by Stella Hart
No, I was stronger than that now. More resolved than ever. I didn’t need his false promises of help. I had my own plan to get out of here. A real plan.
Elias put his hand on my shoulder again, fingertips slowly stroking me. “I know why you don’t trust me. I get it. You’re scared. But I’m not going to give up. I’ll wait as long as it takes, and when you’re ready to accept my help, I’ll try my best to get you out.”
I let out a sharp, angry breath. “You’ll be waiting forever.”
“Tatum, please. Just think about it.”
My head was pounding again. It felt like my skull was trapped in a vise, and my guts were still churning. “I feel sick. I need to sleep off this flu or whatever it is.”
He shook his head and sighed. “Fine. I’ll have someone from the medical wing come and see you later. For now, I’ll leave you to get some rest. But I meant what I said. I’m not giving up.”
“Right,” I muttered. “Sure.”
“I know you don’t believe me, but at least trust me on this: we need to act like everything is normal. Like I don’t know anything. It’s the only way I can keep you safe for now. Okay?”
Jesus, he was really laying it on thick.
“Okay,” I said.
“I’ll be back later. Don’t say a word about this to anyone.”
I didn’t intend to. Why would I? It was all a load of crap. I nodded anyway, just to keep the peace and get him out of here as fast as possible.
Elias stared at me for another long moment, an unreadable expression on his face. Then he strode over to the door.
As I watched him leave, I could still feel his hand on my arm, the place where he caressed me burning like a brand.
18
Tatum
“Remember to behave yourself. Don’t do anything out of the ordinary.” Elias leaned over and muttered in my ear, one hand on the small of my back. “We’re only here because it would look suspicious if we didn’t attend.”
We were in the arched doorway to the Lodge’s main party room, about to step into yet another Crown and Dagger orgy. The darkened room was teeming with men and women in various states of undress. The heavy beat of the music made my legs quiver.
“Yes, Master,” I said in a low voice.
“Don’t call me that. I’m not your Master,” he hissed in my ear. “I told you, we’re only pretending for now.”
I refrained from rolling my eyes. Elias had proven himself to be very dedicated to his latest game with me. Two weeks had passed now, and he hadn’t touched me once. All he’d done was come to see me every day to tell me he knew I was a captive and that he’d help me if I’d only let him.
As much as I hated myself for it, I was beginning to slip. Sometimes I found myself dreaming of saying yes and running away with him, only for the dream to descend into a nightmare when I discovered my suspicions were warranted all along, because it was all a lie.
I knew I had to stay strong. Stay grounded. Rely on my head rather than my heart. My heart would only cause trouble, because it was my feelings for Elias that threatened to betray me. Every time I saw him, sparks of desire shot straight to my core, a burning need threatening to consume me as my blood turned to lava.
Sometimes I wondered if refusing to touch me was part of his new game. He could be hoping to get me so desperately aroused that I’d beg for him, tell him anything he wanted to hear, just so I could feel him inside me again.
I’d managed to keep myself from begging. Barely. I’d distracted myself by sticking to my Artemis Festival plan, doing everything I could to ensure that as many Crown and Dagger members as possible voted for me to be their hostess.
I smiled invitingly whenever I ran into members in the halls or on the grounds during my daily wanders, and I even flirted with a few of them. One time, a couple of them stopped me and asked where I was from, so I put on a big, fake display of telling them exactly how I chose to be here. How happy I was to serve the society. How well my family was doing now that they had enough money to live, all because of my personal sacrifice.
That last part was technically true, I suppose.
All around me, every day, I saw many of the other girls doing the same thing. Flirting, batting their eyelashes, making all sorts of dirty promises as they tried their best to get themselves picked. The festival was coming up very soon, and I hadn’t heard anything that might suggest I’d been chosen over any of them, but I couldn’t give up. Besides, tonight’s party would be my greatest attempt yet.
We wound our way through the room and sat down on a long leather lounge by the edge. A few people were already seated, their faces flushed and sweaty as they leaned back and watched the show. Right in front of us, naked bodies tangled together, lips smacking, hips thrusting, hands groping. It was a dark sea of moans and grunts and screams of pleasure.
I could do better.
I turned to Elias. “Could I have a canapé? We didn’t get dinner again, and I’m starving.”
If he wanted to keep pretending to be nice and caring, I was happy to take advantage of it.
As I expected, he nodded. “Sure. Let’s go.”
“I’ll wait here. I’m tired,” I said.
His eyes narrowed slightly, but he nodded briefly and stepped into the crowd, heading for the nearest bar.
I waited until he was several yards away, and then I made a beeline for the shimmering indoor pool. I yanked out the slave collar I’d been hiding under my dress (I’d asked Mellie to get me one earlier) and slipped it around my neck. Then I slid out of my dress and made my way into the water, letting the warmth coat my nakedness, turning my skin slick and shiny.
Several pairs of lecherous male eyes focused right on me. I held one hand out and beckoned to the nearby group. “Come on,” I said, shimmying my hips in a display of shaking all the water off. “Come over here.”
