Page 135 of Born in Depravity

CATALINA

The sun was just beginningto set when Mikhail left the room. He had spent the entire day with me, and at one point, I had myself convinced that things were going to be okay, but now that it was almost dinnertime, I couldn’t help but pace the room, anxiety making me feel sick to my stomach.

Mikhail had a dress delivered to the room. It was plain gray with long sleeves, and covered me better than the sundress Nikolay had brought me.

He told me to wear it to dinner tonight.

It flowed down past my knees.

I didn’t want to leave.

This room had been my prison before it became my sanctuary.

I didn’t want to leave it.

Perhaps I was being stupid for thinking everything would be fine if I just stayed here.

A prison was still a prison, no matter how comfortable it seemed after a while.

But I didn’t want to leave this prison tonight.

The lock clicked, stopping my pacing, and I felt all of the ball of anxiety drop from my stomach and down to my feet, keeping me immobile.

I stood there and looked at the door when it opened, revealing Damien. His short strand of his dark hair was a bit messy on his head. His dark eyes took me in unemotionally, scaring me shitless. I wished he would tell me how I was supposed to feel right now, other than fearful.

He wasn’t smiling.

“Pet, come here.”

I licked my parched lips. I couldn’t even remember if I’d had anything to drink today.

Today, he was wearing a black suit that fit him perfectly. A white T-shirt was underneath, and I would bet anything that not a wrinkle could be found on it. A dark gray tie completed his look.

He looked both handsome and dangerous.

His hand moved and I noticed he was holding onto something made out of leather and metal. I looked at it with wide eyes.

“We already talked about this. I’m not a patient man, and I don’t like to repeat myself.”

I stayed rooted to the spot. I probably shouldn’t anger him. Just because I’d slept with him, didn’t mean I had changed him in some way.

But a naive part of me had hoped that was the case.

He let out a small sigh and walked over to me calmly. I resisted the urge to step back or run away. It wasn’t like there was a lot of space for me to run away anyhow.

I tilted my head back and looked up and met his eyes.

He studied my face for a moment.

“There’s nothing to be scared of. You belong to me. Tous. That means something out there. But we also have to do something. And I need you to listen to me, understand?”

I hesitated for a fraction of a second before nodding my head.

He looked at me, not saying or doing anything for a moment. I might have imagined it, but he seemed almost … reluctant.

Then he held the object in his hand for me to see.

I glanced at it before looking back up and meeting his eyes. A small frown worked its way up my face, forming a small wrinkle between my brows. He ran his thumb over it before saying, “This is a collar.”

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