AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You don’t think you’d be tempted?” she asked softly. “So many others have been…”
“To run?” I asked, thinking of the possibilities.
“No, silly girl,” she laughed in my face, coming closer once again and showcasing her incomparable beauty. “Tempted to jump… to hurt yourself, tumble down those cliffs, throw yourself over the edge. You don’t think you would?”
“Of course not,” I replied primly, feeling anger surging through my body in waves. “What the hell? I would never hurt myself.”
“That’s what you say now,” Pia went on sweetly. “But many girls have claimed the same and weren’t true to their word. So you can see why we’d be hesitant to let you out there by yourself.”
She reached for my arm, and when I tried to snatch it away, she dug her claws deeper into my skin, making me cry out. I watched in shock as she snapped a small chain to an O-ring in my bracelet, creating a short leash from my bracelet in seconds. She tugged me closer, and I stumbled towards her helplessly, unable to stop.
“There we go,” she said pleasantly. “Now we’re really together so I can take care of you. Now, rose garden, I think you said?”
I looked at her with every ounce of contempt in my body, hoping my eyes conveyed how much I hated her damn guts. Then I nodded, and she returned a saccharine smile.
We made our way through the house and down the same path Thorn had led me on when he first took me to the rose garden. I followed Pia obediently, but not meekly, hoping my expression spoke for itself and made it clear enough how much I despised her.
Once again, I found myself scared and overwhelmed as we made our way outside. It was cooler than it had been and windy as hell. The breeze whipped my hair over my face, and I quickly came to regret my choice of going outside as Pia led me to the garden like a lapdog on a leash.
“Nice weather today,” she said with a big smile, and I glared at her.
“Don’t even try to small talk me,” I managed to get out, feeling braver now that we were away from the house and from the cameras. “I’m not in the mood for it.”
“Suit yourself,” she shrugged, probably mentally adding the word “bitch.”
Not that I gave a shit. Our opinions of one another weren’t much different.
“What would you rather talk about?” she yawned as we reached the garden.
It was as beautiful as I remembered it, the addictive scent of roses even heavier in the air than it had been when I visited the place with Thorn. Right away I thought I could use Pia to my advantage. Thorn hadn’t been forthcoming with information at all, but if I could convince Pia I was jealous, maybe she’d reveal more than he had.
“The garden,” I said. “He told me this is how he makes his money.”
She side-eyed me, and I sighed, going on to say, “Stop being so doubtful about everything. I’m in a relationship with him, you know.”
“Yeah,” she laughed out loud. “That’s what you think, silly girl.”
I stopped in my tracks and crossed my arms in front of my body, yanking her closer with the chain she still had in her hands attached to my wrist. She gave me an annoyed glare.
“What do you mean?” I asked defensively. “Of course there’s a relationship there.”
Had she never seen us together? Was she so delusional she’d deny the attraction I felt was so strong that sparks flew between us?
“Maybe,” she said dismissively. “Maybe there’s something. But why on Earth do you think it will last?”
“I…” I started but found myself lost for words. Instead, I glared at her when she gave me a triumphant look. “You don’t understand anything.”
“Oh, but I do,” she said icily. “I’ve seen girls like you come and go for too long to be under any illusion about the man you call ‘Master’ so freely.”
She made me feel weird about my feelings for Thorn, like there was something wrong with me submitting to him, with letting him have what he wanted from me. She made me feel… ashamed.
“How many girls?” I asked, because I couldn’t help myself. I hated my own mouth the second it blurted out the question, but here was my chance to find out the truth. The more painful it was the more eager Pia would be to relay it and hurt me, but maybe she’d deny it all together… try to lie her way out of things like she usually did. Maybe that would finally convince me Thorn was serious about me. Maybe even shared some of the feelings I felt deep down in my soul where my doubtful thoughts had no entry.
“How many?” she laughed as if the question were a joke. “Take a look around you, silly girl. How many roses do you see?”
