18. Chapter Eighteen
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
I woke again to Benedikt’s flaccid cock partially inside of me. Why was I sleeping so often lately? Was it the depression? My belly was bloated, and I scratched it a bit. I yawned, as if I was ready to take another nap. Maybe I needed pills to boost my energy or something. I heard women were susceptible to low iron. Maybe that was what this was.
I went to the bathroom and did my morning routine, refusing to admit that it was strange to wake up in Benedikt’s arms. As his wife, I was used to cold sheets in the morning. I didn’t know how to act when he woke.
Did I say good morning or something to him?
My mind whirled as I stumbled out of the bathroom. I headed into the closet and got dressed. When I stepped back out, Benedikt was sitting up in bed.
“Morning, wife.” He shot me a grin.
“Hello,” I murmured.
I crept toward the door, trying to make my way out.
“Where are you going?” He rasped, stretching, and my eyes caught on his abs.
“I’m heading down to eat breakfast.” I’d just decided that .
“We can get the servants to bring it to us. Get back into bed.” He wiggled his eyebrows at me.
I shook my head. “No.”
His smile fell a bit. “Come here.”
I stepped backward away from him. “I can’t.” He drove me insane. I couldn’t trust him.
“Get in bed, Isadora,” he demanded.
I was almost to the door. “No, Benedikt. I can’t think when you’re around.”
I reached for the knob. It was just in reach, but Benedikt leapt out of bed and I let out a screech, trying to grab the doorknob to get away from him. He wrapped a muscular arm around my waist, and lifted me off the floor. I kicked the air as he forced me back into bed.
Benedikt laid on top of my body, allowing me to go red in the face as I tried to struggle away from him.
“You are my wife, and when I give you an order, I expect you to obey,” he growled.
If only he wasn’t so fucking sexy. His silver hair turned me the fuck on. “Get off of me,” I cried, trying to buck him off my body.
“Hmm, I think I’ll stay like this until you calm down,” Benedikt warned.
He did just as he said. He forced me to lie underneath him, while I tried to fight my way out. I demanded that he let me go, however, he didn’t give in. When I ran out of steam, I noticed how hard his cock was.
Didn’t he get enough of me already?
I laid still as he touched all over my body. He groaned my name in my ear, and before I knew it, he’d pushed my clothes aside and slid inside of me. It was quick. We both reached our climaxes, and he left me trembling after he had his way.
Benedikt got dressed and left to take care of business, and I stayed in bed. How could I fall in love with someone like him? He was awful, old, and ruthless. However, he was gentle with me.
He treated me with such tenderness it killed me. He wasn’t like the other men in his family. I was unsure how to handle him. There was something inside of him that called to the broken part of me, that girl that screamed inside the crypt, begging to be let out.
Benedikt understood her.
Was this life so bad? I hadn’t felt safe like this. Benedikt hadn’t harmed me. Nor my sisters, even though they were being sold, in some fashion, back to their families. It could be worse.
I rolled out of bed and got ready again. I headed to the East Wing. I went inside and saw one of the girls. “Kaida,” I said warmly.
She’d taught the girls a bit of Japanese at The Academy, proud of her heritage. Many of the girls said her father was a cruel man, and that her upbringing was so dark no one spoke of it. All I knew was she was beautiful, and that was dangerous in this world.
Her jet-black hair gleamed, even in captivity. It always had. Her dark skin glowed, as if she’d slathered a fresh layer of moisture on herself.
“Isadora,” her accented voice raised in surprise.
I wasn’t supposed to be here today; Benedikt wanted me to keep to the gardens and stay away from the captives, but I couldn’t help it. Because of her exotic looks, Kaida was forced to do heinous acts at the hands of some teachers. Ridiculed for her stutter, she was trying to speak more clearly, and was usually embarrassed when she stumbled on her words.
“How are you feeling?”
She had gotten injured during the rescue, and lost part of her hearing in the wreckage. “The doctor said my hearing is going to remain at a 30% function,” she said a bit loudly .
I understood though. She couldn’t hear accurately. It made communicating much harder for her.
“I know Roman uses sign language. Maybe we can pick it up too, and then we can learn what the men are saying to each other.” I grinned.
“G-good idea.” Kaida flushed.
I didn’t point out that her stutter was adorable. She probably wouldn’t appreciate it. We both snuck into Tiffany’s room. She was in the gardens around this time. We grabbed her phone and searched for sign language books.
I ordered a few, and we raced out after putting the phone back. It would be awful to be caught by the Pakhan’s wife. That would end in disaster. Once that was done, we headed back to the East Wing and hung out.
Kaida was a cool person to be around.
I hoped her family didn’t have to do too much to buy back her freedom. I told her I was going to run to the kitchen and grab us some water. We’d been talking for so long that my throat was parched.
Kaida stayed behind as I headed downstairs.
I wasn’t gone too long, but by the time I rushed back up the stairs with our bottles of water, Kaida was gone. I checked the common areas and lastly her room. There wasn’t a sign of her anywhere.
I was going to tell my husband about this.
Someone may have hurt my friend and, until I solved it, I was on a no-sleeping time frame. I headed straight back to Kaida’s room, but couldn’t find a trace of where she’d gone. Nothing was out of place and there didn’t seem to have been a struggle at all. Something was wrong. This was too clean.
I didn’t understand where she’d disappeared to, but I knew it likely wasn’t safe. I couldn’t find any clues, so I was disheartened.
I found Benedikt in the study and he was with someone I hadn’t met yet. They were looking at a computer screen between them, but the room was filled with all kinds of gadgets and computer stuff.
“Isadora, what brings you here?” Benedikt asked. He walked over to me and gave me a gentle forehead kiss.
“I wanted to speak with you,” I said in a hushed voice. I didn’t want his friend to overhear, because I didn’t know him.
“Oh, that’s Makari. He’s family, and works within the Brotherhood. Anything you need to say, you can address it in front of him. It’s safe, I promise,” Benedikt assured me.
I still didn’t trust the guy, but I heard what my husband said.
“One of my sisters is missing.” Once I said it out loud, I could feel my lip trembling.
Benedikt pulled me closer to his body. “Tell me everything.”
I told him everything I’d seen and heard, leading up to her going missing.
“What did you say her name was?” The stranger interrupted.
“Oh, I don’t know her last name, but her first name is Kaida. She speaks Japanese fluently.”
I thought back. She was supposed to teach me some phrases as well because I’d always loved the language.
The air grew tense, as both men stiffened at her name.
I peeked up at each of them, but focused more on Benedikt. “Do you know her?”
He thought for a second, and something flashed in his eyes. I blinked, but it was gone in the next moment.
“Can’t say that I’ve heard her name, but what I can do is put together some men and get searching for her.” Benedikt came up with a solution.
My shoulders fell in relief, realizing he was taking this seriously .
“Yeah, I can help facilitate that,” the stranger behind the desk drawled.
I narrowed my eyes at him. There was something that I didn’t trust about him. Cruelty, that was missing from Benedikt when I interacted with my husband. This man was violent. A dark, crazy storm brewed within the depths of his gaze.
I looked away first. Something didn’t feel right.
“Let me get to work on this. Why don’t you take a walk around the gardens? I heard Tiffany is planting something new.” Benedikt was quick to jump into the conversation between me and the stranger.
I nodded and headed out of the study. It wasn’t until I was halfway to the garden that I realized something. It shook me that there were secrets my husband was keeping from me.
Benedikt didn’t trust me, and without trust, what was this farce of a marriage?