Scarlet ran.
She ran as fast as her legs could carry her. The second she was out the barn she had to fight the urge to stop. Everything was just as she remembered—the house, the garden, the trees…everything.
With the sun starting to set, the most beautiful pinks and yellows painting the brick exterior of the European style mansion, Scarlet was suddenly bombarded with childhood memories. Afternoon walks through the gardens. Star gazing at night while she and her sister would lie on the soft, green grass. It was a time when Scarlet still noticed the beauty around her, when everything in her life still had color.
She glanced up to the second floor at the white window shutters of her and Willow’s old bedroom. It felt like it was just yesterday when she looked out those windows directly at the sunset, daydreaming of what her life had in store for her. Back then, all her dreams had pictures of love, happiness and white picket fences. Unfortunately, that was not how her life had turned out…at all.
To her right she saw the familiar maple trees, and for a second she thought about running, escaping through the maze of leaves and branches. But she knew that other than the front gates, there was no way off the estate. And knowing Brent, he probably had security fucking everywhere. So it was no use. The only chance she had was to follow her plan and hope to God she and Colton didn’t end up dead and buried.
As she continued to run, she thought about how other than pretending to escape to get her and Colton close to Rex and Brent, she had nothing. There was nothing to the plan but that. So she would have to wing it—which basically meant they were screwed. But she was screwed anyway, no matter how she looked at it.
“Scarlet!” Colton yelled behind her, pretending to chase after her.
She ran over the grass around the side of the house toward the back porch, past the white rose bushes, and the Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow tree at the corner of the house. When she passed the tree, the familiar sweet, floral scent filled her nostrils, and she could remember how much she loved the smell as a little girl. The small purple and white flowers were always her favorite. Her grandmother even dubbed the tree Blanchette’s Arbor.
Dammit, now was not the time for her to take a trip down memory lane.
As she rounded the corner, she heard Colton behind her, yelling for her to stop.
She knew where she was heading. She knew the layout of the estate like the palm of her hand. What she didn’t know was what waited for her inside those walls since Brent had taken ownership of everything.
Was she being reckless by going along with her own plan? Probably.
Was this the stupidest plan she’d ever come up with? Yes.
Did she have a choice?
No.
Bella Vista was a huge estate with a huge fucking mansion—all sixteen bedrooms, twelve bathrooms, and shit loads of entertainment rooms of it. So by the time Scarlet rounded the second corner with Colton on her heels, her heart was pounding against her ribs. Her throat burned and her lungs felt like they were on fucking fire.
“Scarlet! Stop!” Colton yelled again.
As she glanced over her shoulder to see how far behind her he was, a big, strong hand grabbed her elbow, pulling her back. The wind got knocked out of her as she slammed back first against the outside wall.
The pain that shocked through her body was excruciating, her head exploding in a haze of stars.
“And what do we have here?”
Scarlet looked up and into the bluest pair of eyes she had ever seen in her life. Man whore Adam could kiss this guy’s ass.
Struggling to catch her breath, she tried to fight against the grip this guy had on her shoulders. “Let me go!”
The guy smiled, showcasing two dimples, which were impossible not to notice—and those fucking blue eyes seemed like they were smiling too.
Colton almost came to a crashing halt when he rounded the corner and saw what was happening.
The guy glanced at Colton. “She yours?”
For a second Colton seemed like he was frozen on the spot, and the way he stared at the guy currently digging his fingers into Scarlet’s shoulders told her the plan had just gotten shot to shit.
“Rex,” Colton said before straightening.
That was the moment Scarlet felt like the blood in her veins had suddenly frozen solid.
Scarlet looked from Colton to the guy who she now knew was the infamous Rex she had heard so much about. His ink black hair was long at the top, neatly combed back with the undercut short-shaven sides. With tanned skin—and did she mention the fucking blue eyes?—Rex was not what she had imagined. Not at all. From what she’d heard, she had a picture of a gross, big bellied old guy in her head.
Not that at all.
He was much younger than she imagined him to be. At approximately six foot four, with wide shoulders and a stare that could intimidate the fucking Russian president, Scarlet knew this was not the guy anyone wanted to fuck with. Even though he was what Scarlet would consider hot, there was something in the way he stared at her, a certain kind of darkness that loomed behind those blue irises. It gave her the creeps.
