copyright PEPPER WINTERS
She pushed me and I treaded with heavy steps down the stairs. Her words ran rampant in my head. Was that the key? To lie? Could I do that? When truth was so fundamental to me? But it was fundamental to Tess, not this creature in bondage.
Yes, I could lie. I could make him believe the fantasy he needed, then perhaps I could beg for my release. One good deed for another.
I landed at the bottom of the stairs, curling my hands. I would lock myself away again and lie. Become someone else entirely.
AUTHOR BIO:
Writer, reader, sometimes wife.
An avid devourer of sexy romance and angsty New Adult.
Nothing beats lolling in a bubble bath with her array of book boyfriends.
Her two titles: Tears of Tess and Broken Chance are coming soon.
DELETED SCENE FOUR
TEARS OF TESS
Copyright PEPPER WINTERS
Suzette clapped her hands, her pristine maid’s uniform of white and black looking very French and sexy. I admired her for wearing something like that, even if it was house hold protocol. I rented a maids uniform once to surprise Brax. He laughed and said Halloween wasn’t for another two months.
I burned it ceremoniously when he went to work. Brax didn’t need gimmicks to love me. He just needed me. My eyes hurt with tears as Suzette bounced over.
“You’re coming to the markets with me. I need to grab a few more things for dinner.”
My entire body snapped to attention. Out? Freedom? As in out of the house? Around people? My soul rejoiced but I forced myself to look nonchalant. She mustn’t know how eager I was to leave her behind. I think in some way she expected me to stay. Forever. Naïve woman.
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DELETED SCENE ONE
TEARS OF TESS
Copyright PEPPER WINTERS
The sparkling pool sprawled before us, flowing under quirky bridges, around islands of palm trees, with an infinity edge cascading onto the beach. The crisp teal water glistened against the dark sapphire of the sea, like a priceless gem.
Already my skin pricked with sweat and we’d only just left our room. My white bikini, embroidered with little black seahorses, made my skin look darker than its natural shade of white, and my flower crocheted sundress revealed glimpses of flesh through the needlework. Both items I’d bought at the Melbourne markets a few days ago. I wanted to look hot for Brax. I hadn’t been working out this hard at the university gym for nothing. I was in the best shape of my life, tight and toned; I had every intention of flashing my man.
Maybe that was why my libido was sky-high? Didn’t people say your sex drive increased when you exercised?
I peered at Brax across the table, eating his breakfast of fresh fruit and cereal. He wasn’t like a typical Aussie builder. He didn’t eat pies or junk food. He took care of himself, and his exercise came in the form of lugging bricks and timber around in the toiling Melbourne sun.
He crunched a mouthful of muesli, watching me with an amused look. “You’re spacing again, Tessie. Anything you want to tell me?”
So adorable in his lavender t-shirt and baggy white shorts, he was the poster boy of holiday chic. His hair damp from a shower and a droplet of milk trembled on his lower lip.
My stomach clenched. I unsuccessfully tried to get him in the mood this morning. Food was the only thing on his brain. But now that we’d eaten…I had a plan.
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