ALICE
As the infirmarydoors close behind me, I’m on the verge of a breakdown. My mind is a storm, still anchored back in the yard where I was surrounded by men.
So many of them, staring at me like a slab of fresh meat.
Three days in solitary, and I was praying to be let out. To see the sun, smell the fresh air. But I knew it would never happen. Not until Killian said so. Which is why I was so surprised when that random guard, the one with the mustache, showed up and told me it was time for exercise.
It felt wrong to go with him.You have to wait for Killian.That’s what I told myself. But what was I supposed to do? Disobey a guard’s orders? So I let him take me outside, and within seconds, I was surrounded.
Eyes…that’s what I remember most. Bloodthirsty eyes, plotting and planning as they scoured over me, not even seeing me as a person but as a simple object of desire.
Even now, I can still feel their hot, sweaty bodies against me. Smell their sour musk as they closed in. Their hands, fingers, groping at me, knowing I was helpless to fight back.
But thenheshowed up.
Killian.
He strode into the crowd like Thor, parting the sea of madmen as he walked over to me. What could I do but kneel before him?
He’s here to save me!I thought. And then his lips moved.
“Causing trouble again?”
I couldn’t believe it. My stomach sank and my mind blanked. I zoned out completely as I was hauled from the yard—not by him but by one of his cronies.
For a moment, I actually allowed myself to believe that he cared about me. But now as I sit on the infirmary bed and look up to see Killian staring down at me, his eyes cold and firm, I realize I’m just another inmate.
How could I be so stupid to think he would ever have real feelings for me? The better question is, why do I even want him to?
“Examine her,” he barks at the doctor, who quickly starts going over my body with gloved hands. I squirm back against his touch but feel myself drifting off again.
There’s nothing I can do. I’m not a person here. Just a number.
“I told you not to make a scene,” he growls. “These men here…they’re starving for a woman. Don’t you understand that!?”
His words sting like needles. I curl up and retreat into myself. It’s like my favorite teacher scolding me while I beg for his approval. Without meaning to, I’ve disappointed him. Caused trouble for him.
If only I could make him understand that this was not my fault!
“Maybe solitary confinement wasn’t enough. Maybe I need a new form of punishment for you.”
I flinch against the doctor’s hand as he touches a brand-new bruise on my arm. One of the men in the yard grabbed me just before Killian showed up.
“That hurts!” I yelp before I realize what I’m doing. I raised my voice? Inthis place?I know what comes next: punishment.
My eyes snap to Killian as he rolls his shoulders back, making him look even taller than usual. Keeping his gaze on me, he barks to the doctor, “Get out.”
Without a word, the doctor backs his way to the door. The guard opens it for him, and Killian waves a hand. “You too. I’ll conduct the exam myself. This one is…extra troublesome.”
“Sir,” they reply in unison before stepping out. Killian closes the door behind them and with a single strike from his palm slaps the deadbolt in place, locking us in.
My pulse quickens. I fight to stop myself from panting. Staring at him in his suit, holding his punishment rod by his side—it’s too much. I can’t take it. He’s just too handsome. Starting to feel faint, I just have to look away.
He moves closer. I hear the clicking of his boots against the cold floor. Feel the gravity of his presence like a physical touch as he closes in on me.
The tension in the air is like a match about to be struck.
He stops at the bed, and I keep my eyes down. I can see the rod by his side and just know he’s going to use it on me. Finally, I will feel its sting.
