This was surreal.
“This is how it will be from now on, Charity. If I want to, I’ll do whatever I want to whenever the mood strikes me. Tomorrow night you can wear a plug in your sweet little ass. We need to condition you.”
I opened my mouth, and the words had gone missing. A story about me?
“No hurry. I can see we confused you. Are you staying the night, Cassius?”
“No. I’ll be leaving after dinner, after I have a final talk with Charity. I’ll be back in three days and will need the chopper to pick me up.”
“Sure.” The doctor swallowed a piece of lobster. “Give the pilot the details. Or relay them through Jacob’s channels, if you have to.”
The meal was several courses, but I spooned, forked, and shoveled it in, without seeing much. Something with oranges and cream and chocolate. A lobster dish with orange caviar, speckled rice, and sauce. Another dish was crunchy pastries with centers that melted in the mouth. I was too distracted.
As I ate, I told a summarized story of my life, a censored one for these men. They were never going to hear much about my dysfunctional family from me. I made sure to leap to Emme and her kinky misadventures early on. My side of those events should intrigue them.
I mentioned the sewing up of the woman’s eyes at the CNC party she went to. The doctor had already said it was his work, but he would surely have boasted and told me it was him anyway, if I’d asked. He wasn’t shy about the details of his sadistic kinks. I told them about the kidnapping and my assault in as few words as possible, then I launched into another completely fictional story.
By then we had dessert before us, and I was less flustered about the spanking and caning and all, but more distraught over how Cassius had joined in.
I poked the sliver of chocolate cake with the swirly mound of liquor-laced cream.
“Scheherazade told one thousand and one stories to her Arabian prince,” I said softly. “I thought a fairytale would be appropriate for my finale.”
“And are you going to be my queen, after a thousand nights of stories? That was the aim of Scheherazade.” Doctor Romanus settled back in his chair, waving his dessert fork.
As I considered that idea, I licked the rich cream off my upside-down fork, curving it over my tongue to get the last of the dessert.
“Perhaps?”
Cassius barked out a laugh and I was sure I caught him sneering. I still wasn’t certain these two were a team, no matter what they had done to me. But I knew one thing…
“And so, my tale of how treachery was done to a poor country mouse, the day she met a wolf.”
It was a parable based on a mouse being fucked over by an ugly, mean, and no-good wolf who was really a coward, after he promised to protect her and save her from a hunter. By the time I said the last word, I could tell Cassius had got the gist, the big picture. He was not happy. He was also leaving tonight, on that chopper.
I’d thrown aside my common sense in telling that story, but oh boy, was it satisfying, and he’d be away for half a week.
His lip had lifted in a minor snarl, in that restrained, British way. I was the mouse upsetting the wolf.
The thrill in this was almost as good as sex. I smiled and blew him a kiss.
7
CHARITY
Perversely, I was looking forward to this little chat with Cassius before he left. I could try to find out what game he was playing, away from any kinky scenario. Although I was surprised when the doctor okayed Cassius walking with me on the beach. This beach was beside this chateau with its creepy tower yet, still, a walk outside?
“I thought it would be in here?” I indicated the house interior. With Inigo in tow, the three of us had stopped in the hallway beside the stairs. Now that I realized the proximity of the beach, the telltale ebb and flow of the ocean meeting a shore was obvious, somewhere beyond these walls.
“The rules do not prohibit you exploring the island, even alone, as long as you stay safe.” Dr. Romanus waved away Inigo. “We won’t need you. Cassius will return her to the house.”
My insides sank. Not even Inigo would be with us? I had been taunting Cassius.
On the other hand, the doctor would let me explore this island. “Tomorrow? Can I wander about then?”
“Tomorrow, I have plans for you and me. Go have this talk with our guest. There will be a pair of shoes at the rear door in your size, as well as your coat, Charity. Enjoy.”
“Wait. Umm.” Tentatively, I held up my hand, as if I were a school student asking a favor of a teacher. “My underwear?” They were somewhere beneath the table.