The Unfortunates (Unfortunate #1)

by Skyla Madi

  “Good girl.”

  My eyelashes brush against the fabric rapidly, as adrenaline pumps through my body. Why am I letting this happen? Why haven’t I said no? I feel him circle me until his hard, suddenly naked torso presses against my back. I gulp on contact and his hands surround my waist. I barely have time to react to his touch before he presses his warm, moist lips to my neck. I quiver and instinctively angle my neck to the side. While he kisses me, his hand works its way down my stomach over my hip and down my thigh before snaking between my legs. Unbearable tingles seize me and I gasp, squeezing my legs shut.

  “Open them,” Kade demands.

  I’ve never heard him sound like that before and my thighs relax immediately, letting him slide his fingers right between my creases. A strange noise falls from my lips and I unintentionally sag into him. He chuckles darkly into my ear as my head falls against his shoulder. The feelings are so alien to me—am I supposed to feel uncomfortable since this is the first time anyone has touched me like this? Because I don’t. I can feel my arousal leaking from me, coating my upper thighs, and I want nothing more than for his rough hands to explore me further, to show me everything I’ve been missing out on.

  He groans in my ear and traces the very tip of his index finger over the small bundle of nerves between my legs. “You’re wet already. How long have you wanted me to do this to you?”

  “Forever,” I pant, too heated to stop myself.

  “What else do you want me to do to you?” He sucks my earlobe between his lips and nips gently at my flesh. The feeling has me arching my back and on my lower back, I can feel him tightening against his pants and eagerly pressing into me.

  My hips twitch forward, beginning to swirl with his hand. The feeling is amazing and I chase it. I want more of it. I can feel it building and building, promising me nothing but ecstasy and temporary freedom from this life. “Everything.”

  He shouldn’t be doing this to me. I feel incredible… I’m not allowed to feel this good and he’s going to make me come, I know he is. He knows he is too, but he’s not stopping. He wants to do this for me. That’s how I know he’s not like the others. He’s putting me first. Pleasure is something he wants to give me—the most selfless gift in a world that thrives off selfishness.

  “Everything?” Kade does an all right job at hiding his shocked tone, but I hear his undertones. “You want me to do everything to you?”

  I nod, desperately. All of it. I want him to do all of it to me.

  “Do you want to feel my tongue on your pussy?” he asks in a husky moan.

  I get the feeling this isn’t about learning anymore… which is good, because my brain is currently out of order. I whimper my willing response and his fingers move harder and faster.

  “Do you want my cock to be the first cock to ever slide inside you?”

  Holy. Shit. Again, I nod as warmth builds in the pit of my stomach. Oh, god yes! In this moment, I could be signing my life away and not give a second thought to it.

  “One day, I’m going to take you, Nine. Right here in this room. I’ll be sweet to you and give you the love you deserve and then, I’m going to fuck you hard, to show you exactly how crazy you make me.”

  “Oh…” I moan as my chest begins to tighten. How long has he thought about that? About taking me right here in his room?

  “And fuck, you make me crazy.”

  Kade’s fingers viciously circle me and my legs begin to quiver, threatening to buckle underneath my weight at any second.

  “Oh… oh… god, Kade.” I gasp my breath coming out in one second bursts as fires rise in my stomach. I dig my fingers into his hand, trying desperately to pry his sexy fingers away from me, but he’s too strong, too determined to shake me up from the inside out.

  “I want you to come all over my hand.”