They did as I said. Within seconds, my side of the pool was bounded by six men, and I could see heads turning elsewhere in the room. Easy.
I slowly stepped out of the pool and stood on the edge, holding my arms out wide. “My Master has an announcement he wants to make through me,” I called out, making sure my voice was loud enough to carry over the thumping music and wanton moans. Several more heads turned to me, the men gazing at my body with naked, unashamed desire.
I went on, slowly, haltingly, as if this wasn’t my idea. As if I were being ordered to do this. “He has commanded me to tell everyone that I am available for sharing now, like the toy I am. Any men, any number, any hole. Anything. He says I must be punished as hard as possible, and he told me to tell you all how happy I am to serve you. How much I love it.”
I slid one arm down over my belly, my hand snaking between my thighs. My breasts jiggled slightly as my chest rose and fell with faux-excited breaths, and one of the men nearby stepped even closer and roughly pinched my right nipple. “Ooh, please do that again, sir,” I said with a breathy moan.
His fingers were hard and callused, and it hurt. I hated it. But he didn’t have to know that.
He moved behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist, his hand going between my legs now, shoving mine out of the way. The slave pendant on my collar tinkled as his other hand wrapped around my throat. “I’ve been waiting for this,” he growled in my ear. “The only new pussy I haven’t had yet.”
I felt sick. Filthy. Degenerate. But I had to keep going. I had to make these men think of me and only me so they’d choose me for the festival. It seemed to be working so far. I had the rapt attention of at least twenty men now.
Including Tobias.
He smiled thinly at me, and then he leaned down to listen to Mellie, who’d just started whispering something in his ear.
“I can feel how hard you are,” I murmured, turning my head over my shoulder to the disgusting man behind me. “Do you want to be the first one in my pussy tonight? Or would you prefer my ass? Master loves how tight I am there.”
His hand moved around to my ass. Just as he
was about to slide his finger to my puckered entrance, Elias strode up and wrenched his hand away. Then he glared at me, eyes alive with fire.
“Kneel,” he commanded, his voice rich and furious.
I immediately did as he said. It wouldn’t look good for me in front of all these men if I refused my current Master’s orders.
“My apologies. My stupid, irresponsible little slave has her dates wrong,” Elias said, eyes glittering with rage as he stared down at me. “I’m waiting for the festival to begin before I allow her to be used by anyone else. That way everyone will be here. Everyone will get to use her, one after the other, until she screams and cries and bleeds. I feel like the wait will be worth it to witness such a punishment.”
The men murmured and nodded, some of them exchanging knowing glances and grins. The one behind me let out an angry breath, but he told Elias he understood and stepped away.
Elias wrapped his fingers around my right arm, squeezing me so tightly I almost cried out. “Come with me,” he growled, dragging me to my feet. “Now.”
He hauled me out of the party and over to the stairwell. When we were back on the second floor, I called out breathlessly as he trailed ahead, dragging me by the arm. “Are you going to take me to that red room and punish me, Elias?” I said. “Finally going to admit this latest act of yours was a game?”
He stopped in his tracks and turned back to me, eyes narrowed. “I know what you’re doing. You’re trying to distract me with this shit. It’s not going to work.”
He roughly pulled me into my room and slammed the door shut before continuing.
“I know exactly what you were doing back there, too,” he said. “You’re trying to get picked as the hostess for the Artemis Festival, aren’t you?”
“So what if I am?”
“I’ve heard rumors of the deal.” His eyes blazed. “One girl gets picked for every festival, and she gets sent home with a new master, right? His and his alone until her contract ends?”
“Yes, that’s right. Are you jealous?” I was taunting him now, just as angry as he was.
He pushed me up against the wall. “Whether I’m jealous or not isn’t even fucking relevant. What’s relevant is that you’re obviously doing this because you think it’ll make it easier for you to escape this place.”
I shrugged. “If you say so.”
The truth was sitting right in my mouth, threatening to spill out. I had to force myself to swallow the words like bile.
“But you’ve been claiming to be here willingly. If that’s true, why are you so desperate to leave? So desperate that you’d tell a hundred men they can all fuck you if they want?”
“Maybe I’m just horny because you haven’t been touching me.”
“Christ, Tatum.” He stepped back and pressed the bridge of his nose. “Have you even thought this through at all? How do you know it will be easier for you to escape the new guy’s place? Sure, it might be, but what if it’s not? What if he’s totally sadistic and throws you in a windowless dungeon?”
“Well, I’ll just have to take that chance, won’t I?” I shot back. I immediately clamped my hand over my mouth.
“So you admit it. You want to escape.”
I hesitated. Shit. “I… I didn’t say that. You misinterpreted me.”
“For fuck’s sake!” he said. “Just say it! You’re a fucking prisoner here!”
I shrank back, pressing my back right up against the wall. “I can’t.”
“You can.” He grabbed both my shoulders again, but his face softened. “Look, I understand that you think it’ll make it easier for you to escape if you go home with another master, but it won’t. If you just wait—”
“Wait for what?”
