“Let’s blindfold her,” Brian said.
“No, I want to look at her.” Anton crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back in the chair, his legs sprawled as if he were settling down to watch a good game. “And more importantly, I want her to look at me.”
Annette craned her neck to try to see what Brian was doing behind her, but he was careful to remain out of her line of sight.
“I still vote for blindfolding,” he said.
“No,” came the Russian’s flat answer.
She thought about trying to reason with Anton, but the expression on his face was so resolute that she was afraid whatever was about to happen would only get worse if she tried to negotiate.
Brian came around in front of her and picked up the knife. He picked it up slowly, a smile spreading across his face as his eyes met hers. It was a rather large knife with a sharp edge on both sides. The handle was made of a shiny black stone with a dragon carved into it. He held the knife in his hand as if testing and feeling its weight. Then he moved back behind her.
“Master?” Annette tried to keep the hysteria out of her voice. What? Was he going to just let this psycho cut her?
But Anton’s only response was another raised eyebrow.
She jumped when she felt the flat of the cold blade resting against the center of her back.
“We’re going to play a game,” Brian said. “It’s called Truth or Bleed. I will ask you a question, and if your master thinks you’re lying, I will cut you. Sound fair?”
“No, it sounds psycho,” she said.
Maybe it wasn’t the wisest response, but Brian only chuckled behind her.
“First question. Did you think you were going to manipulate Anton and get your way in this house?”
Annette sighed. “Yes.” What else could she say? She had thought that. And before this moment, she’d still held out some hope that she could manage him somehow.
Anton watched her intently, but there was no need for him to scrutinize because it was an obvious question with an obvious answer. If she’d said no, no one in the room would have believed it.
“At least she’s not testing you,” Anton said.
“She’s smarter than she looks. Second question. Before last night, how many men had you been with?”
There was a pause while she tried to decide the best course of action. Two was the truth, but it didn’t sound true. She thought about lying with a higher number, but if she did that, and Anton could tell she was lying…
“T-two.”
Another raised eyebrow from Anton. “That’s the story you’re sticking with?”
“It’s the truth,” Annette said. Why the fuck would she lie about something like that with a knife blade at her back? If there was any chance Brian would honor the rules of this stupid game, she wasn’t about to give him reason to start slicing her skin into ribbons.
“Well?” Brian said. “What do you think? Is she telling the truth?”
Annette held her breath while the Russian contemplated. He stared at her so long and so intently she thought she might catch fire from it.
“Yes, I think she is.”
She let the breath out.
“Question three. Are you attracted to your master?” The point of the blade pressed lightly against her skin as if Brian was sure he’d get to start cutting now.
She was quiet for a long time. She couldn’t even look at Anton. Was she attracted to him? After this? How the hell could she be attracted to him now?
“You will give us the truth or you will bleed,” Anton said. His voice was calm. “I don’t care what the truth is, but you will give it to me, and you will look at me when you say it so I know if you’re lying or not.”
“Well?” Brian said. “Tick tock. Three seconds or you forfeit that question and we count it as a lie. Three, two...”
“Yes,” Annette blurted out.
“Truth.” A dark smile spread across Anton’s face.
“Dammit,” Brian said.
“See?” Anton said, “She can tell the truth when properly motivated.”
“Okay. Question four. What about the rest of us? Are you attracted to us?”
“In what way?” Annette asked. “I find you repulsive.”
Brian laughed. “Yes, but do we get your motor running? Are you physically attracted?”
“Yes,” Annette said, barely above a whisper.
“Truth,” Anton said.
Each time she answered a question, she tensed, afraid that Anton would call her a liar or that Brian would just disregard the rules. He buzzed with a malevolent energy. She could feel that he was itching to do her damage.
“Last question. Do you want Anton to set you free?”
The correct answer was Yes. It was the sane answer. It was the expected answer, and again she worried if she didn’t give that answer that Anton would think it was a lie, some kind of flattery, and Brian would finally be able to use his shiny new knife.
Especially in light of her current circumstances, the answer to that question had to be yes. But if he kept his end of things, Janette would graduate from college and then medical school without debt. She had been paying as best she could for her sister’s schooling in unconventional sexual ways before today. This was just another step with an even bigger payoff. As long as she was safe, it felt worth it.
Annette felt the blade press harder against her back. She was far from sure she was safe.
“Three… two...”
“I don’t know,” she said, agitated. Her nerves felt frayed on the edges.
“Sounds like a lie to me,” Brian said.
“It’s not a lie! I don’t know!”
There were too many moving parts to the question. It wasn’t a simple yes or no. If she had no sister, yes, of course she would want them to let her go. Though when she thought it, even that felt a little bit like a lie. What was it about the Russian that made her want to throw all reason and self-preservation out the window just for a few more minutes with him?
The way he’d touched her last night… she hadn’t been touched like that ever. Never had a man known how to touch her. It was as if her body had spoken for her, and his hands had responded. There had been no awkward, clumsy fumbling. Only calm assurance and a power that caused a drunk sort of feeling, not only in the person who wielded it, but also in those it spilled out over. There had been no need for conversation to pass between them. It was only that electric spark that flared to life when his hands were on her.
She’d told herself this was about protecting her sister. But she wasn’t sure that was the whole story. Annette didn’t understand any of these feelings. Playing men had been so much easier—to only have to deal with men she didn’t care for, men who didn’t spark anything inside her… to lie, to collect payment… that was much easier. She wished now more than anything for distraction. Her job. Anything so she wouldn’t have to think about any of this.
“Anton?” Brian said finally, interrupting her thoughts.
She looked up to find the Russian watching her, almost as if he could read the thoughts right out of her head as they occurred. She tried to make her mind go blank to stop him from seeing any of this. She’d always thought she was such a good liar. People were so easy to fool. Now that Anton was paying attention, it seemed like he knew everything, and there was nothing she could conceal from him.