“So, answer me this,” he said as his eyes finally made their way to mine. “How is it that you arrived already broken? Most women in your position would put up much more of a fight. They’d scream. They’d demand. They’d beg and plead for mercy far more than you have. Some would even rather die than endure what you just did.”
“Would you have preferred that?” I asked, shifting my weight from one foot to the other. I felt faint from the ordeal and wanted to sit down, but I remembered the words that I was to do nothing without their command to do it. “To break me?”
“No. I find your already shattered pieces all the more interesting.”
Thomas approached me, took hold of my hair. I wondered if that was the only way I would ever walk again—guided by a brother’s fist holding my hair at the scalp.
He lowered me to the only item in the room—the gray wool blanket—and released my hair. He took a few steps back and crossed his arms against his chest. “What did you do to us? Do you truly understand?”
“Betrayal.”
I looked up at him and saw an eyebrow rise. He was reading me, or at least trying to.
I licked my dry lips and added, “I was your bookkeeper and got sloppy. The Feds caught on, I got scared, and I tried to make a deal with them for my freedom.” I took a deep breath. “And now I’m here. I betrayed you and your brother. I understand. Trust me, I understand.”
Thomas nodded. “Yes, now you’re here and will be for a while. So, let’s get a couple of rules out of the way. You’ll remain in this room unless you are escorted out by me or my brother. There’s a bathroom across the hall you will have to ask permission to use, and all food will be delivered here unless we choose to bring you to the dining room. You will remain naked from this point on. Get used to having your body belong to us. We both will come here when we feel like it. It could be several times a day, or not at all.
“Together or alone.
“You will not question what we ask. You will not resist us in any way.” He looked toward the window. “You can try to escape but won’t get far. Cameras are everywhere and we will catch you. You have the opportunity to earn a comfortable and well-kept life if you understand and follow these rules. Do you understand?”
I nodded.
“Do you have any questions?”
For the first time since arriving and meeting Thomas, he seemed to soften some. His eyes were less severe, and his jaw was no longer firm. I believed he truly was giving me the opportunity to ask whatever I wanted without penalty.
Drumming up some courage, I asked, “When do you plan on impregnating me?”
“Depends,” he answered.
I paused and wondered how far I could go with the questions. I didn’t want to push too far in fear of what the consequences would be. My hesitation must have been obvious on my face because Thomas added, “Ask your questions now if you have them.”
“What else will you do to me? To earn these comfort items.”
“Whatever we want.”
“After I’m pregnant, will you both continue to fuck me?”
Thomas smiled, closed the distance between us, and kneeled down on the floor next to me. He took hold of my nipple and pinched. It hurt but not unbearably so. I gasped at the uninvited touch but didn’t try to pull away.
“Would you like that, naughty girl? For me to fuck you over and over forever?”
“No,” I said in not much more than a whisper.
“You lie, Hailey. I can smell your desire. I can hear the way you breathe. You seemed to enjoy what happened in the bathroom. It was far from a punishment. It was as if everything was so natural for you. It fit you. It fit you like a fucking glove.”
He pinched my nipple harder as I shook my head to try to deny the fact that, yes, my body had responded in a shocking way.
No. He was wrong.
Fuck. Was he wrong?
His smile grew as his dark eyes narrowed. “Which I’m going to enjoy. I’m going to have a good time finding an actual punishment for you. My brother and I may have to get creative.”
I pressed my thighs together to try to hide the fact that his words and his biting hold on my nipple made me wet.
“Why do you want this?” I asked, though my words came out on a gasp, so I wondered if they were even clear enough to be heard.
“Want what?”
“Why would you want to share me with your brother? Or to have a baby who you don’t even know if it is yours?”