“Are the other ocelots going to be there?” I asked.
“Sir Kenosi invites only the most honored guests to these dinners,” she said.
About fucking time. I had obeyed and played along, and they were rewarding me at last. I couldn’t wait to see my sister and get the hell out of this creepy place.
May sighed. “I won’t be there. I have to wait ten whole months until I’m in favor again. But you met July. It’s her month, so she’ll be allowed to attend. You’re so lucky to be going.”
She looked genuinely downcast as she sank onto the couch. I didn’t know what to think of this weird attachment to Kenosi—maybe he’d used the amulets on them the way Father used them on women to make them fall in love. I slid into the dress, a slinky red thing with a slit all the way to the apex of my thighs, the bodice fitted and so low I was in serious danger of falling out of the top every time I moved.
“I can’t wear this ridiculous thing,” I yelled.
The door opened, and May stuck her head in. “You look amazing,” she gushed, coming in to circle me and rearrange my hair. “You’re so beautiful, Your Majesty.”
“Unless everyone wants to see my nipples in the middle of dinner, I’m going to need a bigger dress.”
“Nonsense,” she crowed, giggling and slapping my arm. “You look perfect. Sir Kenosi knows your exact size. He sent what you’re to wear.”
“He better not be making my sister wear this shit,” I said with a sigh, stepping into the heels that he’d delivered. They fit exactly, and I had to wonder how he knew my exact measurements. I didn’t even want to think about what had happened while I’d been knocked out from the drugs. I would be having some words with Sir Kenosi about that, too.
“Okay, where is this guy?” I said, stomping out of the bathroom. “I’m ready.”
“You look every inch a queen,” May said, and I could have sworn she almost looked teary with joy as she escorted me to the elevator. We stepped inside the glass cubicle, and she pressed her thumb to the little square that activated the elevator. The car dropped to the third floor, where May stepped out of the car and gestured for me to follow. At last, we stepped out into a long hallway that opened into a huge dining room at the end. I could see a long table backed by a wall of glass that showed the sun setting over the city below.
May grabbed my arm and squeezed. “I’ll be waiting if you need me,” she said. “Just come back to the lobby.”
Before I could ask what she’d be doing in the lobby all evening, she’d stepped back into the elevator. I gathered as much dignity as I could muster while dressed like a hooker and marched down the hall to give Kenosi a serious ass-kicking.
When I stepped into the dining room, every head turned my way. A dozen girls stood around chatting, each of them wearing a designer dress that left as little to the imagination as mine. Apparently, my nipples weren’t the only ones on the menu at this dinner.
“Your Grace,” July said, gliding over and curtsying before me. “Let me escort you to your seat.”
The long mahogany table was set with elegant tapered candles in gold candleholders, and a glittering crystal chandelier hung overhead, casting a soft glow over the silk napkins and silver cutlery at each place setting.
“Have you seen my sister?” I asked, a sinking feeling in my stomach. Even if Camila showed up, it was obvious this was a women’s only dinner—except for the tall guy swaggering in wearing a cheetah fur coat and a pair of sunglasses, gold chains draped around his neck. For a second, I thought this must be a pimp coming to hire us out as whores, or a cheesy rapper come to entertain us. Only when he swaggered to the head of the table did I realize it was Kenosi in yet another one of his disguises.
“I see that my favorites all made it to dinner,” he said, sinking into his chair and spreading his arms in a welcoming gesture.
“Yeah, I’m thinking a couple of them are missing,” I said. “I was supposed to be meeting up with my party here.”
“Oh, come now,” he said, smirking at me with those full lips. “I can’t have everyone in your procession join us for every meal. Trust me, this one is fit only for the future queen.”
I opened my mouth, the words halfway out before I realized what he’d said and quickly swallowed them. Everything clicked into place. Why he was interested in me. Why everyone was bowing to me like I was important. He thought I was the heir. I’d played lots of roles as the daughter of the Ocelot King—flirt, ditz, distraction. Tonight, I had a new role to play. If I wanted to protect her from his attentions, tonight I had to be Camila.
