“Ready for what?” I asked, the words cheekily slipping out before I could stop myself or bite my tongue. I looked at Thorn guiltily as he put down his cutlery, staring straight into my eyes as he sighed and looked at me over the table.
“Ready to be mine completely,” he said roughly. “To be my woman. To never question my decisions. To stay with me… whether you want it or not. A forever rose means you’re mine until your last breath, Rose. Are you ready for that?”
I didn’t answer, instead, picked moodily at the crème brûlée on my plate. He didn’t say a word, though I thought I heard him mutter, “I thought so,” under his breath, but the second I looked at him, he seemed deeply troubled by something else.
“There’s something I must tell you,” he finally said, and my eyes followed his nervous gaze.
“What is it?” I asked, letting out a nervous laugh. He didn’t copy it, and I knew at that moment, whatever he would say, I wouldn’t like very much.
“Your friend, Amber,” Thorn finally managed. “She’s… a bit of a wildcard.”
“How so?” I asked.
“I… A guard seems to have taken a liking to her,” Thorn admitted, and I cleared my throat.
“You didn’t let them touch her,” I said in a low voice. “Right? You promised me.”
“I didn’t,” he said vehemently. “But what she does of her own volition is not up to me, Rose. She’s become a liability. She’s using her position. She’s acting like she owns the fucking place.”
“I don’t agree,” I replied coldly. “I think she finally feels at home. And I’m happy she’s comfortable. Are you so intent on making every girl in here miserable?”
At the harsh glare of his eyes, I chastised myself for my cruel words. There was no reason to insult Thorn – at least not yet. He hadn’t told me his plans yet, but something told me I wouldn’t like them one bit.
“We’ll agree to disagree,” Thorn said pointedly, and I glanced at him out of the corner of my eyes, trying to decide whether I should be on the defensive yet again. But I didn’t get a chance to do it. He sighed heavily and rubbed his eyes before continuing to speak.
“Amber’s training will begin next week,” he said, and right away, I reacted.
I pushed my chair away from the table, getting up and crossing my arms in front of my body.
“What the fuck do you mean?” I asked, my voice shaky and unstable.
“Rose.” Thorn’s voice held a warning. “Rose, you need to calm down so we can speak about this as two rational adults.”
“Rational adults?” I laughed, but there was no trace of humor in the bitter sound of it. “You’re trying to turn my best friend into a slave, and I’m not just going to stand around and watch it.”
“You need to let me explain,” Thorn said simply. “Maybe if you weren’t so fucking… stubborn I could actually tell you how I came to this decision.”
“She’s just a girl,” I said desperately. “She’s even younger than me. Barely a few months over eighteen! How is this fair, Thorn? How?”
He stared into my eyes as he reached for his napkin, dabbing the corners of his lips and keeping his gaze focused on me, as if I was a bomb he was waiting to go off. I hated when he treated me this way.
“Amber may seem innocent to you,” he said calmly. “But I have it on good authority she isn’t the person you think she is.”
“On good authority?” I repeated, rolling my eyes. “I’m sure Pia or whoever the hell else does your dirty work fed you all the lies they needed to convince you that was true.”
He got up abruptly, sauntering towards me and wrapping his fingers around my fisted hand.
“You don’t get to talk to me like that,” he growled at me. “I make the decisions. I make the final call. Have you not learned your place yet? Do I need to put you back in your first cell and teach you a lesson?”
I swallowed the tears and the lump in the back of my throat.
“You’ve done enough,” I finally said. “You’ve taken another girl’s innocence. Another woman’s life.”
“I’m not killing her for God’s sake,” he growled at me.
“Might as well,” I hissed back. “She’d be better of dead than like… like me!”
He stared at me, his eyes growing wider and wider, and I returned his stare with my chin held up high.
“You’d rather be dead than be with me,” he said softly. “Is that so, little Rose?”
“Yes,” I lied through clenched teeth. “I’d rather die than be a captive. I want to be free, Thorn! Can’t you see that? I want both of us to be free, Amber and me.”
“I think you’re lying,” he said roughly, his hand letting go of my wrist and glaring down at me. “I think you’re a bad little liar, Harlow Granger.”