Reyes fell to a place of vampire stillness so that his mind could work on these swiftly rendered bits of his life. No one knew of his slavery, so how did Engles?
“I see I’ve stunned you.” Engles smiled and poured his own drink. He sat down slowly in the chair opposite. Behind Engles’s chair a slow trickle of water ran down the natural cave wall. Reyes watched the water, his mind turning in deep circles.
Reyes, what’s going on? It’s as though you’ve disappeared.
I need a moment. He needed several. What was Engles’s game?
But how did he know about your past?
I don’t know. He glanced around the room and felt uneasy once more.
And this place seems familiar to you, doesn’t it? I can feel it through the chains.
Yes. Like a dream I can’t quite remember.
###
Angelica touched the chain at her neck, focusing on Reyes and Engles at the same time, as well as this small, strange room. Suddenly it was as though the edges of the space began to spin and she felt herself drifting backward in time.
Another revisiting vision, a trip into the past.
After a few seconds the full vision arrived and she saw Reyes in this exact same space, because she recognized the narrow waterfall along the natural flow of rock.
There were no chairs, however. Instead, a hard wood platform took up the same space as Engles’s current chair. Reyes lay on the table, on his back. His face was bruised, his arms bound overhead. A familiar woman with a mass of curly red hair straddled him, riding him hard.
He cried out as if in pain.
Sweet Dove.
She lifted her hand, cloaked with the cat’s claw, and dragged it down his chest, cutting deep. Blood flowed from Reyes’s wounds. He screamed in agony.
Angelica felt faint. She wanted the vision to end, but she couldn’t turn away. This was Reyes, and she needed to know something about this moment in time. She needed to understand.
She worked hard within the vision to take herself backward, to see more of the room. Someone else was present, but who?
Then she heard him: “Yes, Sweet Dove, make him come like that. It will be better for you both. He’s taken enough for now. Focus on his cock. Slow down just a little. Let him feel himself low. The pain from the cuts will dim just enough and he’ll start connecting pain with pleasure.”
Angelica knew that voice. It belonged to the man opposite Reyes in the present.
Sweet Dove cried out. “He’s hard, Master Engles. So hard. I want to come.”
“Not yet. Lean down and take the blood from his chest. This is part of the process, the reward.”
Still straddling him, she leaned forward and lapped Reyes’s blood. Tears streamed from Reyes’s eyes, which were now closed. He moaned as her hips kept working him low.
“You’ll see. He’ll grow to enjoy all of it, including the pain.”
“And you’ll slice his memories after?”
“Yes, as we agreed, so that he’ll never think of me as his master. You were always a favorite of mine, Sweet Dove. And now you’re becoming the master. How does it feel?”
Sweet Dove turned to him and smiled. “A bit like heaven.”
Engles laughed.
Angelica had seen and heard enough. She released the chain at her neck and the vision faded.
Reyes, however, stood next to her now, his hand gripping her arm. “What’s going on?”
She met his gaze, blinking hard, as though trying to remove from her eyes the sights she’d just seen. Aloud she said, “I think I blacked out. I don’t know.” But to his mind she added, Reyes, I had a vision, but I can’t talk about it right now. It involves Engles.
“On your knees, and no more of this crying out.”
Did I cry out?
Yes. Just drop to your knees before Engles becomes suspicious.
She fell quickly, bending over to plant her hands beside her knees. She felt so dizzy and sick at heart that tears once more welled, then plopped on the faux-leopard trim of her black stockings. She’d seen the beginning of Reyes’s torture, and her heart hurt because of it.
Engles had trained Sweet Dove how to become a sadist.
Reyes’s voice filled the room. “And be silent, slave.”
“Yes, master,” she whispered.
“Very good, Reyes.” Engles’s approving voice made Angelica cringe. “She’s probably just in shock. Now, on to more important things.”
His dismissive tone gave Angelica some relief. As long as Engles thought her worthless, he wouldn’t assign too much weight to anything she did.
He cleared his throat. “Now that you’ve brought your slave under control, I wanted to let you know that Scorpion asked me to speak with you tonight. I see that you’re surprised, but I’m happy to tell you that he has singled you out, hopefully for a quick promotion to the Board of Governors.”
“I beg your pardon?” Reyes was clearly stunned.
“I think you heard me.”
The leather chair creaked as Reyes shifted his weight. “I don’t understand, Engles. I’ve been a member for two days now. What have I done to deserve that kind of elevation? I wouldn’t say I’ve proved myself yet.”
“I understand why you’re skeptical, and in my view you should be. I don’t agree with the concept generally. You’re relatively new to the lifestyle and you have some growing to do. Our leader, however, believes differently and thinks you possess tremendous potential. And perhaps this will be an excellent means of proving yourself, since Scorpion has a requirement, something very simple and basic that I’m sure you won’t have the smallest problem fulfilling.”
Angelica’s chain vibrated against her neck. Clearly, Reyes didn’t like where this was headed.
“And that would be?”
