“Have you ever fucked in the back of a limo, Ellie?”
She shakes her head.
“Would you let me fuck you right here if I wanted to?”
“Yes.” Her eyes are starting to get heavy.
“Right answer. Good girl. Next time though, it’s yes, Kayne.”
Hell. I am going straight to hell.
“I feel funny.” She starts to sway.
“Too much to drink.” I steady her as her eyes roll into the back of her head and her body goes limp.
Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!
A moment later she’s gone.
Passed out against me.
I WAKE UP WITH THE worst headache I have ever had.
I flutter my eyes open and don’t recognize my surroundings. It’s cold. I pull my legs up to my chest and realize I still have on the same clothes from last night. Where am I? What happened? The last thing I remember is waiting for Kayne in the alley. I sit up. Why am I in a cage? It looks like a jail cell. What the fuck? I start to panic. I get up and pull on the locked door. “Hello?” my voice echoes. “Hello, is anyone out there?” I yank harder on the door but it won’t budge. Don’t freak out, don’t freak out.
“Morning, Ellie.” I hear Kayne’s voice from somewhere out of sight.
“Kayne? Kayne! Let me out! Is this some kind of sick joke?”
“It’s no joke, Ellie. I’m sorry.”
“Sorry for what?” I ask confused and slightly terrified.
He shows himself. Standing in front of the steel bars, he’s dressed in black pants and a white button up shirt. His hair is a brown mess on top of his head and his blue eyes are acute. Watchful. Cunning.
“You’re mine now, Ellie.”
“What the fuck does that mean?”
“It means I have acquired you and you belong to me.”
“Like fucking hell. Let me out!”
“I will, Ellie. When you submit.”
“Fuck you,” I spit.
“Yes, we’ll be doing a lot of fucking. Don’t you worry about that.” He smiles, but the emotion doesn’t reach his eyes. “That is what you want, right? To fuck me? Isn’t that why you wore that dress and practically threw yourself at me?”
“I didn’t throw myself at you. You arrogant asshole!”
“Tomato, tomatoe. Regardless. I know you want me. And I definitely want you.” He moves closer to the cell door and I immediately back away. “You’re going to do everything I say if you want to get out of that cage.”
I stand there staring at him. Angry tears threaten my eyes.
“And what exactly do you want me to do?” I ask spitefully.
“Take your clothes off. All of them.”
“Go to hell,” I snap.
“You weren’t so opposed last night.”
“Last night I thought I was with someone sane. Not a psychopath!”
“I won’t hold it against you for being a bad judge of character.”
I shake my head. “This isn’t you.”
“It is me. There are so many things you don’t know about me, but are going to find out.” His voice is so calm, it’s eerie.
“Let me out,” I demand.
“Strip.”
“Never.”
“Suit yourself. You’ll stay in there until you’re ready. I want your submission, Ellie. And I’ll get it.”
He starts to walk away.
“Kayne!” I throw myself against the bars. “I have a family! I have a life! People will be looking for me! You can’t do this!” I scream, sobbing now, yanking on the steel door. What did I get myself into? How did this happen? Is it all my fault? Why kidnap a girl who was willing to give herself freely? I wish I could remember more of last night. When did it all go so terribly wrong?
I’VE WATCHED ELLIE WASTE AWAY for the last three days.
I’m staring at her right now on the security feed in my office. Mansion’s ground zero. Nothing happens in this house without Jett or me knowing about it. And that includes every breath Ellie takes.
“How long do you think she’s going to hold out?” Jett asks from behind me. There may be seventeen screens on the wall, but he knows exactly which one has my undivided attention.
“I don’t think much longer. I could see the desperation in her eyes this morning.”
Presently, Ellie is huddled in a ball on the bench in her cell. I know she’s cold. There’s no heat in the dungeon, and she’s only wearing that tiny, sexy-as-sin dress from Mark’s party. I also know she’s hungry too. I barely feed her.
“What if she doesn’t give in?”