Fifteen
As the girls began to find places around the table, Kenosi patted the spot beside him, a grin on his face as he waited for me to obey. Trying to carry myself like a queen, I took the spot next to him. Maybe I could play the part well enough to get my own “servants” back.
“I’m glad you came around,” Kenosi said from inside his disguise. I wondered which was the real Kenosi—the violent soldier, the chic billionaire, or the gaudy rapper.
“I’m sorry I can’t say the feeling is mutual,” I said, giving him my most poised smile.
“Your tits look hot in that dress,” he said. “Glad it fits.”
“I’m glad you felt at liberty to molest me while I was passed out,” I said. “I’ve seen lots of gossip about you in the tabloids, but no one mentioned you were basically a necrophiliac.”
“I’m not picky,” he said. “If the pussy’s warm, I’ll fuck it.”
“That sounds more like what I’ve read in the tabloids,” I said, trying not to show my distaste. My decision to play Camila tonight had obviously been the right one. If she thought Lord Balam was crass, she couldn’t have handled this asshole. I would probably pay for my deception later, but I was sure as hell going to keep it up as long as I could and hope I could get Camila out of here before he discovered she was the real princess.
“Bring in the quail,” Sir Kenosi said, speaking over my head. I turned to see two men in white uniforms standing inside the doorway. When they stepped out, I could see four guards standing outside. I would definitely not be escaping this dinner. I’d just have to put on my big girl panties and pretend I was hanging out with Tadeu and his rough-talking friends at a tavern in the Ocelot Nation. Renewing my determination, I smiled at the server as he entered with a tray set with covered plates of food. My mouth was already watering. I hadn’t eaten since they took me off the IV, and the sizzling meat smelled amazing.
“Not her,” Kenosi said, flicking his fingers to motion the server away when he stepped up beside me. “She’s got some debts to pay before she eats at my table.”
“What?” I asked, whirling toward him. “You expect me to sit here and starve while you eat?”
He smirked, his eyes falling to my ample cleavage. “You don’t look like you’re starving.”
My hands tightened into fists, and to my horror, pressure built behind my eyes. Fuck if I’d let this guy make me cry. But damn, that food smelled good enough to cry over. The server set down a plate beside Sir Kenosi and lifted the top off. Not just quail—it was wrapped in bacon. A bundle of grilled asparagus shoots, and creamy mashed potatoes, yellow with butter, the red skins still on. I nearly groaned at the aroma of food all around as the other girls received their food. My stomach twisted, and I pushed my fists into it, determined not to let him know I was even the slightest bit hungry.
“And I thought my father was the monster,” I said as Sir Kenosi sliced a delicate bite of quail off with his steak knife. A server tipped wine into our glasses, including mine, but Kenosi didn’t seem to notice. His eyes were fixed on me.
“You think I’m a monster?” he asked.
I raised my chin and met his eyes. “Yes.”
He quirked an eyebrow. “Yes, Sir?”
“Yes, Sir,” I said, smirking to show him how ridiculous I found the request to call him that.
“Then it’s a good thing I don’t run the country.” He lifted his glass and
turned to the rest of the table. “Tell the princess what a monster I am.”
“Oh, no, Kenosi,” said July. “I’m sure she doesn’t mean it.”
Another girl giggled around a bite of asparagus. “She’s just playing hard to get.”
“Fuck that,” I said. “I’m not playing anything. You’re the one playing this sick game of his. What’s he doing—brainwashing you? I bet every single one of you has the same name.”
They looked around at each other, their eyes widening like they’d never noticed that he named them all according to when he wanted to see their faces, and presumably ignored them the rest of the year.
“No one’s forcing anyone to do anything she doesn’t want to do,” Kenosi said. “No one’s a prisoner here.”
“I’m a prisoner,” I said, throwing up my hands.
“You’re working for your keep the same way as anyone else. There are no spoiled princesses here. Everyone works.”