Colton gave a hesitant step forward. “She’s one of Mr. Wolfe’s.”
Rex tilted his head to the side, revealing part of a tattoo on the left side of his neck which peeked out from under the black collar of his dress shirt.
“She doesn’t look like his type.”
Scarlet snorted. “What’s more his type? Innocent, seventeen-year-old virgins?”
Rex narrowed his eyes. “Something like that. Why are you running?”
“She was trying to escape,” Colton answered abruptly.
“Well then,” Rex cocked a brow, “good thing I decided to come for a stroll.”
“What in God’s name is going on here?” Brent came rushing down the stairs from the back porch, and Scarlet suddenly felt nauseas. When she glanced his way, she closed her eyes and turned her head in the other direction. His voice, his face, just the mere presence of him was enough to kill her slowly—painfully—from the inside.
“Mr. Riggs, care to explain to me what the hell she’s doing here?” he asked as he approached them.
Scarlet opened her eyes and noticed Rex studying her with intent, the faintest hint of a smirk on his face. Creepy fucker.
“She tried to escape,” Colton answered. “She needed to pee, and I unlocked the chains.”
Rex glanced at him. “And then she broke your nose?”
“Yeah. Something like that.”
Rex looked back at her, his hands still firmly placed on her shoulders. “Is she one of yours, Brent?”
Brent stepped up next to Rex, and Scarlet wanted to hurl all over his five hundred dollar ugly-ass shoes.
“Yes, she is.”
Rex moved his right hand over her shoulder, placing it around her neck, his thumb leisurely stroking her jaw. “Pity.”
“Mr. Riggs.” Brent glanced at Colton. “Make sure she gets back to her room. And the next time she needs to pee, she can do it while hanging from the goddamn ceiling.” Brent’s eyes were black with anger. And the way he glanced at Rex, still holding Scarlet securely against the wall, she could tell Brent didn’t like it one little bit.
The son of a bitch was jealous.
Colton moved to reach for her, but Rex pulled her away from the wall, not letting go. “Hold on. I think I’d like Miss…?” He looked at her questioningly.
Scarlet lifted a brow. “Does it matter? You don’t look like the kind of man who cares about formalities.”
He grinned. “Oh, I like you.”
Scarlet cocked her head to the side. “Pity.”
“Her name is Scarlet Woods,” Colton said as he stepped closer. The way Colton glanced at her with warning, she got the feeling he didn’t want her playing with Rex.
Rex smiled, showcasing his dimples. “I think I’d like Miss Woods here to join us for dinner.” He glanced down at her body, his gaze pausing for a breath too long at her breasts, before turning to Brent. “I’m in the mood for a little entertainment, aren’t you?”
When Scarlet looked at Colton and saw the horrified expression on his face, she knew Rex didn’t want her to join them for dinner as a guest. She was the entertainment.
Shit.
Scarlet abruptly jerked her shoulders out of his grip and tried to make a run for it, only to feel two arms encircle her waist and lift her feet off the ground.
“Now, now, Miss Woods,” Rex crooned as he pressed her back against his chest and spun her around to face Brent. “Hasn’t your master here taught you any manners? It’s not nice to try to run from the king.”
Brent launched forward, anger burning in his eyes like black holes of hell, and slapped her across the cheek. “I will not tolerate any kind of disrespect from you anymore. You do as you’re told and you keep your filthy mouth shut, do you understand me?”
Scarlet’s face jerked to the side, and she licked her lip, tasting blood in the corner of her mouth. When she looked back at Brent, all she saw was hate. So much fucking hate that she wanted to see him burn, to watch as the skin melted off his bones, his screams filling her ears like a damn melody.
Brent leaned closer. “What do you say?” he bit out between clenched teeth.
Scarlet glanced at Colton, and he nodded, his eyes filled with worry.
“Yes,” she answered softly.
“Yes, what?”
She knew what he wanted her to say. The problem was, there was no way in hell she would say it. She’d rather have them rip her tongue out.
She faced him again. “Yes, I understand, you fucking psycho!”
Brent’s face went every shade of red, his eyes dark pits of black when he reached for her throat. But Rex jerked her to the side, pulling her away from Brent’s reach, and she heard him snicker.
