FaCade (Deception #1) (5 page)

THE CHILL IN THE ROOM seeped into my bones, my body rattling with violent shivers as my teeth chattered. Drops from my wet hair trickled down my back and chest, causing another more intense shudder.

I reached behind me where I sat on the bed and pulled the blanket around me, holding it tight as I embraced myself. The abrasive material scratched at my sensitive skin but it provided much needed warmth and security.

I looked over at Maria who regarded me from the edge of her bed. She was beautiful, possibly Italian with the deep rich bronze color of her skin. Her long black wavy hair fell in wet ringlets around her shoulders while her chocolate, slightly Asian eyes watched me warily.

“Are you…?”

She tipped her head and narrowed her eyes. I couldn’t get a feel of her. The way she looked at me so intently made me nervous but there didn’t appear to be any animosity in her expression. “Am I what?”

“Are you being held here too?” I knew it was a stupid question but I wanted to talk to her. I’d been left too long without company; well without friendly company. My nerves were shot, blocking my mind of anything intelligent to say but I needed a connection, if only from a few words.

She gave me a small nod, her eyes fixed on mine.

I nodded in return. “How long have you been here?”

She appeared to ponder for a moment as she shuffled backwards on the bed and rested her back on the wall behind her, bringing up her knees so she could hug them. The silk robe she had been given slipped open, each section falling in a soft pile either side of her. I was glad she had her legs tucked up; otherwise I would have been treated to a view of something I would rather not have had. “Around three months.”

My eyes widened as my mouth fell open. “What?” My heart beat frantically as my throat closed in. “I can’t… I can’t stay here that long!”

She shrugged casually. “It’s not like you have a choice, princess.”

I couldn’t work out if she was making fun of me, or just using the endearment trivially. “But…” I swallowed back the sob and curled further into myself. I was so tired of crying. My eyes were sore, my throat was sore, my brain was sore. Even my lips had started to crack, the once soft flesh now blistered and tender. Exhaustion had settled in and taken the fight I had found earlier.

We fell into silence for a while before I started questioning her again. “Can I ask you something?” She nodded, her eyes once again finding my face. “I know this may sound like a weird question but do you know who you are?”

She frowned at me as though I was stupid. “Yes.” It was spoken with incredulity, one of her eyebrows elevated high on her forehead. “Don’t you?”

I shook my head briskly. “No. I… there’s nothing in my head. The only memories I have are the ones I have created from being here. There’s nothing at all before here. I don’t know who I am. I don’t know how old I am, or what I like for breakfast. I don’t know what my favorite color is, or what I prefer to drink. I don’t know who my girlfriends are. I don’t know if I have a boyfriend. I don’t even know what damn shoe size I am.” Maria stared at me with wide eyes throughout my outburst, her eyes widening further which each of my revelations. “The only thing I know is that my name is Star, and… and I’m scared.”

I looked around the room nervously when she didn’t answer me. I had never felt so alone in my life, even though my life now only consisted of a few days. My heart ached as my soul reached out for some comfort. I chewed on my nails when the silence grew uncomfortable. “Why did you do that?” I blurted out. “Do that to… to
him
?” I added when she looked at me blankly.

“Suck his cock?” she asked, smirking when I blushed at her words. I nodded, too embarrassed to speak. She straightened her legs and leaned forward, resting her palms on the tops of her thighs. “Honey, you’ll soon learn to do anything, as long as it makes life in here easier.”

“But…
that
?”

She shrugged. “What’s a blowjob if it grants you luxuries and his affection?” She sighed and smiled warmly at me. “Look, Hun. I don’t have the words to make you feel any better about being here, but I speak from experience when I say I would rather be on his good side than his bad, and if that means pleasuring him sexually, then I will. But don’t worry, he doesn’t fuck you, he never actually fucks. It’s just oral pleasure he seeks.”

I nodded but her calmness shocked me. How could anyone allow themselves to do things like that, especially to a person they despised? Or maybe I had read her wrong, maybe she didn’t despise him, maybe she felt something for him. I’d heard of captives falling for their kidnappers – Stockholm syndrome. Many different thoughts raced around my mind when I realized I could fall into that trap; end up feeling something for the man who disgusted every fiber of my being.

We both turned towards the door when it opened. The man who had blasted the icy water on me in the shower walked in. His eyes moved from me to Maria then back again. He placed two bottles of water on the floor, then a bowl containing what looked like soup, with steam curling from it. My stomach rumbled loudly when the delicious aroma made its way up my nose. I cringed when the man smirked at me, his thin pale lips pulling even narrower with his cruel smug smile. “Well, eat this time.”

I didn’t answer him, just watched as he walked over to Maria. He slid his palm over her cheek affectionately. She smiled up at him, her eyes wide and idolizing. “You’re such a good girl.” He held a piece of bread between his fingers in front of her. She smiled softer and then curled her fingers around his and took the bread.

“Thank you.”