  An old fear tries to surface, but my happiness refuses to let it. I grip his hand, lacing my fingers with his. The thought of me even holding his hand is enough to tip the scale and send me over the edge. My entire body stiffens and I feel a scream building its way up my throat. It’s going to burst out and I’ll be hopeless to stop it. As it begins to roll off my tongue and pour out of my lips, Kade grasps my jaw and snaps my head to the side before crashing his lips to mine. In the next heartbeat, I orgasm. I come so hard I see stars. My breath is trapped in my lungs and they burn, but Kade doesn’t want to release it. His fingers tighten around my face as he fucks me with his tongue, absorbing everything I give to him. My head spins for what seems like hours. I don’t know if it’s my body keeping me in this state or my brain. My brain doesn’t want to come back down to normal level. It likes being flooded with these wonderful chemicals. Right now, I’m certain there’s nothing in this world that can tear this feeling down… and that’s when a light knock sounds at the door. Just like that, the feeling of bliss fades and is replaced by dread. The dread wraps tightly around my organs and clutches my heart. We both freeze and instantly Kade pulls his mouth from mine and unthreads his fingers, but I’m still frozen, unable to move. What if whoever is at the door heard us… heard me? I’d be killed and Kade… surely they’d do something bad to him for giving an Unfortunate something they aren’t allowed to have. He whips off my blindfold and stuffs it onto his pocket.

  “Sit,” he orders, pointing to the floor and I do.

  The varnished wood feels cold against my bare ass and I shield part of my face with my hair. I don’t want anyone else to see my undoubtedly rosy cheeks. Raking his fingers through his hair, Kade opens the door.

  “What?” he snaps, not opening the open wide enough for me to see.

  Portia—I think—talks, but I can’t hear what she’s saying. Kade pulls in a long plastic bag and shuts the door. In the bag, I see a dress—a deep purple dress.

  “Shit,” he swears. “I forgot.”

  I want to ask him what he forgot, but I quickly realise I don’t really want to talk to him. What do I say? Thank you? Kade pulls the dress from the bag and I gasp at it. It’s beautiful… in that ‘if you like to be semi-naked’ kind of way. Kade twirls the dress, inspecting every inch of fabric before extending it on his index finger. “It’s Vince’s birthday. He’s throwing a party in the yard tonight. Try this on.”

  My stomach rolls at the thought of Vince playing ‘birthday boy.’ All of the privileges he’ll demand. If Kade knows what’s good for me, he’ll keep me here with him. I take the dress from Kade and go to the bathroom. When I emerge, he’s back in his shirt with his jacket to match. You wouldn’t think a few minutes ago he was shirtless and rubbing me to orgasm. I flush at the thought. I glance down at my dress. Tiny silver chains hold the dress together, running across my torso and down my upper thigh, and there’s barely enough fabric to cover my nipples. Of course Vince chose something like this. I peer up at Kade, who’s staring at me, and I feel a vibrant blush spread over the surface of my skin.

  “You look…” He blows air from his cheeks and sits back into his chair. “But you aren’t going out there in that tonight. No way in hell.”

  I frown. This dress shows nothing, unlike the dress Kade had me wear at his birthday. I’m not sure if he remembers, but my nipples were on show for all to see.

  “I’ll have someone bring you something else to wear later. For now, put your old dress back on and go to your room. I have work I need to do.”

  I nod and notice I still haven’t said a word to him since he touched me. Like he wants, I change back into my dress from yesterday and head for the door. If I’m being honest, I can’t wait to get out of here. I can’t wait to be alone in my room and alone with my thoughts.

  As my fingers brush the door handle, Kade’s unexpected hand snakes around my waist and moves towards my breast. He stops high on my waist, but allows his thumb to brush over the curve. Heat warms in the core of my being.

  “You were perfect today,” he murmurs in my ear and I shut my eyes briefly, willing my stupid heart to stop fluttering.

  “Thank you, Maste
r Kade.”

  I open the door as he releases me and step outside. I move quickly, much quicker than I want to, but I need to get away. We could’ve been caught… it wasn’t supposed to be like this… in the camp, I was smart and I kept my head down, but out here, I throw caution to the wind. And it’s because of him. I know it is. Our souls collide and separate, working against each other like a chemical reaction. He pushes so I pull. He demands so I dissent. He wants and sometimes, I cave. It’s not like me, but with him, it’s all I can be. On the same note, there isn’t much in this new world that truly terrifies me… except him. He’s the scariest thing I’ve ever seen. Though, it’s not the fact he’s a Fortunate that does it… it’s in the feelings he’s able to pull from my body. It’s in the way he makes my heart race and my body hum like I’m standing naked in the middle of a field, staring into the funnel of a large tornado that’s about to touch the ground. It’s in the way he fucks my mind and gets my body to work with him that scares me the most.