“Now, now. Let’s keep the fun for later. The evening is still young.”
By the tone of his voice he was clearly very fucking amused—and that pissed her off even more.
“Let go of me.” Scarlet tried to jerk free, but he just tightened his arms around her waist, lifted her off the ground, and carried her up the stairs while she continued to thrash against his hold.
When they came to the top of the stairs and onto the porch, he put her down, still not loosening his hold around her. He placed his lips against her ear and whispered, “Why do I get the feeling that you’re going to be so much fun?”
“I bet it’s the tits, isn’t it?” she scoffed over her shoulder.
He leaned forward and looked over her shoulder, down at her cleavage. “Hmm, they do look very inviting.”
“I don’t think Brent is the sharing type.”
“Do you really think I care if he’s the sharing type or not?”
“No. But I should warn you, I don’t fight fair.”
He pulled her tighter against his hard chest, his warm breath moving across her cheek. “Oh, I’m counting on that, sweetheart.”
Two girls wearing nothing but black thongs with garter belts and stockings came walking onto the porch. Both had gold studded collars around their necks with their blonde hair tied in high ponytails.
Scarlet snorted. “Doesn’t look like you have a shortage of tits around here.”
“Sweetheart, I have a shortage of nothing.”
He pushed her, and she stumbled forward. “Girls, please help Miss Woods get cleaned up and ready for dinner. Miss Woods will be the guest of honor tonight.” He shot her a sly grin and winked.
Oh God. Why did it suddenly feel like things just went from bad to fucking worse?
Scarlet carefully walked backward while she looked over at Colton standing a few feet behind Rex. The sullen look on his face wasn’t reassuring at all, and Scarlet swallowed hard while her stomach twisted into a thousand tiny little knots.
Brent peered over Rex’s shoulder, and even he looked fucking grim. It was easy to see that Brent was no longer in control. Brent was no longer the dictator.
Rex was.
Brent was one evil son of a bitch, but she wasn’t sure who she should fear the most. Brent or Rex? There was a darkness hidden in Rex’s crystal blue eyes. Wickedness lurked behind the beauty of his irises, and it scared the crap out of her.
The two girls flanked her, their breasts brushing against her shoulders. It was disgusting, and Scarlet tried to shimmy away from them. “Sorry, girls, as you can see, I’m a pretty well-endowed woman myself, so I really don’t need more tits hanging around me. Thanks though.”
Rex snickered. “Sweetheart, it would be wise for you to just go with them and let them help you slip into something,” his gaze travelled down her body, and slowly back up again, “a little more comfortable.”
Scarlet frowned. “What? Like they’re wearing? It’s a great offer, and very tempting. Yet I assure you, I’m fine. But fuck you very much.”
She saw Colton pinch his eyes closed with his thumb and forefinger, shaking his head.
Scarlet wasn’t exactly thrilled about being in this situation herself. But there was no way in hell she was going to let yet another asshole with sick, twisted sex issues shove her around. Having one perverted motherfucker in her life was enough. She didn’t need another one.
Rex continued to smile. He wasn’t fazed by her attitude in the least. In fact, he looked quite amused by it all.
He looked at the girls and indicated toward Scarlet with a nod. “Take her.”
Each girl took ahold of one of her elbows, urging her to move. Scarlet looked at Colton, and she could almost hear him begging her to just play along. To not play games by being stubborn. So she allowed the girls to take her into the house—her old home.
The minute they walked through the door, she glanced back and saw Brent hovering around Rex, trying to talk to him, but Rex wasn’t the least bit interested in what Brent had to say. He was too busy staring after Scarlet, that sly grin still frozen on his face.
He might have looked all sophisticated, powerful, and dapper in his suit, but he gave her the fucking creeps.
As they entered the house, Scarlet stopped. Nothing looked the same. Everything was different. From the furniture, to the carpets, to the damn paint on the walls—everything had changed. It was like Brent had erased every trace of her family. What once was a house filled with vintage Victorian style furniture, was now decorated with a modern theme of grays, metals, and silvers. It wasn’t the warm home she remembered, and everything about it screamed cold and empty…just like Brent.
This was no longer her home. But then again, it hadn’t been her home for the last seven years.
“This way, Miss Woods,” one of the girls said, walking toward the stairs leading to the second floor.
