Blood Red Rose Page 13

  “Of course, you will have to be punished,” he said simply, pushing his own plate away, a wicked glint in his eyes. “I will get the tools now, and you better be waiting for me, on your knees and ready, little one.”

  He stood up and I nodded quickly, waiting for him to leave me alone. This time I didn’t dare to look at the cameras, hoping whoever was watching the stream didn’t care about what I was about to do.

  I got the pills out of my lingerie drawer and put the powder into his glass. Just in time too, because he was back moments later, his eyes sparkling darkly as he spread out the selection of toys he’d gotten over my bed.

  “We’re going to have fun tonight,” he told me, and I paled at the thought of what he would do to me.

  I needed to set my plan into motion, and I needed to do it fucking fast.

  “Can w-we have some w-wine first?” I asked timidly, stuttering on purpose.

  I needed to convince him, I needed to play the role of a lifetime. As long as he believed me and didn’t suspect anything, I knew I’d be able to get away. I was so close to getting the fuck out of there.

  “Nervous?” he asked with a soft chuckle. “Of course, little one, let’s have some.”

  We reached the table and he got his glass while I took the other one. My hands shook so badly I accidentally knocked it over, and the red liquid seeped through the tablecloth. My blood froze in my veins. That wasn’t part of the plan at all.

  “Clumsy girl,” Ellis said darkly, taking a sip of the tainted wine. “Now you don’t get to drink.”

  “Please,” I muttered, hoping he would enjoy my obvious distress and deny me a drink, not suspecting a thing about what lay at the bottom of his glass.

  He laughed at me and downed the glass in one go.

  I watched as he set it down and rubbed his eyes before motioning for me to get down on the floor. I slipped down to my knees, my dress riding high, the slit on my thigh revealing more than I would have liked. The lacy lingerie I wore underneath felt flimsy and too easy to rip off. And I knew that if the pill didn’t take effect soon, I would have to deal with his hands all over me.

  Ellis came towards me, a spring in his step, but when he took the last one to reach me, he stumbled. He dropped like a rock, gripping the bed and trying to steady himself.

  “You bitch,” he ground out. “What have you done to me?”

  I stared at him calmly, picking myself up from the floor and dusting down my beautiful dress.

  “Nothing as bad as what you’ve done to me,” I told him. “I can’t believe I thought you were a good man. After that night in the playroom… I thought you were better than this. But you’re nothing to me, Ellis. I hope you remember who took you down forever.”

  Those would be my parting words, and he groaned, the sound barely audible as he slid to the floor. I kicked my heels off my feet and resisted the urge to kick him in the nuts as a final little fuck you. Instead, I hurriedly checked to see if he was breathing. He was, his mouth still in a snarl but his body already fast asleep. The pills worked like a charm. I knew he would be found in a couple of hours, but if I had luck on my side, it would take an extra few for him to wake up and explain what had happened. Precious time I could use to escape with Amber and then expose the fucking place for what it really was.

  Then something took over, the memory of that night when he’d fucked me. His cock inside me, the magnetic connection between us. Where did it go since that night? Why had I never felt it before, or after? I didn’t understand, and I felt my body going into a state of frozen shock at the worst possible moment.

  I leaned down next to him, suddenly feeling torn up about what I’d done, and his eyes flew open.

  He grabbed me.

  I screamed.

  He moved past me, snarling and grabbing my limbs, my ankles, my wrists. I started crying loudly as I tried to move away, but he was too fast, grabbing me by the throat and pulling me to my feet.

  “You fucking bitch,” he growled in my ear.

  I could hear how groggy and disoriented he was. He could barely open his mouth. The pills had done their job, but not quite to the extent I’d been hoping for.

  “You’ll pay for this,” he snarled, and I cried out at the top of my voice when he pulled my head back. “You’ll pay with your sorry little life.” His hands came to my throat and squeezed hard, his eyes bulging as he took my breath away.

