Page 77 of Taken By Touch and Torment

In this private section for the wealthy and powerful, bodies were tangled up with each other on fur rugs, and vampires gathered in groups to talk and feed together. Loud music wove through the space, and I caught glimpses of sensual dancing in my periphery. Laughter and chatter echoed in from the adjacent room. One peek through the door alerted me that they were pitting humans against each other in sadistic competitions while vampires crowded around. At the first sign of sexual assault, I averted my eyes.

Again, guilt churned inside my stomach, and I thought of Isabella. I had so many conflicted feelings about her. It broke my heart to know she’d endured the same horrors that I had. At the same time, I’d started to see her abuse and neglect for what it was. Resentment, guilt, shame, and grief were a tangled mess in my heart.

I looked for her as we passed through the club, my hand in Rosalind’s arm. Had Rune given up his search for Isabella now that the borders were closed?

A group of vampire men stopped talking, their eyes immediately drawn to us. Brash swagger and the cruelty of undeserved wealth oozed from their skin.

One of them was in front of me in a flash. “What are you two beautiful creatures doing unattended?”

“Returning to our attendant, Lord Brennan,” I said firmly.

The man’s jaw ticked, and he took a step back. He pointed to our right, where there was a bar and several lounge areas, vampires covering every inch of the floor.

“Thank you,” Rosalind chirped, and the man snarled in response.

The boys were deep in conversation at a standing table when Rosalind and I found them. They were sharing one of the servers in a sparkly bejeweled dress, drinking from each of her wrists as they spoke. They seemed passionate, but not heated. Brennan grinned widely, and Kole appeared charmed.

My ego-boosting tactics had created a self-fulfilling prophecy. I was pleased with my work. I’d connected two powerful men who wouldn’t have ordinarily gotten a chance to connect on this level of comradery. I didn’t exactly know how I would use my ever-expanding, ever-strengthening web of influence to save the world, but I couldn’t deny the potent effects of my magick even as a beaten down slave.

What was I capable of when I was my most powerful self?

Incubi and succubi have toppled entire regimes when they’ve gone undetected…

Again, Rune’s words floated around my brain like wisps of shadow.

When Brennan noticed me, he looped his arm around my waist and pulled me closer. Kole frowned, and Rosalind was quick to make contact, pulling Kole’s attention from us to her.

Brennan’s fingers dug into the fresh wounds Durian had cut into my stomach, and I winced.

“He doesn’t deserve you,” Brennan said, elixir on his breath. His grip hadn’t relaxed despite the pain he saw it was causing me. “Has he ever touched you in a way that has brought you pleasure?”

I didn’t have to fake the discomfort and disgust in my features, the sadness welling in my eyes.

“No,” I said.

The last time I had experienced pleasure, let alone my own desire, had been when Rune was claiming me. He’d promised me forever. And that promise had felt unbreakable, unending, destined. I missed living inside our love story.

I missed waking up in his arms and believing that no man could ever hurt me or touch me again. No man except the tortured, beautiful monster who gifted me the cruelest rapture and sweetest torment.

I locked eyes with Kole. I needed to be careful. In order to maintain my foothold inside Durian’s palace from afar, these men would need to believe that I’d been taken back to Rune without my knowledge and against my will.

My features filled with easygoing delight. “I want to thank both of you gentlemen for orchestrating this night of fun.” I shifted on my feet, as if I were nervous, drawing out their sympathy. “Which would you prefer? Dancing? Or… downstairs?”

Brennan and Kole exchanged a glance before both pairs of eyes drank me in, relishing my display of joy and gratitude. The promise of having me in a way I’d never given them before—a way I never would.

“You’ve barely seen the place,” Brennan said. “Neither of you have.” He nodded at Kole. “How about we?—”

A nearby scream was the first note in a beautiful symphony of chaos. I pretended to react with fear, but I only relaxed.

“Fire!” someone shouted from behind us.

A group of men to our right broke out into a brawl. “Spy! Someone help!”

I looked at Brennan and Kole, and they each puffed up their chests and moved in front of me.

“Stay with her. I’m going to see what’s going on,” Brennan said to Kole. His ears had perked up at the mention of a spy.

But as soon as Brennan stepped away, the cacophony soared to new heights. A blast of wind slammed into the bar next to us, sending glasses flying back against the walls and floor, shards flying everywhere.

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