The Unfortunates (Unfortunate #1) (9 page)

Vince shrugs and stuffs his hands into the pockets of his black slacks. “Forget them. I have new ones for you.”

“I can’t—”

He snaps forward, slapping the glass out of my hand. It falls to the ground once again.

“Pick it up.”

I crouch low and retrieve the glass. When I stand, he smacks the glass from my hand again. Tears burn my eyes, but I don’t dare let them fall. I lower myself once again and grab the glass before straightening my posture.

“Do you see where I’m going with this?”

I nod. It doesn’t matter to Vince that Kade is the only one with authority to demand things from me.

“You will do whatever the hell I tell you to, got it?”

I nod again, blinking quickly. “Yes, Master Vince.”

His thin lips curl into a wry smile. “Tell me, Unfortunate, has my brother
had the chance to play with you yet?”

I shake my head. Vince steps forward and pinches a thick lock of hair that drapes over my chest. He draws it to his mouth and runs it underneath his nose, smelling it.

“I bet that upsets you?”

I want to tell him that it doesn’t
or shake my head again, but I know better than to provoke any Fortunate. They’re like wild dogs, provoked by fear, so, despite my real thoughts and feelings, I nod my head.

“Kade likes to act all high and mighty, but I know he’s a predator like the rest of us—maybe even worse. He can’t deny himself a pretty object—just like m
e. It’s his birthday, Unfortunate.” Vince glides the very tip of his index finger up my forearm. “Go surprise him.”

My stomach churns, tying itself into phantom knots.
“I’m not sure I understand…”

“I want you to go upstairs,
take that pretty little dress off, and wait for him on his bed. When he comes up, I want you to seduce him, to get him to fuck you. Then we’ll see how precious you are to him.”

My throat constricts and I begin to shake my head. “I have strict orders from Master Kade and they are to take his glass to the kitchen and go to bed.”

He raises an eyebrow. “But he didn’t specify which bed.”

“Well, no, but—”

He snaps forward. He’s so close I can feel the heat of his breath directly on my face and our noses barely graze.

“You will do as you’re fucking told
, and if you so much as disobey me, or tell him that
I
sent you to do it, I’ll be the one to take your innocence, got it?”

“I can’t—”

He reaches around and grabs a fistful of my hair and yanks it back. I yelp and cover his hand with mine. I try to pry his fingers away, but his grip is too tight and my scalp burns. My eyes grow misty and I sob.

“Okay
.”

“Okay?”

“Yes, Master Vince.”

He lets my hair go and I almost slump into myself. Vince snatches the glass from my hands and gestures to the door.

“Go, fuck and become useless.”

With a stiff nod, I step past him and into the house. I chew the inside of my lip to stop from crying. I don’t want anyone to see me cry
. It’s not because I’m embarrassed… I don’t want to cry because I don’t want anyone to ignore me. I don’t want to be reminded that no one cares if I’m happy or sad. I fold my arms over my chest and hold myself as I bypass my room and stroll up the hallway towards the stairs that lead to Master Kade’s room. I inhale, count to three, and then exhale. This could be a good thing… who knows; maybe if I give myself to him he can’t give me to someone else. It’s a stupid thought, but one nonetheless. They taught us how to conform, but now I’m teaching myself how to survive.

And that’s exactly what I’m doing, surviving.

∞

My kne
es sink into the soft mattress and I keep my eyes on the door, waiting for Master Kade to arrive. I don’t want him to show up. I want him to party all night and pass out in a bush somewhere—anywhere as long as it’s not here in this room, alone with me. A cool breeze blows in from the far window behind me and brushes across my naked back. I shiver and rest on my heels, with my hands behind my back—the way I was taught. A second later, I hear the handle rattle and it sends my heart through my chest. My entire body begins to shake and my palms sweat.
I think I’m going to throw up.
I swallow hard.
I’m going to beg Master Kade to have sex with me and then I’m going to throw up all over him. This is not going to end well.

The door swings open and in steps Master Kade, loosening his tie. With an exhale, he shuts the door and leans against it.
Carefully, I inhale and Kade’s entire body stiffens. Slowly, he turns his head. The only light I have is the low burning fire at the opposite end of the room. His dark, impure eyes rake me. I can almost feel them drag over every inch of my exposed, virgin flesh. They drag up over my thighs and stop at the sweet spot between my legs. A few seconds later, he looks at my flat stomach, generous breasts, and finally, my face.

“What are you doing?” He asks the question with caution… like I’m a
venomous animal.

I want to tell him Vince put me up to this, that he threatened me with rape if I don’t go through with it. Instead, I angle my head and quirk my lips.

“I’m here for you, Master Kade… if you’ll have me.”

He straightens his posture and turns his large body in my direction.
His movements are robotic, as if he’s being controlled only by the flesh in his pants, not his brain. He stalks toward me—each footstep seemingly more predatory than the last. He stops when his knees hit the side of his bed and he waits, staring at me with lusty, hooded eyes. My heart is in my throat, threatening to beat its way into my mouth as I rise up off my heels and inch closer to him.

“Will you have me?” I whisper. I let my hands press against his hard chest and trail along the crisp fabric to his shoulders. My hands move with skill in order to avoid an unthinkable punishment. Without permission, I kiss Kade’s bottom lip and
he makes no move to push it further. Hope blooms in my chest.
Please, dismiss me
.

“This is what you want?”
he asks against my mouth.
No.

I
pull back and see the suspicion in his eyes.
No.
My eyes begin to swim and I can’t see as they become misty.
No.
I quickly blink back tears, keeping my hands on Kade.

