Apparently he's going to carry me everywhere tonight. I like it way too much. I'd rather he throw me in a dungeon, chain me up and feed me bread and water. Based on Xavier's training, I expected to be brought into the enemy's lair, beaten and subjugated and punished. I never expected to be pampered. I don't have any defenses against kindness.
My body alive and singing, he carries me to the kitchen and seats me at a table.
He sets a plate down in front of me. Simple fare. Bread, cheese, a few rosettes of prosciutto and olives. Antipasti.
He gestures to the plate with a log of salami. "Eat, little wolf."
I take a few bites, watching him as he unwraps the stick of meat and takes a bite.
I drop the olive meant for my mouth.
"What is it, Selene?"
"You're eating," I point out dumbly.
"I can eat and drink as you do." He looks pointedly at my plate until I retrieve the fallen olive and pop it in my mouth. "I just do not need to."
"But I thought…" I flush.
"You thought I'd be dining on you?"
I stare at my plate, no longer hungry.
"I will one day. When you are trained. You will beg for it."
"What? No," I say before I can stop myself.
"You think you can withstand me?" He picks up a napkin and wipes his large hands, smiling. Even sitting, he's head and shoulders taller than me. I feel like a child at a giant's table. He could just manhandle me into doing whatever he wants. Did I really think my training would make me his equal?
"Speak, pet. Tell me what you fear."
"Are you going to wipe my mind?" I ask what's been bothering me. Xavier said Frangelico wouldn't stoop to such measures, but it's possible. He could make me forget everything. Replace my memories with whatever lies he wanted.
"I don't want a mindless puppet. If I did, I wouldn't have bid on you."
The promise of a vampire is worthless, but you can bet on their pride. I believe Frangelico. He wants a pet to willingly bow to him. He'll train me the way he wants, and present me to his vampire subjects at the party he's planning.
"Ten million dollars," I say. "What makes you think I'm worth it?"
He tosses the napkin onto his plate. "I've already gotten my money's worth. You're a fighter. Unwilling to be cowed. You fake submission when it suits you."
I hold still, trying not to twitch. Frangelico's in my head. No, he's just observant. Two thousand years of studying human behavior. Did I think I would fool him so easily?
The question is: how long do I have before he figures out the reason I'm here? And when he does, how long will I survive?
My heart flutters in my chest, a bird in a snare struggling to be free. The Vampire King seems to know how he affects me. Worse, he enjoys it.
He leans forward. "But I'll tell you something, pet, something you won't even admit to yourself. Underneath, you want to submit. You fight that most of all."
A rush of adrenaline almost has me bounding out of my seat. I hit the table with my fist, glowering at Lucius.
"No. You're wrong."
Lucius
I'M SO RIGHT.
Ah, delicious. So much fight. She's nothing like Georgianna, who was a meek thing, willing to please. Selene is a cooling zephyr in a desert. I enjoy riling her up as much as I enjoy putting her in her place.
I tilt my head to the side. "Care to wager?"
"What?"
"Let's play a game, pet. I will do everything I can to elicit your submission. You will fight me. One hour." I raise a finger. "It is up to you to resist me, and me to convince you to submit."
"You could just hurt me until I break," she points out.
"I could. But I will not. Tonight I will not hurt you... much."
"That's not very reassuring."
"Life rarely gives us reassurances. But I will give you one: you will experience as much pleasure as you do pain. Perhaps more." I pause and let my voice deepen. "A lot more."
She runs a finger around the edge of her plate, considering.
"What do you say, pet? My skill against your will."
"How do we know who wins?"
"I'll let you decide. Only you can know if you've truly surrendered."
Her brow furrows. "You could just compel me."
"That's cheating." She gives me a look, and I suppress a laugh. "How about this? I swear on my grave I will not compel you. Ever."
"Ever?"
"I keep my promises, pet. Now you have no reason to hesitate."
But she does, so tense I remind her to breathe.
"It's just a harmless little game," I soothe. "I have so little entertainment these days. You could prove, once and for all, that you have the will to stop me. Or I could prove that deep down, you want me to take control. One hour. One night. May the best one win."
A little quiver goes through her. Very good. She's knows the risks of playing with a vampire. Still, she's curious. I smell it in her scent.
"What will you give me if I win?"
"Whatever you want."
Her eyebrows shoot up. "And if I want to leave?"
"Do you want to leave? Where would you go? Another vampire might snap you up, especially after that show on the stage. They're watching you and I, even now. If you walk out of here, they won't hesitate to grab you, and bend you to their will, if only to prove that they can cow you better than I." Fear flares in her scent and I finish, "You're safer here with me, the King of the Vampires, than with anyone else."
She blows out a breath. She knows I'm right.