Page 49 of Vicious King

15

Tatum

“What the fuck is going on?”

I heard Elias shout at his father, and then I heard hushed mutters. Tobias was no doubt telling him everything about my recapture, giving themselves something to chuckle about later on.

“This is completely fucking unacceptable,” I heard Elias say a moment later. Okay, so he wasn’t laughing. “She isn’t yours to punish. She isn’t yours to decide what to do with.”

“Well, if you’d bothered showing up before now, you could’ve done what you wanted,” Tobias said, his voice smooth yet deadly.

“I was fucking drugged! I only just woke up a few minutes ago, and I can still barely keep my eyes open,” Elias snarled. “Now get Tatum the fuck out of that coffin so I can punish her myself!”

There was another mutter. The lid swung open. Elias was standing right above me, his face twisted with fury. “Get up,” he commanded.

I did as he said, silently and obediently. He grabbed my hand and pulled me out of the coffin, and then he dragged me out of the chamber. Tobias and the guards followed us.

We headed into the mansion, up to the third floor. Elias muttered threats in my ear the whole way, and when we reached a red door at the end of the hall, he held me in the rough grip of one hand and opened the door with the other.

The room beyond was similar to the playroom at the Finishing School, only ten times bigger. It had dark red walls with crosses and racks filled with whips, paddles, ropes and chains.

He slammed the door behind us with a loud promise to punish me so hard I wouldn’t be able to sit down for three days afterwards. I didn’t fight it. I simply closed my eyes and waited.

For nothing.

Confused, I opened my eyes again to see Elias standing there staring at me. He didn’t look mad. He just looked… confused. Vulnerable. “Why?” he said, shaking his head slightly.

I knitted my brows. “Why what? Aren’t you going to punish me?” I mumbled.

“No. I only said that to get everyone off my back. I might need you to scream every so often in case they’re listening outside. Hopefully they don’t look at the surveillance cameras.” He glanced at a flashing red light above us.

I stared at him, flabbergasted. “So you aren’t angry about what I did?”

He sighed and rubbed his chin. Tiredness was etched into every feature. He looked five years older, but it actually suited him. “I’m not angry at you, Tatum. Not anymore. I haven’t been for a while.”

“What?” That was all I could manage to get out. I had no idea what the hell was going on.

He stepped closer, eyes narrowing. “I know you think I’m loyal to my family, but I’m not blind. I’ve had some suspicions for a while, as much as I’ve tried to push them aside. When I woke up this morning to hear you’d tried to leave, I knew once and for all that they weren’t just suspicions. Something is going on, and I need you to say it. Tell me why you tried to run. Again.”

Comprehension slowly dawned on me. I knew what this was now. Another game. Another ploy. He wanted to trick me into thinking he cared about my welfare, only to use it against me later.

I wouldn’t let myself get sucked in. Not again.

Just because I’d started falling for him didn’t mean he felt the same way about me. He might have been nicer lately, but that wasn’t love. It was just lust. A desire for power and control. At the heart of things, he was still my captor. The sort of captor who liked to play fucked up games with me and mess with my head.

After all, he’d done it before.

I bowed my head. “I didn’t run. It was a mistake.”

He snorted. “A mistake? So what… you accidentally drugged me, stole my card and let yourself out? All so you could go hiking in the woods? Come on, Tatum.”

“That’s not what I meant.” I swallowed hard. “I meant… I thought I wanted to go home. But I was wrong. I changed my mind. I want to be here with you, Master.”

“Bullshit. Tell me the truth.”

“I did.” I cowered, suddenly afraid he might hurt me if I didn’t say what he wanted. “Please…”

“Tatum. Look at me. Now.”

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