Page 58 of Seducing Selena

A rare smile that did things to my stomach which were confusing given the circumstances.

“Imagine a normal day at work,” he said, voice lowering near a whisper. “Doing what you do. And coming home to us. Kneeling at our feet. Letting us take over and allowing you to breathe.”

I did imagine it, and my cheeks heated, because when he said it like that, it didn’t sound bad. It sounded close to what I’d imagined with them countless times in the past weeks. Close to what I wanted to experience before I was taken.

“The wordslaveis just a word, baby. A role to play. In our world, you’d still be on your knees, but you would be treasured there. Exactly the way we’ve felt this whole time and been unable to show.”

“All the time?” I asked, unsure if he knew what I meant.

Seb shook his head. “No. Not all the time. All the time in the bedroom. The rest of it is negotiable. Because that’s how this is truly done.” He brought my face closer to his. “Everyone agrees to it. And you’ll never be able to understand how sorry I am we that couldn’t offer that to you. We didn’t have a choice if we wanted to save both the mission and you.”

I placed my hands on his shoulders, unsure how to feel. Logically, everything told me Ishouldbe angry beyond belief. That they forced me into everything. But they hadn’t, had they?

“You did offer me a choice,” I said. “In a way.”

“Not the right one,” Nick said. “And it was desperation.”

Turning to look behind me, I studied him. He looked… distraught. “Why desperation?”

“Can I—” he dropped his face into his hands. “Can I still touch you?”

I stood off Seb’s lap and went to him, letting him wrap his arms around me and my blanket. “You want to know the truth?”

“Yes.”

“Because we wouldn’t force you,” he said. “I couldn’t… none of us would be able to live with ourselves if we did that. And if you’d tried to walk away, I would have followed you and blown this entire operation to save you.” He pulled me closer, burying his face in my stomach. “I don’t know if that makes me good or bad. But there were nogoodchoices, and you were, youareeverything.”

I sank down into his lap. “You’re so sure I wouldn’t be safe?”

“Delano still wants you,” Derek said. “His eyes never fucking leave you when we have you with us. To him, you’re a toy he wants to break. He told me as much. So yes, I’m sure. If he’d even suspected you were alone and unprotected, you would be gone.”

A shiver ran down my spine.

I felt strangely blank. All of this was… a lot to process. What I felt, and what I thought Ishouldfeel. The reality of all of this. The Syndicate, my sister. “Why not just keep me out of sight until he’s gone? Why train me?”

“We’ve done our job well,” Sebastian said. “Though we’ve never touched the women we sell, we’ve crafted the reputation of being the best of the best. Selling perfectly obedient Omegas. Having you and not training you would raise more flags than it would lower.”

“What happened to them?”

“The Betas?” Nick asked.

I nodded, and he tightened his hands around my waist. “They go in and do what they need to. Everyone is a volunteer. There are protocols to get out. Another medical marvel. They can seem dead, and we get them out. Some of them have gone in a number of times.”

It wasn’t something I could imagine.

“I… need to think.”

“Of course,” Derek said.

They didn’t stop me as I stood and walked through the living room and toward mine. I hadn’t stopped until I was in my bed, curled up. Inside the giant steel cage with the door open.

Why was it that of all the places in the world I could feel safe, I felt safest in a cage?

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

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SEBASTIAN

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