CHAPTER SEVEN
VICTORIA
I’m out at a party with Tammy. We’re dancing away to the latest craze, and two guys are behind us with their hands on our backsides. I turn around and lock lips with my man. His deep, raspy voice tells me he wants to fuck me hard tonight. I won’t be able to walk the next day. I pull away, and the face of Nicholas Cavendish greets me.
I sit bolt upright in the bed when the door slams, and men flood in, I realize I was dreaming. I’m confused. I’m in bed, but I fell asleep in the chair. I look at the dressing table, and the book I was reading is placed on it. How did I get here?
“Good morning, Miss Hamilton.” It’s then I realize that the Duke of Oakfield stands at the foot of my bed. My eyes widen as I take in him and Nicholas, plus two other men.
“Get out,” I shout.
“Manners. When you address me, you’ll call me, Your Grace.”
“Get out, you fucking pervert.”
I see the little smirk on Nicholas’ face, but the Duke’s far from having a sense of humor. If steam could come out of his ears, I think it would be right now.
“Playing the little bitch won’t get you anywhere.” He rips the sheets from my grasp and throws them onto the floor. I’m left on the bed in only the nightgown, which I made shorter yesterday. I’m beginning to regret that decision.
“If you’ve brought him here to try and take me for his wife” ‒I look at Nicholas who is motionless‒ “then, it’ll be rape because I don’t consent to this.”
The Duke laughs.
“What kind of savages do you take us for.”
“Err. The type that kidnaps and brands girls for their pleasure.”
He steps forward and slaps me hard on the cheek. I see stars but also see Nicholas’ fists clench.
“If I didn’t need you pure because my son chose you, I would teach you a few lessons about just what type of man I am, and why you need to respect me,” the duke snarls. “This is my private physician, Dr. Fredrick Fallen, and this is my lawyer, Sir Percy Cleveland. When your father gave you to us, he made assurances as to your virginity. As part of the requirements of the rules governing our society, you’ll be tested to ensure that is, in fact, the case.”
“I’ll what?” I pull my legs up to my chest and use the pillow to hide my modesty.
“Don’t play dumb. Dr. Fallen here will check to see that your hymen is still intact.”
“Hell no.” I scramble from the bed and grab the nearest implement to protect myself. A lamp. “If any of you try to come near me, Dr. Fallen will need to spend his time stitching your head back together rather than sticking his fingers up my vagina.”
The Duke sighs, “Nicholas, why couldn’t you have chosen the docile one?”
“Less fun to break,” he replies and steps closer to me.
“Try it, and there won’t be anyone for us to marry.”
He picks up the book on my table instead.
“Interesting book choice.” He opens it to the page that shows the Van Gogh painting. It's then I realize he was the one to move me. I do a mental tally in my head to see if it feels as though I’ve been violated anywhere. Maybe he drugged me.
“You get your kicks from sneaking into a sleeping lady’s room? Mind you, it’s probably the only way you can get someone near that small dick, your no doubt packing.”
“My dick’s the thing of your dreams, Victoria.” He gives me an arrogant grin.
“Get a life.” I roll my eyes.
“I’ve got three to play with at the moment, thank you.”
“Enough.” The Duke interrupts our bickering. “Guards.”
Four men file into the room.
“We don’t have time for this. We need to see the other two girls, and then, we have the sale. Disarm her and hold her down.”
“Is that the only way you can get a woman?” I make a swing for the Duke, but one of the guards rips the lamp from my hand. The others grab for me, and I’m dragged, kicking and screaming, toward the bed. I don’t want this. I want to disappear back into my dream, preferably without Nicholas Cavendish in it. Actually, no, I could happily be dreaming of him and his father getting castrated. Instead, I’m thrown face down on the bed. The guards each pin one of my legs and arms down. I thrash my head around, trying to shift enough to sink my teeth into flesh, but a massive hand pushes it down so I can no longer move. I flick my eyes up to see that it belongs to the Duke. He's sadistic in his triumph over me. I feel my hips lifted and my gown pulled around my waist, bared to the eight men in the room. My ass in the air like a wild animal ready for the taking. Nicholas comes to the head of the bed. I watch his every move. He's like a stalking lion, surveying his prey. He plays with the cufflinks that peep out from his suit jacket. They are gold in color and emblazoned with the symbol, which will forever scar my skin. In this position, I have no dignity, and he's enjoying it.
“Don’t fight — relax, and it won’t hurt so much.” He orders. I spit at him in a fury, and he wipes it away with a smirk. His eyes never leave mine as two fingers are inserted into my body. I experience severe pain because I’m dry and not prepared — the doctor is tearing me apart. I screw my face up, but I can’t take my eyes off Nicholas'. I want him to die, painfully, slowly, and maybe, with two fingers stuck up his ass. No, make that a whole fist.
The doctor gropes around inside me, and I can’t help but feel violated.
“She’s a virgin,” he announces and withdraws his fingers. I breathe a sigh of relief. Nicholas looks pleased.
“I could’ve told you that without the need for all of this.” I try to struggle, but they still hold me down.
“Give her the injection.” The Duke’s voice comes from behind me. There's silence for a few moments except for the movement of the doctor, and then, I feel a sharp jab in my bottom. Everyone holding me lets me go, and I scramble as far away, to the other side of the room, as possible.
“What did you do to me?”
“A contraception injection. No babies before marriage allowed here. It wouldn’t be proper,” the Duke answers me.
“Proper? After what you just did, you're talking to me about what’s proper and what isn’t.”
The Duke ignores me.
“Is there anything you can give her to calm her down a bit? Her constant moaning has given me a migraine and become far too tedious.” He glares at me, but I stick my tongue out and look for another weapon. If any of them come near me, then they’re going to lose their heads.
“Leave her, Your Grace,” Nicholas interrupts. “I think that when she sees what happens next, she'll behave.” He turns on his heels with no further explanation and leaves. The Duke looks at me and cackles, making my blood freeze, and my body slump to the floor in defeat.