“That’s why you don’t speak. Your accent.”
I nodded, throat tight. Jaw flexing.
“And your hair…” Deep in thought, she fingered a caramel lock.
“It’s a dye,” I whispered. “A stain made from walnuts. And I don’t think it can hold up to another shampooing…”
Alicia nodded, then said, “If he finds out, you’ll be the jewel of this harem.” It was a statement spoken without jealousy or spite. “A prize unmatched.”
A squeal escaped my throat, one that evoked the nauseating imagery the captain had painted before leaving me here. All my holes used, shared between men happy to buy my time. My body. “Alicia,please,” I whispered, my voice splintering with urgency. “When can we leave?”
The pleasure slave smoothed her palms down her skirts. Swallowing twice, a frown pinched between her brows. “I have to make arrangements,” she said, then squeezed my shoulders. “But be ready.Tonight.”
11
“Patience, sister,” Alicia whispered, and chained me to the marble column once more. Leaving me alone with Cal and a room full of men fixated on satisfying their carnal appetites. “I won’t be long.”
Heart pounding, I nodded. Helpless to do anything but watch her go.
Spine pressed to the cold stone, I settled in to wait. Ignoring the grumble of my stomach, the aching skin of my back, and the sensual energy whipping at my stunted priestess senses. Refusing to so much as lift my gaze from where it had fallen into my lap. Couldn’t bear to count the men each of the pleasure slaves serviced, and whenever the captain’s inky black gaze shimmered at the edges of my memory, I shook him away with clenched teeth and palms.
I did nothing to draw attention to myself. Didn’t so much as uncross my legs or sigh at an audible decibel.
It wasn’t until the men began to filter out, one-by-one, that I dared watch them go. Grew bold enough to taste that they were leaving tired and deplete.
The same was true for the pleasure slaves. All of them took turns lounging in the steaming bath, soaking away the pains of their work. Bathing each other with fragrant soaps, only to smear yards of naked flesh with oils and scented creams.
And still, Alicia hadn’t returned.
“Well, well, well,” said a voice I knew. One that made me lurch in hated recognition. “What have we here?”
Beau.
Wearing a simple wrap that revealed little of her aging skin, her face was swollen and bruised—purple around her left eye where the imprint of my knuckles could be seen with startling ease.
Instead of an apology, I offered a savage flash of teeth, admiring my work.
“Beau, what happened?” Tala exclaimed, rushing to her side.
The matronly woman returned my smile, though hers was cold and cruel. “Keep your distance fromthat one, girls.”
“Goodness!” Tala murmured, inspecting the damage. “Shedid this? But, why?”
“Because she’s a no good, vicious animal,” Beau hissed through a sneer. “No idea why the master is bothering with her at all. Should toss her to the other animals in the dungeons with her kind.”
“Ah,” Tala hummed. “Well, the transition isn’t… easy for all of us, is it?”
I glanced at the door, seeking Alicia’s return.
“Get her up,” Beau snapped, flicking her wrist at my face in a way that made her arm jiggle.
Cal unclipped my chain from the wall, wrapped the extra length about his wrist to be used as a leash, then stooped. One hand on my bicep, he hauled me to my feet.
But I didn’t fight them. Instead, my eyes fell to the polished tiles once more, being led on a leash without a fight. Counting down the minutes until Alicia returned with my exit.
It wasn’t until my feet hit a set of stone steps that I bothered to lift my gaze.
The bathing pool.