Scarlet snorted, thinking that even though the content of the house no longer looked familiar to her, she knew her way around this house better than these two bimbos.
Once up the stairs, they took her to one of the sixteen bedrooms. How were they so settled in when they only arrived that day? It was like Rex took over the second he set foot into the house. Even Brent seemed scared shitless of the guy.
Desperate to ignore the thrumming of her heart and the panic slowly starting to possess her mind, Scarlet decided to try to make some small talk.
“So, what are your names, ladies?” Great, that sounded like a pick-up line.
Neither of them answered. Figures.
When they opened the bedroom door and Scarlet stepped in, she nervously scanned the room. Brent even changed the themes of the bedrooms, from light and open to dark and sensual with blacks, reds, and silks.
Clearly these girls had already made themselves at home since their clothes were fucking everywhere—if one could even call them clothes. It was more like tiny pieces of fabric meant to be eaten.
“In case you girls were wondering, I’m more of a leather pants and boots kinda gal. If you have anything in that line, that would be swell.”
When she turned around, one of the girls was holding up a white lacy thong. Scarlet’s eyes widened and she shook her head.
“Leather. I said le-ath-er.” She dragged out the word as if the girl didn’t understand it the first time.
Scarlet glanced from one pair of tits to the other. “Do you girls even talk?”
“We talk,” one answered while she pulled out something leather-ish from a suitcase. Scarlet eyed the piece, thinking it looked way too small to be anything she would wear. “There’s just no use in debating with you over what you are willing to wear and what you’re not.” She held up the black leather bustier in one hand, and what Scarlet could only assume was a black lace thong in the other. The girl smiled. “In the end, you’ll wear whatever the hell the master wants you to wear.”
Scarlet cocked a brow. “You mean your master? Because he sure as fuck ain’t no master of mine.”
The woman started walking toward her. “Believe me, if Rex wants to be your master, he will be.”
“And if I belong to someone else?”
“He won’t care.”
Well, that sure as hell put Scarlet at ease—not.
Scarlet turned to the woman who was still standing silently by the door. So far, she hadn’t said a goddamn word, and there was a certain kind of sadness in her eyes that made Scarlet think she wasn’t there because she wanted to be.
“You okay back there?” Scarlet asked, and the woman’s eyes shot up to hers. All she did was nod, and then looked back down.
“We need to get you cleaned up first,” the other woman said, still clutching the leather ensemble in her hands. She turned her attention to the woman by the door. “Gaan tap vir die vrou ‘n bad. Sy stink.”
What the fuck was that? That was a language Scarlet had never heard before in her life. Was it German?
The woman by the door rushed to the en-suite bathroom and Scarlet heard the bath running. Even though under normal circumstances Scarlet would have been extremely excited over the prospects of taking a bath and washing the smell of horse dung and Brent’s touch off her, she was real nervous about what was going down.
Naked women, a room full of lingerie, a psychopath, and an attractive man with a demon possessed soul all made Scarlet less thrilled about the idea of taking a bath. In fact, she was willing to bet that the filthier she was, the better her chances of not getting touched—or worse. Although, this was a bunch of twisted individuals, and with her luck lately, they were probably into filthy woman smelling like horse crap.
It took the two bra-less wonders all of twenty minutes to get Scarlet washed and cleaned. Getting bathed by two half-naked women was not on Scarlet’s list of the top ten best experiences of her life. It was disturbing on the most uncomfortable level.
For the entire twenty minutes, Scarlet tried to get their names and make small talk. She was a nervous talker. But clearly, those two weren’t, and they gave Scarlet nothing. No names, no details—nothing.
With a stomach that felt like it had been filled with cement and a throat that was about half an inch from closing completely, Scarlet endured the bath, dressing, and grooming from hell.
The strapless leather bustier pushed her cleavage up, making it seem even bigger than it already was. And the tiny black thong with the black garter belt and stockings completed the entire prostitute look.
“Okay, seriously,” Scarlet started. “I am not wearing this to dinner, unless you’re hiding a wrap-around dress around here somewhere.”
The woman with the sad eyes looked at her and smiled halfheartedly. If that was supposed to reassure Scarlet—epic fail.
