Because I didn’t want him to stop.
That thought haunts me all night until Gabriel comes back in the morning with a bowl in his hands. I’m prepared for to be filled with blood but it’s just oatmeal.
Groggily, I sit up, feeling exhausted from my lack of sleep.
He opens the cage door and sits down beside me, offering me the bowl. There’s only a spoon inside. Nothing I can use as a weapon.
“Eat,” he commands. “You need to eat.”
He’s right. My stomach is screaming in hunger. I know it’s not poisoned since that’s not Gabriel’s style. If he wanted to kill me, he would do it by butchering me into tiny pieces.
So I eat the entire bowl without complaint. I need food right now and I can’t risk Gabriel taking it away from me if I act bratty. I’ve always hated oatmeal. I would have thrown a hissy fit in my previous life if I was given this but I’m in my new life. The one where I’ve been kidnapped. I have to be smarter.
I have to grow.
Gabriel takes the bowl from me once I’m finished. “You should know that I have some men coming over tonight.”
“Chip?” I ask with a snarl.
“Yes, Chip and Issac. And a few other men. We’re getting together to celebrate my return. Luca will undoubtedly get word and that will piss him off that I’m throwing a party while he’s freaking out. It will be perfect.”
“And me?”
“You’ll remain in this cage. You’re mine now, Susanna. I don’t want my men to have you.”
His words settle in my core. For some reason, they make me feel thrilled when I know I shouldn’t. That’s Gabriel’s effect on me.
“Let me give you a shower,” he says. “I don’t want you to smell.”
“How considerate of you,” I grumble.
He only laughs.
Now that Gabriel has touched me, I feel even more self-conscious before him as I take my dress off in the bathroom. I was never one to feel insecure over my body but now I’m on full display before him and it’s intimidating. I’m not sure it will ever stop being intimidating.
Gabriel doesn’t comment on my body as he starts the shower but I can tell he likes what he sees. If he had his way, he would have already taken my innocence. But I have to cling to it for as long as possible. Once that’s gone, I’ll be Gabriel’s forever.
The shower is nice and warm, relaxing my body. Gabriel doesn’t join me this time. Instead, he settles against the counter and watches me through the glass door. Thankfully, the steam makes it hard to see through the door but I know Gabriel is watching my every move. Watching my hands glide over my body as I wash myself.
Once I’m done, he takes me back into the cage room. I’m naked as he didn’t allow me to put my dress back on.
“Get in,” he says and I do as he instructs. Gabriel leaves the room but a moment later he comes back with another summer dress. “Here.”
“Why are you giving me this?” I ask, taking the dress through the bars of the cage.
“Because my men will be over tonight. I don’t want any of them seeing you naked.”
“Chip and Issac have seen me naked.”
His eyes darken. “I know. And I don’t want them to see you naked ever again.”
Gabriel’s possessiveness settles itself into my core, making me feel warm all over. I put the dress on with no complaint and then Gabriel leaves the room. Leaving me to this cage. To my own mind.
To my own misery.
Gabriel
Ten of my closest men come over for the evening. Chip and Issac are among them. Chip instantly averts his gaze when he sees me, knowing he’s in hot water for pissing me off.