“A bit of fun, actually. Scorpion commands a private show, just you and your slave, engaged in bondage play. The choice of dominance would be yours, chains, ropes, silk scarves, whatever you prefer. I will be there, of course, with my own slaves. Scorpion usually doesn’t allow me to attend, but he’s made an exception in this case. He knows how much I value your slave’s attributes, and if you haven’t figured it out by now, Scorpion and I are close business associates.”
Angelica’s mind blitzed out once more.
What had she been thinking when she’d agreed to stay? She had thought maybe she’d have to perform fellatio again. But something like this, having others view a full-on sex act while she was tied up, had been beyond the scope of her imagination.
Angelica?
For a moment she didn’t realize Reyes had just contacted her telepathically. Coming out of shock, she responded, I don’t know what to say.
A simple no will end this now.
But you think you should accept?
I want access to Scorpion, to meet him, to understand my enemy. This is so much more than I’d hoped to achieve. If I could get on the board, I’d be able to gather the information I need to destroy this organization.
Angelica didn’t know what to say. She understood how much this could mean to Reyes, but she was having a hard time getting beyond the idea of performing in what would essentially be a sex show.
His voice was once more in her mind, but softer this time. Never mind. I’m asking the impossible of you.
She heard him draw a deep breath, preparing to refuse, but she was suddenly moving toward him on her knees. She bent over his lap, her hands on his arms. “Please, master, you must allow me to do this for Master Engles. I was rude before. I want to make it up to him and to you.” She knew that right now Engles had a clear view of her ass, with only a narrow thong covering her.
Angelica, I can’t do this. I wasn’t thinking of you.
With her head buried against his slacks she said, But I agreed to be with you and we both know that if you refuse you won’t get close to the leadership for months, maybe years, maybe never. Engles is not a man to be refused. Even I know that. Please say yes. We can argue later if you
want.
“Engles, I owe my membership to you, something I’ve sought for decades. The least I could do is oblige you and Scorpion in this.”
Angelica leaned back on her heels. She watched Reyes lift his glass to Engles.
“Good man,” Engles said. “I’ll e-mail you the details. And now, I must get back to my party. Do you have other events to attend?”
“A few.”
“Enjoy.” He rose from his chair and held his hand toward the doorway.
Angelica trembled as Reyes tugged on her leash, and she gained her feet as well.
A sex show. Oh, God.
###
Reyes led Angelica out, but because Engles followed he kept her in front of him. He really didn’t need to be battling Engles right now, but Reyes still wouldn’t let the bastard touch her.
Reyes moved in a state of shock. So much had been said in that room that he didn’t know which disaster to examine first, or the truly startling reality that a command performance could lead him to a seat on the board.
Once in the foyer, Engles parted from them with an easy wave of his hand. Reyes guided Angelica outside and commanded her to move down the slope of Engles’s property to the riverside walk below.
Reyes realized she was distressed. Are you absolutely sure you want to go through with this? He could always cancel. I can feel that you’re trembling.
She kept her head lowered. I’m just overwhelmed, but I’ll do better soon. As for the sex show, we have to do it because from everything you’ve told me, getting on the board is critical.
Good. Then we’ll consider it settled. But what happened in there? Did you have another vision?
Yes, but I don’t want to talk about it right now. How about when we return home?
Of course.
By now they’d reached the stone path by Engles’s dock. Reyes was about to tell her they could leave anytime she wanted, but she suddenly murmured, “No, oh no.” Then covered her mouth with her hand.
At first he didn’t understand what had happened. He looked at the raucous party and watched slavers and their captives moving back and forth. He glanced at Angelica and saw that her eyes had filled with tears. He tracked her gaze to the deck on the left.
The young Russian human stood beside her captor, very pale, too pale. Bruises covered most of her body, as well as partially healed cuts. Her eyes were dull as she stared at nothing in particular. The circles around her eyes were deep.
And just like that, Reyes had had enough.
He didn’t care who saw him. He swept Angelica up in his arms and shifted abruptly to altered flight. He took his time, not wanting her to be sick again, but he flew her the hell out of the cavern, rules or no rules.
Angelica’s voice filled his mind as she clung to him. She’s going to die soon.
Yes.
And there’s nothing we can do.
Not a damn thing.
When he arrived back in his sitting room he sat down in his chair, pulling Angelica into his arms. She’d started to weep, and he didn’t try to stop her. His own eyes filled with tears as well.
Suddenly he was overcome. Tears tracked his cheeks for the young Russian woman, for all the slaves, for his father, who’d given his life trying to protest the growing industry, for himself and the century he’d spent locked up, used, and tortured, and finally for Angelica, that her innocence continued to take such a horrendous battering.
After a time, she grew quiet and the tears on his cheeks dried. He ordered a meal, and though she’d lost her appetite, he made her eat what she could. He encouraged her to drink some water, then forced a few bites down his own throat.
Sharing the blood-chains with Angelica had forced him to look at the horror of the situation with fresh eyes.
After the meal he took her into the bathroom and ran her a bath, adding the bubbles she’d enjoyed once before. Maybe she could take some comfort in it now.
He had his housekeeper bring Angelica a glass of red wine. Once she was settled in the bath she took the wine and began to sip. He could feel her starting to let go.