The other woman started pulling a comb through Scarlet’s hair, but Scarlet jerked forward. “Excuse me. Did you not hear me? I am not going downstairs in this. So can you please give me my clothes back?”
She shook her head. “That is what you will be wearing. Now please stand still so I can finish your hair.”
Just when she stepped in front of Scarlet, reaching for her hair again, Scarlet head butted her right in the fucking face.
The woman doubled over, holding both her palms to her nose.
“You bitch!”
“Yes, well, I did tell you I’m not wearing this ridiculous prostitute outfit. This isn’t Pretty Woman.”
The door flung open and a man Scarlet hadn’t seen before stormed in. “What the fuck is going on here?”
“She attacked me,” the woman with the now bleeding nose shouted.
When the man rushed toward Scarlet, she ran to the other side of the bed, and then over it when he followed her. As she jumped off the bed, she scraped her leg against the bedside cabinet, tearing the stocking she was wearing.
Fuck this shit. She couldn’t do this anymore. She needed to get the fuck out of there.
Scarlet ran down the long hallway, passing all of the other bedrooms. While she ran, she tried to figure out how the hell she would be able to get out.
As a little girl, she and Willow would play in her grandmother’s bedroom. It was the only bedroom with a patio that overlooked the entire estate. There used to be a large trellis covered with the most beautiful pink bougainvillea that she and her sister would climb off of, pretending to be princesses trapped inside a castle. Hopefully it would still be there and Scarlet could use it to get out.
Just as she rounded the corner on her way to her grandmother’s bedroom, an elbow came from out of nowhere and knocked her right in the face, sending her falling flat on her ass. It felt like someone had hit her with a fucking brick.
“Fuck,” she groaned, placing her hand on the left side of her face. Her eyes watered, and one of them felt like it had been popped right out of her skull.
Still groaning, she managed to squint with her one eye. She looked up and into the blue eyes staring down at her.
Rex smirked. “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t see you there.”
Like fuck he didn’t see her.
“And where are you rushing off to, sweetheart?”
Scarlet pushed herself up from the floor, staggering a little. “I thought I heard someone yell fire, so I ran.”
He laughed. “I can see why he’s been obsessed with you all these years.”
“Who?” Scarlet checked her palms for traces of blood from her face, but luckily there was none.
“Brent, of course.” He leaned against the wall, pulling his one leg up, his hands tucked in his pockets. One would never guess he’d just almost knocked her the fuck out with an elbow. “It’s my understanding he’s been searching for you for quite some time.”
Scarlet pretended to be preoccupied with yet another tear in her stockings. “Yeah, well, it’s my understanding you’re one twisted son of a bitch—just like him.” Finally giving up trying to cover some thigh skin, she straightened and met his gaze. “You two should make the perfect evil couple, don’t you think?”
He pushed himself off the wall, his gaze slowly moving down her body like he was taking in every inch of her. “That would probably be true if I didn’t love pussy so much.”
“Well then, you’d make an excellent couple since Brent is the biggest pussy I know.”
Rex kept a straight face for all of five seconds before he burst out laughing. “Damn, that mouth of yours, woman.”
“I get that a lot.” Scarlet glanced over his shoulder and saw her grandmother’s bedroom door. If she could only get there, she would be able to get out.
Rex noticed. “You contemplating another escape plan inside that pretty little head of yours?”
She snorted. “Believe me, nothing inside this head of mine is pretty. “
He stepped closer, staring down at her breasts while biting into his lower lip. “Oh, you and me both, sweetheart.”
He traced a finger up her arm, and it made her damn skin crawl.
“Come on, I’m starving.” He wrapped his hand around her elbow and started to lead her down the hall. Of course the little bimbo Scarlet head butted earlier came running toward them, still clutching her bloody nose.
“You bitch. You broke my fucking nose.” The woman went straight for Scarlet, and Rex had to push himself between them. The crazy-ass woman tried to fling her fists around Rex, but the man was like fucking concrete—there was no getting around him.
“Calm down, Carla.” The blonde bimbo had a name.
“She attacked me,” Carla seethed.
Rex glanced over his shoulder at Scarlet, and all she could do was shrug.
He turned back to the raging woman. “Calm down, and go clean up your face.”
“But…Rex, she—”
A loud crack sounded and Scarlet flinched when Rex hit Carla hard across the face—so hard that she spun around from the force and landed face-first on the floor.
