“Will you?” Brian asked. “Because from what I heard you were making all sorts of demands as if you were queen of the castle. Tell me, sweetheart, do you think you’re the queen, now? We had one of those once. It didn’t end well for her.”
“N-no, Sir!”
Crack.
“What are you, then?”
“J-just a slave.”
He laughed. “Oh, you’re not even fit for that yet. Right now you’re just a dumb whore that might amuse me enough to let you live to be trained and sold. Do you know how many people I’ve killed?”
She shook her head vigorously.
“A. Lot. And I don’t feel a thing except relief when another life slips away. If I spare you today, think about that when you’re upstairs with one of the others—one of the gentle souls who can barely stand to venture down here because they aren’t dark or hard enough for it.”
“Y-yes, Sir.”
The whip cracked against her skin again, and a few drops of blood hit the floor.
“I can fuck you or I can beat you some more. Which would you prefer?”
“F-fuck. Please fuck.”
He laughed. “Good girl. Your smart mouth has no purpose here except to worship my cock. Do you understand?”
“Y-yes, Sir.”
“The only thing I want you to think about in this house is how you can please the men who wander these halls. When you’re up there being a dirty slut and you think you’re being as slutty as you can possibly be, remember you can always be better. Always strive for more. You’d better if you want to stay out of the dungeon. Obey them fast. Get sold quickly. And move far from my reach.”
He thrust into her, and she whimpered in something like relief. That was when he looked up to find Mina watching him. He was not happy.
She fled up the stairs. When she reached the top, she scanned the main hall, then ran outside and to the cafeteria. There was a game room in the west wing and the spa in the east. She bumped into Lindsay while trying to decide which direction to go in next.
“Where’s Annette?”
He gripped her shoulders, a look of concern in his eyes. “Mina, are you all right?”
“No. I’m not all right. I will never be all right. Where is Annette? I have to talk to her!”
Anton’s slave was the only person in the house that Mina felt she could be open with.
“She’s meeting with some guests. She’s not here right now.”
Mina began to pace, not caring that she looked completely insane. The other girls in the cafeteria backed away, but managed to stay close enough to eavesdrop because apparently she was the best gossip here. Her and this sick thing with Brian.
“What happened?” Lindsay asked.
“I can’t talk to you! I’m not allowed to talk to you!” She was screaming now, her voice carrying all the way out to the pool from where a few girls and trainers straggled in to watch the show unraveling before them.
“Come to my office. You need to talk. You’re falling apart.”
Tears streamed down her face. “I feel something for him. I don’t know what but something. I can’t… not when he… how can I feel anything for him when he’s such a monster? How can I do anything but cringe when he touches me? What’s wrong with me? I can’t do this anymore. I can’t. I can’t. Why did you do this to me? Why couldn’t you just follow what you said you’d do and sell me to someone kind?”
Brian groaned as he came, the new girl trembling in his arms. Her fear was intoxicating. Just the knowledge that he was in control, that he could do anything, gave him a rush like no other. He might feel peace in Mina’s arms, but he felt powerful here.
He untied her, and she slid to the ground. “Go,” he said, “before I decide I’m not finished with you.”
She scrambled to get back into her clothing and out of the cell. He doubted he’d see her again for the rest of her stay—if she had any sense in her head at all.
Now what to do with Mina? He’d told her to go upstairs. She knew why. And yet she’d defied him. She’d slunk back down in the shadows—his little voyeur who just couldn’t help touching the darkness. He’d have to do something to stop these displays of disobedience. So far it had been minor things, but he refused to let her undermine him, to become some insufferable brat.
When he reached the top of the stairs he heard Mina yelling. He ran to the cafeteria, thinking she was being hurt, only to find her talking to Lindsay. About him. About them.
“Mina!” Brian roared. “What did I tell you? And yet you go behind my back and defy me? Me! I told you to stay the fuck away from the doctor!”
He wouldn’t be affected by the terror that crossed her face. He couldn’t. He couldn’t let himself love her. She made him weak. This weak, helpless feeling in the center of his chest. It was worse than what he remembered. He had to stop caring. He had to stop.
He felt the walls as they grew around him to protect him from her.
Mina dropped to her knees. “Please, Master. I’m sorry. Please don’t hurt me. Please.”
She cringed as he got near.
Lindsay stepped in front of her. “Brian, you need to calm down. She’s not betraying you. She’s not doing anything wrong. She’s struggling.”
“I will show her struggle,” he said. He gripped Lindsay around the throat and shoved him. The doctor crashed into one of the tables, upending it and sending chairs scattering on the hard floor. “Stay out of it! How many times do I have to fucking tell you? How little do you value your life?”
Mina trembled. He raised his hand, then dropped it by his side. He was so close, so close to shifting her the barest bit out of the protection box and into a box he could deal with. Something familiar. Something that would release the knots tied inside of him instead of tie them tighter. But all he could see was the marks on her back and the stairs and the darkness and the twisted rage of his stepmother’s face as she raised the switch over and over. All he could hear was that stupid dog whimpering and then him whimpering and Mina whimpering. Only her whimpering was real—happening now.
The people who’d been crowded around when he reached the cafeteria, backed away quietly, as if trying to make themselves invisible from him. Good instincts.
Brian stalked across the room and grabbed the first girl he came to.
“NO!” she screamed, trying to struggle from his grasp, but he held firm.
Mina looked up, confused.
“Are you familiar with the concept of whipping boys, Mina?”
She shook her head. “I-I mean yes. I know what they are. W-what they were. D-don’t do this. Please, Master. Take me. Please.”
He laughed. “Such bravery all of a sudden. What happened to begging me not to hurt you? I’m sorry, but you will not defy me. If you persist in your disobedience, I will be forced to punish someone in your place.” He started to drag the girl from the room and looked back to find Mina struggling to her feet, a look of indecision on her face.
“Mina, come with me,” Brian said. “This, you will not be shielded from.”
He didn’t look back to see if she was following. He knew she was following. He took the girl to an empty cell he hadn’t used in a while and shoved her into a chair and strapped her down. Mina hovered behind him in the doorway.