The Pleasure Series: Complete Box Set by M. S. Parker Page A

contact with whatever had triggered a panic attack bad enough to make me pass out. The only thing I knew for certain was that I wasn't in any physical pain. That’s how I figured I hadn't been assaulted. Or, at least, I hadn't been assaulted in a way that had knocked me out. While I'd been unconscious, that could have been a different story.
    My hands hit something solid, sending pain through my knuckles even as I opened my eyes.
    I'd hit a wall.
    A wall I didn't recognize.
    I looked around, thrashing against whatever was holding me down. I couldn't get my arms or legs free. I was trapped and the panic from before spiraled again.
    What had happened? Where was I?
    “Jenna, it's okay.”
    A man's voice cut through the chaos in my head and my terror escalated. My head was turning from side to side, but I couldn't see anything. My eyes were open and it was light, but the shapes and colors were foreign. Nothing registered.
    Then I saw a shadow move and let out a half-cry, half-whimper as I struggled to get away. He was big and coming toward me and...
    “Jenna!”
    Arms wrapped around me, pinning me against a solid chest. I gasped, feeling myself heading toward hyperventilating again.
    “Please. Please. Please.” I heard a small voice whispering, and then realized it was me.
    “Shh, it's okay.”
    A deep, familiar voice repeated the words even as I struggled and fought against him. I twisted and squirmed, my teeth clenched so tightly my jaw ached, but he still held me, shushing me; hushing me. He wasn’t groping me or forcing me down, but restraining me from lashing out.
    “It's okay, Jenna.”
    I focused on a spot on the wall and willed my breathing to calm, willed my mind to begin processing again. Slowly, so very slowly, both things began to happen.
    Taupe.
    That was the first thing my brain registered. The walls were taupe. Other details began to come together to paint a picture of my surroundings.
    I was sitting on a couch and the thing that I'd thought had tied my hands and feet was actually an afghan that had been covering me up. I didn't recognize the colors of the room, the feel of the couch or afghan, but there were two things I realized I did know. The voice and the smell of the man whose arms were around me, holding me so very close.
    “Rylan?”
    I hadn't realized how tense he was until he relaxed when I said his name. His grip on me loosened and I pulled back. He must've sensed that I no longer was fighting him because, this time, he let me go.
    I looked up, my eyes automatically seeking out his despite the fear welling inside me. It wasn't fear carrying over from the past this time. It was fear of what I would see in his eyes. Would it be pity? Disgust? Would he think I was weak or crazy?
    Over the years, only a handful of people had ever seen me like this and all but one had been a professional who'd known the reasons behind the episodes. The only other person had been a guy I'd gone to bed with when I was about nineteen. He had been the third or fourth person I'd slept with and he'd tried to cuddle with me afterwards. I hadn't passed out, but I'd freaked out badly enough that he'd run out of his room, stark naked, and yelled for security. I'd managed to get out before anyone had come to haul me away, but I'd been more careful after that, making sure my partners knew the guidelines of what was acceptable.
    Rylan's fingers brushed my cheek as he tucked hair behind my ear and the touch pulled me from the past. I studied his face, not daring to believe what I saw there. Concern. Worry. Compassion. Something warmer I didn't want to explore any further, definitely not here. Not like this.
    “I'm going to give you some space now.” His voice was calm, gentle. He was being cautious, but not condescending.
    The knot in my chest eased.
    He let me go completely now and moved from where he'd been half-kneeling next to the couch, to sit in an armchair. Now I got a better look around me. I was in a living room and a