“Yeah, well, I’m not a sex worker.” I picked up my glass and downed the wine in four big gulps before he could take it away. I needed the energy after not eating all day. If all I could get was wine, it was better than nothing.
“We all do whatever work needs to be done,” Sir Kenosi said. “Your father obviously didn’t hire the right tutors for you. Everyone should learn this lesson, Your Grace. A queen must do what needs to be done for her country.”
“And what needs to be done for my country is sucking your dick?”
“Right now?” he asked, quirking an eyebrow. “Yes.”
“Fuck you, Kenosi,” I said, grabbing a quail off the plate beside my empty place setting with my bare hand. The July sitting there gasped, watching in horror as I snatched up my steak knife, gripping it in my other hand in case Kenosi attacked. It wasn’t going to kill him, but it would hurt like hell until he healed himself.
He tensed as if about to lunge, watching me with unflinching intensity. I raised the quail to my mouth and took a bite.
I chewed slowly, smiling at Kenosi as juices from the meat dribbled down my chin. He looked disgusted. I was glad. Let the bastard think I was pig like him. He’d probably eaten like a normal person all day, and here he was, gloating and stuffing his face while I was nearly faint with hunger. I ripped the bacon off the bird with my teeth, savoring it as I chewed.
Kenosi’s eyes flicked to the door, and a second later, I was seized from behind, the guard’s strong hands yanking me backward. The chair crashed to the floor, and I flailed wildly as they dragged me toward the door. I didn’t care how undignified I looked as I slashed with a steak knife with one hand and stuffed meat into my mouth with the other. Fuck all these people, and fuck what they thought of me. They had no idea what I’d already been through. A little humiliation was par for the course. I’d spent most of my life being humiliated. It was nothing after watching the love of my life having his head ripped off by a tiger.
“Let me go,” I growled, slashing at the guard’s leg with the knife.
He yelped in pain, grabbing for my hand. Crushing my fist in his palm, he stumbled back, trying to get my limbs under control. Another guard ran to help, but I managed to get in one good kick with my heel before he subdued my legs. They hauled me into the elevator, still kicking and cursing. I didn’t stop until they flung me out the door into my room.
When they were gone, I stood and smoothed my satin dress. It was the only thing I owned besides a robe and slippers. I had a steak knife to defend myself, a quail bone to gnaw, and a belly full of wine and a few strips of bacon I’d gotten down before they seized me. The wine on an empty stomach made me a little tipsy, but I was happy for the calories. I was not going to starve tonight.
I lay down on top of the feather-soft bed and tried to think up an escape plan. The room was ten stories up, so there was no way I could jump out the window unless I wanted to die. The elevator wouldn’t work for me, and there were no other doors. But I had the small knife now, and there were plenty of people who came to the room by the elevator. If I could hold the knife to May’s back and get her to take me downstairs without the camera seeing the knife, maybe I could escape. I just had to get her at the right moment, just as she left the elevator, when the camera couldn’t see her.
I pulled a chair over and settled in to wait.
Half an hour later, I heard the elevator moving behind the doors. I straightened, clutching the knife next to my hip. This was it. My chance.
The door slicked open, and Sir Kenosi strode out. That sucked for him, but I wasn’t about to waste my chance. If he’d come up here, it wasn’t for anything good. I dove for him, holding the knife close to my body until I was on him and raising it to strike.
He moved so fast I didn’t even see the motion until the next second when my knife was skittering across the floor, and Kenosi loomed over me, my hands pinned in his grip. He smirked down at me, holding me close enough that I could inhale his spicy scent and see the flecks of gold in his deep brown eyes. “Lesson number three of the day,” he said, his voice an amused purr. “Never try to sneak up on a cheetah.”
“Let me go,” I growled, yanking at my hands.
“You think you can kill me with a steak knife you stole from my table at dinner,” he said. “Frankly, I’m offended that you don’t think me a more worthy opponent.”
“I wasn’t trying to kill you,” I said, still trying to pry my hands loose.