Scarlet yelped and covered her mouth with her hand.
Rex reached down and pulled Carla up by her hair while he leaned closer to her ear. “If you ever call me Rex again, my cock will be the last thing you feel before I snap your neck. Do you hear me?”
Carla whimpered. “Yes, master.”
He pushed her head into the floor as he released her hair. “Good. Now get yourself cleaned up, and I don’t want to see that bruised face of yours until it’s healed. No one likes to fuck a troll.”
He straightened his collar, then grabbed Scarlet’s elbow, his grip way stronger than before, and started pulling her down the hall.
Jesus. It was like this guy went from cool and calm to a fucking animal in a split second.
Suddenly the urge to make snarky, sarcastic remarks wasn’t so strong anymore. Her instincts about this man were right. The darkness she saw in his eyes wasn’t her imagination, which meant there was no more fucking around with this one.
Rex all but dragged her down the stairs, his grip around her elbow tightening with every step they took. Lucky for her they never got around to putting shoes on her feet, otherwise she would have face planted a few times by now.
“Where’s that smart mouth of yours now, Miss Woods?” He didn’t look at her, and Scarlet didn’t answer.
Rex led her into the dining room and the first person she saw was Colton, who was standing on the other side of the room by the fireplace, looking worried. When his eyes met hers, he paled. Of course he paled. She was dressed like a fucking hooker.
Brent was already sitting at the end of the dark wood dining table, leaning back in his chair like he was fucking royalty.
“Gentlemen, look who I found running around.” Rex shoved her forward and she suddenly felt completely naked. There were four men standing down the side of the dining room, holding their shotguns at the ready like fucking bodyguards.
Two cold hands wrapped around her shoulders. “And look, she’s all dressed up with nowhere to go,” Rex said. “But not to worry, we have a special place set up for you so that everyone can admire your outfit.”
He urged her to walk toward the table, and pulled out a chair with his foot. “Get on.”
“What? You want me to get on the table?” Scarlet asked, confused.
He smiled. “Look up, sweetheart.”
When she looked up, her heart stopped. Every ounce of blood felt like it had been drained from her body as she stared at the roof in horror.
Chains. There were fucking chains hanging from the ceiling.
“What is this?”
“This is part of the entertainment for the evening, sweetheart.”
Scarlet shook her head and tried to step back. “No way.”
Rex took a fist full of her hair and jerked her head back. “Are you saying no to me?” He leaned closer to her ear. “Because if you are, I can assure you it will be the last time you ever said no to anyone.”
The threat in his voice was loud and clear. The shudders that wracked her body had her gasping for air. The atmosphere in the room was nothing short of toxic, poisoning her. The urge to vomit and cry at the same time was so strong she had to bite the inside of her mouth to keep her from erupting in a giant piece of pathetic womanhood.
“Get up on the fucking table, sweetheart. And do not make me ask again.”
Scarlet felt a shiver move down her spine, and with the amount of fear pulsing through her veins she didn’t think her legs would be able to hold her up long enough.
Rex held her hand until she was standing on the table, then he turned to Brent. “Would you like to do the honors, Mr. Wolfe?”
A wicked grin spread across Brent’s face. “Oh, yes, I would.”
Brent stood up and stepped onto the chair. As he got on the table, Scarlet gave a step back. “Do not touch me,” she seethed while staring at him wildly. Even with his dark blue suit he was still one ugly motherfucker. Everything about him disgusted her. The way he looked at her, the way he smiled, the way he walked, the way he fucking breathed.
“What’s the matter, Little Red? There was a time you liked my touch, remember?”
“Fuck you, Brent.”
From the corner of her eye she saw Rex take a seat at the other end of the table. He placed his elbows on the table and rubbed his chin with his fingers, his brows furrowed as he continued to watch them.
“I would willingly let myself be tied to these chains, just as long as it’s not by him,” Scarlet said to Rex, desperate not to have Brent touch her.
Rex leaned back in his chair, still rubbing his chin, studying her with so much intent it made her shift from one leg to the other.
“Miss Woods, he is your master. So he needs to do the binding.”
“He’s not my master. He’s nothing of mine,” she bit out through clenched teeth, glaring in Brent’s direction.
