"Ahhh—" she gasped again, her chest heaving erratically as if she couldn't pull enough oxygen into her lungs. Her bruised throat jumped with every difficult swallow. A tiny, pathetic, whimpering moan escaped her lips without her meaning to, and she clamped her eyes shut in deep shame. One of her dark lashes stuck wetly to her cheek where tears had heavily smudged her makeup.
She was shaking like a leaf in a storm.
