45. Ember
CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
EMBER
I hold the white sheet around myself with a vise grip as Lucas smirks to himself.
When he demanded I strip, I almost threw up at the thought of being naked in front of him, but to my surprise, he threw the sheet at me and walked out, returning a few minutes later with a chair for him to sit on.
I press my back against the cold concrete wall, trying—and failing—to force comforting breaths into my lungs.
If he wanted to hurt me, he would have done it by now.
If he wanted to rape me, he had the chance while I was passed out, or even when he demanded me to strip.
He chuckles to himself as he types away on his phone, the photos he took likely already being delivered to Orion.
He’ll be losing his mind. I don’t need to be there to know that, because his feelings for me are anything but rational at the best of times.
The way that man loves me scares me as much as it excites me.
“The property developer from Vegas is rolling in cash, yeah?” he asks, looking up at me with amused eyes, and I swallow around the retort that tries to break free.
I nod. “Max has money.”
“Fuck yeah.” He chuckles to himself as he continues typing, barely paying me any mind.
“Lucas?” I say softly.
“Yes, Ember?”
“Would it be possible for me to use the restroom? And maybe have something to eat? I’m not feeling very well.” Not a lie. I actually feel like death warmed up right now, and I don’t think I can put it down to the drugs anymore.
My entire body feels like it’s shutting down, which honestly, I don’t blame it considering the position we’ve found ourselves in.
He frowns. “Are you going to try to escape?”
“No,” I reply. “I’m too weak to even attempt it right now.”
He considers me for another second before nodding once. He stands, slipping his phone into his pocket and holding his hand out to me. “Come on, then.”
I look down at the sheet wrapped around me. “Can I have some clothes?”
“No.”
Without warning, he tugs me toward the door and quickly unlocks it.
He drags me down a long hallway, the cool concrete making my feet ache with each step I take, but I swallow down the whimper that tries to break free.
I will not show this man my weakness.
He doesn’t deserve it.
Sure, I’ll play my part. Play the victim, act scared and weak and broken. But he’ll never truly see the parts of me that he wants.
My true submission is reserved for Orion, and I don’t plan on ever giving it to anyone else.
I’m dragged past a table of men playing poker, their eyes roaming over my almost naked body hungrily, but I quickly snap my eyes forward.
They could definitely be a problem, but I have to hope that Lucas is possessive enough that they won’t touch me.
He stops suddenly outside a door, and I slam into him, too busy looking at my surroundings to stop myself in time.
His hands wrap around my hips and trap me between his body and the wall.
A wave of nausea rolls over me, but I refuse to show him fear.
“If you wanted my body on yours, Ember, you could have just asked.”
“I just lost my balance,” I say softly, blinking up at him through long lashes.
This would be a lot easier if he didn’t know I had a whole lot of badass in me, but he seems to eat up my softness, exactly as I want him to.
He chuckles. “Of course you did.” His eyes flicker to the door beside us. “Do your business. Once you’re finished, I’ll get you something to eat.”
“Thank you.”
Lucas trails his fingers down my cheek in a gesture that’s far too intimate for my liking. “Anything for my bride-to-be.”
I slip through the bathroom door before allowing the panic to roll over me in brutal waves.
Fuck.
He’s really committed to this whole marriage thing, which is not ideal.
I wonder if I can push it out, give Orion more time to find me.
Maybe I could fake an illness. I feel nauseous enough that it wouldn’t even be that far from the truth.
I shake myself off and quickly use the toilet. It’s surprisingly, and thankfully, pretty clean in here, but there are no windows, which means I’m just as clueless as to where we are as I was before I left my cell.
“Hurry up,” Lucas says from the other side of the door.
I splash some water on my face, hoping it will help regulate my nervous system, but I don’t think any of my body will be regulated until I’m no longer in an eternal loop of anxiety and panic.
I open the door and shuffle out, looking up at Lucas through what I hope are innocent eyes. That’s one thing I noticed about the women he preferred at the club. He liked them to seem helpless, and that’s a part I think I can play, at least in the short term.
He grasps my bicep and pulls me back toward the kitchen area where the guards had been playing poker, but they’re all notably absent now.
Thank God.
Lucas is bad enough. I don’t need more men gawking at me and my barely covered body.
He shoves me into a vacant seat and opens the small fridge in the corner, pulling out what appears to be a microwave meal.
This is very organized. Like it’s something he’s been planning for a while.
If that is the case, and Orion can find a hacker, there’s a chance there’s a trail that exists that will lead them here. Wherever here is.
He stabs the top film and shoves it into the brand-new microwave.
At least when he was concocting this plan, he planned to feed me. That’s good, I suppose.
“What about Peru?” Lucas asks, resting his back against the counter to face me.
“Is that where the llamas are?”
He cuts me with a glare, letting out an irritated huff. “You’re not being very helpful.”
“I’m sorry,” I murmur, dropping my eyes to my hands in my lap. “Like I said, I don’t know much about anywhere outside the US. Hell, I don’t really know the US that well.”
The admission makes my stomach roll uncomfortably.
I was good at school, but when they got wind of me living on the street, the teachers started asking questions and alluded to calling social services.
I couldn’t go back to foster care, and so I had to stop going to school, a fact that has brought me nothing but shame over the years.
A large hand brushes through my matted hair, and I flick my eyes up to meet his. “It’s okay, Ember. I’ll figure it out for us. You just worry about being a perfect wife and mother to our children.”
“Children?” I ask, a fresh wave of panic battering against my chest.
“Of course. I need an heir. Two or three would be best, I think. You know how kids are these days. Gotta make sure at least one of them is useful.”
My mouth drops open in surprise at the same time the microwave beeps, tearing his attention away from me and my shock.
If I didn’t already know I needed to get the fuck out of here, I sure as hell do now.