19
Lucia
The blanket of warmth is no longer around me, causing me to jerk awake. Lying on a cot, I look around wildly, unable to recognize my surroundings. A moment later, I realize I’m back in my room.
Sitting up slowly, I look toward the closed door. The slightest movement makes me ache all over. My body feels so exhausted, that I can barely move. A familiar scent wafts into my nostrils, making me notice the overlarge shirt I’m wearing.
I can’t believe I fell asleep in Damien’s arms like a child. How could I feel safe enough to doze off like that?
The door to the bathroom opens. Looking that way, I spot Damien walking out with a basin in his hands.
Coming over to the bed, he places the basin on the edge of the bed. Steam wafts from the water’s surface. The scent of lavender spreads in the air, calming me immediately.
He dips a towel into the hot, steaming water, wrings it out, and slides the warm cloth over my knees. Next, he wipes over both the soles of my feet, cleaning up the matted dirt and blood there.
Closing my eyes, I revel in his gentleness. Damien’s gesture soothes my nerves, relaxing me completely.
Dipping the cloth back into the water, he rinses it before wringing it out again. He parts my thighs and wipes between them, effectively cleaning up the mess sticking there.
My cheeks heat up at the gesture.
Damien’s gentleness is a stark contrast to the way he invaded me in the woods. He’d been a beast then, uncaring about my protests and struggles.
He’s still bare-chested, allowing me a glimpse of his well-defined pecs and the tattoos that adorn his torso. The room is cold but he lets me keep his shirt.
I stare at his heavily scarred face. Someone gentle and kind lurks behind that cursed mask. The young man I once fell in love with is there too.
Pressing on my shoulders, he makes me lie back on the pillow. The warm towel now slides between my pussy lips.
My cheeks burn. A moan escapes me as I struggle not to respond to him. I’m sure he notices my reaction but stays silent.
When he’s done, he gets to his feet and picks up the basin of water. Glancing down at me, he adds, “Stay here.”
“Wait,” I say at once, clutching his trousers.
He raises his brows.
“There’s so much I want to ask about,” I say. “Don’t you think I deserve some answers after everything you’ve made me go through?”
“Your questions can wait,” he says in a deep, gruff voice. “Stay where you are. I’ll be right back.” He walks away despite me trying to hold him back.
Lying on the pillow, I let my tears flow. Lilja’s betrayal stings. There’s no way he’d have caught me so easily without her telling him.
Helplessness seeps into me. No one can help me escape Damien and his brothers. I’m sure Callum won’t give up trying to get me back but I’d rather be dead than be handed over to him.
My mind strays to the moments Damien held me down forcibly and thrust into me. My body had never felt so alive. The mix of pain, pleasure, and humiliation was like a drug that erased every thought from my head.
I hate the man but love the way he uses and abuses my body for his pleasure. My feelings and emotions are starting to scare me. I can’t let them get me chained to these men who have nothing but hate for me.
A click sounds at the door and next moment, Damien walks inside with a tray in his hands. Sitting up straighter, I wait as he moves toward me.
When he comes closer, I see he’s brought me food. The warm aromas wafting into my nostrils make my stomach groan loudly.
“Eat,” he says, setting the tray before me.
I eye the big bowl of stew, slabs of bread, and a plate of salad topped with chunks of salmon and boiled eggs. My mouth waters at the sight.
I glance at Damien, wondering if this is another cruel prank he’s devised to torture me. Will he allow me to eat more than a bite of this delicious-looking meal? Will he snatch the tray away, leaving me hungrier than I already felt? Is the food even safe to consume?
“I haven’t poisoned it,” he says.
My head whips up. His gaze pierces through me, easily discerning the thoughts in my mind.
“You’re no good to me dead, Lucia,” he says slowly. “I need you to suffer for a very long time.”
His threat should scare me but at this moment, I only care about the food.
Reaching out, I grab a thick slice of buttered bread. My gaze stays fixed on him as I take a large bite and chew. A moan threatens to escape me at the deliciousness of this simple food.
When I realize Damien truly means to feed me, I stuff the rest of the bread into my mouth and start spooning the stew in my mouth. The hot food burns my tongue but I can’t seem to stop.
“Slow down,” Damien says in a commanding tone but I’m unable to stop. I need the food like I need air.
A sudden intense pain erupts in my chest as I choke. Dropping the spoon, I massage my chest while the mound of food stays stuck inside me.
