Dark Bastard: A Dark Sparrow Novel

by India Kells

  If it was a coincidence, the man was very lucky. “Must have been a wonderful opportunity for the young boy you were.”

  Near the back porch, Ellie stopped so Panem could regain his breath.

  “I was a young man when it happened. A boy wouldn’t be able to follow the training I was given and take care for Mr. Finch while he traveled.”

  At least she now knew the money wasn’t coming from Panem. “You’re a lucky man. Not many people are given such a chance at a second life.”

  Panem seemed to consider what she said. “Not a second chance at life. At life itself. I wouldn’t be alive if not for him.” The servant took another step in her direction. “I know what you’re trying to do. To establish some sort of connection, even a friendship so I’ll betray my master, or at least lower my guard. Miss, that won’t happen.”

  Ellie had realized as much but was far from ready to acknowledge it. “Mr. Panem, I spend my days alone in my room with nothing to do but read vapid magazines. Is it a surprise I’d try to establish a connection? I’m bored to death inside this castle.”

  The man didn’t seem moved the least. “You’re here to take care of the master’s son, and hopefully produce an heir.”

  The misogyny bombarding her was starting to take a toll, and the thought of a child living inside these walls only strengthened her resolve to leave. “We are in agreement. But as Sam is occupied most of the day, and until said child arrives, I remain alone and without a purpose. And it’s driving me mad.” Ellie had thrown in that last bit for good measure. As she resumed her walk, Panem followed in silence.

  The windowpanes over the building caught the sun rays, and Ellie hoped that wherever Sam was inside, he was okay and holding on.

  “I’ll speak with my master. There has to be something you can do. I’ll ask if you can have access to the house. There is a library on the second floor. If the master allows, I’ll bring you there.”

  Ellie knew better than to look victorious, instead, she summoned her most innocent look before turning to Panem. “That would be wonderful. Thank you, I really appreciate it.”

  Nothing showed on his face apart from fleeting conceit. That man was definitely a sleazeball, serving his equally slimy master. They were perfectly suited for each other, but if she could at least win small bits and pieces, maybe she could be of help to Sam.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Sam felt like his brain had been fried from processing so many unimportant things over and over again. When he’d started working at Finch’s side, it became obvious he wouldn’t have access to anything important. His father was delusional, but he wasn’t completely stupid to believe Sam had accepted his fate so easily.

  However, he had limited access to some useful tidbits. Finch had put him in charge of HR. He oversaw the salaries for most of the people Finch had working for him. There were no names, as everything was encrypted, but he now had the number of people Finch employed, and he’d also discovered some were based overseas as he could see currency exchange rates on their pay slips. His brain searched for anything useful, regardless of how small or seemingly irrelevant.

  He had to find something, anything to crack the walls of their prison. For Ellie.

  Even when Sam had to maintain an agreeable and submissive façade toward his father, the only thing that kept him sane was Ellie. The little time they spent together was enough to keep him going.

  His thoughts went to Lazarus. Sam worried he’d do something extreme and that his intervention could impact Ellie. His brother was far from impulsive, but none of them would ever stay idle when given an ultimatum.

  Time was of the essence, but how long could they keep going? They were reaching the two-week mark since they’d been locked in this manor, and Sam could see the impact it was having on Ellie. Over the last few days, he’d felt a drop in Ellie’s energy. When they went to bed, she fell asleep in his arms in a matter of minutes. He’d discreetly checked her temperature, but it appeared normal. Another thing that made him wonder what was going on were the small scratches and discolorations on her hands. Taking a peek when she was in the shower, he noticed her knees were also red and slightly swollen.

  Sam worried, but when he brought it up, Ellie only said she’d fallen as she got out of the bath a few days before, which was an obvious lie, but he decided not to push after seeing her weariness.

  “Nice work, my son.” Lost in thought, Sam almost jumped when Finch moved behind him, putting a hand on his shoulder. “You’re a lifesaver organizing those spreadsheets.”