“Well, Mr. Wolfe, it seems you still have quite a lot of training to do with this one. Which reminds me, where is her collar?”
Brent grinned wickedly. “I like them wild and untamed. And as for the collar, she hasn’t behaved well enough to deserve one yet.”
“And she doesn’t plan to either,” Scarlet sneered. “You can shove that collar of yours up your ass.”
Brent gave a few slow steps across the sturdy table until he came within inches of her, his malicious eyes staring into hers. “Like I used to shove my cock up your tight little ass?”
Two heartbeats. That was how long it took for Scarlet to lose her shit. At that moment, she was so enraged with the most intense kind of hate that she completely lost it, and punched him in the face. She didn’t even feel the pain resonating through her hand. All she felt was cold, hard rage, and she really, really wanted to kill him in the cruelest way.
“I’m going to kill you, you fucking asshole!” She grabbed the side of his face, aiming for his ear, wanting to rip it off. But he moved, and she scratched the skin of his cheek, drawing blood.
But she wasn’t done.
All she saw was a thousand different shades of red. All she felt was his filthy hands on her skin, touching her in places he never had the right to. With every flashing memory, Scarlet punched and kicked and screamed. It was like the devil himself gave her the strength and the anger to inflict as much pain as humanly possible. She wanted to tear this son of a bitch apart.
Brent tried to cover his face as she kept pounding her fists into him. She didn’t care if the fuckers with the shot guns blasted her fucking brains out. All she cared about was punishing Brent, making him feel the pain she felt when he ruined her multiple times.
“I hate you!” she yelled. “I fucking hate you, you son of a bitch.”
Brent managed to grab her wrist when she tried to land another punch, and grabbed her around the throat before slamming her back first onto the table.
“You bitch!” he shouted, spitting on her face. But she didn’t care. Even though she had the breath knocked out of her, she wasn’t about to give up.
Brent tried to straddle her while taking hold of both her wrists, and she tried to kick him in the back. But someone grabbed her ankles and all she could do was thrash beneath Brent and continue to scream.
“Get off me!” She kept thrashing. “Get the fuck off me!”
Brent hit her hard across the face with the back of his hand, but she felt nothing. Whether it was the adrenaline, the hate, or a lethal mixture of both, Scarlet didn’t feel the pain. She heard the smack, but didn’t feel a thing. All she felt was the desperate need to fight, and to tear Brent apart.
Scarlet tried to lift her shoulders off the table, wanting to head butt the fucker in the face, but Brent grabbed ahold of her throat with both hands and started to squeeze. Instinctively, she reached for his hands, trying to loosen his grip, but he just kept tightening his hands around her throat until she started gasping and choking for air, the pressure causing her lungs to burn.
Within seconds the only thing she heard was the sound of her heart, as if it was beating inside her head, her ears ringing as the air in her lungs became less and less. The anger she felt just a few seconds ago was gone, replaced with the only thing that mattered—survival.
Scarlet tried to pull his hands away from her throat, clawing and scratching, desperate to take a breath, but he was too strong.
Just as Scarlet started to think he was finally going to do it, that he was finally going to kill her and end it all, there was a loud crack of a gunshot.
Brent immediately let go of her throat and looked up while Scarlet coughed, trying to suck in as much oxygen as possible. The air burned as it started to fill her lungs, and she leaned her head to the side, not sure if she wanted to cry or vomit.
Rex was standing next to the table, holding up a gun, his expression unreadable.
“Well, this is not exactly what I had in mind when I said I was in the mood for entertainment.”
Brent grabbed her wrists, spread her arms wide, and pinned them down. “Riggs, grab the chains.”
Scarlet tried to get free, but she was too weak—her body was too weak. Feeling exhausted and defeated, all she could do was watch as Colton hesitantly helped Brent tie the chains around one wrist before moving around the table and tying the other.
Her chest was still burning with every breath she took, Brent’s weight making it even harder to breathe normally.
“You spoiled, disrespectful little slut,” Brent growled.
She closed her eyes since she knew what was coming. Her face jerked to the side as his palm hit her cheek. This time she did feel the impact, the sting on her skin. It felt like her lip had been torn at the corner, and judging by the metal taste on her tongue, it probably was.
