It was my own fault they’d put me back in the shackle, but I’d never regret the reason for it. During my second dinner with Adam, I’d managed to slip away through the door in the dining room that led to the kitchen. I’d had no idea where I was going, but I’d led my captors on a chase before they’d cornered me in a supply room.
Weston had caught me, but I’d managed to give him a kick to the groin he wouldn’t soon forget. It didn’t matter how big and strong a male was. He’d whimper like a little girl when you got him where it hurts. Needless to say, he stayed away from me after that.
Someone knocked softly on the door. I didn’t bother to call out because they were coming in whether I wanted them to or not. Judging by how long it had been since Ree had delivered lunch, I figured it was time for dinner.
The door opened, and Ree entered, shutting it behind her. As she did every night, she carried a garment bag that contained whatever Adam had picked out for me to wear to dinner. He liked to dress me up in alluring outfits and pretend we were in some relationship that existed only in his fantasies.
“Hey, Ree.”
I’d given up being cool to her by day three. Mox demons were so mild-natured and apologetic about everything that it was impossible to be mean to her. Besides, it wasn’t as if my imprisonment was her fault.
She smiled and laid the garment bag on the foot of the bed. “Good evening, Beth. I hope you are well.”
“As well as can be expected.”
She came around the bed to unlock my shackle, and nodded in approval when she saw my empty lunch plate. Ree was a bit of a worrier, and she’d pleaded with me for two days about my refusal to eat. I’d been drinking water from the bathroom tap so I wouldn’t die of thirst. But by day three, my body had started to suffer from my self-imposed starvation. I had a fast metabolism, which meant I needed a lot of nutrients.
It was Ree who’d convinced me I had to eat to keep up my strength. Not eating was the same as slowly killing myself, and I was no quitter. Someday, I’d get an opportunity to escape this place, and I needed to stay strong for that.
My food wasn’t drugged, but I’d already learned Adam didn’t need to drug me to get what he wanted.
Once I was free of my shackle, I went to shower. I returned to the bedroom to see what I was to wear tonight, and I came up short at the sight of an elegant pink cocktail dress laid out on the bed. It had short sleeves and a modest neckline, and the skirt came all the way to my knees when I put it on. It was nothing like the other dresses he’d sent me and looked more like what the other girls wore.
I studied my reflection. “This is different.”
“You look lovely as always,” Ree said as she handed me a pair of white shoes.
Slipping on the shoes, I sat in the room’s only chair to await our escort to dinner. I watched Ree move around the room, tidying it efficiently, and I couldn’t help but be curious about how she’d come to work in Adam’s household.
I’d never thought much about the lives of demons like her until I met Sara, probably because I’d been trained to focus on the dangerous ones. Sara had a different way of looking at the world, which was one of the reasons I liked being around her so much.
“Where are you from, Ree? Where is your family?”
She straightened from making the bed and gave me a look of surprise. “You wish to know about me?”
“If you want to tell me.”
“There is not much to say.” She sat on the edge of the bed with her hands folded in her lap. “I was taken from my family by gulak slavers when I was fourteen. Master bought me, and I’ve been with him ever since.”
She spoke so matter-of-factly, but I could see the trace of sadness in her eyes. How cruel to be taken from her family so young and sold into slavery.
“How long have you been with him?”
“Twenty years.”
I pressed my lips together, angry on her behalf.
“Please, don’t think I’ve had a bad life here. I miss my family, but Master has never mistreated me. I could have gone to an owner who was abusive and cruel.”
“But you’re a slave. You don’t have the freedom to leave if you want to.”
She shrugged. “I have decided to be content with my lot.”
Her voice held a note of resignation, of one who had given up hoping for more out of life. In that moment, I resolved to never let Adam destroy my hope or my fighting spirit. It might take weeks or months or even years, but one day I’d be free again.
Pain lanced me when I thought about being away from Chris for that long. They said a bond could survive a long separation as long as both people wanted it. But did it weaken over time? If it took me years to make my way back to him, would he still want me, knowing who I’d been with that whole time?
“Don’t be sad, Beth,” Ree said softly. “Master will be a good mate to you.”
A loud rap came on the door before I could tell her he would never be my mate, and she hurried to open it. Weston and another Incubus stood there, and there was no mistaking the satisfied expression on Weston’s face when he looked at me. Something about it made my stomach knot with dread, and I suddenly didn’t want to leave this room.
Weston motioned for me to come, and I complied despite my misgivings. Denying Adam my presence at dinner wasn’t an option. I’d tried that on my second night here, and my Incubus guard had threatened to dress me himself and carry me to the dining room if I refused.
We walked down the hallway in our usual formation, with one guard in front of Ree and me and one taking up the rear. As we neared the drawing room, I expected to hear the now familiar murmur of feminine voices, but silence greeted me.
Weston walked past the empty drawing room and opened a door to an office decorated with old mahogany furniture and several Degas paintings. I was meeting Adam here?
I expected Weston to tell me to have a seat, but he went over to the paneled wall and pressed something I couldn’t see. A door-sized panel separated from the wall, revealing a narrow stairwell.
A shiver of foreboding went through me as we descended the stairs and entered a short hallway with stone walls and lit by wall sconces. At the end of the hallway was a pair of heavy wooden doors. One of them was slightly ajar, and Weston opened it further, waving me inside.
It was like stepping back in time. I found myself in a sitting room with a stone fireplace on one end. Two chairs and a small sofa sat before the fire, and a large Persian rug covered the stone floor. Colorful tapestries adorned the walls in lieu of windows, and the only light came from the fireplace, a wall sconce, and the tapers on a table set for two.
The cold knot in my stomach grew bigger when I took in the table and the romantic lighting in the room. I knew without asking that we were in Adam’s private quarters, and he’d planned an intimate evening for the two of us.
My heart sped up, and I wanted to flee this room. This whole setup told me Adam had decided to take things to the next level. Just the thought of what he might do terrified me.
“Beth, you look absolutely ravishing.”
I looked away from the table to see Adam standing in the doorway that led to his bedroom. He was dressed in his usual dinner attire, minus the jacket, and I tried to brace myself for what would happen next.
Warmth flooded me, and my breath quickened as a familiar fluttering started up in my stomach. Adam smiled at me, and the pull to go to him was stronger than ever. My body trembled from fighting his intoxicating power, but I knew once I gave in, it was all over.
Every time I saw him, his influence was stronger than the day before. He was feeding me his power, and the only way to do that was through a kiss. Since I wouldn’t willingly kiss him, he had to be coming to my room while I was asleep and doing it without waking me.
The idea that he was kissing me, possibly touching me, while I slept, made my stomach churn, but I was helpless to stop him. I couldn’t stay awake twenty-four hours a day, and if I were able to do that, he’d probably go back to drugging me.
Adam took a step into the room and wavered like he was dizzy. He grabbed the doorjamb for support, and Weston immediately moved toward him.
“I’m fine,” Adam told his son as he straightened.