Caged: A Dark Mafia Romance

“I’ve already lost,” I pointed out. “I’m wearing a collar and a tail while being held captive. There’s nothing more for me to lose.”

“But there is. I have ways of making my enemies lose so much more. Don’t push me. Just don’t.” He leaned in and kissed me gently on the forehead before standing. He extended his hand to assist me up now that I was breathing normally again.

Standing, I took a moment to allow the slight dizziness to abate. Eddie placed his arm around my body to hold me steady while the room swirled around me. It hadn’t taken long to feel back to my old self. My old self with an addition of a cat tail and a collar, that is.

“Are you hungry?” he asked.

I nodded.

“Good. There will be food at the event.” He stood back a few inches so he could take in my entire appearance. “You look absolutely stunning, my pet. Perfection.”

Eddie picked up the chain, and the removal of the weight hanging helped ease the pressure on the collar a little. He then led me out of the room.

Chapter Eleven

Nayla Bell

I was naked.

I was naked with a collar around my neck.

I was naked being escorted by a leash down the stairs to a room full of men who watched our every move.

But the only thing that my mind could focus on was the smell of food. I was famished. A huge table was lined up with dishes of pasta and meats. No Italian restaurant could have compared to the spread that I gazed upon as I took the last few steps, entering the great room just a few inches behind Eddie. The fragrance was like a kick to my empty gut, and I would have done just about anything—include walk naked—to be able to eat the food.

“Gentlemen,” Eddie said with a nod to a few of his soldiers and captains who stood near. I recognized most from my surveillance, which now felt like a lifetime ago. “Where are your pets?”

“We have them all in a room together,” Tommy said. “There’s some business to discuss before we begin the party, and we didn’t feel it was a conversation that our”—Tommy paused and looked at me, then back at Eddie—“that our kittens need to hear.”

Eddie nodded and handed the leash to a man standing on his right. “Bring my pet to join the others,” he commanded, never once looking at me. I don’t know why the fact that Eddie didn’t look at me bothered me more than the fact that I was naked and being treated like an animal.

I was being cast off to someone else, and I hated it. I hated leaving Eddie’s side.

Why?

Why the fuck should I care?

My stomach gurgled as I was led away from the table of food. I wondered how long it would be until I would be allowed to shove a forkful of pasta into my mouth.

I must have been walking too slowly by the display because the man now holding my leash tugged me a little harder to silently command me to keep up. As I padded barefoot behind him and was led to a closed door, I looked over my shoulder and saw Eddie sit down at the table with about ten other men, and there were looks of concern and anger on all of their faces. Jaws were locked, eyes dark and narrow, and tension thickened the air.

I couldn’t help but wonder if it had something to do with me or with Dylan in the basement.

The door was opened and I was shoved inside. It took me a moment to adjust my eyes to the dimly lit room. I already knew there would be other women in the room since I was to join the other pets, but I wasn’t prepared for what I saw.

Sitting on the floor were ten women. One kitten for each man outside.

Each of them were collared and tailed just as I was, and some even had wrist and ankle restraints with far more chains attached. I suppose I was lucky to only have my leash as the sole heavy metal chain. Their eyes were wide and curious as they examined me quietly. The man pushed me the rest of the way in, pressed me on my shoulders until I kneeled on the floor, then silently closed the door and left to join the other men.

Being on all fours, I wasn’t sure what to do. Should I crawl closer to where they all sat? Should I say something? Each woman was naked, vulnerable… but they didn’t seem frightened or upset to be in the situation they were in.

“The boss has a new plaything,” one of the women said with a smile. Her lips were red, her makeup dark, and her hair was up in two ponytails to appear more catlike.