Taken by Passion: King of Hearts (Wonderland Book 1) by Jaymie Holland, Cheyenne McCray

until he pulled out of her mouth.
    He released her and stepped away. She licked her lips, as though savoring his taste, and stared up at him. “May I come, Milord?” Alice asked in a hoarse whisper.
    “No. You have received your first punishment from your first day here,” Jarronn said in a low voice. “Trust me, Alice. If you learn to trust and obey me completely, without question, you will never want for release again.”
    Alice glared at him but said nothing. She seemed to be at war with herself, as if coming to some deeply wrought decision. At last, she looked away from him, then down at the ground. Her hands moved behind her back.
    “Yes, Milord,” she murmured.
    Her tone clearly communicated the unspoken, “ You bastard,” and the air filled with the tang of her anger and resolve.
    Resolve to what?
    Obey him or pacify him until she got what she wanted? And did she want to fuck him or kill him?
    Jarronn’s lips curled with the thrill of challenge. She would submit to him or all would be lost—and she would never submit to a less powerful man, or any man save him. Of that he felt certain.
    Surely there was no woman more perfect for him in all the worlds.
    Alice wanted to deck Jarronn. The Bastard. She needed to climax so badly she could scream, and he was deliberately torturing her. He was damn lucky he wasn’t still in her mouth or she’d give him a little torture of her own.
    Trust, my ass. What the hell does trust have to do with sex?
    Then she thought about her ex and how he’d been having sex with two other people. He’d violated every sense of the word “trust”.
    She bit the inside of her cheek so hard that she tasted the coppery tang of blood. But she kept her hands tightly clasped behind her back, her gaze lowered. She glared at his feet instead of mouthing off, thinking how much fun it would be to slide pieces of bamboo under his toenails.
    “Kalina, your services are no longer required,” Jarronn’s voice rumbled. “You may return to your chambers.”
    “Thank you, Milord.” Kalina eased to a standing position. Alice barely heard the woman’s soft footsteps as she turned away and walked down the path.
    Jarronn moved and then she could no longer see his feet, but she heard slight rustling noises. Was he coming up with her second punishment even now?
    Heat coursed through Alice anew, and she was furious at herself for being so aroused. She was almost anxious to see what he would do to her.
    What’s with that, Alice?
    The waterfall pounded into the highest pool, the pulsating sound somehow in tune with the throb and ache inside her. The gentle light from the pools cast a warm glow over the ground. She’d been so hot and needy for an orgasm since she’d sat on that bench in Golden Gate Park. It seemed ages ago, and between watching the foursome and Jarronn’s constant sexual teasing, and now this. Alice didn’t know how much more she could take.
    Or how much more she’d be forced to take.
    It grew so quiet that Alice wondered if Jarronn had left her. Was this her second punishment? Being left in a jungle, alone and vulnerable, naked and on her knees? She wanted to look up, but she didn’t dare. He’d made it clear she would be punished a third time if she didn’t follow his damn rules.
    “You are due yet another punishment,” he added. “You have brought yourself to orgasm many times since your arrival.”
    Alice’s cheeks burned. How did he know?
    The grass and earth felt damp and soft beneath her knees, and she was incredibly attuned to everything around her. Water tumbling from the falls and into the pools seemed louder than ever and she heard plopping sounds like fish jumping. Calls of birds, monkeys, and other creatures made the jungle feel more like a living entity than simply a place.
    She imagined posting photos to Instagram of this gorgeous world. Too bad her mobile phone hadn’t made it here with her. She’d have enjoyed photographing all the amazing things here. When