“Ouc—”
His fingers catch my lips, forcing them closed and he tsks at me. I take note of the way his irises darken like the earth does when a large cloud blocks the moon.
“You’re not very good at this, are you?”
My chest rises and falls rapidly and I fight the urge to gather the fabric and run. So much for confidence. He releases my lips but the way he stares at them doesn’t pass me by. Maybe I should be worrying about my virtue a hell of a lot sooner than I originally planned. I swallow hard. “I can do better.”
I take in his beautiful dark eyes, framed by thick, dark lashes. “I know you can, and you will. My Unfortunate needs to be perfect to appropriately represent my house.”
Electricity jolts through me as he trails an index finger under my breast, heating my flesh. I don’t know why my body is acting this way. I’m not aroused… I feel panicked and yet my nipple strains hard against the tip of his thumb as he flicks it over my sensitive tip. Biology. My body reacts the way nature intended it to. It knows there’s a man touching me and it knows what’s supposed to happen when a man gently strokes all of its sensitive spots. It doesn’t know this man doesn’t see me as his equal. It doesn’t know this man only wants one thing from my body. If it did, I’m sure my nipples would miraculously grow teeth and defend themselves. I’d rather die than willingly let a Fortunate have sex with me, and if Kade forces himself on me, I want my body to reject him, not embrace him. I subtly grit my teeth against his caress.
“In my house you will eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner. If you have any hope of keeping up with me”—his eyes flare when I visibly flinch—“you’ll need to be healthy and well nourished. You are a gift and I intend to keep you as long as possible.”
I intend to keep you as long as possible. My chest constricts.
“You’re scared?” he bites out, seemingly frustrated.
“No, sir.”
“Why are you scared?”
I wait in the silence. He asked me a direct question and I don’t know how to respond appropriately—or if I should at all. I swallow hard for the one millionth time today.
“Unfortunates aren’t allowed to eat foods other than our daily rations.”
“This is my house, I run it, and anything I say, goes.”
I nod.
“If I tell you to eat, you will eat. If I tell you to drink, you will drink. If I make any request of you, you will obey me without hesitation, do you understand?”
I try my hardest not to mumble, and fail. “Yes, sir.”
His ash gaze locks me in place and I can’t look away, even if I wanted to. There’s a warning there, like he wants to punish me for mumbling, but he lets it slide. Beginner’s luck?
“Gather your dress and go to your quarters. There’s a party in the yard in two hours and you’ll receive your brand.”
I dip low, gathering the purple fabric and pulling it up to cover my naked body. With a bow of my head, I flee from the room.
I neglected to tell Master Kade that I have no idea where my quarters are. I just needed to get out of there and away from his smoke-coloured eyes as fast as I could. Outside his bedroom, I slip back into my dress and fasten it over my shoulder. I was barely in his presence for five minutes and he’d already stripped me of my clothes—who knows what’s going to happen by lunch time?
Two hours. I have two hours to waste until my initiation into the Sario household. I have nothing to do until then and it’s not like I’m permitted to stroll about. I follow the grand staircase down to the lower level and turn down a hallway. Truth be told, I have no idea where I’m going. In the distance, I hear rattling and clashing of dishes so I follow the noise, knowing very well that it’ll lead me to more Unfortunates. Surely, they’ll help me.
∞
I stand on a pedestal, the one with the same lion from the door carved into the front of the marble. I try to ignore the large wooden table in front of me as I stand first in a line of four Unfortunates. To my left, Thirteen, the snarky redhead, and another blonde line the elegant stage. I keep my head straight, staring off into the midday sun. Master Kade’s mansion looks just as extravagant and intimidating from behind as it did from the front. Even off in the distance it strikes fear in me. Beautiful? Sure, but it’s still my prison.
Outside, I feel a little better. I look at the lush grass, perfectly trimmed hedges, and intricate sculptures made from flawless stone and I can breathe a little easier. For the few seconds I look at them, I feel free… and then my gaze settles back on the hundreds of Fortunates sitting at classy white clothed tables and the dread returns. They sit in their immaculate dresses, sipping on little thin glasses of golden liquid just watching and waiting for us to fall under their thumb.