“I’d do it again if it means you’ll submit,” I whisper, pressing a soft kiss onto her skin. Her legs squeeze together. She’s probably thinking about it just as much as I am. “If it means you’ll get closer to the truth.”
“I don’t understand,” she mutters.
My nostrils flare. “You being here isn’t for me. It’s for you.”
Tears well up in her eyes again. “But why would I ever want this?”
I lower my gaze to meet hers. “Because your soul craves redemption.”
She shakes her head, and I set her on her feet again. Pushing her to face the mirror, I place both hands on her shoulders. “Look at yourself. Look at how you dressed up. All to win my approval.” I lean over her shoulder to whisper into her ear. “My desire is not more important than your soul. And it feels guilty.” I touch the skin around her neck, just above those ample tits I wish I could free from their bonds. “This heart begs to be released from its chains.”
“How?” she asks.
“Think,” I reply. “Remember what you did, and you will be free.”
Her pupils dilate as though something is being brought to the surface of a deep dark lake that she’s trying to wade through. But beneath the shallow shore lies an ocean of depths that she has yet to explore. And that’s exactly why we’re here.
“I’m trying. I swear,” she replies. “But I’m coming up blank.”
I narrow my eyes. “Think hard.”
“I did,” she says, rubbing her lips together. “Please, can’t you just help?”
“Help?” I cock my head and look at her through the mirror. “Only you can help yourself.”
“But you know what I did that made you want to put me here,” she replies.
I grab her chin and force her to look at herself. “Look at yourself. What do you see?”
She swallows. “A girl … lost by a single word she should’ve never said.”
“Is that all you see?” I ask.
She just looks at me as though she has no clue what I’m talking about. “So ignorant of your own beauty, your own strength.” I slide a few strands of her hair aside and caress her cheeks. “No amount of ugly bruises can erase that.”
Her brows furrow, and her hand rises to touch her face. Does she only now realize how gorgeous she is without the scars of her past?
“They’re gone …” she mutters, staring as though she’s seeing herself for the very first time.
“Exactly. He can’t touch you here,” I say. I’m not going to say the name of that pig out loud. I’d rather focus on her. “Look at that girl in the mirror. Look at how far she’s come.”
“Far?” she scoffs. “Into a gilded prison? Chris is still at home, waiting for me,” she says. “He needs me.”
“No, he doesn’t,” I reply, wishing I could erase him from her mind.
She furrows her brows. “He’ll come to save me.”
“He won’t do that either,” I retort.
Her lip quivers. “What do you mean?”
I smile and look her dead in the eyes. “I gave you what you asked for. You begged me to punish you.”
“But why did you choose me?” she asks, completely ignoring what I say.
“That’s not the right question, Amelia. The right question is, why did you beg me to?”
She fights the tears staining her eyes. “I don’t know.”
My fingers dig into her skin. “You have to tell me. It’s the only way.”
Her face darkens. “I can’t remember!”
Amelia
I’m losing the fight for control over myself. After that ungodly yell emanated from my throat, the tears flowed freely across my cheek and down onto that expensive purple dress I took so much care in putting on.
I did all of it just to impress him, to make him want me and seduce him into taking me … so I could slither my way into his heart and slowly convince him to let me go.
But nothing is going according to plan.
And the longer I stare at myself in the mirror, the less I recognize.
“Think hard, Amelia,” he says. “Think about that night. When you went out to party all by yourself. What happened?”
“I don’t know. I think I went home, and …” My eyes search the mirror for clues, but I’m coming up with blanks. “Nothing. I can’t remember. I don’t know what I did. Or what happened after. I only remember I woke up in a city park in the middle of the night.”
I can’t remember what happened between, and that scares me more than anything.
My body starts to shake vigorously, my eyes growing bigger and bigger. “Why can’t I remember?”
Panic flushes through my veins.
Suddenly, Eli spins me on my heels and wraps his arms around me. I’m overcome by the sheer force of his grip and the tenderness with which he holds me as though he wants nothing more than to calm the storm brewing in my heart.
But why? Why would someone like him even remotely care about me?
He put me in this situation. He made me say those words.
Why can’t I take them back?
Why can’t I … undo what I did?
My heart pounds in my chest as images from that night flash in and out of my mind like paintings appearing and vanishing in a split second. Me entering my apartment. The bruises I tried so hard to hide. The kiss I shared with Eli.
I almost choke on my own saliva, but Eli only buries me further into his chest, forcing me to come back to the here and now.
“Don’t let go,” he says.
Of him? Or reality?
Right now, I’m not so sure.
But the memories flashing through my mind make me feel weak. Vulnerable. Exposed.
More than any kind of sex could ever do to me.
And it wounds me.
I look up into his eyes, those hauntingly beautiful eyes that undo me, twist me, unravel me at my core. Who is this man that seems to know my deepest, darkest secret, one I don’t even know myself?
I swallow. “I’m sorry.”
I don’t know why I say it. Or why I want him to hear it.
The smile of a gentle master appears on his face. “I’m proud of you, angel.”
