Page 14 of Tyrant

“Then I guess I’ll cherish this forever,” I say. “I don’t get any of this right now. Are we being punished? Are we prisoners or something? What is this?”

Naya finishes her coffee. “Want to know how I ended up here?”

I nod.

“I lit someone on fire. The guy took my virginity. Let’s just say I wasn’t exactly ready to give that up. I wasn’t a willing participant.”

“Fuck,” I say. “That sounds…”

Lia touches her finger to her lips in a way that only I can see. I shut my mouth. I wait for Naya to walk away before closing in on Lia. “She didn’t really light someone on fire, did she?”

I make sure to whisper.

“She totally did,” Lia whispers back. “He survived. Covered in burn scars.”

Chills move through my body. This place is fucking insane. And terrifying.

Even if the coffee and breakfast was delicious.

Lia optsto give me a tour of parts of the grounds.The grounds. That’s what she calls it. Naya has no problem in proclaiming she’s showering and then going to get tied up—literally—and fucked while blindfolded. Heracedemanded it and she’s complying.

“This term…ace…” I say.

Lia nods. She’s in a hoodie and shorts and I’m in a long-sleeve shirt and jeans. She stuffs her hands into the hoodie pocket.

“Look, Serafina, it’s just—”

“You can call me Sera,” I say.

Lia looks at me. “Sera. This is our destiny. Our fate. We’re here for a purpose. We don’t belong anywhere else. We’re the chosen ones. That’s how you have to play it out in your head. We’re chosen to be here. Maybe we did some bad stuff, but oh well. The guys around here are powerful. They’re the sons of men who control the world. It’s hard to grasp when you think about it. And all these guys here need one thing.”

“Sex,” I blurt out.

“Well, yeah, there’s that. These guys need appearance. That’s our job. We’re the appearance.”

“You mean like fake or something?”

“The money isn’t fake. The power isn’t fake. You, me, Naya… we’re all going to live in mansions. We’re going to drive six-figure cars and SUVs. We’re going to travel the world and see places that every regular person can only dream about. Think about it this way, Sera.” Lia grins. “If you want to get your clit sucked on at the top of the Eiffel Tower, you can. And will.”

My face turns red. I’m not sure why that particular comment makes me blush.

“My best advice is to learn to accept,” Lia says. “And remember who you are. You were sent here because you’re a badass. There’s power in that for yourself, Sera. You might think Naya and I are crazy for that, but let me ask you something. Something really personal.”

Lia inches closer to me. Really close to me. So close that I feel her right cheek brush up against my left cheek. I feel jumpy butI don’t know why. I’m not attracted to Lia. It’s nothing like that. I just…

“Don’t you have fantasies?” Lia whispers. “Don’t you have wants and needs? Don’t you ever think about exploring? This is where it happens. This is where you get to experiencesomething.”

Lia backs away and her eyes move for a moment away from mine. Then she grabs me and spins me around. We’re a few steps from a paved path that’s lined with old-fashioned crooked looking light posts. There are park benches randomly scattered along the path, but that’s not the true focal point here.

What do I see right now? Four shirtless guys out for a run. If the size of these men weren’t enough, they’re also wearing masks. Basically the same masks the guys wore who kidnapped me.

They’re running at the same pace, same movements, almost in some kind of macabre military style. All I see are large hands, throbbing forearms, vein-filled biceps, broad shoulders, and well-defined chests.

The guy closest to me…? He has his left nipple pierced. My eyes go right to that.

Okay, Lia, you want to talk about fantasy? Fine. I have a thing for guy’s with piercings like that. I used to watch a particular adult video and the guy had his nipple pierced and it was just… hot. Sometimes I fantasize about my…

My thoughts vaporize as the guys begin to pass me by. They’re in black pants with black boots. The one with the nipple piercing suddenly stops and turns to face me. The other guys stop and turn, at the same time, same motion. I stare at the nipple pierced masked man.

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