“I told you to slow down,” Damien chides. Shifting closer, he lightly beats my back to relieve my choke.
I groan as the food finally slips down to my tummy. Slowing down, I take dainty sips of the rich stew’s gravy.
Damien stays at my side while I eat. Does he worry I’ll choke myself to death?
“Can I talk now?” I ask, finishing the last morsel of food.
“I’m never letting you go,” he says with a grim look in his eyes. “You’ll be wasting your breath by begging me.”
“I know I’m your captive,” I say bitterly. “I’ve been a prisoner my whole life anyway, so it doesn’t make much of a difference to me. Did Lilja tell you the things I told her?”
“Don’t trust her,” Damien says in a grim tone. “She’s always up to some mischief. It’s what I get for trying to protect her.” He lets out an exhausted sigh but there’s a hint of fondness hidden behind it.
He’s a monster to me but a doting brother to Lilja. From the moment I saw her with Leon and Mikhail, I knew her relationship with them was very different from the one I had with Callum.
“She told you about letting me out,” I guess.
“Yeah.”
“What about the rest?”
“I didn’t wait around to hear the rest. What could you possibly have to say to me, Lucia? You betrayed me and my brothers that night.”
Cold washes over me at his statement. “I never betrayed you! I begged Callum not to hurt you but he wouldn’t listen. My dad met with a horrible accident the same day that left him paralyzed all these years. I kept looking for you all over our neighborhood but found no sign. Callum kept a close watch over me, so I couldn’t search for you further away. I never meant to abandon you.”
The memory of that awful night replays in my head. “Callum told me he killed you guys but I never believed him. You and your brothers never showed up at the house again. Years went by and I was forced to believe him. You have no idea what I’ve suffered through these past seven years. My life hasn’t been what you imagine.”
“ You have suffered? Living in that great big house and having everything you could possibly want be handed to you on a silver platter is called suffering?”
“You don’t understand.”
“What’s there to understand?” he barks. “If you hated living with your brother so much, you’d have left a long time ago.”
“He never allowed it,” I say in a bitter tone.
Damien scoffs.
Tears prick my eyes at his accusation. He doesn’t understand the way Callum manipulated me into obeying him.
“He hurt others to discipline me,” I say in a choked voice. “He’d hurt the maids to punish me. I could never stand someone getting hurt because of me. If I was the selfish bitch you think I am, it’d have been easy to ignore it all and leave, but I couldn’t do it.”
Surprise flickers through those blue eyes.
“My dad’s his favorite target,” I continue. “He wants Dad dead. The man’s already bedridden and has lost his ability to even speak properly and my brother still wouldn’t spare him. That’s how he forced me to marry Freddy. Callum would benefit from the deal with him but there was nothing in it for me. I did it to protect Dad.”
Brushing the tears away from my eyes, I gaze at him with a pleading look. “My dad’s with him now. Do you have any idea how that makes me feel? He’s the only person whose love has been genuine. There are times when I resent him for being alive but I regret it later and feel guilty. I’d be lost without my dad. I still need him.”
Pushing the tray aside, I grab Damien’s hand. “You remember him, don’t you? Dad was kind to you and your brothers. He’d have never allowed Callum to hurt you guys.”
He jerks his hand away. “Is that all you had to say to me?”
“I missed you and your brothers.”
“We’re not the same people you used to know,” he says in a grim tone.
Sadness washes over me. “I know that now. You were never so cruel, Damien. You and your brothers were always protective of me. You guys always watched out for me.”
Tears roll down my cheeks as my heart cracks. “Believe me, Damien. I’d have never let Callum take you away that night if I knew he intended to kill you.”
“Your intentions don’t matter anymore. You can barely stand to even look at me.”
“That’s because I didn’t recognize you sooner,” I say. “And what about you? Did you give me a chance to like you? From the moment you took me, you’ve hurt me.”
He watches me with a strange look in his eyes. His thick scars keep his expression hidden from me. It’s hard to tell if any of my words are affecting him at all.
“Get some rest,” he says, getting to his feet. Bending down, he lifts the tray with all the empty dishes on it.
“Do you believe me?” I ask as he turns his back on me.
“Not yet,” he says, marching toward the door.
Soon, he walks out of the room and I’m locked in. Brushing away the tears, I move toward the window and stare out at the dense woods surrounding the grounds. Will I ever be able to escape from my new prison?