Total pages in book: 129
Estimated words: 130048 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 650(@200wpm)___ 520(@250wpm)___ 433(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 130048 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 650(@200wpm)___ 520(@250wpm)___ 433(@300wpm)
What if I spend the rest of my life being raped—
Oh God.
I choked.
Easy, Il.
Breathe.
Just breathe.
My vision turned dark on the edges as I struggled not to give in to another panic attack. As far as I was concerned, the one in the library was my first and last. I couldn’t afford to give in to misery. Couldn’t cry around Henri again. Couldn’t let myself plummet into an abyss of despair.
Henri.
My chest squeezed as my bruised ass pressed against the pole. He’d struck me. He’d delivered agony that I’d never forget. I’d gone my entire life without any form of punishment or abuse and now my body sang with it.
Tears burned my eyes again.
Henri’s gaze snapped to mine, locking onto whatever wet glimmer appeared.
Swallowing hard, I forced them back.
I let my mind drift as more and more men filed into the quaint glade, some with drinks, others with slaves, all of them ready for a show. Henri spoke to a few of them as thoughts of my wonderfully sensitive brother smothered me. He would’ve snapped in this place with so many emotions flying around.
Lust and despair, desire and dread, ruler and enslaved.
Krish could feel emotions like an old woman could feel weather changes in her arthritic bones. He’d been labelled by doctors and psychiatrists as on the spectrum and strange. I’d lost count how many times he’d been told he was this and that and broken.
I hated them for that.
Hated that they diminished him to a condition and tried to sell us a false cure.
He wasn’t strange; he was wonderful and incredible and far more in-tune than the rest of us—tapping into a part of his awareness that made this world far too bright and noisy for him.
Closing my eyes, I blocked out the men, fountain, and glade as I tried to sink past racing thoughts and find peaceful quietness instead.
I might’ve given up pieces of myself for Sam, but I would find those pieces again…somehow. I would find a way to be free from this place, even if it was just in my head.
Henri’s deep laughter cut through my concentration, ripping my eyes open.
My chest swelled with determination.
I’d been tasked to help him bring this perverted palace down.
I wouldn’t fail on our first test.
Victor broke ranks from the milling men, moving to stand on the small bridge over the moat. Someone had given him a tumbler full of ice and amber alcohol.
Taking a sip, he smirked in my direction, then tapped the glass with his fingernails to get everyone’s attention.
“Gentlemen. Friends. Welcome.”
Voices faded. Bodies turned to face me and Victor. He stood proud and cocky with his black shirt cuffs rolled up and greying blond hair slicked back. He was handsome…if it wasn’t for his putrid soul.
Henri avoided my eyes as a few more men appeared from behind the sparrow hedge and joined the crowd.
Grinning at his equally putrid guests, Victor toasted them with his drink. “You may have noticed we have a new friend in our midst.” Arching his chin at Henri, he said, “Depending on how the rest of this weekend goes, Henri may or may not be a permanent addition to our exclusive little family.”
Some men threw him a smile, others a scowl.
Henri ignored all of them just like he ignored me.
“We also have a new jewel.” Victor turned to face me, raising his glass in a mocking salute. “Selected by Henri, baited by Henri, and trapped by Henri, she is, of course, Henri’s until Sunday night.”
A splattering of dissent before Victor chuckled and held up his hand. “I know you’re all eager to try my new jewel, and I must admit, I’m eager too. As you know, some of you are part owners of those jewels that sparkle just a little bit brighter, so it should come as no surprise that Ily has already had interest in such an arrangement.”
The energy of the crowd billowed with intrigue.
My stomach churned as a few men stepped forward and raised their hands. “I would like to register my interest.”
“Me too.”
“Yep, me as well.”
“I’m in.”
Henri’s shoulders tensed. His lips thinned.
Victor nodded as each man stepped forward. “I expected there would be a few of you. That’s why I’ve decided to make this a public offering.”
“A what now?” Henri’s eyes snapped up, locking on Victor. “But you said—”
“I said I’m open to part ownership. And that I might give you that right. I didn’t say it was a done deal now, did I?”
Balling his hands, Henri wisely didn’t speak.
Roland, the large-bellied bastard who’d travelled with us from France, appeared. He smirked at Victor, nodding just once.
What was that look?
Victor grinned. “A friend had a suggestion last night that Ily’s uniqueness—her special interests and fierce intelligence—are not to be squandered. Apparently, I’ve managed to collect a rare gem indeed, so…let’s see just how rare, shall we?”