Dark Heir by Faye Pierce
Chapter Three
Midnight
It would be easier to stay mad if the room wasn’t so nice.
If I was still downstairs, chained to that bed, I could be angrier. It would make easier the shifting of Leo in my mind from the man I’ve wanted for so long into this seemingly cruel thing he is now.
I don’t know when, or how, he moved me. He probably drugged me again. Last night I fell asleep chained to a bed in what looks like a murder house basement, and now I’m standing in the nicest room I’ve ever seen. I’m certain it’s bigger than the whole apartment I grew up in.
My room at Caspian’s house is nice, of course, but this...this is on a whole other level. The shower alone...I can’t deny how nice it was to take a shower and get out of that tattered ball gown.
Obviously, Leo isn’t here to torture me, at least not with anything other than the emotional whiplash of him having lied to me for so long. The luxurious bed is incredible, the shower takes up half the bathroom with more faucets than I know what to do with, and there are even clothes my size in the closet.
Not that anything in there is something that I would pick out myself. Silken sleep shorts and lingerie fill the drawers of the dresser; high heeled boots and slippers cover the built-in shelves in the closet. Lace chokers and stunning earrings are displayed in cases just for me in the closet, and the racks are lined with skintight dresses that are nearly impossible to get myself into alone. Ones I can’t get out of again unassisted. He did it on purpose. No doubt Leo wants me to ask him to help undress me.
It’s been two days since I’ve seen him.
I spent the entirety of the first night combing through every inch of this room. I tore the place apart. I upended everything in the drawers, attempted to flood the bathroom, and flipped the mattress looking for anything I could use to defend myself. The windows are bolted shut, and I can see nothing out of them, tinted too dark likely for this exact purpose of keeping me trapped.
I went to sleep that first night, and everything was fixed the following morning. This makes me think maybe they are putting something in the vents. Helping me sleep, keeping me as docile as possible. Not that it’s going to work. I’m furious that Leo, if that’s even his real name, lied to me.
Lied to Caspian.
I don’t know which bothers me more.
We let Leo live in our house. He acted like he was this helpless kid that needed us. Caspian took him into our home and put clothes on his back.
Clearly, judging by this room alone, Leo isn’t hurting for money. So why did he do it? Leo is Caspian’s right-hand man, his very best friend. He must be beside himself with worry. I can still remember the way he looked at me after my accident. There was so much pain in his eyes, the fear there chilled me.
I hope Caspian’s okay.
He is going to come for me. Of course he is. He is going to tear this entire city apart looking for me, I already know that. He will not just let this happen to me. I can’t even begin to guess how much he’s already done. Who knows, perhaps tomorrow I will wake up inside my own bed again.
At least then I won’t be afraid that Leo is going to walk in on me here every time I turn my back. I can’t escape the memory of his hands on me. The way he had felt hovering over me.
My body betrays my mind each time I recall it. Each night the ghost of his hands trails over my skin, and I flush every time.
I’ve made sure only to wear what I can assume are the least appealing things in the room available to me, which is the silken sleep shorts and pajama top. It’s the only thing that doesn’t cling to every bit of me.
Naturally, the prick didn’t provide underthings of any kind. For a dead man, he sure is pushing the envelope here.
No books, no radio, no television, not even paper and pen to entertain me—all I can do is pace, worry, pace some more, and throw things at the wall. I’m not normally a violent person, but I figure that since I’ve been kidnapped, I can give myself some leeway.
A soft double knock on the door announces Lily’s presence. She’s the only person who has been allowed to speak to me since I woke up here. I tried to duck past her yesterday—only to be blocked by the beefy man standing just outside the door. He put Caspian’s personal bodyguards to shame with his bulk.
Lily is a small thing, petite all over with soft features. She seems timid, the soft pink blush to her cheeks illuminating her pale skin from within.
How did she come to work here? For Leo and all of the rest of these people? She never lifts her eyes from the silver platter in front of her, even when I ask her direct questions. “Good afternoon ma’am.”
I fold my arms across my chest, holding myself. “Let me out of here,” I demand, but she ignores me.
Lily sets the tray on the end of my four-poster bed, and I can see her frown at the breakfast she brought in this morning still resting on the tray. “Is the food selection not to your liking, ma’am?”
“Being held prisoner is not to my liking, and I would like to go home.”
“If you would like something else to eat, I can request the kitchen staff make you something else. I promise today’s lunch is something wonderful.” Lily smiles to herself and moves to straighten up the bed and plump the pillows.
The food smells incredible, and my stomach gurgles. “I’m sure that it’s fine, but I don’t know it’s not poisoned, do I? Given that I’ve been drugged more than once already.” I feel guilty for speaking to Lily this way. She’s not to blame for her employer’s actions.
