“You will,” I whisper.
I stand back up and start to unbutton the shirt I’m wearing. Its loose, blue, cotton fabric will swamp the girl, but at least it will give her some privacy from the eyes of the soldiers.
“Put this on,” I order, and she scrambles to follow my instructions. I bring my hand down onto her jaw and squeeze her face. “For the next couple of days, you are my little whore. Nobody else will touch you except me. You do not speak unless I talk to you.” I bring her up to her feet. “Do you understand me?”
She doesn’t answer, and I shake my head before whipping my hand across her face. It looks more dramatic than it is forceful, but the sound of skin on skin still echoes through the room. She gasps with shock.
“I won’t ask you again. Next time I’ll break your nose.”
“Yes,” she breathlessly trembles.
“Good.”
Grabbing her by the arm, I drag her across the room.
“What are you doing?”
She digs her bare feet into the ground. I can see the trust she gave me minutes ago wavering.
“Trust.” I mouth before pushing into her personal space, my mouth inches from hers. “I don’t fuck in public.” I look toward the cameras with a snide smirk. “I like a nice cozy bed where I can give the woman a good time whether she wants it or not.”
“No,” the girl gulps and tries to stop me from leading her out of the room and into the hallway. “Please.”
“Mr. King.” Rebekah’s stern shout should have me coming to a halt, but I’m too busy dragging a rather unwilling partner down the corridor. “Archer.” Her voice is louder, and I huff out an annoyed moan.
“What?” I turn and bring the girl into my side, a protective gesture to her, but also one which shows anyone else in the corridor for the next forty-eight hours, she’s mine.
“Where are you taking her?” Rebekah’s lips are pursed together into a thin line. The bitch is jealous. Her plan to try and get my dick back inside her has backfired spectacularly. The second she offered me this girl, I knew she thought I would say no and fall at her feet. That’s not going to happen though, not while I’m still breathing. My dick is firmly in my pants when it comes to her from now on.
“My room,” I reply and turn to leave, but she calls me again.
“Why?” she asks.
“Like I told her. I don’t fuck in public. You may get your kicks from watching my ass as it plunges my dick in and out of a screaming and bleeding victim, but I don’t. I prefer to do it in private where, as you told me to, I can break down every last one of her defenses. Make her the little slut you want her to be.” To emphasize my point, I stick my tongue out and lick the girl’s cheek. She squirms in my grip, but it’s too tight for her to escape.
Rebekah’s nostrils flare. She’s pissed but knows this is her own doing.
“Make sure you keep her locked in. I don’t want her escaping and getting into anything she shouldn’t.”
I smirk.
“How about I just keep her tied to the bed? You seemed to enjoy my use of handcuffs.”
Miss Ward’s cheeks turn pink, and she glares at one of the soldiers who sniggers.
“Just do your job.” Rebekah turns away and stomps off down the corridor, her heels clicking a furious pattern as she goes.
“Come on, girl,” I say to the still squirming wreck under my arm.
I sweep her up into my arms and carry her to my room. My butler stands there ready to obey, but I dismiss him instantly for the rest of the day and place the girl straight on my bed before sitting on the edge of it.
“There are no cameras in here,” I tell her. “I’ve checked, so we can speak freely. The bathroom is over there. Take a bath. Relax as much as you can. I’m going to get us some food, and then I want you to sleep. I’m guessing it’s been a few days since that last happened.”
She lets out a sob but places her hand over her mouth to try and hide it.
“Don’t worry. You need to cry, you do so. Don’t hold it in. What you’ve been through, no woman should ever have to face.”
“I thought I was going to die.”
“You’ll get out. You have my word.” I stand up. “Anything you particularly fancy to eat?”
She shakes her head.
“Why are you helping me? That woman, she’ll kill you.”
I swallow deeply. “Because I was once like them, and I allowed someone I care for very much to be hurt in precisely the same way you have been and worse. She saved me, and now I need to start putting right my wrongs. Go bathe. I’ll lock the door after me so nobody can get in.”