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“I don’t have to be beautiful for you. You understand that, don’t you? Whatever you need I can give you.” She looks up from under her lashes, her tongue running over her bottom lip as her fingers tighten on the handrests.
She’s overstepped, just like she did in the Grand Hall when she touched me when she shouldn’t have. She knows it. I know it. At some point I need to address that, but now isn’t the time. Instead, I allow myself to look at One, to really look. She’s still as stunning as she was when she first arrived here.
The first time I was forced to fuck her, I threw up. I threw up not because I beat her, marked her skin, bruised her and made her bleed. I threw up because I had to put my flaccid dick in her pussy and make myself come whilst my father fucking watched.
It was the single worst experience of my life.
But each time it got easier. With her help, I was able to switch off my thoughts, my churned-up feelings, all theweakness, and just fuck her. I owe her at least a little grace for that.
“I’m well aware of what you’re able to provide,” I reply, with a dip of my head. “But what I need from you remains the same as it has been these past five years. I will not cross that line with you. We will never be intimate again.Never. The Menagerie is your priority. Do you understand me?”
One fixes a smile on her face, but I see the darkness in her soul beneath the pretty facade. My father saw it too and that’s why she survived unlike all the others before her.
“I understand. So what can I do for you then?” she asks after a long stretch of silence when I try not to think about the fact I had Nothing on her knees sucking my cock in the room of curiosities only a few hours ago. It was supposed to be a form of punishment. It was supposed to scare Nothing into submission, remind her of her place. Somehow, it managed to have the opposite effect. She might’ve been on her knees, but at that moment, when she coaxed an orgasm out of me after years of abstinence, she had all the power.
“Nothing will be taking part in The Menagerie. I want her to dance.”I need her out of the way.
“And when the show is over...?”
I meet One’s gaze, lifting my brows at her audacity. She already knows that Nothing won’t be available to our clients. I made that perfectly clear in the Grand Hall. Bringing up the subject again rankles me. “No. As I already said, she isours. She will perform on stage and that is it. Do I make myself clear?”
“As you wish.” She dips her head in acquiescence, but despite her carefully relaxed demeanor, she can’t hide her jealousy. It’s plain as day.
“Thirteen is responsible for Nothing whilst Leon, Konrad and I concentrate on the Ball and all the arrangements needed to make sure it runs smoothly. There is a lot of work to be done. Thirteen will remain in charge of her at all times apart from rehearsals where you will ensure she’s kept under control. If she goes missing under your watch, there will be consequences. Dire ones.”
“I’m willing to help withwhateveryou need,” she replies, keeping her expression neutral despite the insinuation.
“Offering yourself up again, I see,” Leon says, stepping into the room and interrupting our conversation. He smirks, looking between us both. I can feel the tension he brings with him from the other side of the room. This is worse than I thought.
Downing the rest of my drink, I jerk my head at One. “We were just discussing Nothing’s role in The Menagerie. She will rehearse with the Numbers and spend the rest of her time with Thirteen until we’re ready for her.”
“Of course you were,” he responds dryly as Konrad steps into the room behind him. He looks as haggard as I feel. We need to get our shit together, and fast.
“I could use a fucking drink,” Konrad says, clamping a hand on Leon’s shoulder and forcing him further inside the room. Leon bares his teeth at Konrad, that familiar gesture telling us all where his head’s at.
He’s in a mood. A dangerous one.
“I want Nothing in rehearsals tomorrow morning,” I say to One in a clipped tone. She knows me well enough to know that this is her cue to leave. My brothers and I need to talk. Alone.
One dips her head and rises to her feet. “Goodnight,” she says before strutting past Leon and Konrad, her long dark hair swaying across her back as she walks.
I wait for her to leave, and for Konrad to lock the door behind her, before pulling off my mask.
“So what the fuck now?” Konrad asks, swiping a hand through his thick dark hair as he slumps in the chair One had just vacated. “I’ve had a fucking hard on since she came all over my fingers.”
“Nothing’s changed—”
“You can say that again!” Leon practically roars, cutting me off. “That woman who stood before us in the Grand Hall was not the same fucking girl we kidnapped.” He grabs the bottle of brandy from the side table and takes a deep pull from the bottle, not even bothering to pour himself a glass. He’s in shock. Well, that makes three of us.
“She’s still Grim’s sister. She’s still our revenge,” I remind him. “Focus, Leon.”
“Did you not see her face, her back?” Konrad asks, knowing full well that I did.
“You know I did, but this changesnothing,” I repeat, all the while knowing it could change everything.
Leon passes Konrad the bottle of brandy then starts pacing up and down the room. “Don’t fucking kid yourself, Jakub. I saw your reaction.”
“It was a surprise. Granted. But it means nothing. She’s here for one reason and one reason only.Revenge,” I repeat.
