Page 56 of Vicious King

18

Tatum

“Remember to behave yourself.Don’t do anything out of the ordinary.” Elias leaned over and muttered in my ear, one hand on the small of my back. “We’re only here because it would look suspicious if we didn’t attend.”

We were in the arched doorway to the Lodge’s main party room, about to step into yet another Crown and Dagger orgy. The darkened room was teeming with men and women in various states of undress. The heavy beat of the music made my legs quiver.

“Yes, Master,” I said in a low voice.

“Don’t call me that. I’m not your Master,” he hissed in my ear. “I told you, we’re only pretending for now.”

I refrained from rolling my eyes. Elias had proven himself to be very dedicated to his latest game with me. Two weeks had passed now, and he hadn’t touched me once. All he’d done was come to see me every day to tell me he knew I was a captive and that he’d help me if I’d only let him.

As much as I hated myself for it, I was beginning to slip. Sometimes I found myself dreaming of saying yes and running away with him, only for the dream to descend into a nightmare when I discovered my suspicions were warranted all along, because it was all a lie.

I knew I had to stay strong. Stay grounded. Rely on my head rather than my heart. My heart would only cause trouble, because it was my feelings for Elias that threatened to betray me. Every time I saw him, sparks of desire shot straight to my core, a burning need threatening to consume me as my blood turned to lava.

Sometimes I wondered if refusing to touch me was part of his new game. He could be hoping to get me so desperately aroused that I’d beg for him, tell him anything he wanted to hear, just so I could feel him inside me again.

I’d managed to keep myself from begging. Barely. I’d distracted myself by sticking to my Artemis Festival plan, doing everything I could to ensure that as many Crown and Dagger members as possible voted for me to be their hostess.

I smiled invitingly whenever I ran into members in the halls or on the grounds during my daily wanders, and I even flirted with a few of them. One time, a couple of them stopped me and asked where I was from, so I put on a big, fake display of telling them exactly how I chose to be here. How happy I was to serve the society. How well my family was doing now that they had enough money to live, all because of my personal sacrifice.

That last part was technically true, I suppose.

All around me, every day, I saw many of the other girls doing the same thing. Flirting, batting their eyelashes, making all sorts of dirty promises as they tried their best to get themselves picked. The festival was coming up very soon, and I hadn’t heard anything that might suggest I’d been chosen over any of them, but I couldn’t give up. Besides, tonight’s party would be my greatest attempt yet.

We wound our way through the room and sat down on a long leather lounge by the edge. A few people were already seated, their faces flushed and sweaty as they leaned back and watched the show. Right in front of us, naked bodies tangled together, lips smacking, hips thrusting, hands groping. It was a dark sea of moans and grunts and screams of pleasure.

I could do better.

I turned to Elias. “Could I have a canapé? We didn’t get dinner again, and I’m starving.”

If he wanted to keep pretending to be nice and caring, I was happy to take advantage of it.

As I expected, he nodded. “Sure. Let’s go.”

“I’ll wait here. I’m tired,” I said.

His eyes narrowed slightly, but he nodded briefly and stepped into the crowd, heading for the nearest bar.

I waited until he was several yards away, and then I made a beeline for the shimmering indoor pool. I yanked out the slave collar I’d been hiding under my dress (I’d asked Mellie to get me one earlier) and slipped it around my neck. Then I slid out of my dress and made my way into the water, letting the warmth coat my nakedness, turning my skin slick and shiny.

Several pairs of lecherous male eyes focused right on me. I held one hand out and beckoned to the nearby group. “Come on,” I said, shimmying my hips in a display of shaking all the water off. “Come over here.”

They did as I said. Within seconds, my side of the pool was bounded by six men, and I could see heads turning elsewhere in the room. Easy.

I slowly stepped out of the pool and stood on the edge, holding my arms out wide. “My Master has an announcement he wants to make through me,” I called out, making sure my voice was loud enough to carry over the thumping music and wanton moans. Several more heads turned to me, the men gazing at my body with naked, unashamed desire.

I went on, slowly, haltingly, as if this wasn’t my idea. As if I were being ordered to do this. “He has commanded me to tell everyone that I am available for sharing now, like the toy I am. Any men, any number, any hole. Anything. He says I must be punished as hard as possible, and he told me to tell you all how happy I am to serve you. How much I loveit.”

I slid one arm down over my belly, my hand snaking between my thighs. My breasts jiggled slightly as my chest rose and fell with faux-excited breaths, and one of the men nearby stepped even closer and roughly pinched my right nipple. “Ooh, please do that again, sir,” I said with a breathy moan.

His fingers were hard and callused, and it hurt. I hated it. But he didn’t have to know that.

He moved behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist, his hand going between my legs now, shoving mine out of the way. The slave pendant on my collar tinkled as his other hand wrapped around my throat. “I’ve been waiting for this,” he growled in my ear. “The only new pussy I haven’t had yet.”

I felt sick. Filthy. Degenerate. But I had to keep going. I had to make these men think of me and only me so they’d choose me for the festival. It seemed to be working so far. I had the rapt attention of at least twenty men now.

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