“Oh no ma’am! Master Leo wishes for you to remain strong and healthy; he would never drug your food.”
“How does he know where to draw the line? Drugging is fine one way but not another?”
“Ma’am...I…” Lily trails off, unsure of what to say next.
“You tell him that I’m not going to eat until he tells me what’s going on!”
It might be a weak form of protest, but it’s all I have.
The man guarding the door clears his throat, and Lily bows once to me before scurrying out of the room. I pick up the plate and hurl it toward the door. I do feel bad that somebody is cleaning up after me, but however sweet Lily is, maybe the staff shouldn’t work for a man who clearly kidnaps people. Obviously, I’m being held against my will.
“You tell him that he cannot keep me locked up in here! I demand to speak to Leo!”
If they hear me, they don’t make a single sound.
Tonight, I decide. Tonight when Lily comes to bring me dinner, I’m going to get around her one way or another. If I have to play dirty, then so be it. It’s not something I’ve ever done. I’m not overly physically strong, but I do know how to defend myself. Cas always insisted on self-defense training, and if I have to hold a hostage of my own, I will.
Frustrated, I force myself to ignore my hunger and move to my bed. I just need something, anything, to defend myself. I don’t think that my single bottle of soap inside of a pillowcase is going to cut it.
What would Cas do? What would he tell me to do?
Leo must know exactly what Cas would tell me to do because there’s not a single thing in the room I can use to make a weapon of any kind. There’s not so much as a nail file. There are no wires in my clothes, and I can’t repurpose the plastic hangers without something to sharpen them.
There’s nothing. It’s hopeless. Leo has thought of everything.
When the clock on the wall shows seven, I hide behind my door to wait for Lily to bring me dinner as she has for the last two nights.
Only it’s not Lily.
It’s three large men, each the size of an eighteen-wheeler, that slam my door open together. I should try to defend myself...but I’m very small, and they are so large. I scream, kick, and attempt to bite at them, but it’s no use.
“No! Get off me!” I scream, squirming and writhing as they stuff a satin bag over my head and carry me out the hall and down the stairs.
My body is stuffed into a plush armchair. The smell of food overcomes me as my ankles are strapped to the legs of the chair under me, my hands bound in front of me, and the satin hood pulled from my face to reveal that I’m in a stunningly beautiful dining room.
The colors are lush, deep jewel tones that do nothing to detract from the table in front of me.
Every delicacy I love is laid out on the table in front of me. It’s a feast of all of my favorite foods. Chocolate puddings and fried chicken wings—only the flats of course. There’s fish, and a tureen of soup that looks shockingly like the sort Valeria makes all of us whenever we’re sick. My mouth is watering; everything looks amazing.
I’m not the sort of girl that turns down free food...but I’m protesting here.
“I’ve been informed that you’re refusing to eat?” Leo’s deep voice comes from the head of the table. He’s dressed in a nicer suit than before, casual and comfortable as if having a girl tied up at his table is the most common thing in the world.
I don’t answer him. There’s nothing that I have to say to him that he wants to hear.
Leo’s heated gaze runs over me, observing the gray satin silk shorts and chemise top I’ve chosen and the way my wrists are tied in front of me. “You look lovely, Midnight.”
“Get fucked, Leo,” I spit, attempting to steel myself into an expression of resolve.
Leo grins. His thumb runs across his bottom lip as he studies me. What is he thinking? I can feel his gaze like it’s his hands as it runs over me. My skin tightens, my pulse quickening in spite of myself. He’s never looked at me like this before. “You have to eat, Midnight. Can you imagine how terrible of a hostage negotiation it will be if you’ve managed to kill yourself before I can?”
Cold fear pierces through me, but it’s still not enough to dampen my arousal. “You’re...you’re not going to kill me.”
I mean to sound confident, sure, but that’s not what happens.
“No,” Leo agrees, shifting in his chair. “I’m not going to kill you. Not unless I absolutely have to.”
“I want to go home.”
Leo’s expression darkens. I’ve never seen that look on his face before. My hips shift in my seat. I try to sit straighter; I don’t want him to think I’m afraid of him. Am I afraid of him? “Do not test my patience, Midnight. I’ve given you a command, and I don’t like to repeat myself.”
I scoff. “A command? I don’t take orders from cowards.” I lean forward to emphasize my point. “How long have you been plotting behind my brother’s back? A man who loves you? This is what you do to people who love you? You’re betraying him. I don’t know how or why you’re doing this Leo, but you’re a coward.”
