I wake up to the sounds of Kade moving in the room. I stay perfectly still under the covers; hopeful he hasn’t noticed I’m awake. I can’t see him, so I don’t know what he’s doing. I just want him to leave.

I’ve barely slept at all. I have no way to get out of here, and no hope of leaving. Yet, I tell myself. I just need to get out of this room first. One step at a time.

“I know you’re awake.” His words ring out clear in the quiet room. I hear him push a drawer shut and walk closer to the bed.

“I brought in breakfast. Come.” He gives the order and it pisses me off.

“No,” I say from under the covers, like a petulant child. But I don’t care. I’m not going to go to him.

Silence greets me.

“You’re disobeying me?” he asks in that low threatening voice that somehow fools my body into thinking I should get wet and hot for him. I bite my bottom lip, ignoring him and my arousal.

“Get up and get on your knees.”

I ignore the part of me that’s dying to obey him and hold on to the sane part of me. I grit my teeth. I’m not doing that. I fucking refuse to let him use me. I poke my head up beyond the covers and look him in the eyes.

They’re the softest shade of blue; they could be cold and callous, or forgiving and sympathetic. He could use them to charm women and convince them to be his. They’re eyes filled with deceit. I don’t trust him. I’ll never trust him.

“Fuck you.” I hold his eyes as they narrow and heat with lust. It shocks me to the core. Desire. His eyes flame with desire, and I can’t help that his look makes my own needs flare.

“Is that what you want?” he asks in a deep, menacing voice that only manages to turn me on as he unbuckles his belt. The hardness in his features softens, and a small grin forms on his face as he slides the belt from the loops.

“I wasn’t going to fuck you just yet. But maybe that’s why you’re having such a hard time realizing what you are now.”

My mouth tries to part with lust, but I slam it shut. The tension between us is thick. But it’s wrong, and I hate it. This isn’t supposed to be like this.

He loops the belt in his hand. “I said get on your knees.” With a flick of his wrist he whips the belt in his hand with a loud smack! It makes me flinch and my pussy clench.

I grind my teeth and shake my head. “No.”

Smack! The belt falls hard onto my thighs. I scream out and he pulls the covers back.

“Knees!” he yells at me, and I bury my head into the mattress, huddling into a ball.

He grips my hips and pulls me toward him. I scramble to get away, but he holds me there and presses his chest to my back. I try elbowing him and the first time it works, I hit something, but it fucking hurts me more than it seems to hurt him.

He pushes his weight against me and shushes me in my ear. Like I’m a wild animal, and he’s trying to calm me.

“Let me tell you a secret, angel.” He speaks clearly as I still beneath him. “I don’t want to hurt you.” Liar. He’s a fucking liar.

He continues talking as if he read my mind. “I have no choice but to train you. You may not understand why, and honestly, you don’t need to know. But I don’t have to hurt you. This doesn’t have to be a fight.”

His words are soothing, and I almost start to relax a little, but the next thing he says comes out hard. “But you will listen to me. And I’ve found it’s best when punishment is severe.”

“Fuck you!” I scream again.

“Don't make me punish you.”

“Do whatever the fuck you want, asshole.” I sneer.

“What I want is to feed you,” he says simply. “But you disobeyed me. So you need to be punished first.”

“Please stop this.” The words come out without my conscious awareness. “You don’t have to do this.” I sound weak and pathetic as I beg him.

I expect him to laugh. I expect him to tell me he won’t stop. Instead he hesitates. For a moment, I feel something. I feel hope.

He moves away from the bed and I look back at him, praying he’ll set me free. But there’s no mercy in his expression.

“I do,” he finally says. He nods his head slowly, keeping my gaze with his intense stare. “I have to do this. And you have to obey me, either by choice or force. That's entirely up to you. But it’s going to happen.”

My eyes fall. “Just kill me then.” Again I speak without thought.

“I can’t do that.” He speaks so quietly I barely hear him say, “I need you.” The way his voice comes out with so much sincerity makes me believe him.

“Now come over here and eat.”

I eye him warily. “You said I had to be punished first.”

“I did. And I changed my mind.” He leans closer to me. “You should move quickly, before I change my mind again.”

I look up at him, not knowing what to do. In an instant, my anger dissipates. My throat seems to swell with a lump that won’t go down. “I have a mother.” I try to speak confidently, but my voice comes out raspy. I look down and try to calm myself.

I back away as he sits next to me and pulls me closer to him. I try to resist, but it’s no use. He gently pets my back.

“You have family. You have friends,” he says calmly, and it kills the last bit of hope I have, like an ice shard through my heart. “I know you do. I know their names. I know where they live.” My eyes pop open and my body chills with fear.

“Don’t worry, I don’t have any plans to hurt them. I meant it when I said I didn’t want to hurt you, either.” He tilts my head up to force me to look into his blue eyes. “I mean it. But you need to listen.”

He stares at me for a long time, waiting until he has my full attention. “You’ve gotten yourself into the middle of something very serious. There’s no way you can get out.”

I shake my head, wanting to deny it, wanting to plead with him.

“Hush, angel.” He rubs his thumb along my jaw and I subconsciously lean into his touch. “There’s no changing that now. The only thing you have control over is how you respond to me.”

I stare into his eyes, trying to understand. “They want me to train you. You know that, don’t you?”

I barely nod my head as I accept that reality. “I’ve trained sex slaves before. Some willing, and some not so much.” He pushes the hair out of my face. “It’s easier when they’re willing.”

I can’t look at him.

“If that’s the way you want it, we can do it that way, too.” He moves away from me and I scoot closer to the headboard, keeping my eyes on him as prey watches a predator.

“You need to eat,” he says simply.

“I'm not hungry,” I whisper.

“Do you need to use the bathroom?” he asks.

I shake my head and hug my knees to my chest. My entire body feels hollow. I don't need anything other than a chance to get away from him. As I shake my head, I become acutely aware of the pressure in my bladder. But I'm not having that fucker watch me go to the bathroom. I'll hold it as long as I have to. I'd rather pee in the corner.

He sighs angrily and presses his lips into a straight line. “If you need something, you'll need to knock loudly. Do you understand?” His voice is hard.

I nod my head as I say, “Yes.”

He leaves the plate from the tray and walks out of the room without another word. I wait a moment, thinking he’s left it unlocked and quietly move to the door. I’m halfway there when I hear the click and see the knob rattle as he tests to make sure it’s locked.

My heart falls in my chest.

He’s going to train me for them. That’s all I am now. And there’s no escape.

I suppose one would experience many different emotions when faced with something like this, the first being denial. And maybe that’s what I spent the last few hours and yesterday doing. But the second emotion is anger.

I look around the room and let the rage consume me. And then I do something very, very stupid.