  “Anything I can do to help, Father.”

  “I appreciate it. Now, I have a few calls to make. Why don’t you go find us something to eat? I know it’s too early for the cook, but maybe there’s something edible in the kitchen for lunch?”

  It was unusual for Finch to send him away like that. Normally, he went to the other office for private conversations and made sure food was brought up by Panem.

  “Anything specific you’d like?” Even if he silently wished for it, Sam doubted that poison would be on the menu.

  Finch was already heading for the other door when he waved at him dismissively. “Anything will do.”

  Sam pushed away from his desk, happy for the break, and especially at not having to breathe the same air as Finch for a few minutes.

  Once in the hallway, he hesitated over whether to go and see Ellie for a couple of minutes but decided against it. The couple of times he’d wanted to see her during lunch, Finch had shut him down, saying that he was better staying where he was, and that he could fuck her to his heart’s content at night.

  Just having his father see Ellie that way played with his patience like nothing else. Finch saw women as second-class citizens, and it was a blessing he’d never had any daughters. Sam shivered over the thought of how he could’ve damaged an innocent little girl.

  Not wanting to draw attention to himself or Ellie, Sam headed to the kitchen.

  As expected, Panem was already there, which wasn’t a surprise as the man was always lurking near a door or around the corner. Sam had got used to sensing him, like an uneasy feeling creeping up in the back of your neck. The servant may be good, but Sam was better.

  “I didn’t know my father had already asked you to bring us lunch.”

  Panem frowned. “He hasn’t. I was preparing something for our other guest as she will come and eat here when she’s finished.”

  Sam wanted to scream at him that she had a name, but maybe it was better if he didn’t say it. Ellie’s little finger was worth more than this man’s life. It took him an extra second to register the rest of his sentence. “Finish what?” Ellie hadn’t been allowed to leave their room, except for a quick stroll outside accompanied by Panem.

  “The guest wanted to have something to do while you were working with Mr. Finch. I conveyed her request and Mr. Finch found her something appropriate to do. I agree that everybody in this house should pull their weight.”

  Apprehension grabbed at Sam, but he knew better than to show it and even if it tasted nasty in his mouth, he agreed with the insect of a man. “Totally right. However, as I don’t talk with the woman, I don’t know what was decided.”

  Panem seemed to approve his tone, and even gloated a little. “My thoughts exactly. Mr. Finch decided on a safe task for her. In the last few days, she’s improved in the quality of her work. You can see for yourself. Just take the side door toward the employees’ quarters.”

  Sam forgot all about food and almost sprinted through the side door.

  His mind went blank until he detected a faint feminine voice humming a tune.

  Behind an open door, Sam stopped in his tracks. Ellie was on her knees, in some sort of cleaning crew uniform, scrubbing the tiles. By the look of the water in the bucket, the place must have been beyond disgusting before she started.

  “What are you doing?”

  With a strident yelp, Ellie jumped in the small space before she saw him. “Dammit, Sam! You scared me!”<
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  It wasn’t his intent, but he was too furious to realize he was snarling at the woman.

  “What are you doing here?” Red edged his vision, and he couldn’t remember the last time he was so close to losing it. However, seeing her on her knees, something swirled inside him, dark and hungry, something he didn’t recognize.

  Fury mixed with lust, and Sam had images of Ellie on her knees before him, licking and sucking him, pleasuring him until he spilled in her mouth.

  The change in atmosphere was undeniable, and Ellie shifted, inching forward, her pupils dilated, licking her lips. Blood rushed to his cock, and he was about to reach for her when he caught a noise behind him.

  “Ah, my son. I thought I’d lost you. But I see you made a detour.” Finch filled the last space in the bathroom. Ellie shuffled away until she was against the wall, and Sam tensed, ready to intervene if necessary. “Panem has found the perfect job for your restless Ellie, don’t you think?”

