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His only response was to look her over again, now taking more time to rake his gaze over every inch of her. Finally he nodded in approval. “You’ll do.”
Her skin crawled.
Neil turned toward the kitchen. “What did you make to eat, Camila? It smells acceptable.”
Bella’s mother scurried toward the dining room with an eager-to-please smile. “I heard you love pot roast, so that’s what I made. The meat is fresh — Diego got it on a hunt this morning.”
He gave a barely visible nod before taking a seat at the head of the table. “Bring it out, woman.”
When her mother reached for Bella, she moved out of the way to avoid another painful pinch.
“It’s time to serve. Now.” Mother’s eyes narrowed as she gestured toward the kitchen.
“Yes, ma’am.” Bella followed her in then carried dishes out to the dining room table.
Her father and the guest discussed the merits of certain guns over others.
While she didn’t look directly at Neil, she could feel him leering at her, mentally undressing her. If her parents wouldn’t punish her, she’d put on her winter coat to keep him from staring.
Imagining his thoughts and desires made her stomach churn acid. With any luck, he’d leave right after the meal. Now that he’d seen Bella and had deemed her an acceptable future wife, hopefully he would be eager to go back to wherever he came from.
And maybe change his mind about her.
But that was wishful thinking. Her future was nothing more than a business transaction for her parents. They didn’t care if she’d be happy or not. According to them, suffering built character, which was far more important than frivolous trivialities like being fulfilled or feeling safe.
She rushed back into the kitchen, unable to leave Neil’s lascivious attentions fast enough. All too soon, she and her mom returned with everything needed for the meal.
Her father said a quick prayer before they dug in. Bella could hardly take a bite.
“Aren’t you hungry, Isabella?” Neil asked, staring at her chest. He didn’t even try to hide it with her parents right there.
Not that they showed any inclination to defend her.
She slunk down in her chair. “I’m just… I don’t have much of an appetite.”
“Sit up straight!” her mom barked.
Bella obeyed.
Neil smiled slowly and kept his gaze below her neck. “You’re too skinny. You need to eat more so you can fill out. That would be more to my liking.”
Her face flamed.
Father glared at her. “You heard the man. Eat!”
She stuffed a forkful of food into her mouth. Her stomach lurched even worse than before. How she would get the food down was a mystery.
Thankfully her father and future husband returned to their conversation about guns. Neil’s watchful eyes pulled to his plate, away from her chest that apparently needed ‘filling out.’
Bella managed to swallow the food in her mouth, but no more. Luckily nobody noticed. Her parents were too busy sucking up to Neil, who hadn’t stopped talking about how great he was. She covered her full plate with a napkin and gathered other empty dishes to take into the kitchen.
When she returned, Neil held out his empty plate for her. After she took it, he cupped her butt.
She gasped, and almost dropped the plate.
“What’s wrong?” her father asked.
Neil leaned forward. “Your daughter is jumpy. Fix that before I marry her.”
