Chapter 5
5
BIRDIE
A laric is handsomer than I expected. He has gentle creases around his eyes and a weathered texture to his skin. For a man old enough to be my father, I still find myself incredibly attracted to him. Maybe it was the way he spoke to my stepmother and pulled me away from her for a dance. Or maybe it’s because I can see something soft and kind beneath that rough and broody exterior.
I find something comforting in the roughness of his hands and the delicate way he holds mine.
“Please,” I whisper, staring up into his cool blue eyes.
“I told Violet I would think about it,” he says weakly.
“And have you…thought about it?” I ask.
He takes a deep breath before giving me a sympathetic expression. “It’s complicated, you know. What you’re asking could be risky for me.”
“Riskier than being sold to a cruel or disgusting man?” My tone has grown cold. “Riskier than being fucked by a stranger or sold like property?”
“Yes, as a matter of fact,” he replies. “Deceiving your father’s widow could bear serious consequences for me. What happens when she finds out I was an accomplice in your little scheme? Your stepmother still has very powerful connections, you know. I do just fine on my own. I don’t need complications from a desperate little girl too afraid to face the music.”
My eyes widen as I tear myself out of his grasp. “You have no idea what my life is like,” I whisper angrily. “And I am not afraid. Just because I’m choosing to fight back against the cards that were dealt to me does not mean I’m a coward. If anything, you’re the one who sounds afraid.”
With that, I spin away from him, leaving him on the dance floor as I march toward where I spot Violet near the door that leads to the large balcony overlooking the grounds.
When I reach her, I don’t stop. My stepmother wouldn’t let me stand around and speak to her anyway. I need to just disappear for a moment, so I rush out the door straight to the large stone railing.
As soon as my fingers grasp the edge, I take a deep breath, willing my tears not to well in my eyes. It only takes a moment before I feel soft hands brushing my hair out of my face and rubbing my back.
“Are you okay?” she whispers.
“He won’t help us. No one will help us,” I reply.
“So we have to help ourselves,” she says matter-of-factly.
Turning toward her, I wrap my arms around her waist and bury my face in her neck. “What are we going to do?” I cry. “It’s not like we can just walk out of here.”
She rubs my back to console me, but she doesn’t speak. Probably because she doesn’t know what to say. There is no good way of getting out of here. We’re trapped. We don’t have a car. We’re too far away from anything to walk. Besides, the moment we go missing, my stepmother would send someone after us. It would be a lost cause.
Violet takes my face in her hands. “I don’t want you to worry. If Alaric doesn’t pull through for us and some monster wins you in that auction, I swear I will burn this place to the ground. No one will touch you. Understand? No one.”
I sniffle as I stare into her eyes. Then my gaze falls to her lips, and on my next breath, she closes the distance and presses her mouth to mine. Her tongue is soft as she sucks on my bottom lip. We grasp at each other desperately, and I feel her putting as much desperation and passion into this kiss as I am.
Suddenly, the click of heels on the stone floor echoes closer. Out of the corner of my eye, I see someone pass through the light shining from inside. Violet and I quickly tear away from each other and turn together to see my other stepsister joining us on the balcony.
“Mom is looking for you,” Luna says with bitter disgust in her voice. I don’t know which one of us she is talking to, but at this point, it doesn’t matter. We’re both doomed.
“Come on,” Violet says to me as she takes my hand in hers. Slowly, we walk together toward the door.
I feel Luna’s judgment-filled eyes on us as we pass by her, but when she mutters something quietly to us, Violet snaps. After pulling her hand from mine, she slams her sister against the exterior wall and presses her forearm against her throat.
“What did you say?” she snarls in her face.
“I said you make me sick ,” Luna replies with a sneer. Her face is turning red as she struggles against Violet’s hold.
“Violet, let her go,” I cry out in a low whisper, so we don’t draw attention from the other guests.
“The only thing sick around here is you and how you seem to have your head so far up our mother’s ass, you’ve practically become her.”
“Violet, please,” I beg as Luna’s eyes begin to bulge.
“What kind of sister are you, anyway?” Violet asks, and I hear the raw emotion in her voice. She’s hurt. “You may not care about Birdie as much as I do, but you’re a monster if you think she deserves any of this.”
“After the way her father treated us,” Luna mutters breathlessly.
Violet’s head tilts as she stares at her sister in confusion. “And the way you’re treating her now…”
Finally, she lets her sister go. Luna sucks in a big breath, bending over and holding on to her knees as she forces air into her lungs.
Violet glares down at her with contempt. “You’re no better than he was.”
Then she grabs my hand, and the two of us rush inside.
The rest of the evening is spent at my stepmother’s side. Various men come and go, each of them talking about me as if I’m not standing right here. They make disgusting remarks about my body, my age, and how pure I am. It’s like these people only see one thing as sex, but little do they know I’ve had plenty of sex—just not with a man. But they don’t seem to care about that.
According to them, if it’s not a dick penetrating a vagina, I’m still a virgin. What a bunch of Neanderthals.
Violet stands on the other side of her mother, glaring insidiously at each of them.
Alaric is lingering across the room, staring at me most of the night with a look of contempt on his face.
Part of me regrets fighting with him in the first five minutes we met. I never argue with anyone, except for Luna. It’s not like me to speak up to someone like Alaric the way I did. But he brought something out in me.
