believed he was redeemable…lovable. The next, I wanted him to die a horrible, miserable death.
His stare travelled over my body while his voice gravelled with aggression. “This is what’s going to happen. You are going to obey my every request. If you do what I ask, we shall negotiate your length of residence in this cage. If you don’t, then I’ll decide how long you need to be punished.” His ocean gaze darkened. “And believe me, Jinx…you have a lot to be punished for.”
Twice he’d called me Jinx.
Not Eleanor.
Tonight, it seemed he wouldn’t slip between names. He was resolute with his torture, teaching a runaway a lesson.
Fine.
I would obey. Purely because I wanted out of this place as soon as possible.
“That bottle with the cream label.” He arched his chin at the tray. “Apply that to your skin.”
I cringed at the thought of putting on a show for him. Of dropping my arms from my breasts and revealing everything. I also shivered with the similarities between the horror movie of a psychopath who made women rub lotion into their skin to make a suit out of their stripped carcasses.
Sully was a man with murky morals, but surely, he wasn’t a psychopath.
Keeping my eyes from his, I bowed into obedience, regardless of my thoughts.
Needs versus embarrassment.
I chose the need for freedom. Just as I had with the kayak and potential death.
Ducking, I collected the bottle he’d mentioned. The label held scientific mumbo jumbo. A recipe or ingredient list, rather than some fancy stickers of cosmetics. The only thing I recognised was the SSG logo on the bottom corner. A logo that I’d seen on stationery in his office.
I didn’t know what it stood for, but I popped the lid and squirted a generous amount of clear looking serum onto my palm.
Not looking at Sully, I liberally applied the ointment. My belly, legs, arms, and face. Every inch covered with odourless, colourless salve. Almost immediately, a cooling sensation overtook my tingling sunburn, actively removing the heat, and soothing my skin from the outside in.
My eyebrows rose at the seemingly impossible magic.
“A human tested after sun cream.” He narrowed his gaze, drinking me in. His trousers had tented, revealing he’d grown hard watching me apply it. “Proven to reduce the longevity and pain of sunburn.”
I swallowed back the stupid wash of desire knowing he was hard. Knowing I’d made him hard. Even in this damn cage, I was still being an idiot with lust.
I almost wished he’d poured elixir down my throat…then I had a scapegoat for the tiny trickle of wetness that’d gathered.
“Tomorrow night, you’ll be touched by a man. At least now your skin won’t smart when he puts his hands on you.” His voice had turned black. His face brooded with hate. Hate at me or the guest he’d sold me to?
Pointing at the tray, he growled, “The tube. Apply the contents to your hands.”
Doing my best to keep from revealing too much of my nakedness, I deposited the bottle and collected the tube. Again, the packaging wasn’t pretty or marketed with bright labels designed to allure shoppers with a miracle cure. Bare and basic, but if Sully’s scientists had created these products, I had no doubt they were the best available.
The contents of the tube were thick and gluttonous, refusing to squeeze out until I applied pressure. The small blob sat in my palm as I returned the ointment to the tray and rubbed it thoroughly into the backs of my hands, fingers, and palms. The open sores and still oozing blisters stung a little, but just like the sunburn cream, relief followed almost instantly.
I looked up, expecting him to tell me how he’d created such things, but he only stared back with fierceness.
I held his stare even though it cost me. “You knew about my hands.”
He scowled as if I’d offended him. “Of course. I noticed the second I found you.”
“And you gave me something to heal them?”
His throat worked as he swallowed. “You’re not worth much when you’re bleeding.” His tone thickened, making my ears twitch and heart trip. “Roy Slater found you…alluring. He’s paid above and beyond what I usually charge for a night with a goddess. Just as I charged Markus Grammer. I intend to deliver a quality product.”
I stiffened. “Will you tell me how much I’m worth to them?”
He crossed his arms, not trying to hide the tightness and impressive bulge in his trousers. “Why? Does it make you feel wanted?”