With his laptop close at hand, he checked his e-mails. He wasn’t surprised to find that Scorpion wanted the private performance the next night, at midnight, at Engles’s home, the same place the after-auction party had been held.
Reyes had intended to respond right away. Instead, his mind got caught in the earlier loop of remembering the destruction of his family and the terror of living with a sadist like Sweet Dove and of the impending death of the Russian slave.
He needed to let all this go, but the muscles of his arms and back kept seizing. Maybe firing up his five showerheads would help. Because the tub was close enough to allow for their constant proximity issue, he headed into the walk-in enclosure.
The chain at his neck had grown very quiet, another indication that Angelica was doing better.
As he let the hot water beat down on his neck what ended up bothering him the most was that he’d been aching to make love to Angelica for months now, but it looked like the first time would have to be in front of an audience.
Chapter Four
Angelica was grateful for the wine, the food, the warm bath, and even the separation as Reyes took his shower. All of it had soothed and eased her.
But she was pretty sure that seeing the Russian in a completely emaciated, battered state would live with her the rest of her life.
Now that Angelica had some distance from the entire earlier experience, her resolve returned more firmly than ever.
The revisiting vision had explained why Reyes had a sense he’d been to Engles’s home before and had also drawn a tighter line between Sweet Dove and Engles. The two had been connected for a long time, and as Engles’s protégé Sweet Dove had learned her craft by enslaving and torturing Reyes.
Hatred lived in Angelica’s heart now, aimed at both Engles and Sweet Dove for what they’d done to the man who had saved her from Engles’s brutality by buying her at auction.
She needed to tell Reyes what she’d seen in this latest vision, but she wasn’t certain how. For the past several minutes the chain at her neck had been vibrating heavily and she could feel that Reyes was locked in a level of rage and despair that he couldn’t release. The last thing she wanted to do was tell him that Engles had been present at Reyes’s initiation into the world of sex slavery.
Having finished her glass of wine, she rose from the tub, crossed to the shower, and moved inside.
Reyes faced away from her, his hands planted on the far carved-stone wall, the water steaming hot and pummeling his shoulders across the tattoo of the hawk. The chain at her neck still spoke of Reyes’s anguish.
She went to him, grateful all over again for the worthy man he’d become despite the horror of his captivity. He was attempting the impossible and had been doing it alone for decades, to destroy something that had brought him a century of pain and that murdered humans every day. Her people.
Tears burned her eyes as she moved in behind him and slid her arms around his chest. He tensed up, because she’d startled him, but then he relaxed and she felt his chest rise and fall in what felt like a terrible tremor.
She hugged him hard. She felt his body shake as he let loose. He shouted, then pounded the stone wall with his fist. He wept like one whose heart had been torn from his chest.
Angelica never let go of him; she just held him, stroked his arms, his back. She said nothing. What good were words at a time like this?
But her presence might help, a physical representation that she stood with him in this moment and that he wasn’t alone anymore.
At last, he stopped shouting and when the water grew cold he shut it off.
Slowly, he turned to face her, his cheeks drawn, his eyes haunted. “Are you ready to go back to Newport Beach, because I can’t take you one more step down this road. I’m done. It was one thing when it was just me, but I can’t do what’s being asked.”
“What’s changed?”
H
e thumbed her cheek. “What Scorpion requires of us tomorrow night Sweet Dove used to demand on a regular basis. She loved to watch me tie down one of her female slaves and work her over, bring her to orgasm, repeatedly, the more times the better. She often instructed me how to get the job done, or how she wanted it done.”
“Did you hurt them, the women I mean?”
He didn’t say anything; he just held her gaze. “There, you see what I am? I’ve bruised women just to stay alive. Still want to be with me, Angelica? Still think I’m worth anything?”
He moved past her, grabbed a towel, and started drying off. She followed him as much by the necessity of being chain-bound to him as by the need to resolve their current situation.
“Will you be expected to hurt me during the show?”
“No. Engles would have been more explicit. Besides, I’m pretty sure by now he knows I would have refused.”
“But I’ll be tied down.”
He shook his head. “Doesn’t matter. We’re not doing this.”
As he wiped down his legs, taking the towel slowly to his feet, she felt his refusal like a brick wall between them. But she wondered if he understood her own current resolve.
He lifted up, wrapping the towel around his waist.
She had things she needed to say. “I didn’t know a woman could look like that, her eyes so dead.”
“That’s the way I feel right now. Dead.”
“Anyone would in your situation.”
He glanced at her, then turned toward her. She stood completely naked. He reached for a second towel and brought it to her. “What are you saying, Angelica? Because what I’m getting from the chain makes no sense to me.”
“We have to do this, Reyes.”
He shook his head. “No. We don’t. I’ve changed my mind completely.”
She moved closer to him. “I had some time to think while I soaked in the tub, about you and what you’ve been trying to achieve. And earlier, I felt the level of your relief, when the slave from that club went through the door and crossed your threshold, moving from slavery to freedom, because you know what that feels like.” She held his gaze. “I don’t, not really, except for what I can experience through you. I don’t want to diminish how hard this would be for me, but I do want to move it out of the ‘unacceptable’ category and into ‘shit that must be done in order to achieve the impossible.’ ”