“Fair enough. Oooh.” She grabs a set of gloves. “I’m gonna need these.”
We leave the barn, and she heads for the next cabin opposite Vincent’s. Seems she knows the pecking order. Jude’s lies to my right, my strong right hand—Vincent just in front. Rory’s cabin sits on my left, with Seth’s in front of his.
The goat bleats but follows her lead, nudging her leg now and then.
Once we arrive at Rory’s cabin, she tests the door, surprised when it opens. “Guess I should have expected the craziest in the group would keep his cabin unlocked. Oh, wow…” she pushes the door open. “Vincent wasn’t lying. He really is a slob. Perfect.”
Dirty dishes piled in the sink. Clothes haphazardly strewn all over the bed and floor. With a devious smile, Briella unties the goat and lets her loose into the cabin before opening the food bag and tossing it everywhere. By morning, she will have chewed through a good portion of the clothes and shat all over the place.
“One last thing,” she says after closing the cabin door before taking a deep breath of fresh air, taking a step toward the woods, nodding to me…expecting me to follow.
Intrigued more, I observe as she slips on the gloves, then approaches a plant growing thickly along the tree line. My lips tug into a smirk because I recognize it, though I’m curious as to how she will apply it to Rory.
She fascinates me. And when something fascinates me, it stays in my world. She caught my attention from the moment I saw her. For more reasons than one. But that one I will take to my grave. She would have to dig as deep as hell to unearth it.
I follow her back to the main cabin. She tiptoes inside, not disturbing Seth, who’s snoring away on the sofa. Jude has opted for his leather chair, book open on his chest. She glances at him, her eyes softening. I will need to consult with my partner soon. He has established the thinnest bridge of trust with her. His involvement will be necessary to maintain her presence here.
Briella is intelligent. She won’t run until she’s healed. But she doesn’t understand our Law…yet.
With me, only me, her eyes turn into prey, ready to run because it’s what she knows. Those demons in her past are why she survived the Initiation. She will confess them to me in time. Once she does, she will know without any doubt…she is our blood. Our Queen.
She fetches a product from Jude’s medicinal closet stash. Capsaicin Cream or Tincture. And a mortar and pestle. What a devilish, wicked girl.
She knows Rory’s first move in the morning will be to use the upstairs shower. I stand by, enjoying the sight of her crushing the plant before unscrewing the faucet, then smearing the oil and crushed wet leaves inside the shower head. She adds more oil to the body wash. Finally, she pours the tincture into the shampoo bottle.
I can hardly wait for tomorrow.
Once she cleans up, stashing the evidence under a stack of towels beneath the bathroom counter, I take Briella by the arm and shove her against the door.
She trembles. Good. She should fear me. Obey me. Surrender to me. Her eyes stray everywhere but mine, and she swallows hard.
“Look at me,” I command.
She hesitates at first.
“Look at me,” I growl.
Finally, she musters up the strength to lift her eyes to mine. Burning hazel eyes. The green is more prominent. My cock stirs, hardening in my pants, and I damn well know she can feel it, judging by how she flares her nostrils.
“What kind of a psycho are you?” she asks, tilting her head, genuinely curious.
With a shrewd smile, I cup her breast, thumbing her hard nipple, testing her, confirming her arousal when she hisses. “The kind who has no wish or intent to kill you.”
“The kind who gets off on his god complex and control issues?”
Fuck.
Quicker than she can blink, I swipe the sashes from the bathrobe hanging on the nearby wall hook, wrap it around her throat twice, then drag her out of the bathroom to bind it tightly to the hook in the reinforced ceiling, anchoring her here.
“Raphael!” she wheezes, her eyes widening with fear, her whole body shaking deliciously.
Smirking, I don’t hesitate to strip her, glorying in her nude form. Rory’s teeth marks have begun to fade. But the stripes and welts are pink. Jude changed her bandages before she left with Vincent. A quick healer. Good.
I have no remorse for punishing her. In the past half-hour, she’s dissected more of me while keeping the doors to her mind locked tight.
I admire her body as she struggles with the bonds around her throat until I swipe at her hands, forbidding her from interfering. Her tits bounce from her writhing, the nipples rosy and stiffening by the moment, begging to be sucked.
“Please!” she rasps, rising on the balls of her feet.