Her ears were ringing, her cheek burning, and her body became numb. It was over. There was no more fight left inside her. Brent had won, and now he would claim his reward…her.
Scarlet slowly opened her eyes and saw Colton staring at her. His expression was pained—conflicted—and she saw the sadness in his eyes as he fastened the last chain. He hated this as much as she did. But there was nothing he could do at this point, and they both knew it.
Colton shook his head and then walked out of the dining room. All Scarlet could do was watch him leave, stare at his back as he left the dining room.
That was when she knew things were about to get real bad. If Colton couldn’t handle it anymore and was leaving her alone with all these men, then she was about to get a taste of hell.
Brent leaned down and he dragged the tip of his tongue from her ear, all along her jaw, until he licked at the blood in the corner of her mouth.
“Hmm,” he moaned. “They say a person’s soul is in the blood. If that’s true,” he brushed his lips across her cheek until he reached her ear, “then your sweet taste will force me to suck you dry.”
Good God. Brent was so sick, so demented, that his words sent a shudder of chills throughout her body. Her teeth started to clatter while her lower lip trembled. Tears slowly trickled down the side of her face and she closed her eyes, wishing it would all end. For the second time in her life she was willing to gladly give up her life if it meant she would finally be free of this man. Death would be a welcome relief from the hell she was forced to endure.
“Brent,” Rex said from the side. “I’m starving. Let’s eat.”
Brent didn’t move, his lips still hovering around her ear. “Soon, Little Red. Soon I’ll claim that sweet cunt of yours again. Before the sun rises tomorrow, I will remind you what it feels like to be ripped apart by my cock.”
Brent sat up and stared down at her with a sly grin on his face. He brushed his hands up her sides, around the swell of her breasts, and she squirmed under his touch, thinking that she’d much rather have her skin torn off her body. His fingers moved between her breasts and then tore the fabric right down the middle.
Scarlet was sobbing, feeling him glide his finger down between her breasts, the touch a silent promise of all the wicked things he would do to her. And then he moved the torn bustier to the side, exposing her breasts for everyone in the room to see.
“I’m going to enjoy this. Staring at your tits while I eat my dinner, thinking about all the things I’m going to do to this fine body of yours as soon as the lights go out.”
Scarlet sighed. “Fuck you, Brent,” she whispered.
“Someone hand me the ball gag. I don’t want Little Red here disrupting our pleasant dinner with her filthy mouth.”
Scarlet’s eyes flashed to his. “No.”
“Oh, yes.”
Suddenly Scarlet wanted to plead and beg, do anything to keep him from gagging her. But she couldn’t get herself to say the words. She couldn’t find the strength to beg.
Rex was the one who handed Brent the ball gag, and Scarlet started to cry. There was no stopping the tears or the whimpers of despair rolling over her lips.
Brent just kept staring at her with so much satisfaction gleaming from his dark, hard eyes. He loved seeing her like this. He loved the power he yielded over her, and there was nothing she could do about it.
When Brent tried to put the ball gag in her mouth, she rolled her head from side to side, her last attempt at fighting him. But then she felt two hands grabbing her head.
She looked up and into icy blue eyes staring down at her. “Shh, sweetheart. Don’t fight it,” Rex crooned while holding her head still.
Brent forced the ball gag into her mouth, and then lifted himself off her, climbing off the table.
There she was, semi naked, bound and gagged, with six men staring at her. As if that humiliation wasn’t enough, she felt Rex drag a finger down her body.
“God, you look stunning like this,” he murmured as he admired her. He moved his hand over her stomach, and Scarlet moaned, more tears slipping down the side of her face. When she felt his finger leisurely stroke over her panties, she pinched closed her eyes and wept. The pain, the humiliation, and the helplessness she felt was too much. No matter how strong she tried to be, there was no way she would be able to endure all of this without cracking.
Rex gently cupped her between her legs, and Scarlet struggled to keep herself from vomiting with the gag in her mouth.
She felt his finger probe her entrance through the panties she was wearing, and she cried harder, her body rejecting his touch by shaking uncontrollably.
“Hush now, Miss Woods.”
Rex removed his hand from between her legs and palmed her cheek as he leaned over her, studying her face with eyes that actually seemed compassionate. But she knew better.
“I promise you that we will try our best to make this night as memorable for you as I know it will be for us.”