  It was then that I saw him, the man in the doorway, the gun going off in his hand, something about him so painfully familiar I gasped in surprise as Ellis’ hands let go.

  And I felt blood spatter me as I screamed and screamed.

  20

  Thorn

  She fell into my arms like a broken doll.

  I caught her easily, holding on to her waist when she folded in on herself. It was like the strings had been cut and finally, she let go and let herself drop.

  “It’s okay,” I told her softly, and her eyes blinked in fast succession, not understanding what was going on. “It’s okay, you’re going to be all right.”

  She stared up at me, her chest heaving and her breaths ragged. There was blood all over her, the gorgeous dress I’d chosen for her stained and ruined forever. She looked more beautiful than ever. The first time we met properly, her eyes on mine, and I’d killed the man who’d tried to hurt her.

  Ellis’ body lay on the ground, unmoving. I’d sent a bullet into his chest, killing him immediately. I knew where to aim and I knew how to kill. The deed itself hadn’t been hard. The decision, however, would plague me until the day I died.

  “Who-who are you?” she cried out, but from the way her body responded, I knew she’d already realized it.

  “You know,” I told her roughly, and her eyes zeroed in on mine.

  The blue of her eyes was gone, replaced by huge dilated pupils, vast dark pools I could lose myself in. Her bottom lip trembled and her back arched in my arms needily, as if she was trying to make her body get closer to mine.

  “You…” her words dried up and she started to scream again, louder and more urgent.

  The room filled with people in seconds. Guards. I barked orders at them as I dragged her out of the room, her body flailing in my arms. She wouldn’t stop resisting, painfully twisting her body to get out of my grasp. But I wasn’t letting go. I was never going to let go of her again. I pinned her arms behind her back and took her into my arms, carrying her the hell out of there.

  There was no denying the spark that was there, the throbbing in my pants as I held her close to me, the perverse knowledge that I’d finally let her see my face, fucking see who I was, knowing that she realized in that moment that the spark was back, that it was me who had fucked her, not Ellis. Now he was just a dead body, and her real master had come out to play.

  Her screams became ragged, her voice raw as she sputtered and coughed and began crying. Soft little sobs wrecking her little body, making me want to physically hurt anyone who dared as much as to fucking look at her. She’d always belonged to me but now I’d fucking claimed her, took her into my arms and showed everyone she was my girl, my slut, my submissive. From the way her body responded, I knew she understood it as well.

  Her sobbing didn’t waver as I carried her into my own bedroom, her eyes filled with terror as I placed her gently on my bed. She pulled her knees up against her, folding herself into a position meant to protect.

  “I won’t hurt you,” I told her. “I just want you to understand.”

  She had a vacant look in her glassy eyes, but I needed to go on, needed to explain what had happened.

  “My name is Rueben Thorn,” I said. “You will call me Thorn, for now. Do you understand?”

  No reply. She just lay there looking so completely fucking broken I wanted to scream at the unfairness of the world.

  I’d been on my way back when I got the news. Everyone thought I’d done that. I’d picked that little thing, fed her a bunch of fucking lies and flown her out here to taunt Harlow. But I’d
been busy dealing with another one of Harlow’s former friends.

  Carina.

  She’d been stirring nothing but trouble, and she had to be dealt with. Thankfully, I’d disposed of the problem.

  Meanwhile, Ellis had decided to stab one final knife into my back and arranged for Amber to be brought to the mansion. And he did it right under my fucking nose, while I was in London.

  I was planning on dealing with it swiftly – dismissing him from my service and getting him the fuck out of my life. I’d done enough for him and he hadn’t repaid his debts. But when I returned, the first thing I did was check on Harlow. And what I saw chilled the blood in my veins.

  He was going to hurt her. He was choking her, fucking ready to end my girl’s life. And I did the only thing I could have done. I disposed of the fucking problem.