“You aren’t doing very well,” Sir Kenosi said, his grip tightening until my bones ached. “I expected a worthy opponent, too. Not a spoiled little girl who can’t see beyond her own nose.”
“Excuse me?” I said, giving up my struggle to free myself. “That’s a little ironic coming from a guy with a new harem of women at his disposal every month.”
“I was hoping you’d pick this up on your own, but since you’re obviously not smart enough to figure it out, let me enlighten you,” he said. “This is a test. Every step you take in my home, in my kingdom, is a test. And you’re failing in spectacular fashion.”
“Fuck your test,” I said. “I didn’t agree to any of this.”]
“I think you did,” he said, stroking my hair back with his free hand, cradling the back of my head and pulling me closer, so I had to look up to maintain eye contact. “You went on your Royal Amulet Tour, didn’t you? Isn’t that what you’re doing here? That’s what your father said.”
“Yes, but—.”
“Sir.”
I gritted my teeth. “Yes, Sir. But—”
“But nothing,” he purred, pulling my hands against the front of his pants. “You came to our territory, and we cared for you. You want our mating amulet. You perform, and you get what you want. Did you think you’d just walk in and ask nicely?”
“The king invited us,” I said, trying not to respond to the sensation of his cock stiffening against my hands.
“The king said you could visit our nation on your tour,” Kenosi said, moving my hands to trace the shape of his long cock through his pants. “He didn’t say he’d hand it over for nothing.”
“You don’t have the amulet,” I said, my voice sounding a little more breathy than I wanted. I wanted to tell him to go fuck himself, but the scent of his skin was sending prickling heat straight to my core until I was dizzy with it. I wanted to pull my hands away, and yet, the more he made me touch him, I couldn’t help the tingle of excitement racing through me. He was huge—longer than Lord Balam, and hard as steel straining inside his dress pants.
“I have the amulet, and I also have you,” Kenosi said, smiling like he knew exactly what he was doing to me.
“What does that mean?” I asked, forcing anger into my voice.
“It means that when the king asked if you could come, I said you could come,” he said. “Now you’re in my debt, and that debt has to be paid.”
Sixteen
I remembered Lord Balam’s words when he’d explained the Cheetah Kingdom, how he’d said that the king was little more than a figurehead. Now I un
derstood. The king had nothing to do with this. Kenosi ran things. He had the money. He controlled the country. When he said I could have the amulet, he’d give it to me. He might not even tell the king.
“And this will pay my debts?” I asked, letting my fingers wrap around his shaft. A throb of longing went straight to my clit.
Kenosi stroked my cheek, running his thumb across my lower lip, making my mouth water. “You’ve got a pretty mouth,” he said. “Let’s see it stretched around my cock.”
I nodded, my heart pounding hard in my chest. “Yes, Sir.”
I was tempted to race for the elevator when he released my aching hands at last, but I knew he’d catch me and do worse. This wasn’t so bad. I’d given Tadeu blowjobs. I knew what I was doing.
Kenosi ran his hand around the back of my head, sweeping my hair back as he pushed me toward the floor. I lowered myself to my knees, swallowing my nerves. My heart was hammering, and a strange anticipation built inside me. I gulped, unable to tear my eyes from the long ridge pushing against the fabric of his pants. I reached for his zipper, but he grabbed my hand.
“Patience, Princess,” he said. “You’re getting ahead of yourself. First, tell me what lesson I’m teaching you today.”
“Humility,” I said.
He tipped my chin up and stroked my lip again. “Part of this is just for my own enjoyment. I like to see a princess on her knees, no better than anyone of low birth.”
“You’re of low birth?” I said. “That’s what this is about?”
Not that it mattered to me. I had no idea, nor did I care, what anyone’s station at birth had been. My own was not exactly illustrious. I didn’t even have magic. I’d never asked Lord Balam or Shadow about their origins.
“Focus,” Kenosi purred, drawing my face closer to his erection. “A queen should always know how it feels to bow before someone superior.”
“Now you’re my superior?”
Captive Princess: A Dark Paranormal Romance (Feline Royals Book 2) Page 8
