Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 64751 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 324(@200wpm)___ 259(@250wpm)___ 216(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 64751 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 324(@200wpm)___ 259(@250wpm)___ 216(@300wpm)
I’m woken to the sound of voices, and I stir from my uncomfortable spot on the ground, the grass itching my skin. Groaning, I roll to my side and see Ellie sitting up in her cage, staring up at someone. I focus my gaze, but don’t sit up. Instead, I watch as Marek looks over her, his eyes focused on hers, the two of them locked in some kind of battle.
“I can starve you, and the perfect dancer’s body will be forever tarnished,” he murmurs, his voice a low hum in the darkness.
His accent is strong, and if you closed your eyes and listened to him speak, you would be swept away with fantasy of that voice speaking to you as he fucked you. The problem is, when you open your eyes, you see the stone-cold glare he offers, and very quickly his stunning looks make your stomach turn with fear and confusion. He has the ability to cripple you with one, single glance.
“Go ahead,” Ellie responds, her voice strong and unwavering. “I’ll be no good to you if I’m too thin. Nobody will pay to watch that. Try harder, Master.”
Master?
He bares his teeth at her, a silent warning.
“I will find a way to break you, mark my words, and when I do, you will kneel before me and beg for your life.”
Ellie laughs, the sound bitter and cold. “If that’s what helps you sleep at night.”
She’s catching him off guard, and it’s rather thrilling to see. Something about her has him reconsidering all his tactics, and because of that, he is left to try and come up with something that will work. What will he use to get her to give him what he wants?
Her family?
A loved one?
Maybe a child?
I don’t know, but I’m certain Marek is the kind to get creative.
Ellie, however, is the kind to fight through it all.
“You will yield, Ellie Mae.”
His use of her full name has my skin prickling. The way it rolls off his tongue is equal parts captivating and terrifying.
“We shall see,” Ellie murmurs, then turns and lies on the ground, turning her back to him.
His eyes swing to me, and he catches me watching.
“Have you got a question, Alexis?”
I push up into a sitting position, studying him. “Yeah, actually. Why?”
“Why not?”
Pursing my lips, I glance at Ellie who has lifted her head and is looking over at me.
“Why, instead of tormenting women, don’t you treat them nicely? I’m certain you would get far more interest.”
He smiles, and lord, it sends ice through my veins. “Because those women don’t deserve kindness.”
“Who are you, God?”
“I’m as close as you’ll find.”
Cocky. Arrogant. Dick.
“Come, Alexis. Let me show you.”
I shake my head, but he’s already raising a hand. A guard is there almost immediately, tall and well built, he unlocks the cage and hauls me out. I press a hand over my stomach, as if that would do anything to protect it from these people. I nearly lose my footing more than once, but I manage to keep up as they take me out of the tent and into the main one, where there are five or six girls practicing.
We come to a stop, and I can’t help but tip my head back and look up at a woman who is flying across the roof, hanging on only by a small rope, and seeing her body move so effortlessly makes it hard to look away. The way her body twists and turns, flips and soars, is absolutely mind blowing.
“That is Olivia,” Marek murmurs, so close to my ear instant chills run down my spine. “She was collected from the streets after leaving her child in a bathroom for three days while she went out to get her fix. Now, she is a star. She is clean, and if she does as she is told, she has somewhere to sleep at night that isn’t the streets.”
“Oh, you mean a cage?” I mutter.
“Only the rebellious find themselves in those cages. Eventually, they learn.”
I grit my teeth.
Part of me kind of gets it, but at the same time I don’t think taking someone from a bad life and punishing them makes you any better of a person. He thinks, somehow, he is doing something good, but all he is doing is giving himself a god complex. A way to feel as though he is powerful. It’s all an act for him, and to everyone else around, for that matter.
“Pay attention,” Marek tells me, and my eyes can’t help but follow Olivia as she swings across the open tent.
She is incredible.
“How did she learn to do that?”
I can’t help it; I need to know how someone who came off the streets can now do something so ... elegant and beautiful. It’s not like we all have that talent, because we certainly don’t.