  The entire situation went against everything Sam believed in, but with Finch waiting for his answer, he had to keep in character. “You found the perfect task for a woman, Father. I couldn’t have found a better job for her. But just make sure she’s not too tired at night. Lately, she’s been falling asleep way too soon for my needs.”

  Finch laughed and winked at him. “No problem, son. Just let Panem know. And don’t be long, we’re far from done for the day.”

  With one last lurid look at Ellie, Finch disappeared, but Sam waited until he couldn’t hear his steps, and added a good ten seconds to make sure he got himself under control.

  Ellie scrambled up, keeping her voice just above a murmur. “Let me explain. There’s a reason why...”

  With his control frayed and time short, explanations definitely had to wait.

  Instead, he pulled her roughly against him and swallowed her cry of surprise. There was nothing soft or considerate in the kiss which edged on brutality. And even as Ellie melted into him, Sam gathered all his self-control to gently push her away before the remnants of his control completely vanished.

  “You’re right, we’re going to talk about this. And you better have a fucking great explanation.”

  Not trusting himself any longer, Sam left, turning his back on Ellie. He didn’t know why seeing her lowering herself for Finch made Sam want to tear his father apart. And his sudden desire to possess her while she was on her knees shook him. Sam had always made sure he was different from Finch, and for one moment in that bathroom, he’d felt himself sliding into that void. Ellie deserved better; she deserved to have her freedom back, not a man who’d take her like she was a mere maid inside a bathroom.

  As he went back to Finch’s office, Sam felt the urgency to escape their current situation, not only to protect Ellie, but because he feared that even though he was fighting it, his father’s poison was dragging him down, and he had no chance of escaping it.

  Chapter Seventeen

  With a sigh, Ellie got out of her hot bath. For the first time in several days, her muscles didn’t scream as loudly, and tiredness wasn’t her main focus when she returned to the bedroom.

  Maybe she was getting used to the physical work, or maybe it was because she’d been told to stop scrubbing earlier than usual.

  Even as her body had relaxed, her brain had been whirling at full speed since Sam had discovered her. As if her thoughts had conjured him, the door to the suite slammed shut.

  It was too early for Sam to be back and Ellie jumped into action, wrapping an oversized towel around her body before rushing out of the bathroom.

  Seeing Sam reassured her, but only until she noticed his face. Closed off and angry, he’d obviously gone to the home gym and was in his sports gear and dripping with sweat, his suit and shirt in his hand.

  Ellie went to him, but Sam evaded her hand. “Not now.” He threw the bundle of clothes in the corner before heading to the bathroom.

  “Sam...”

  “I said not now!” His shout stopped her in her tracks, not from fear, but from surprise as the bathroom door slammed shut in her face.

  She hadn’t known Sam Sarkhan for long, but such an explosion was completely new. Even when he’d tried to push her away, he’d done so with a stern and cold resolution and not the volatile anger she saw on her face.

  Her reaction was unusual, and it pissed her off, which was even more surprising a reaction for her. From the moment Ellie had been caught in this situation, she’d tried to keep it together, to find a way to contribute and survive despite battling her own demons. She may have a deep compassion for what he’d suffered, but no way would he treat her like that. And he wasn’t the only one who had something to say.

  Steam had filled the bathroom quickly, and Ellie almost stumbled on the sports gear strewn over the tiles. But what stopped her forward momentum was the male form she could detect through the fogged glass of the shower stall.

  She clearly remembered how Sam looked; virile, muscled, with a wealth of golden skin that made her mouth water. It would be so easy to lose herself in the memory of his clever mouth and busy hands, but she wouldn’t be sidetracked.

  “You have no right to push me aside like that. You might be angry at me, but you can’t dismiss me without hearing what I have to say.”

  The form behind the glass stilled, his voice deep and menacing. “I said not now, Ellie.”

  “Too bad for you, because I’m not stopping and now you have to listen.”

  All she could see was Sam, immobile, his arms on the wall, his head bowed under the spray.

