A smile curved her lips, and she pulled a small key from the pocket of her simple black dress. She hurried over and unlocked the shackle, letting it fall to the floor with a clank.
I rubbed my freed ankle. The shackle hadn’t hurt me, but wearing it was degrading, and it put me completely at the mercy of anyone who entered the room. I was still a prisoner without it, but I didn’t feel quite as vulnerable.
Ree picked up the toiletry bag. “Shall I draw you a bath?”
“No. I can bathe myself.”
I got off the bed and took the bag from her before I shut myself in the bathroom. It was luxuriously done in pink and gray marble with a deep clawfoot tub. I pulled off my bra and panties, hoping Ree had fresh ones in that garment bag. There was no way I was going commando, especially considering whose company I’d be in tonight. I shuddered at the thought.
I showered quickly and made use of the hair dryer and brush I found in a drawer of the vanity. The bag Ree had given me contained a cosmetic bag, but I decided to forego makeup. This wasn’t a social event. My captor had requested I dine with him. I didn’t need mascara for that.
Ree was waiting for me when I left the bathroom. She’d laid out the contents of the garment bag, and I was relieved to see a matching bra and panty set on the bed next to the red dress. I donned the underwear then picked up the dress, frowning at its sheer material. It wasn’t see-through, but it was too thin for my comfort.
I pulled it on and looked at myself in the floor-length mirror. The dress was sleeveless with a V-neckline and a fitted skirt that fell to mid-thigh. It wasn’t unlike some of the dresses I’d worn to clubs with Jordan, but it was definitely not dinner wear.
I set my shoulders and leaned down to slip on the red heels Ree had brought with the dress. Something told me a request for a change of wardrobe would be denied, so I’d have to go with this one.
Straightening, I saw Ree holding a black leather jewelry case. I put up my hands and shook my head. “No.”
She opened the case to reveal an exquisite diamond necklace that had to be worth at least a hundred thousand dollars. It was breathtaking but not something I’d wear. I might have to wear the dress, but I refused to adorn myself in jewels for him.
“Master bought it especially for you. It would please him to see you wear it.”
“It would please me not to wear it,” I said firmly.
Ree unhappily closed the case and tucked it into the pocket of her skirt. She looked me up and down and smiled.
“You look beautiful, my lady…Beth. Shall we go?”
I pretended to adjust my dress to cover my sudden dread over what was waiting for me on the other side of that door. But if I was going to get out of this place, I had to leave this room and see what I was up against.
You can do this.
“Lead the way.”
Ree opened the door for me, and I stepped into a hallway where two Incubi waited for us. I immediately recognized Adam’s dark-haired friend Wes. His eyes now had a silver ring around the irises, telling me he must have worn contacts the other times I’d seen him.
“Welcome to the family, Beth,” he said with a salacious smile.
I glared at him in contempt but didn’t say anything. I had no intention of making nice with anyone here. Ree was a slave, so I’d tolerate her, but I wouldn’t trust her or forget where her loyalties lay.
The mox demon was even more timid in the presence of the Incubi. She kept her eyes downcast, and her voice was little more than a whisper.
“This way, if you please.”
I followed her down the hallway, which was lined with doors, and it took me a moment to realize this must be where they were keeping the other girls. I’d been so caught up in my own predicament that I’d forgotten I wasn’t the only prisoner here. The weight of our situation pressed down on me. How was I going to get us all out of here?
I studied my surroundings, looking for escape routes, as I was escorted through the building. It didn’t take me long to see there were no windows, which meant we were most likely underground. I felt a moment of panic over that discovery. An underground structure would probably have only one way in and out, and that would be heavily guarded. The girls were too important to the Lilin, and he wouldn’t take any chances of them escaping.
Up ahead, I heard the murmur of voices, and my steps faltered when we entered a large opulent drawing room where at least two dozen girls milled about, sitting on couches or standing in little groups. The girls wore pretty pastel dresses with their hair down, and a hint of makeup. They looked innocent and virginal, exactly what the Lilin preferred.
I looked down at the revealing red dress I wore, and my stomach lurched again at the reminder that he’d singled me out to be his mate. These girls would serve their purpose, and they’d die giving birth to his offspring. He intended to keep me forever.
“Beth.”
A petite Chinese girl ran up to me, her face glowing with happiness. She wore a white dress, and a white orchid adorned her glossy black hair.
“Mei,” I said, not sure how to greet someone under these circumstances.
“Isn’t this place amazing?” she gushed. “I wish Alicia was here to see it, but Adam said only his chosen can come here.”
A dreamy expression came over her face when she said Adam’s name, leaving no doubt she was under his power. The Mei I’d met at Luna had been shy and quiet, nothing like the bubbly girl before me now. Chris was right when he said the girls would be happy and they wouldn’t even realize they were prisoners.
Thinking about him made a lump form in my throat. He had to be going out of his mind looking for me. My heart constricted when I imagined the pain he must be feeling, not knowing if I was safe or hurt or whether he’d see me again.
I thought about the last time I’d seen him, before I’d left to go shopping with Mason. He’d taken hold of the open front of my leather jacket and tugged me to him for a slow, deep kiss that had left me unsteady on my feet. Then he’d given me a smile that said he knew exactly what effect he had on me and that there was more of that waiting for me when I got home.
“Adam’s estate in France is way bigger than this place,” Mei said with awe in her voice. “He said there are gardens and a lake, and we can go outside. And we’ll have more dresses than we can count. But best of all, he won’t have to leave us for business anymore, and we’ll see him all the time.”
She sighed happily, lost in the dream he’d fed her of the perfect life waiting for her. Anger boiled in my chest. Mei and all the other girls here thought Adam cared for them. They had no idea of the real fate awaiting them.
A girl squealed. “He’s here.”
All eyes turned to the doorway. I followed their gazes to Adam, who wore a black dinner jacket and was soaking up their adoring stares. His eyes roamed the room, smiling at each girl as if she was the love of his life. They practically swooned at the brief attention he paid them. The whole display sickened me.
Adam’s blue eyes finally locked with mine, and my breath caught as my stomach fluttered. He smiled and started toward me, sending my pulse racing…in excitement.
Girls moved to intercept him, and he broke his stare with me so he could talk to them. I blinked and wavered slightly on my feet. It was like waking suddenly from a dream to find myself in a nightmare. Because only in a nightmare would I be attracted to this monster.
“All I would take now is a kiss.”
Bile burned my throat as I remembered the last thing he’d said to me before his lips had touched mine. He had kissed me to feed me his energy, the same energy he’d said would make me change my mind about him. My skin tightened in revulsion at the knowledge that his power was inside me. I felt soiled and violated, and I wanted to throw up.
I watched the girls flock to Adam, fawning over him like he was a rock star. He greeted each of them with light touches and chaste kisses that made them glow with the love they thought they felt for him.
Ree came up to me and pressed a glass of sparkling water into my hand. I tried to give it back, but she refused to take it.
“You look ill. It will help settle your stomach,” she whispered.
“Leaving this hell is the only thing that will help me,” I said bitterly.