Total pages in book: 128
Estimated words: 127712 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 639(@200wpm)___ 511(@250wpm)___ 426(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 127712 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 639(@200wpm)___ 511(@250wpm)___ 426(@300wpm)
We say nothing on this trip.
Not a single word.
In the car, he holds my hand. Uses it to shift the gears.
On the boat, he pours one glass of champagne, dips his fingers into it, and then allows me to suck it off.
The next car is a limo and when he gets in next to me and pats his leg, I know what to do. I lie down with my cheek on his thigh and he pets me.
On the plane, I sit at his feet and he feeds me bits of strawberry.
Finally, when we arrive at the airport in New York, he gives me something new. “Please stay one pace behind me, Nova. Do you understand?”
I nod, unsure if I’m allowed to speak or not.
Patricia Mercer is waiting at the airport. She greets him the same way she did last weekend. Then they lock arms and walk away, still talking to each other.
I follow one pace behind.
They ignore me.
When we get to the limo Mercer helps his mother in, and I’m just about to get in after her, but Mercer takes off his suit coat and places it on the floor, then gets in, one leg still outside the car, and points to it. “Your position, Nova.”
My mouth drops open. He wants me to sit on the floor, at his feet, in front of his mother?
What. The actual. Fuck?
Mercer gets back out of the car, whispers to his mother, “Give me a moment,” then gently closes the door and leans in to my neck. His voice is a low, calm whisper. “This is a test, Nova. This whole night is a test. I’m not supposed to tell you that.” I’m about to ask many questions about this, but he quickly keeps going. “I will not explain anything in this moment. You will get your answers tomorrow. But for now, you need to trust me. Do you trust me, Nova?”
Do I trust him?
I mean… I was under the impression that this was just some kinky, dark sex. I’m not looking for a fucking life partner. So… no. Why would I trust him?
“You need to.” It’s like he can read my mind. “The Institute, they have expectations of you and all of these expectations involve trust. So we’re going to try this again. I’m going to get in the car, point to the floor, and you’re going to make yourself comfortable there. Are we in agreement now?”
We’re really not. But what am I going to do? My purse is with my luggage and I don’t even know where that is at the moment. In the trunk of this limo? Somewhere else? I haven’t seen it since we dropped it off with the boat staff on the island.
“I need your answer right now, Nova.” Mercer is still calm. Overly calm. Like one is when things are going sideways in public. But I can hear a little bit of stress in his voice.
I picture what this limo will look like from someone else’s point of view.
That’s a catastrophe.
It’s… kinda sick.
But he said this is a test.
For who? His mother?
“She needs to know that you trust me, Nova.”
Again, it’s like he’s reading my mind.
“Are we in agreement?”
I look up at him and nod.
“Good. Let’s try this again.”
I have two reasons for this agreement. One, what the fuck, right? He’s sucked me in. And I’m not talking about the sex, either. That, I get. This, I don’t. And I need to know more. Fucking curiosity. It’s a disease and I have all the symptoms. And two, this Patricia is something else. I’m not saying she’s not his mother, but I’m not saying she is, either.
What kind of mother would want to be anywhere near this kind of behavior?
I must know more. And if that means I humiliate myself a little bit for ten or twenty minutes, it’s a price I’m willing to pay.
Olsen’s sentiments last weekend come back to me in this moment. Don’t take your eyes off them. They’re different than us, Nova.
He was not kidding.
Mercer opens the door, gets in, leaving one leg out, and points to his suit coat still on the floor.
I crawl in and he pats his thigh. Indicating where he wants my cheek placed. Unfortunately for me, this means I will be facing Patricia. I place my head on his leg and do my best not to look at her. Mercer closes the limo door and we pull away.
They talk for a few minutes. They throw out some names, which have no meaning to me, and then they are discussing some business deal she’s involved in. Mercer is petting me this whole time, playing with my hair, rubbing his thumb over the back of my neck.
Patricia says, “She’s very pretty, Mercer, don’t you think?”
And even though she doesn’t say my name, I know she’s talking about me.