I threw bravery to the wind. “What would you pay…to fuck me?” My question started strong but faded into a whisper. I shivered as his entire body seemed to grow in stature, command, and threat.
“I could fuck you for free.”
“You technically already paid for me.” I gulped. “So…I’m not free.”
“You’re right.” His head cocked, sending a scattering of bronze-tipped dark hair over his forehead. “But you’re still worth more to my bank balance than my own selfish desires.”
My fingertips had the insane urge to swipe his hair away. To touch him. To beg him to let me out of this nightmare and try to find somewhere we could co-exist.
In his bed, perhaps?
The thought came and went. A flash of fantasy of him between my legs instead of a total stranger. How would he feel inside me? Would he be strict or sensual? Rough or worshipping?
Once again, chemistry crackled between us as he cleared his throat and commanded, “The vitamins are to be taken tonight and tomorrow morning. They’ll replace whatever you’ve lost in your seemingly delicate system. And the food and water will ensure you don’t starve tonight.”
A silver-covered lid hid the plate of food he mentioned and the pill bottle that I’d become familiar with since my last fainting episode waited next to a large bottle of water.
Worry crashed over me with icy slush. “You’re…leaving me here?”
“I am.”
“But…this cage isn’t big enough to lie down.”
He clasped his hands together between his spread thighs. His knuckles turned white with ferocity. “No, it’s not.” He pierced me with a stare, daring me to argue again.
I looked around at the painful metal wire and then down at my naked skin.
He’d promised punishment.
He’d delivered it.
I tried a different tactic. It wasn’t just about me. These cages hadn’t been designed for human use. Some were mouse size, other rabbit, most big enough for a dog.
Animals had been trapped inside.
Animals who now resided on Serigala?
The truth struck me square in the chest, demanding I suck in a shaky breath. “These cages…they came from your labs…didn’t they?”
He bared his teeth, taking his time to reply. “Do you know what I am?”
I wrinkled my nose, doing my best to form conclusions. I’d heard him mention his scientists, his company. I’d experienced his elixir and other medicines. He seemed revered by those who thought he was a genius. I spoke my educated guess. “You’re a scientist.”
He chuckled once, endlessly dark and threateningly bleak. “I’m much more than just a scientist.”
“You own the company? You rule many scientists?”
His brow fell sternly over his blazing eyes. “Clever.” He looked perplexed but also pained. “You keep surprising me. I don’t care for it.”
More goosebumps peppered my bare flesh. “Don’t like that I’m piecing together your past?”
He laughed coldly. “Believe me, if you’d figured out my past you would not be conversing with me so easily.” He leaned toward my cage. “You would not let me touch you so willingly. You would not kiss me back.”
My chest rose and fell as I sipped shallow breaths. “Why?”
He leaned away, crossing his arms. Ignoring my question, he demanded, “Tell me. Tell me what else you have pieced together.”
It’s a trap. Don’t answer.
And I wouldn’t if Sully had always been this nasty and arctic toward me. If he’d been a beast since the moment I’d arrived, I’d ignore him. Endure his torture and flatly refuse to interact with a monster. But he’d been generous. He’d been kind. And in a few fleeting moments, he’d been more than that. We’d been more than that.
Sliding down the bars, I sat cross-legged by the tray. I kept my hands between my legs for decency.
His gaze flashed with things I couldn’t decipher. His jaw worked and misery blackened his face for a single second. Wordlessly, he snatched my robe from the ground and stuffed it through the bars.
I waited as the soft material puddled on the cage floor before reaching across the small space and dragging it over me like a blanket. “Thank you.”
He snorted as if my thanks was misplaced and unwanted. His teeth flashed as he muttered, “Tell me. Tell me what you think you know about me.”
Slightly happier with my body covered, I fisted two handfuls of robe for strength. “I think something happened. Something to make you hate humans.”
He stiffened but didn’t interrupt.
“You rescued animals from laboratories and brought them to your islands. You brought their cages too…to um, destroy?” I looked around, understanding seeping into me