“Yes
.”

No.

In one swift rough move, he cups me between my legs, letting a finger slip between my creases. I gasp and instinctively squeeze my legs shut as my entire body goes rigid.
I don’t like this.

“You’re lying
,” he growls.

H
e removes his hand and shoves me backwards. As I fall, he dives onto the bed and his hard, heavy body pins me to the mattress. I can’t move. I pant for air and struggle against him, trying desperately to break free. Panic builds. It restricts my chest and blurs my vision. I thrash my head from side to side, but it does nothing to help. I can barely wiggle my toes!

“Please,” I beg, my voice sounding far away. “I don’t li
ke—I can’t breathe—I can’t move!”

His large hand grabs my face, keeping it in one place. “That’s the point.”

My throat fills with heavy stones and I choke on a sob. Hot tears burn down the side of my face and into my hair. I squeeze my eyes shut, unwilling to look into the black ones above me. I try to inhale and barely fill a quarter of a lung. Panic kicks in again, multiplying tenfold.

“I can’t breathe! Kaden, please!”

His body stiffens against mine and his hand tightens on my face. I wince and push my head into the bed to get away from the pain.

“What’
d you call me?”

A new panic rises in
me, no, forget panic, fear rises in me, growing exponentially every second his hate-filled expression bores down on me.

“I’m sorry,” I squeeze out, m
y lungs burning. “I didn’t mean to call you Kaden—”

He adds more pressure to his grip and I inhale sharply.

“You’re getting too comfortable here, Unfortunate.” He spits the word and I feel specks of saliva hit my face. “Know your fucking place.”

I nod as much as I can with his intense grip.

“Why are you in my room?”

“I wanted to—”

“I had to force you to get on your knees earlier, so don’t you dare tell me you’ve come here to fuck.”

My bottom lips quivers. I can feel it shaking my whole chin, making my teeth click together. “Please, don’t make me say it.”

He makes no movement, only watches me with his intense expression. It’s his expression that confirms I’m on my own out here. If I don’t tell Kade, who knows what he’ll do to me. If I do tell Kade, Vince has already told me what he’s going to do. It’s a lose-lose situation. I sniffle.

“Vince…”

Kade’s face contorts into a furious scowl and I hate that something so ugly looks so beautiful on him.

“Vince is going to hurt me if I don’t—if we don’t…” I drag in a shaky,
half-assed inhale.  “I’m in trouble, Kade, I need your help.”

He doesn’t bat an eyelid at my neglect to call him master. I chose not to use it on purpose.
In this moment, I’m not a slave asking her master for help. I’m a human being, asking another human being for help. “Please?”

“What happened?” Kade’s voice
is low and dangerous, laced with the kind of dark tone that puts my hairs on their ends.

I tell him everything. I tell him every single thing I did after leaving him at the party. I tell him every detail—from the
feel of the grass to the colour of Vince’s eyes.

Which brings us
to now.

Kade rolls off
me and air floods my lungs. I drag in a deep inhale and try to steady my racing heart as Kade sits on the edge of the bed. I watch cautiously, not moving from my position.

“Stay here the night.” He exhales, raking his fingers through his short, jet black hair and pushing himself to his feet. “Get in bed.”

I let my stare follow Kade as he saunters across the large room to his oak desk. He flicks on a bright lamp and shrugs out of his coal black jacket before tossing it over the back of his chair.

“In… in your bed?”

He files through a stack of paper on his desk and turns on a glass screen. “Do you see another bed in here?” he asks, his voice bored and detached.

I shake my head. “No, I guess not.”

He looks at me from under his brow. It’s a look that ignites something dark along my spine.

“Get in bed, Nine.”

I don’t know what it is, but when Kade refers to me as Nine, I feel like there’s a teeny tiny chance he sees me as an equal human being, not an Unfortunate lesser to him. Complying, I push myself under his heavy blanket. On the bed, I feel smaller than I usually do. Like the mattress is going to swallow me up any second.

I watch as he lowers himself into his seat and pulls himself closer to the desk. He stares at his screen, touching it with his fingers and writing things down onto a sheet beside him. He’s focused
, and when he’s focused, his intensity seems to multiply tenfold.

“Didn’t they teach you not to stare?”

As he speaks, his eyes never leave his screen. My stomach jolts into my throat and I avert my eyes.

“Yes, sorry.”

He sighs and leans back in his chair. My body begins to tremble, shaking softly against the warming mattress.
I hope I didn’t pull him from whatever he was doing.
What if he sends me away? What if he tells me to go back to my room and Vince is there waiting for me? Panic begins to bubble…

“You’re not tired?” Kade asks.

I shake my head, and as he reaches up to loosen his tie, I regret ever looking at him. His lips curve into a breathtaking smile. Who would’ve thought he’s capable of such a positive expression? I hate that his smile stirs something in my chest… he has the loveliest smile I’ve ever seen, with beautiful, straight white teeth to match.

“Relax,” he says. “I’m not going to touch you.”

Despite his words, I regard him curiously. All he’s done since I arrived is touch me.

“You don’t want to touch me?” I clarify
, and he leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees.

“Listen
carefully, Unfortunate. I said I’m not
going
to touch you, not I don’t
want
to touch you.”

So he wants to?
Instinctively, I squeeze the blankets tighter against me. Not that it’d do anything to keep him away if he really wanted me.

“Where will you sleep?” I ask, inching the blankets higher.
I’m naked, so I pray it’s not here with me.

He chuckles, actually chuckles, and the sound is almost alien to me. “I’ll sleep in my bed.”