The way he seemed to protect me from my own stepmother brought out a sense of strength I didn’t know I had. As twisted as this sounds, he did what I think most men should do for their daughters. My father never instilled strength or confidence in me. When he wasn’t completely ignoring me, he was shouting at me to go away, be quiet, and do what I was told.
Feeling protected by Alaric was oddly nice. And as I glance at him across the room, I wish he’d do it again.
A short man with scars on his face and a ring through his ear steps into my line of vision so I can no longer see Alaric. He smiles at me with a grotesque and creepy grin that makes me take a step back.
“What a peach,” says the man in a raspy voice and thick British accent. “Is she ripe?”
I make a repulsed face and try to back farther away from him as he leans closer. My stepmother presses a hand to my back, shoving me toward the disgusting man.
“She’ll go for a pretty penny tomorrow,” Clarissa says with pride.
“No doubt she will,” the man replies as he drags a finger down my arm. I shudder, trying to move out of his grasp only to be shoved closer again.
“How about a test drive before the auction?” he asks. “I’d like to see how it feels behind the wheel before I place my bets, if you know what I mean.” As he lets out a disgusting laugh, I feel my stomach sour with terror.
My eyes scan sideways toward my stepmother. She wouldn’t let me be dragged away by this stranger, would she?
“I’ll keep her in mint condition,” he says with a wink as he glides his hand up the side of my body. I let out a whimper and notice Violet growing restless on the other side of her mother. Then, the man reaches out and pinches my nipple through my dress. Pain radiates through me as I let out a yelp and bat his hands away.
“Don’t you touch her!” Violet shrieks as she puts herself between me and the man.
“I’ll touch who I want, cunt,” he snaps in return. He tries to push her away, and panic rises up my chest. I can feel the attention of those around us, and that’s the last thing I want. My stepmother will just find a new way to torture me if I embarrass her.
Out of nowhere, the man howls in pain. I look up to find that Alaric has him by the back of the neck, snarling in his face. “Did she say you could touch her, fuckface?”
“Jesus, Ric. Calm down,” the man replies with a wince. “You know violence isn’t allowed at the auction.”
“I don’t give a shit. If you even think about looking at her again, I’ll make sure your next trip home to England is in a body bag.”
“Got it.” The man puts his hands up in surrender, and I notice the way they tremble.
“Get the fuck out of here,” Alaric says, grunting as he shoves the man away.
Then he turns toward me and grabs my hand. “Mrs. Windsor, I’d like a word with Birdie.” I yelp as he pulls me toward him.
“You already had your dance with her, Mr. Stone,” she implores. I can tell by the look on her face that she’s not happy, and when my stepmother isn’t happy, I’m usually the one to pay for it.
Alaric doesn’t answer. He’s too busy dragging me away from the gala, down a long hallway.
“Where are we going?” I ask, but he doesn’t answer. We don’t stop as we continue up a set of carpeted stairs until we reach a guestroom door that I assume is his. My stomach is in knots as I watch him use his key to unlock it. When it beeps and he opens the door, I simply stare at it in confusion.
“Inside,” he barks, but I don’t move. He lets out a sigh. “I’m not going to hurt you, Birdie, but I can’t sit there and watch those fucking creeps paw all over you any longer. You’ll stay in here until the gala is over. Then you can go to your own room.”
A feeling of relief and warmth passes through me. He’s protecting me. Again.
But why?
Without another word, I step into his room and he closes the door behind us. The moment I’m safely closed in the room with him, he relaxes. Taking a deep breath, he loosens his tie.
I clutch my hands in front of me. “You realize tomorrow night those creeps will bid on my hand in marriage, but it’s too risky for you to help me. Remember?”
He grimaces as he crosses the room toward the wet bar, where he pours himself a glass of something amber.
“I said I would think about it.” He grunts.
I march toward him. As he lifts the glass, I wrap my fingers around it, take it from him, and bring it to my lips instead. I swallow the shot of whatever that was in one hot, stinging gulp. It goes down like fire, and I start coughing immediately.
He chuckles as he pats my back.
“God, what is that?” I ask between fiery coughs.
“It’s whiskey. Cheap whiskey because that’s what I grew up on.”
“You grew up on whiskey?” I ask with astonishment, making him laugh.
“You know what I mean.”
“It’s awful!” I shriek, which makes him laugh more.
“I could have warned you. Why on earth did you do that?”
I stand up, shaking off the urge to vomit. “Tomorrow may be the worst day of my life. Not only could I be forced to marry someone cruel and terrible, but the minute he gets me back to his room, he can literally do whatever he wants to me, and I’ll have to endure it. So let me get a little drunk tonight, please.”
“Jesus,” he mutters. Then he pours another and hands the glass to me. “This time, don’t take such a big gulp. If you want to shoot it, hold your breath. The air is what makes it burn worse.”
Furrowing my brow, I throw the shot back, but this time, I make sure not to swallow a bunch of air at the same time. It still burns like hell, but I don’t cough—as much.
He smiles proudly, and it makes my stomach flutter. He really is handsome. And almost kind.
“Good girl,” he says softly, and that flutter turns into a hurricane in my belly.
I’m staring into his eyes for a little too long when we’re interrupted by a knock at the door.