Haunted by Ella Ardent

there had to be a way. The two other couples were chatting softly with each other, the glances between them hotter than they had been the night before. There was no sign of Devon, but maybe he liked to sleep in.
    “The rain isn’t stopping,” Zach said as mildly as he could and Caitlyn spared him a glance. There was a sparkle in her eye, and he liked that they shared a secret.
    “No,” she said and smiled a little even as she shifted on her seat. Zach changed the vibrator setting so that it would pulse and Caitlyn flushed as she caught her breath. “How unfortunate,” she said, that wonderful strain in her voice that made him hard, fast.
    “We could take a carriage ride, and explore the island if you like,” he suggested, needing to have her to himself. “Stapleton assures me that a picnic lunch could be prepared.”
    “What a wonderful idea.” Caitlyn smiled with real pleasure, her eyes shining.
    Zach hid his own pleasure with an effort. “I’ll see to it, then. Will you be ready in half an hour?”
    * * *
    Zach had something planned. Caitlyn knew it and she couldn’t wait to find out what it was. He was making her wild with the vibrator, changing the settings on it all the time so that she couldn’t get accustomed to its rhythm. Every time she saw him slip his hand into his pocket, she braced herself, but she was never ready for what he did.
    She hoped he trussed her up and banged her at some remote corner of the island, somewhere he had her completely at his mercy.
    But she wasn’t allowed to come.
    She waited in the foyer of the great house, all laced up to go, trying to look demure. Zach strolled out of the library with a book, then tucked it into the pocket of his great coat. Stapleton opened the front door and Caitlyn saw that a carriage had pulled up to the steps.
    Just like the previous day, when they’d arrived, the carriage was pulled by men harnessed like ponies. They were naked, their skin gleaming, and they wore high boots that had horseshoes on the bottom. They stamped and pranced, just like horses, and the driver cracked a whip over their heads. This carriage was pulled by a pair, and they looked both strong enough to haul the carriage all over the island and ready to go.
    Caitlyn shivered, unable to imagine being in their place, with the rain and the cool wind. Their heavy leather harness was intriguing, though. Zach handed her into the carriage and she was surprised that it was both cozy and luxurious inside. She settled onto the velvet and arranged her skirts, her heart skipping when Zach climbed in.
    He was so close beside her that his thigh pressed against her own.
    The rain sprinkled on the roof of the carriage, and his hand eased into his pocket. Caitlyn nearly moaned aloud as the vibrator changed its pattern once again, becoming both seductive and insistent. She recalled the night before and thought of how bad she’d been in the morning with Hunt. She thought of his commands for the night ahead and had to squirm on her seat. She couldn’t take a deep breath. She couldn’t escape.
    And she didn’t want to.
    The whip cracked and the carriage pulled away from the house, the horses settling to a steady pace.
    “Is there much to see?” Caitlyn asked, her voice sounding tight to her own ears.
    “I don’t think so,” Zach said, looking out the window. He patted his pocket. “But I brought a book, if we get bored.”
    “A book?”
    He pulled it out and showed it to her. The Story of O. Of course, they would have erotica in the library at Windswept Manor. It was fat, and she assumed it included the book and sequels in the one volume.
    Caitlyn licked her lips, easily able to imagine how hot it would be to have Zach read erotica to her, with his deep slow voice and his steady gaze. The possibility sent goose pimples over her flesh.
    “Have you read it?” Zach asked, his voice low enough to give her shivers.
    Caitlyn nodded, wondering whether she should confess how worn out her copy