And he cups my face and presses a kiss to my forehead. A kiss that warms my heart and makes me forget, just for a single moment in time, that I am not who he thinks I am.
He leans away and grabs my arms, pushing me back so he can look into my eyes. “I think you’re ready now.”
“Ready for what?” I ask.
“More.”
My cheeks turn crimson red. “More … of you?” I don’t know why my mind instantly goes there.
But he immediately snorts. “No, Amelia.” He tips up my chin. “But rest assured that I will take from you what I desire when necessary.”
I gulp, my body instantly flushing with heat. “I thought you didn’t want—”
“Oh, I want you. Make no mistake, I’ve wanted to bury my cock inside your sweet, wet pussy and make you mine since the very first day I saw you.”
The sheer filth of his words makes my jaw drop, and my eyes widen.
“But I didn’t bring you to this House for that. I brought you here to repent,” he says, and for some reason, the excitement in my body deflates a little. Still, the way he stares into my eyes as though he means business makes me forget. “And you’re well on your way.”
“How?” I mutter. All the ways he’s made me come flash through my mind again, and I cross my legs to stop my pussy from thumping. “Are you going to force me to put those panties on again?”
A wicked smile spreads on his lips. “I have plenty more in store for you …”
I gulp at the thought.
“But first, I think a reward is in store.”
My brows rise. “Reward?”
“For your courage. For trying to face the impossible,” he says.
“I don’t understa—”
His finger on my lips interrupts me. “You don’t know, but you
will. Eventually, everything will click into place. And when it does, you’ll thank me for it.”
Thank him? I’m not so sure about that.
“What do you want more than anything?” he asks.
“Freedom.” The word slips out of my mouth before I realize it, and I almost want to slam my hand against my mouth. I shouldn’t have said that. What if he tries to punish me again?
But instead of rage, there is only kindness in his eyes, and it confuses me.
“I’m not the monster you think I am. And if you behave, I will let you explore.”
My lips part, but I can’t even form the words I want to say.
He’s letting me … out.
“Not the world.” He grabs my shoulders and makes me look at him again. “This House. And if you misbehave, you’ll lose that privilege. Do you understand?”
I nod a few times, completely overwhelmed by my own deranged happiness over the slightest form of freedom, however small it may be.
“Good little angel,” he replies, and he pecks me on the forehead again. “It’ll all be easier if you just give in.”
Chapter 19
Amelia
A few days later, I’m invited for breakfast once again. I put on my big girl panties and dress up accordingly, knowing he’ll appreciate the effort. Even though I’m a prisoner, I can at least try to fit in with what he expects. If I play along and go easy on myself, maybe there will be an opportunity later. Even if he says he won’t fall for me, there is no guarantee. He’s a man, after all, and every man has an inner beast waiting to be released. His just happens to be chained well. But he’s shown it to me once, so he can show it again. And when he does, I’ll be ready. I’ll woo him with every ounce of my soul until I can spin him around my finger and convince him to let me out. Or at least, give me more freedom until he’s finally gotten from me what he so desperately wants.
I wish I knew what it is that he wants me to tell him, what’s hiding inside my own mind. But how could I tell someone what I don’t know? Is there a way to find out?
I gulp, thinking about what he told me, about how he will force me to tell the truth, one way or another. What will it take, and how far will he go?
And how much of myself will I lose in the process?
I let out a sigh and wait in front of the door. Only one way to find out.
When someone pushes a key into the lock on the outside, I know it’s time.
My heart begins to race. The door opens, and Mary greets me with a smile.
“You look lovely today,” she muses, looking me up and down. Her comment makes me blush. “Red? Provocative.”
I shrug. “Fits the occasion.”
She nods. “Can’t fault you there.” She beckons me. “C’mon.”
We walk down the long hallway again, and I can’t stop myself from staring at the doors where I know the other girls are being kept. A part of me struggles not to interfere and bang on those doors in an effort to let them know I’m here and that I won’t abandon them, even if I’m Eli’s personal favorite.
But another part of me knows I won’t get anywhere if I break the status quo. If I let my emotions rule, the guards standing by will immediately intervene, and I will have accomplished nothing.
No, the only way to win this war is to face it head-on, no matter how painful, twisted, or deviant it gets.
“Eli is really excited to see you,” Mary suddenly says as we approach the staircase.
I pause. “How come?”
“I don’t know, actually. Maybe it has something to do with your conversation?”
I suck in another breath as images of his hands on my shoulders and his lips on my skin invade my mind. Goose bumps scatter on my skin. “It was nothing.”
“That can’t be true,” she replies, raising a brow. “Eli never gets excited about anything.” Her smile grows. “You seem special to him.”
My eyes widen, and my hand touches my chest as though I can feel my heart beating out of it.
Special? Me?
That can’t be right.
She quickly heads downstairs. “This way, please.”
She points me in the right direction, the same room where we had breakfast the last time. Or at least, they did, because I wouldn’t dare touch it.
I guess some things have changed.
“Thanks,” I tell her.