  And what’s worse is…

  …I let him.

  ∞ Kade ∞

  He watched her walk off, moving urgently down his hall. He didn’t want to, but he imagined her silky pussy in his hand as she poured herself all over his fingers. She felt amazing, but it wasn’t enough. Now he wanted to know what she tasted like between those sweet thighs and what she’d feel like when he slipped his cock into her for the first time. Kade shut the door at the throb of his balls. He’d noticed Nine didn’t say a word to him after he made her orgasm. She was confused, he could see it on her face, and he prayed she didn’t overanalyse what happened between them. Though, he did say all of that shit to her: ‘One day, I’m going to take you, Nine. Right here on my bed. I’ll be sweet to you and give you the love you deserve and then, I’m going to fuck you hard, to show you exactly how crazy you make me.’ What the fuck was I thinking?

  This was getting dangerous. Kade had wanted Nine from the moment he laid eyes on her, but never this bad. He leaned against the door and shut his eyes. Kade had never felt jealousy before in his life… and he thought back to the kiss Elizabeth’s Unfortunate gave Nine. The recollection stirred the green-eyed monster that’d been cleverly hiding inside of him this whole time, going unbothered. He punched the Unfortunate repeatedly even though it wasn’t his fault. He was enraged, no, jealous—no—disgusted that someone like River would put his unworthy lips on a girl like Nine. Sure, they were both the same class, the same kind of people to everyone else, but to Kade she was greater than the rest. She was his… something. He didn’t know yet, but for now, she was his something. What was it about Nine that he needed in his life? What was it that possessed him whenever she was around? It wasn’t love, that he knew for sure. And that dress! Fucking Vince. He’s out of his mind if he thinks I’m going to let her out of the house in a dress like that, Kade thought. Granted, it didn’t expose any important pieces of flesh, but Kade knew how Vince worked and he was not going to have the pleasure of seeing Nine in that purple dress. Downstairs, Kade had a full wardrobe dedicated to his personal Unfortunate. During the two weeks Kade left Nine alone, he went into town and bought as many appealing dresses as he could find. To have his Unfortunate look perfect at every party was a must. He wanted his Unfortunate to look better than any slave any of the other Fortunates had. He was certain he could find something for her.

  Kade pushed off of the door and sauntered over to his computer. He had to sort his priorities. The mine came first, then Albert, then his father, and then Nine. The base line was, Nine was just a pawn in his plan. Nothing more, nothing less. He’d keep his end of the bargain, sure, but not for her. For his mother. Although she wouldn’t approve of what he was going to do, at least she could see that he was compromising, that he wasn’t completely lost to the new world.

  He turned on his computer screen and ran his fingers smoothly over the surface, touching all of the appropriate buttons. He lost all communication with his team the minute they went down into the mine. If they weren’t back in a week, Kade would assume them dead and have to go through with the plan and have Nine get Albert to sign the contract. With a sigh, he leaned back into his chair. Suddenly, the idea of using Nine didn’t sound as appealing. Last night, Kade spoke to Albert. They spoke about the mines and how Albert was looking sell a few of his off, anyway. Of course, the asking price was way out of Kade’s range, but when Kade pointed out Nine, Albert was willing to negotiate a lower price. He lowered his price dramatically for one night with Nine and Kade remembered the way it felt when he saw Albert’s face light up as his seedy stare graced her skin… like a knife. It felt like a knife had been slammed into his stomach and twisted until his organs blended together.

  Because Kade wanted Nine.

  He knew exactly how it felt to have her lips feather across his skin. He knew exactly how it felt to have her supple skin against his and the feelings it stirred when her skin pebbled with the bare graze of his mouth. He didn’t want to share that with anyone else. He didn’t want anyone else to discover her the way he had. There was also the fear of her safety. Nine didn’t have the greatest control over her tongue. His lips twitched. He liked that she kept him on his toes. It exhilarated him, made him feel alive for the first time in years.