  Ellis had been like a kid brother to me, but I didn’t let that influence me. All that mattered was Harlow, sweet, innocent Harlow who’d done nothing wrong but still had been thrown into a web of lies and deceit I’d never be able to fully explain to her. I’d let her down, and now it was time to take matters into my own hands. First, I would have to break her.

  I stared at her on my bed, her sobs dying down and her face growing pale as she went silent. There wasn’t a single sound in the room. Not a sob, not a whimper. My Harlow had retreated into her shell, built her walls back up.

  “I’ll make it up to you,” I said, placing a blanket over her unmoving body. “I promise.”

  She didn’t say a word. I spent the night in an armchair across from her. I didn’t catch a wink of sleep, instead staring at her perfectly imperfect face and hoping that one day, she would want to be mine.

  But even if she didn’t, I wasn’t letting her go. She would just need to accept it.

  5 days later

  She wasn’t eating.

  I’d been trying to spend as much time as possible with her, though my business kept me away more often than I would have liked. But when I got the news that she was sending her plates back full, I knew I had to step in. I walked into her room with feigned confidence, all of it fucking fake. Part of me believed I’d broken her permanently. That she would never come back from the dark corner of her head and that I’d lost her forever. But another part of me stubbornly believed that I would get my girl back.

  So, five days after I killed Ellis, I walked into her room and brought her lunch myself. Grilled cheese sandwiches. I watched for her reaction when I lifted the cloche off the plate, but there was none. She just stared out of the window with a vacant expression on her painfully pretty face.

  I sat down next to her on the bed and cut up the grilled cheese. I lifted a piece of it to her lips, the fork unsteady in my hands. I was nervous. Fucking nervous around this girl.

  “Eat,” I said softly, but still, no response.

  I remembered something from my childhood. The tabby cat my sister and I had when we were little. She was an old lady when I was a little kid, and she’d been a lazy thing for years, mainly lying in front of the fireplace and only stretching her paws out every once in a while. And then I remembered her getting sick.

  My sister, only a couple of years older than me, had understood. But my mind couldn’t wrap around the idea that we were going to say goodbye to a family member. I couldn’t understand that she was dying, and I wouldn’t accept the fact. Long after my sister had accepted it, I followed the cat, petting her, offering her treats, until she scratched me so savagely I finally retreated. I realized now what the cat had wanted because I knew every animal, even a fucking human, wanted to go in peace, away from prying eyes.

  But I wasn’t going to let Harlow go. She may have decided it was best to keep her consciousness locked away behind closed doors, but I wasn’t going to let it happen. I would fight until her last fucking breath to get her back. I wouldn’t be happy with her shell of a body, as gorgeous as it was. I wanted a willing victim. A girl who would offer me her life on a silver platter, a girl who would beg to wear my collar. And the only person I wanted fulfilling that role was Harlow fucking Granger.

  “Open,” I told her, and she moved her head, staring straight at me.

  Her eyes were filled with hatred and pain I didn’t understand.

  She’d hated Ellis. He’d tried to fucking hurt her. And he would have if I hadn’t stepped in.

  “Please, Harlow,” I said, and her shoulders sagged at the mention of her name.

  There it was. Her weakness, plain and visible for me to see.

  I leaned closer and she recoiled from my touch, but I didn’t let it deter me. I tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and she hissed when I did it.

  “Harlow,” I whispered. “Please. Please eat. Eat so you can keep dancing.”

  She kept staring and slowly, painfully fucking slowly, her pretty mouth opened.

  She took the piece of the sandwich off the fork and chewed slowly, her eyes fluttering. A single tear ran down her cheek and I sat and stared and hated myself more than I ever had in my entire life.

  Had I been wrong about her? Had I really misjudged her whole fucking personality this badly? Did I really believe she would still submit to me, after everything I’d put her through?

  I kept slicing the sandwich. Lifting the fork to her lips. Watching her chew as she stared at me with pure contempt and pain I would never understand, the pain I put behind her beautiful eyes.