  “I don’t need your anger or dismissal. You’re in an untenable situation, one that brings back memories from the worst time in your life, but remember that I’m here too, right beside you.” His silence pushed her to continue. “I’m scared but I don’t want to shut down. It would be so easy for me to return to the state I was in when we first spoke. Even if our chances aren’t good, I want to fight. That’s why I asked Panem to give me something to do. Anything so I could get out of this room, because I knew I had a better chance of finding something, anything, to help you if I’m not locked up twiddling my thumbs all day long.”

  Sam sighed, and it encouraged Ellie to move forward, close to the stall. Mimicking his pose, she pressed her palms against the glass. “My sacrifice is insignificant compared to yours. I don’t mind cleaning bathrooms or polishing floors, even for Jamieson Finch, if it means I have the opportunity to get my hands on useful information for you. I’ve done worse jobs before. And Finch likes to see a woman on her knees at his feet, so it might be useful.”

  With a loud shout, Sam slammed his fist into the tiles in front of him, his shoulders hunching even more. Ellie found herself inside the shower before she could think. The moment her hand touched his back, he exploded, and in a blur, Ellie found herself shoved against the wall, part of the water cascading over her, soaking her towel.

  Caught against the unyielding man keeping her in place, she could see Sam was close to losing it. “Why are you pushing me? Can’t you see that I don’t want to hurt you?”

  The pain in his voice sliced her deep. “You’ll never hurt me, Sam. I know that.”

  Desperation was all over his face. “You don’t understand. When I saw you in that bathroom on your knees, I was furious. Angry at Panem and Finch for making you do that work, looking down on you as if you were dirt under their feet and less than nothing to them.”

  Ellie wanted to reassure him, tell him that she wouldn’t take notice of those men, let them decide or define who she was, but Sam rushed to get everything out. “And even though all I wanted was to grab you and get you out of there, seeing you on your knees in front of me, it almost undid me. I felt no better than Finch. How could I want to fuck you so bad in that degrading situation? It was unacceptable.”

  When he shook his head, his breathing labored, Ellie started to understand what was torturing him. “I want you too, Sam. There is nothing wrong with it.”

  “Not like that! I wanted
to use you, take you with no care to you or your pleasure. Like a fucking beast, I thought how you’d service me, and I felt like a god. It scared me and reminded me that half my DNA is from a monster.”

  Sam lessened his hold, probably expecting her to run from him screaming. They still had much to learn from each other. Not only did she see Sam as a good man, one fighting his own demons, but he was a protector deep down. He was so strong but he still doubted himself.

  It was the man, even with his different sides battling inside him that attracted Ellie. The light and the dark, the soft and the hard, all of those made her stomach clench and her sex pulse.

  Ellie undid her towel and slung it away, never breaking eye contact with Sam who was trembling like a wild horse from holding himself back.

  When she lowered herself, making sure to slide her wet body against his, it was clear he was as aroused as she was. A half sigh, half groan escaped his lips when she wrapped her fingers around his erection. “What if I want to serve you, Sam? What if I like giving you pleasure and I enjoy your rough hands on me?”

  Her tongue flicked over the tip of his bulbous head, and she felt blood rushing in the thickening member. Encouraged by his accelerated breathing, she shifted on her knees, ignoring the discomfort of the hard tiles and focused instead on her own arousal and the expectant man before her.

  One hand went to her head as she lavished his length, tracing every ridge and vein. Only then did his hand relax, slowly caressing her wet mane until his fingers loosely grabbed the strands and flexed when she opened her mouth and stopped her teasing by taking him deep.

  “Fuck! Shit!”

  His voice was so raw it sent a thrill down her spine. When his hold tightened, Ellie felt arcs of electricity going from her clit to her nipples but refrained from touching them, wanting only to focus on Sam.

  A glance up confirmed that all his attention was on her as water sluiced down his torso and stomach, droplets catching on the dark hairs on his chest. His black hair was messed up, giving him an untamed, dangerous look she’d never forget, and would never get enough of.