  Then it hit him… that’s why he made her come because he knew no one else could or would. He knew he would be the only one who could bring her that kind of happiness and he was being selfish, knowing that for the rest of her life, she’d think of him when anything aroused her. She’ll think about his fingers between her legs and his voice in her ear. Or, maybe, it was just wishful thinking. Originally, blindfolding her was never meant to be a pleasure exercise. Kade was meant to touch her strategically and get her to memorise where he put his hands, how he moved his fingers and used his breath all to his advantage. Then it got out of hand. Way out of hand. Regardless of the growing ball of possession in Kade’s body, he knew giving Nine up was for the greater good. Giving her up meant that he could take his family name higher than ever before. It meant he could get out of this hell hole once and for all. With his father gone, Kade could move into the city, into the Sario skyscraper, and he could get revenge on his father and be happy with everything he would gain from his death.

  That was the plan… and he would stick to it. No matter what.

  Chapter Ten

  Nine

  All day I hid out in my room, dazed and confused. I spent the greater part of the morning thinking about my Fortunate and what he did to me—what I let him do to me—and the rest of the day pondering the powerful surges of orgasm, even missing them a little. I never thought such pleasure could be so overwhelming. I never knew such emotions could be forced from the human body by a gentle swipe of a perfect finger. I want it again and again, and I hoped, no, I prayed that it’d happen again. I barely touched my lunch, having eaten so much at breakfast, and before I know it, the sun is gone and the moon is out.

  Which brings me to now.

  A gown that I never thought my skin would ever be able to grace clings to my body before flowing off my hips. It still had its usual Unfortunate styling; the plunging neckline, the sheer fabric, and tunic-like style, tied in a knot on my shoulder. It was purple, like the one Vince wanted me to wear tonight, but a different style altogether. It exposed no large portions of flesh nor gave off any ‘sexual’ vibe. I manage to bite back a smile. I guess Kade doesn’t want me on show as much as he originally thought.

  Portia pulled my hair up into a messy bun, allowing two locks of auburn hair to frame my face. They looked silly, as long as they were, and Portia cut them so they were level with my chin. Portia is doing a lot better now that a small amount of time has passed. She’s even started smiling again. Death is never easy, old world or new world, I’m sure it still hurt. I missed her. It’s nice to finally have an Unfortunate on my team again. At least Portia understands Kade. At least she isn’t terrified of me because of him.

  “You should go,” Portia says, patting my
shoulder. “It’s eight-nineteen, and if you’re not out there by eight-twenty, Kade’s going to come looking for you.”

  The mention of his name does funny things to my tummy. It sends it flipping and floating like a leaf in a cool autumn breeze. With a nod and quick swipe of my dress, I step into the hallway. I follow it into the kitchen and out into the yard. Like usual, it seems no expenses were spared for yet another Sario event. Gorgeous white and purple lights are strung all over the place, stretching as far down the yard as the eye can see. Tables are draped in white and purple fabric and covered in white and purple flower petals. It’s breathtaking… and not Vince’s style at all. I expected topless Unfortunates, people grinding and drinking and fucking all over the place. I did not expect something with taste, something easy on my eyes. Unfortunates filter from the house with drink trays in their hands, all of the females wearing the same exposing purple dress I tried on earlier. Suddenly, I feel left out. I don’t want to attract unwanted attention.

  “You’re late.” Kade’s voice, smooth like the low keys on a piano, penetrates my chest and grips my heart. He steps out of the shadows to my left with a glass in his hand and the solid ground turns to liquid under my bare feet.

  “No, I’m not,” I say, allowing my eyes to take in his whole form. He looks amazing draped in the finest, fittest, and blackest suit I’ve ever seen. You’d think he’s going to a funeral, not his brother’s birthday. “It’s eight-twenty.”

  He tsks. “It’s eight-twenty-one.”

  I set my jaw. “Well, in that case I’m so sorry I kept you waiting. I hope it wasn’t too painful.”

  His full lips twitch, a beautiful gesture that doesn’t pass me by, and he steps closer. “The wait wasn’t, but your dress, on the other hand…”

  I suck in a breath and let it go ever so subtly. “What, are my nipples not distinguishable enough for you?” I ask, trying my hardest not to sound breathless.