Bare feet slapping on the cobblestones, I staggered, caught up by the flowing skirts swirling around my ankles.
The captain made a sound at the back of his throat. “We’ll have to put this off until tomorrow, Hob,” he said, thrusting open a heavy iron door and ushered me through it. “I have to deal with your people,” he murmured, his pace not slowing, even a little.
But although the kiss of elite energy lapped at the back of my skull, despite what it meant for any Elorans bold enough to stand against the empire, I was pleased. My secret was still mine, no matter how close I’d come to discovery.
I swallowed the smile, looking instead for a way to escape while the captain was occupied.
He’d brought me back to the bathhouse, but the room we entered was filled with women in all levels of undress. Each wore delicate bracelets and collars, lounging in heaps of pillows and silks. The air heavy with perfume and the high, tinkling laughter of female voices.
Pleasure slaves.
Upon our entry, several of the women squealed and rushed to greet the captain.
“My Lord Rawlings! How can this slave please you, sir?” a beautiful brunette asked, falling to her knees at his feet in a rush of transparent silk. Her nipples sparkled with tiny white gems, pebbled to draw the eye to where her flesh jiggled.
“I’ve missed you so much, sir! Allow me the honor of tending to your needs, I beg of you,” said another with waist-length black hair.
Stomach churning, I pulled air through my teeth, straining not to smell the adoration these women had for a monster. Trained devotion.
And to my horror, women continued to simper and fawn, throwing themselves at his feet until we reached a raised dais piled high with pillows. A deep, wide bathing pool was situated in the room's heart, steam billowing off the heated surface.
“My Lord,” said a beauty with eyes as green as Kyra’s. Her look of quiet pride an immediate reminder of the woman who’d offered comfort while we’d been bound in Jasper’s slave carriage. “Shall I have your private rooms prepared?”
The captain’s fingers circled my throat, and he pushed my head against his shoulder. “Not today, Alicia. I have another chore for you.”
“Anything,” she breathed, watching him from beneath the fan of her lashes with a look that might only be described as coy.
Whether it was the murmur of pure subservience, the air thick with the stink of perfume, or the dazzling array of colored silks, I couldn’t be sure. But I balked. Senses overloaded, I whined. Pushing against the captain’s chest. My head thrown back, lips parted, I gasped, seeking a single breath not laced with the choking fog of adoration for this one man.
Strong arms circled my waist, a smirk pressed to my throat, he pulled me close. Chuckling as I thrashed, he said, “This is Hob,” and turned me to face this cluster of females who would be my future. “She doesn’t like people very much, but she’s in desperate need of instruction.”
“She’s very pretty, my lord,” Alicia said as she approached with a slow, seductive roll of full hips. Dainty fingers outstretched, she fingered a lock of my caramel locks.
Before I could lash out, the captain’s grip on my neck forced me to remain still. Compliant to the silent warning.
“What other kind of training can we do, my lord?” she asked, her touch drifting past the iron collar to stroke the side of my breast.
Panic bubbled at the back of my throat, splashing with the acidic promise of rebellion that couldn’t be helped. There was only so far he could push.
“Always eager, Alicia. But this one is mine to break. Mine to touch…” He led me to an ornate column in the center of the room and attached a chain to my collar, eliminating any hope of escape with a simple flick of nimble fingers. “If you raise a hand to anyone here,” he murmured, knuckles tracing my cheek from temple to jaw, “I will toss you to my men and wash my hands of you. Understood?”
Blinking back tears, trembling where I stood before him, I nodded. “Yes, sir.”
“Good. Cal?”
The soldier stepped into the fray. All steely, hard lines. “Sir?”
“See that she behaves,” the captain drawled, holding eye contact as he backed toward the exit.
I watched him go. Watched until the door clanged shut, and could only draw breath once separated from the swirling storm of elite energy. His fire gone from my senses, leaving me shivering in the cold.
Shock.
It settled into my blood, my bones. The trembling coming from so deep inside I wasn’t sure it would ever ease.
“Where are you from?” the black-haired woman asked, a gentle smile tracing painted lips.
I could only stare at the spot where he’d last been. Bound to keep my temper, I held my tongue. I had no use for the company of women, for these soft creatures enslaved to their precious master, who offered a dedicated education in indoctrination.