Rage flashes across his face, and his chair scrapes loudly against the ground as he stands. I can hear each of his footsteps like they are pounding into my head. I pull at my legs, but they don’t move. I try to free myself from the chair in any way before he can get to me.
Leo’s hand wraps around my throat, and he forces me to face him. “I warned you not to test my patience. Let this be a lesson in respect, little girl.”
“I don’t respect traitors. Who are you really?!” I hate how hot my body feels. He’s only stood this close to me once before, but he’s never had his hands on me. I hate that my traitor body recalls his hand in my dress so instantly.
“You’ll find out soon enough.”
Leo’s gaze drops to my lips. My heart is hammering. He isn’t going to...is he?
My ass hits the chair so suddenly I’m not sure what happened. “Strike one.” He recollects himself and sets about putting some of my favorite foods onto the place setting in front of me. “Eat, and we can speak like civilized humans.”
I never knew he had so much fire in him. He always seems so calm and collected with Caspian. I can’t take my eyes off his hands as he serves me, pushing my plate toward me.
I don’t move.
Leo rolls his eyes and unbinds my wrists. “Better?”
I stare at him. Our silent battles of wills isn’t something I feel like I’ll win.
“Eat, Midnight.”
I feel like a petulant child, but I can’t deny the satisfaction I feel when that temper flashes again over his handsome face.
“Alright,” Leo growls. He pushes all of the food off of the table in front of me, grabs me by the back of my neck, and bends me over the table before I fully understand what’s happening.
“What are you—” I gasp as his fingers find the waistband of my satin shorts and pull them down, cold air brushing over my ass, and heat floods my face. Humiliated, my eyes dart to the door.
Leo follows my gaze, noting the guards standing there. “Leave us,” he commands, and the men move without hesitation. Alone now, I hardly have time to process as his hand comes down swiftly on my ass.
I feel the sting, and my protests leave me. Stunned, the second hit collides with my bare skin before I find my voice again. I expect to scream, but that’s not what comes out. Never have I been treated like this in my life. The heat in my body rises. I attempt to push backward off of the table, but Leo’s hand presses into my back to keep me prone.
The spanks have a strange desire curling through me, and I am fire. It doesn’t hurt, though he’s not being easy on me. It sparks something new in me as he moves his hand lower and the slap hits both my ass and pussy in the same motion. I nearly collapse forward onto the table.
“Interesting,” Leo mutters, clearly satisfied with my reaction. His fingers flatten across my ass, rubbing a small circle into the reddened flesh. I can feel him everywhere. “Are you going to behave?”
He spanks me again when I don’t answer.
“Do you want to be spanked, Midnight? I know you’ve fantasized about me before…” He leans in closer to my ear, “I’ve fantasized about you too, you know. Though, this makes you look even more beautiful than I imagined.”
It shouldn’t affect me, but it does.
His hand shifts and his middle finger runs the line of my center, little preamble before his finger sinks inside of me.
I’ve never devoted much time to dating, and the one boyfriend I did have never got very far. Jake was sweet normal guy, but I never felt the excitement, the butterflies that I was always feeling around Leo. I’ve never actually been with a man. Leo’s right; I’ve always dreamed about him. I wished so many times that I didn’t though. Especially after seeing him accompanying all these model-like women. I, with my regular looks and limp, could never compare with them. A soft sigh of pleasure leaves me, and he adds a second finger, pumping into me slowly. My knees weaken. I am putty in his hands.
“Fuck, Midnight, you’re so wet.” Leo gathers up my hair and pulls just enough to lift my face. “Promise me you’ll behave, and your sweet little body can have release.”
I want to fight him, I do, but it feels so good, so unlike anything I’ve ever felt. His hand rotates and his thumb finds my clit in soft, tortuous circles. I can’t take my eyes off of him. I can’t look away.
“That’s right baby, promise me you’ll be good.”
He’s bent over me, so close he could kiss me. I can feel the heat inside me building.
“Promise.”
“I-I promise.” I can’t believe the words actually leave my mouth. I’m transfixed by his beautiful eyes, his soft sweet smile that makes me feel like he’s almost proud of me, and the delicious movements of his hand between my legs.
“Good girl.”
Just like that, it’s gone.
Leo moves back at the same moment a man appears at the entrance to the dining room. “Now eat,” Leo says, “like you promise.”
My legs are trembling...so close. I stare at him with wide-eyed horror.
“Sit down, and eat like a good girl, or I’ll have to really punish you. You need to keep your stamina up.”
He lifts his finger to his lips, licking me off his skin as the man beside him speaks. “I have an important message for you, Sir.”
Leo nods, and I’m trembling with lust in my chair as Leo and the man leave the room.
What just happened?