“For me to figure out a way to get you safely home. It’s not going to be easy, Tatum. I’ve told you that. It won’t work if you don’t trust me. We need to be on the same side.”
I scoffed. I was so done with this shit. “God, we’re really still playing this game, huh?” I said, shaking my head in disbelief. “The one where you pretend as if you didn’t know I was a captive all this time? As if you’re actually gonna swoop in and rescue me?”
The words poured out before I could stop them. Elias smiled thinly, victoriously. “Finally, the truth comes out.”
My shoulders slumped in defeat. Oh, hell. What was the point in trying to pretend with him anymore?
“Fine,” I said through gritted teeth. “Yes, I’m a captive. My parents sold me here. Now go ahead, Elias. Pretend like you didn’t know, pretend you’re totally gonna help me, then leave me hanging and laugh about it behind my back like you did last time. I know that’s the plan.”
His eyes widened. “What?”
“Oh, for god’s sake.” I threw my hands up. “Stop fucking pretending. I know all about your games, Elias. I know all about the time you laughed behind my back about how pathetic I was for thinking you might actually help me. Why do you think I’ve been refusing to fall for it again? I’m not stupid enough to think you actually care!”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
I shoved him away, hard. My anger had finally reached its boiling point, exploding out of me in a hysterical burst. “Stop lying! Your father told me all about it!” I screamed. “Do you have any idea what that was like for me? Do you know what it’s like to think you finally have an ally? Someone who might actually help you? Then you find out it was all a lie, and they knew you were a captive all along. They just wanted to fuck with your head and make you have hope so they could tear it away!”
My rage was bitter, fiery, endless. I wanted to punch Elias right in the face. Tear his hair out. Make him feel every ounce of pain he ever made me feel.
“My father told you I did that?” he said. His voice was like ice.
“Yes! Why the hell do you think I stabbed him that day?” I said. Tears were rolling down my face in earnest now, and I knew I was bright red, my skin hot to the touch. “I wanted to kill both of you! Only you weren’t there.”
I expected Elias to look disappointed that the jig was up; that I knew his game. Instead, he shook his head slowly. “That’s why you don’t trust me,” he muttered. He rubbed his jaw. “Fuck, I knew he was a lying piece of shit. But I didn’t know about that.”
I sniffed, trying to stop the flood of tears and mucus. “Are you saying it’s not true?”
He looked me in the eye. “I swear on my life it’s not true. My father made that up.”
“Why would he do that?”
“I don’t know. I guess he wanted to fuck with you. Break you down. Or make sure you put up even more of a fight with me.” He ran a hand across the stubble on his chin. “Why the hell didn’t you say something sooner? If I’d known you thought I—”
I cut him off. “I didn’t say anything to you because I believed him. So what was the point? I figured you’d just mock me again.”
“I never mocked you,” he said quietly. “That was all a lie. I promise you, Tatum, I never knew you were here against your will. I never laughed about it behind your back.”
“Oh, bullshit!” I shouted, the fury returning. “How could you not know I was a captive?”
“I don’t know,” he replied, shaking his head. His face was pale, his voice ragged. “I should’ve seen the signs. But I didn’t. I honestly thought this place…” He trailed off midsentence, leaving the words hanging in the air for a moment. “I saw the contracts. I heard all about how much money the girls were offered. When I visited in the past, none of them ever approached me and said they were here against their will. They seemed happy and compliant. It all seemed legitimate.”
I narrowed my eyes scornfully. “Really? How could you seriously think so many girls would just sell themselves to your society?”
“It made sense when I was told about it. My father said the society would track down girls who were in dire need of financial aid. They’d interview them and let them know what they were offering, and if they accepte
d, they’d go to the School for training and then come here to serve out their contract period. If they rejected the offer, they’d sign an NDA to make sure they didn’t mention it to anyone, and then they’d go back to their regular life.”
“So you honestly thought that many girls would want to give up all their rights and let themselves be fucked and abused by gross rich men for god knows how long, just for some extra cash? Give me a break.”
“You’d be amazed at what people will do for money, Tatum. I’ve seen some shit in my life you wouldn’t believe.”
“Well, I’m not like that. I’d never sell myself. So congratulations, you got me to admit it,” I said bitterly.
He stepped closer and took my hands in his. “I know, and I told you, I want to help you. But I need you to trust me, or else you’ll never leave with me when the time comes, will you?”
I shook my head. “No. How can I ever trust you?”
He ran a hand across his face and sighed. His silence said it all.
“See? I can’t,” I said.
“Try. Please.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “No. Just stop it,” I said. “I’ve been telling you for two weeks now: there’s nothing you can possibly say to make me believe that you actually want to help me!”
“What if I told you I was falling in love with you?”
All the breath left my lungs. I felt like a fish yanked from the sea and left to flounder on a dock. I stared up at Elias with my mouth hanging open, electrified and petrified in equal measure.
“No. Don’t say that,” I finally mumbled, ducking away.
He took a step closer. “Why?”
“Because I know it’s not true.”
“It is. I can’t fucking help myself. I want you. I need you.”