He nodded then turned to me. A scowl covered his face as his eyes roamed over the blanket covering my body. The disdain on his face caused me to lower my eyes, self-disgust transferring from him to me. “You either eat…” I jumped when he appeared before me with the bowl in his hands. “…or I’ll shove the fucking stuff down your throat.”

I nodded but kept my eyes fixed on my lap. He pushed the bowl closer and I reached out for it. He pulled it back, taunting me and laughing when I reached again and he took a step back. He bent forward and placed the bowl on the floor. I frowned, not understanding why he had told me to eat then moved the food out of my way.

“Eat!” I looked up at him. He scoffed and lifted a brow. “Eat!” he repeated slowly as though I was dense and couldn’t understand him.

I shuffled across the bed and stretched my arm to pick it up. His foot kicked at my arm and I yelped, snatching it back to cradle the pain. “The bowl doesn’t move.”

I swallowed back the bile when I figured out what he wanted. My gaze flicked to Maria. She smiled faintly as she chewed on a piece of bread she had dipped into her own bowl and nodded encouragingly.

He huffed when I remained still and tapped at the bowl with his foot, reminding me, baiting me. I shuffled forward slowly and slid to the floor. My belly groaned again. I was so damn hungry, my stomach muscles twisted in pain with just the scent of food. My mouth watered as I crawled closer.

When I made it to the bowl I looked up at him for the spoon. He stared at me and shrugged. It was then I understood I wouldn’t be getting a spoon, that if I wanted to eat, I would eat like a dog. My gaze drifted once more to Maria as she sat on her bed, dipping her spoon into the soup and bringing it hungrily to her mouth.

The soup had cooled when I ran my tongue across the top of the watery broth. I curled my tongue, desperately trying to create a makeshift spoon but it was so hard. The liquid was too watery and all I managed was to wet my tongue, yet I was so hungry, I carried on. I found if I lapped faster, I was able to get more into my mouth. The chunks were easier, my teeth clamping around each morsel so I could take it in and chew.

The man laughed as the broth trickled over my cheek, crusting immediately in my freshly washed hair. Hatred conflicted with the food in my stomach, bringing with it a need to vomit, but my heart told me to carry on, to feed myself.

I swallowed back the self-disgust, the humiliation and the misery and I ate. I ate to give me strength, I ate to fuel my revulsion and I ate to show them I wasn’t done yet.

Maria watched me, her eyes on the rapid movement of my tongue. I couldn’t work out if she was an ally yet, but I had the impression she would turn on me quickly if it granted her leverage and ‘ranking’. She seemed nice enough but there was something about her that made me wary.

I knelt back once I had managed to get what I could from the bowl without having to squash my nose in the bottom. The man sneered at me, chuckling smugly as he looked from me to the bowl. “See how easy that was.” He kicked the bowl at me, the remaining soup splattering over my thighs, making me flinch and scuttle back towards the bed. “Amazing what you can accomplish when you understand how this is gonna work.”

I didn’t answer him; I didn’t think he expected me to. His mocking grin curdled the fresh contents in my stomach. He turned to Maria. “Prepare her.”

My eyes widened. “What?” I turned to Maria, my eyes begging her for an explanation. “Prepare me for what?”

“Of course.” She spoke quietly but serenely.

He left us to it as Maria stood and walked towards me.

“What are we doing?”

She smiled softly and nodded her head as if to encourage me. “We need to prepare you for him.”

“Him?” What the hell? Who?

She sighed gently and held out her hand for me. “It’s time for you to be
presented
.”

Something told me, with the way she said the word and the way her eyes darkened, my presentation wasn’t going to be something quite as simple as a posh dress to welcome the queen in. Nor would it be as pleasant.

I HADN’T A CLUE WHO I was being presented to but he had to have a perversion because I was dressed in tiny jeans shorts that rode up my ass, a tee that barely covered my boobs with the slogan
‘Red Hot Chilli Peppers’
splashed across the front, the material just covering my ample chest. My hair had been braided into two side braids, and cowboy boots adorned my feet. I was completely free of make-up and feeling so sick to my stomach I could barely breathe.

“Ready?” Maria chirped as though she was dressing a daughter for her prom. Her over-eager smile showed too many teeth. I wanted to question her sanity, but who was I to question anyone I didn’t have a functioning memory of?

The door clicked open and the big man who had showered me in ice water approached. His eyes flicked over my attire briefly before his giant-sized palm wrapped around my upper arm. His hold was light but firm; he didn’t squeeze the flesh like the man in charge who tried to hypnotize me with his words and the intensity of his glare did.

I had no choice but to clumsily follow next to him. I could have been imagining the intake of breath he took as he leaned towards me, but I didn’t, he was smelling me, which made my insides tense and stir even more.

I didn’t understand the reasoning of my mind and body but when the man in charge did these things, he did frighten and repulse me but my body betrayed that and yearned for his touch. Yet this intrusion, the simple inhaling of my scent by this man had my body recoiling and my mind battering at my survival instincts to kick in and flee. This was the first time he had really shown me any attention apart from to give me orders and indifference which made him all the more frightening.