Not because I’m grateful, but because getting some extra points with her can never be a bad thing. I need to keep my enemies close.
When I enter the room, the three of them are situated at the back of the table again. They all look up at me, three deadly and possessive stares that make my heart pound in my throat. But Soren quickly looks away, and Tobias returns his focus to a newspaper as though everything is fine and dandy, and they aren’t keeping seven people captive.
But maybe he doesn’t realize I know.
Soren’s already munching on a piece of bread that he plucked out of the basket while he picks at a wound on his knee. He doesn’t even seem to notice I’m here, which is a good thing, I guess.
After a quick breath to collect my nerves, I approach the table and sit down. Eli never takes his eyes off me, and it makes me blush even more than before.
“I’m glad you decided to join us,” he says. “Are you hungry?”
I nod. I’m not up for another bout of starvation if I can prevent it.
Besides, I doubt he’d want to poison me after all the trouble he went through to keep me locked up here.
I sit down on a chair near the edge of the table in the same place as before.
Eli narrows his eyes. “You sure you want to sit there?”
My lungs suddenly feel constricted. “Do you want me to sit somewhere else?”
He smiles. “Smart girl … answering a question with another question.”
I make a face and fold my arms. “I learned from the best.”
Tobias snorts. “You’ve got a tough one on your hands.”
“Tell me about it,” Eli responds. “But I knew that when I found her.”
“Let’s just eat, shall we?” Tobias suggests.
“Of course,” Eli responds as he leans over the table and stares at me while blinking a few times. “Wouldn’t want our guest to wait.”
He keeps taunting me, and I don’t know why. It’s almost as if he’s trying to make me turn to rage and despair again.
He claps his hands, and the servers enter, carrying plates filled with delicious fruits, yogurt, breads, butter, and condiments, as well as hot plates of bacon and eggs. When the smell fills my nostrils, my mouth waters.
They place the food on the table and a few drinks such as orange juice and coffee, and I can’t help but stare at the food, wondering when I’ll be able to dig in. But I don’t know if I can.
I look up. Eli’s still staring at me, a devilish smile appearing on his face. It’s almost as if he’s enjoying the sight of me waiting for his approval. Like a dog ready to be fed.
“Go on … Enjoy,” he says with a certain kind of glee in his voice.
I pick up one of the fruity yogurt cups and drop in my spoon. Then I grab my fork and pick up a strawberry, shoving it into my mouth on full display, taking ample time to chew. He watches my every move, and when I swallow, so does he.
Tobias simply sighs and throws down his newspaper. “Enough. Get a room, you two.”
Eli turns his head to him and frowns. “To do what, exactly?”
They look at each other now, full of unbridled testosterone waiting to be unleashed. And it brings a smirk to my face. A tiny bit of power is back into my own hands, even if it’s useless and leads to nowhere. At least I can enjoy the two having a fight. Is that so wrong?
“Torturing our guests is not part of breakfast. Or lunch. Or dinner,” Tobias replies.
“No,” Eli muses. “That’s reserved for the times between.”
My jaw drops, and the strawberry I was about to eat falls off the fork and onto my plate.
“We�
��ll leave the torturing to Soren,” Tobias says.
Soren merely grunts and snags an already peeled egg off the big plate, which he stuffs into his mouth whole, and then rips some of the bacon to shreds with his teeth.
“Right.” Eli returns his attention to me. “Are you enjoying the food?”
How can I reply when they so easily talk about torture right in front of me?
“I … Um …”
“I suppose it’s not poisoned now, is it?” he asks, raising a playful brow.
I close my mouth and stare at him for a few seconds before I decide to play along with his game. If I can’t get through this without being challenged, then I’ll face him head-on.
“Who knows, maybe you’ve only laced some of the fruit,” I retort, and I tear a grape off the stem and glare at it for only a moment, long enough for him to see, and then chuck it into my mouth and chew on it provocatively.
“She knows you well,” Tobias muses, and Eli thrusts his elbow into him to shove him off the table.
“Enough,” Eli growls. “Amelia. Eat.”
He picks up a few strips of bacon, an egg, and a few pieces of bread for himself, taking a big bite from the egg.
“Woof,” I reply, which makes him stop halfway through chewing.
Tobias bursts out into laughter. “You sure picked the right one, didn’t you?”
I pick up a cupcake and happily munch away on it.
Eli throws him an enraged look. “Tobias, please don’t insult our guests.”
“Oh, I’m not insulted,” I reply, and I grab an egg too and shove it in my mouth, chewing and swallowing. “On the contrary, I’m amused.”
“Amused?” Eli cocks his head while Tobias just frowns and then continues eating his breakfast.
“Oh, yeah … being locked in a golden tower is quite amusing,” I retort, and I grab a few grapes and chuck them in my mouth.
Tobias almost chokes on his coffee, and Eli throws him another maddened look.
“All right, all right.” Tobias raises his hands and then picks up his plate and coffee. “I’ll see myself out.” He gets up from his chair and marches toward the door. “I have enough to do today.”
Dark Wish (A Dark Romance) Page 13