  Once we were done, I cleaned up and she stayed in the same position, staring out of the window again. The trolley was taken away and I was about to leave, but I risked another look back at her. I couldn’t fucking leave yet. I approached her with slowly, hating the way she tensed when I drew nearer. She was afraid of me.

  I sat on the bed again. I took her face in my hands, and she whimpered at the feeling of my fingers on my skin. I didn’t ask her about it because I felt the same fucking electricity I felt every time I was with her, the magnetic attraction that had made me steal her in the first place.

  “Harlow,” I said. “I’m going to keep fucking trying. Because you may not know this…”

  I slid a finger down her neck and she took a sharp breath.

  “This…” I touched the space between her tits, feeling the current running through me from her veins. “This doesn’t happen. Never. Ever. Only with you.”

  I knew she felt it too, so I didn’t waste more words. I left her, one last look over my shoulder finding her staring at me with contempt, and a curiosity she unsuccessfully tried to hide.

  12 days later

  I had been to her room every day to feed her. She ate willingly now, but she wouldn’t touch the food unless I was feeding it to her as if she were too weak to even hold up her own cutlery. But I cherished those moments, and looked forward to seeing her, even if it was in her current broken state.

  For a long time, I tried to force myself to feel guilty for what I’d done to her.

  But I was a man in a position of power. Rich, influential, handsome. I could’ve had any woman I wanted. I wanted her.

  I’d done the unthinkable in taking her, committed a heinous act kidnapping Harlow. But I didn’t regret it, and I doubted I ever would. I only hoped one day she would choose to stay willingly. But if she didn’t, I would force her to stay. I knew that without a shadow of a doubt. If I had to keep her against her will, I would. It made me a bad man. And I didn’t give a shit.

  That day though, I had a special surprise in store for Harlow.

  I’d seen Amber a couple of times. She was a warm, kind-hearted girl who’d taken a liking to me right away, and I liked her in return. She hadn’t deserved what Ellis had done to her and I promised myself I would keep her safe, just like Harlow. There would be a place for her, and I would ensure she could grow up as normally as possible. Deep down though, I knew I couldn’t let her go back. She’d seen too much.

  Now, I’d told Amber Harlow had suffered a bad breakdown which had rendered her speechless and broken. Amber had cried for her friend, showing me the
selflessness Carina hadn’t had.

  Carina… I needed to get her the fuck out of my head. She’d been dealt with. Not a problem anymore. She didn’t fucking matter.

  I’d prepped Amber before we entered Harlow’s room, but she could barely contain her surprise when she saw her friend. Her eyes turned to me when Harlow didn’t respond, staring out the window, her back to us. I saw traces of tears in Amber’s eyes and told her to be brave. I left the door ajar and left them in peace. I told Amber I’d be right outside the door if she needed me.

  I was desperate to hear them, but I told myself not to eavesdrop. Still, I could hear Harlow replying in short, concise sentences, and it fucking tore my heart to pieces.

  So, she deemed Amber important enough to talk to, but not me. I understood. God fucking knows I did, but it still didn’t help the jealousy tearing me apart from the inside.

  I left them talking for an hour before I came to get Amber. The second I walked into the room, Harlow turned towards the window, staring at the beach yet again, like I wasn’t even there.

  Amber gave me a brave smile and let me lead her out of the room. I’d fed her lie after lie, somehow convincing her that I was the owner of the scholarship she’d received, a ballet lover who wanted to pay it back into the community and encourage young dancers to pursue their dreams. What Amber didn’t know was that I was never letting Harlow dance for anyone else but me.

  “How did she seem?” I asked her in the hallway, the door shut.

  “She seems to be coming around,” Amber said with a bright smile. “She said quite a few things, she seemed to be happy to see me. But she was more concerned about how I was doing than herself…”

  Of course she was. The kid should never have been there in the first place.

  I promised Amber she could come back to see her friend the next day. I would’ve done anything to get her back, to forgive me.