He opens a door and guides me through before his arm drops from my shoulder. I step inside and look around. There’s a large bed in the center, which really is just a mattress on the floor, with blankets tossed about, looking like it hasn’t been made in weeks. There are some crates at the side with clothing hanging over them, and… no desk. No computer.
“Tony?” I ask, turning to face him as he closes the door and locks it. I swallow nervously as he looks down at me, as if waiting to see what I’ll do next. “I thought you were taking me to your office? You know, for the ID?”
“Change of plans, tiny.” He turns and pushes a bolt across the door that I hadn’t noticed at the top of the door frame. One that’s way out of my reach. My body starts to tremble as I take a worried step away from him.
He circles me slowly, then takes a seat on the end of the bed, watching me. “Come here.” He points to the ground in front of him.
I don’t want to listen, but years of being told to obey have me stepping toward him before I even know what’s going on.
He nods in approval before twirling his finger in a circle. “Turn… slowly.” I clench my hands into fists and I do as he says, hoping it will give me a chance to think of a way out of here.
“Good. Now, take off your dress.”
“What?!” I screech in shock, jumping backward away from him. “I can’t!”
“Why not?”
I want to tell him it’s because he’s gross, his breath smells like beer, I don’t like him, and he makes my skin crawl, but I decide that insulting him might not be the best idea. I might be naive, but I’m not an idiot.
“It’s illegal.”
He frowns. “What is?”
“Sex before marriage.”
His eyebrows raise high on his forehead before he releases a laugh. Stroking his hand through his beard, he asks, “Where the hell did you come from?”
“I—I can’t answer that.”
“Hmm. Almost perfect.”
“What do you mean?” I ask, taking another step away from him.
“I should thank whoever made you this way. But there’s still a hint of a backbone in there. Regardless, I can work with this.” I try to make sense of his words as his eyes trail down my body and back up again. “Never thought I had a thing for snow white before, but hot damn.” He lets out a laugh as he cups himself between his legs.
“I need to go. Forget the ID,” I say in alarm, moving quickly to the door.
“Sorry, tiny. You ain’t going anywhere.”
“What do you mean?” When the door won’t budge, I turn back to him, my back pressing into the door and my heart hammering hard in my chest as I wait for his answer.
“I’ve been looking for someone like you for a long time. The club sluts are good at sucking cock and all, but after a while they get old, and they ain’t worth my time when they start talking back. What I need is a good girl, like you. Someone who’ll be obedient and loyal. Someone whom none of the others have ever touched. Someone who will do whatever I say.”
My eyes widen in fear, unsure if I’m understanding him correctly. “Are you saying you want to marry me?” I ask, making him bark out a laugh as he shakes his head.
“Marry? No. We don’t do that here. We have our own ceremony, though, and that includes me fucking you in front of my men, so they know you’re mine.”
“I-I… I don’t want that!” I cry out in alarm as I try again to turn the door handle, desperate to get away from him.
“You’ll learn to love me,” he says as he stands and movesin front of me, forcing me to press my back to the wall beside the door. “And if you obey me, then I’ll never raise a hand to you. You have my word.”
He pushes a strand of my black hair behind my ear before trailing his hand down my face to my neck, making me cringe in revulsion. The feeling makes my skin crawl.
He rests his hand gently on my throat as he bends down closer and whispers, “And if you defy me, especially in front of my men…” He tightens his hand and I gasp, my hands flying to his as I try to pry it off of me. “You’ll pay.”
The threat is clear, and as tears spring to my eyes, I can’t help but wonder if I’ve jumped straight from one cage into another.
Holding me by my throat, he turns and moves me to sit on the bed, then lets go. I gasp, my hands flying to my throat as I take in deep lungfuls of air.
