“Will it always be like this?”
“It will be better,” Keanau promises me, his large hand slipping over my waist to cuddle me back against him. “It will get more pleasurable as you learn your body and ours.”
I half close my eyes and let myself enjoy the feeling for a moment or two. Mattias’ words come back to me. He told me this is what I was made for, that I would find satisfaction in the arms and beds of these men. Was he right? Should I simply give in to this feeling, let myself become a pampered captive?
Alexios is lying in front of me. His is the only face I can see. He smiles into my eyes as I look at him.
“I want you to let me go.”
“What do you mean?” He reaches out and caresses my cheek softly.
“My family died so I could be free of places like this. I want you to let me go. Back to the wild. Please.”
“Not a chance,” Tore snorts from the far side of the bed.
I fall silent, but the calm feeling I enjoyed is replaced with the slow burn of anger. They don’t own me. They might have bought me, but I was never the sheriff’s to sell, and now he’s dead.
“Freedom isn’t free,” Alexios says. “We can keep you safe.”
“From what?”
“From the world.”
“The last thing any of you make me feel is safe.”
There is a rumble of chuckles. I don’t know these men. These men don’t know me.
“I’m going to be free,” I tell Alexios. They can all hear me, but he is the only one looking me in the eye.
He smiles, but it is the indulgent smile a parent might give a child if the child were to declare that they intend to be a helicopter when they grow up.
“You don’t have to fight anymore,” he murmurs, those deep brown eyes lit with a warmth that makes me feel squirmy. “You have all of us to fight for you.”
“So what do I have to do? Just lie back and let you all fuck me?”
Big hands settle on my waist. Keanau flips me around to face him.
“You,” he says, his handsome, tattooed face lit with promise, “are going to have our babies. You are going to turn this place from one of death to one of life.”
There’s a knock at the door before I can respond. Mattias opens it.
“Gentlemen,” he says. “There is a matter of some urgency I suggest you attend to.”
“What is it?” Tore and Pharaoh sit up. Alexios and Keanau stay in position beside me.
“Evidently, the soldiers you spared yesterday went to the citizenry. The sheriff’s passing has been noted with some anger. There is a mob forming.”
Like that, they are all out of bed in a shot. I am left in the cooling wake of the warm spots where their bodies lay until I decide to follow them. Whatever is going on, I want to know about it.
We all go to the balcony where the sheriff used to give his speeches from. There are screens and cameras set up, so he could address thousands of people from on high. The other three mercenaries are already there, enjoying the view I suppose.
There are quite a few men milling around below. Maybe a couple thousand. Some of them are still wearing the sheriff’s guard uniforms. They are not happy. The shouting of the rabble is quite frightening, and I do not trust that these men can survive it.
“We knew this was going to be a problem,” Silver drawls. He, among them all, does not seem terribly concerned. He leans against the balcony and even gives the people below a friendly wave, which is responded to with greater howls of rage.
“Stop teasing them,” Keanau says.
“This place is fortified,” Silver points out. “They can’t do anything to us from down there.”