Scarlett shuddered, her skin crawling as if he were a serpent slithering on her flesh. Her pale cheeks were flushed, though not with desire—her blood boiled with rage and disgust. There was no hint of submission in those tear-streaked, furious eyes. She might have once been beautiful in his eyes, but now she burned with defiance—a fire he sought greedily to extinguish.

He began tearing at the fabric of her dress, exposing pale skin that gleamed against the moonlight. ...