“She’ll impress me.” I laugh. “But I know she will,” I respond with inflated certainty. Reading people is what I do. What I’ve been trained for. And Ellie is crumbling like a cupcake. Prisoner of war tactics: isolation, starvation, sleep deprivation. A slow dismantling of the human psyche.
“Are you sure you’re going to be able to do this? She’s not like the other girls.” Jett uses that probing tone. The one he knows I hate.
“I’ll have to, won’t I? We’ve come this far.” I rock back in my chair, hitting him square in the nuts.
“You fucker, you did that on purpose,” he grunts.
“Prove it.” I grin widely, with my eyes glued on Ellie.
I DON’T KNOW HOW LONG I’ve been in here.
What I do know is that I’m freezing and hungry and have barely slept. Kayne has visited me six times. And each time he has told me the same thing. I belong to him. I’m his property. His pet. He feeds me just enough bread and water to sustain my consciousness, but that’s it. And every time I nod off, a loud blaring siren startles me awake. I’m miserable, angry, confused, scared, and worst of all, close to giving in—because being in this dark, damp, isolated cell is making me go mad.
“Morning, Ellie.” Kayne greets me the same each time. I have no idea if it’s really morning or night. A weekday or a weekend.
I don’t respond. I just recoil tighter into my ball on the bench. That’s where I sit and attempt to sleep. A wooden bench. No pillow, or cushion or blanket. I’m shivering I’m so cold and covered in goose bumps. My tiny dress gives my body no protection against the elements.
“Are you ready to come out? I know you’re cold and hungry and dirty. I’ll take you someplace warm. More comfortable. If you agree to come out.” For all the times Kayne has come to taunt me, he has never once stepped foot inside my cell. Never once tried to touch me or hurt me. “It doesn’t have to be like this.”
I trust him about as far as I can throw him. I’m afraid of the unknown if I step out of this cage¸ and I’m afraid of the unknown if I stay in it.
“Fine,” I say feebly, finally breaking down.
“Good.” He smiles victoriously. Like he had some bet going or something. “You know what you have to do.”
“Why?” I gripe.
“Because that’s the way it is. I know this is all new. But you’ll learn. I’m going to teach you to be a good kitten.”
I look up at him. Kitten?
We stare at each other for what seems like an eternity. “Come on, Ellie. Don’t keep me waiting.”
“Are you going to hurt me?” I ask apprehensively.
“Not if you don’t make me.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means if you’re obedient and give me what I want, no harm will come to you.”
I hesitate for just a beat. Then on shaky legs, I stand. Kayne’s mouth curves into salacious smile. He knows he has me. I haven’t even removed my clothes yet and he’s already licking his lips. Asshole. I unbutton the clasp at the nape of my neck, hating this dress for what it represents. I bought it to catch Kayne’s attention. I wanted to dress as sexy and alluring as I could with high hopes he’d be attracted to me. Right now all I want is to shred the material into a million pieces. Maybe if I’d worn something different, less appealing, things would have turned out different.
I pull my arms through the sleeves, covering my breasts until the very last second. I can’t do it.
“Ellie,” Kayne urges firmly.
I take a deep breath, trembling, and then in one swift motion, like removing a Band-Aid, I slide the dress completely off. Kayne inhales, staring at me wondrously as I stand there completely naked.
“No panties, Ellie? You did want me.”
“Did being the operative word.” I try to cover my breasts with one arm and cross my legs. But in any position I am completely bare.
“That will change. By the time I’m done with you, you’ll beg to come every time you see me.”
He lifts something off the wall and it clinks. Then he opens the door.
“Come, Ellie.” It’s a command, like how you’d call a dog.
“No,” I defy him.
“Fine.” He glares irritated. “I’ll come to you. But I promise that’s the one and only time you’ll ever say no. And the one and only time I’ll ever acquiesce.” It’s a threat.
He steps inside the cell and I step back; the room feels like it’s shrinking. I bump into the wall with Kayne crowding me. He’s holding black leather things attached to chains.
“Perfect. Be a good girl and hold still.” He reaches up and secures something around my neck. A collar!