“I’m sorry,” she says, her voice thick with emotion. “So sorry, sir.”
“Fucking stunning,” Tomas repeats. “I’m jealous she’s under your charge, Aleks.”
His voice is thick with arousal, like he’s stroking himself off in the shower, and I fucking hate him. “You know, she doesn’t seem too subdued. Ask her if she likes to be punished, Aleks.”
My voice shaking with fury, I address her. “Do you, slave? Do you like to be punished?”
Her eyes close and she whispers a brutally honest, “Sometimes, sir.” Her answer surprises me.
Sometimes?
Tomas chuckles. “Good answer, little slave,” he says. “I’d love a chance to make that always.”
Oh he fucking will not. There is no fucking way I’m letting him touch her.
“I like that one,” he repeats. “There’s something unique about her.”
Unique? She’s fucking one of a kind, her worth beyond anyone who’s ever stepped foot on this earth before and ever will again.
“I’ll be sure to train her well,” I say through clenched teeth. It’s the best I can do under the circumstances. I briefly consider where we are in the ocean, and if it’s at all feasible to leap off this ship with her strapped to my back and swim to a distant island. It’s as likely as waving a magic wand and transforming into a unicorn.
“Keep me updated,” he says. “I want pictures. Well done, brothers. I’m pleased with your choices and how you’ve followed instructions.”
My eyes are on Marissa, making sure she doesn’t step another toe out of line. I’m so distracted that I almost don’t hear what Tomas says next.
“You’ve done so well, brothers, I’d like to give you another task. This one both a reward and an instruction.”
My spine goes rigid. “You’ve purchased virgins and you’ve chosen well. You may have the privilege of breaking them in before you offer them to the brotherhood.” He sobers. “Take their virginity before you return. It’s the only privilege I’ll grant.”
Erik hangs up the phone and slides it into his pocket, grinning.
At first, I don’t understand why a leader like him would grant that “privilege.” Wouldn’t he want them untainted when brought before the brotherhood? But no, that isn’t his ultimate purpose. He wanted to be sure we had what it took to acquire them, and he intends on using them.
I look at the wide-eyed women standing before us. The blonde is breathing heavily, as if to steady her nerves. The woman in the middle fidgets but doesn’t say a word. Marissa stares at the floor as if looking into the distance, detached from where she is and what she’s doing.
“You’ll each keep your own woman for the night,” I tell them. I steel myself for what has to happen next. “You heard what he said. Be sure they’re properly trained for our arrival in Boston.”
Erik snaps the leash back on the collar of the woman he purchased, who follows him with her head bowed. Yakov snaps his fingers at the blonde and beckons her to come. Marissa stares at me, bewildered.
“Stay,” I tell her. “Do not move until I tell you.” Something flashes through her eyes.
She’d better not fucking recognize me now. The timing would be fucking brutal.
I have no doubt that if they hadn’t fucked with her mind, she’d have recognized me by now, but the combination of my different appearance, our circumstance, and the abuse she’s suffered have affected her perception. Soon, though, I have hope that the cloud of deception will disappear, and she’ll recognize me.
The way she’s looking at me now, though, I’m afraid she’s going to say something that risks us both.
She opens her mouth to say something, and I snap my fingers at her. “No talking,” I command, so harshly she flinches. Erik and Yakov have already begun to leave when she takes a step closer to me, defying my instruction to stay.
“What did I tell you?”
She halts at the harsh tone of my voice.
I hate the idea of punishing her. Of “training” her. I hate that other men have hurt my woman. But Khristos, if any one of them suspects who we really are, she will be taken back into their custody and I’ll be ripped from her grasp forever.
Erik raises a brow at me. Questioning if I’ve got the balls to train this woman. Yakov looks at me in solidarity, then shoots her a stern look as if to silently warn her to obey. Then they’re gone, but their rooms are on either side of mine. They’ll hear everything.
I have to keep our cover, even if it kills me.
She doesn’t know me as Nicolai, but she knows me as master.
It’s where I’ll have to begin.Chapter 13Marissa
I feel like I’m walking in a dream or a nightmare or something. I’m not sure which it is, but there’s an element of the surreal about this I can’t shake. It terrifies me. The only comfort I’ve known in my captivity has been the anonymity of obedience. If I make a move out of place, I draw attention to myself, and I learned quickly that moving a toe out of line would bring about disastrous results.