Page 60 of The Boy I Loved
Now, he was stone cold—crafted into Clay’s image. He knew better than to step out of line again. Still, my heart went out to him, even if he was just as sadistic as the rest of us. Monsters weren’t born. They were made.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
HAZEL
Stacy and Laurengave me the rundown at breakfast this morning.Trainingstarted for me today, and to say I was petrified was a giant understatement. We were supposed to be seen, not heard, unless asked a direct question. If we were told to do something, we did it unless stated otherwise. Crying was a sign of weakness, no matter the reason behind it. A girl could be shot through the skull inches from us as a test, and if we so much as shed a tear, we would be punished. We were being taught to serve the worst of the worst, to be obedient at any and all costs. They were trying to terrify us into submission, and it could just work.
My bare feet pressed into the cold tile, fear snaking down my spine. I didn’t know what training consisted of exactly, just that it wasn’t anything good.
The only reprieve was that we were allowed panties and bras, so we didn’t have to wander around stark naked.
We were ushered into a room at the end of the wide hall. There were two beds inside and a series of tables scattered about. There was even a couch and a couple of recliners. It looked like a porn studio, if I was being honest.
People always warned you of the horrors within the world, but they never went into detail about how homesick captivity made you. All I could think about was my family, running into Mom’s arms and hugging her as tightly as humanly possible, burying my face into her neck, and sobbing uncontrollably while telling her how much I loved her, and apologizing for being such a fuck-up. She would run her fingers through my hair in a soothing gesture and cry with me. She’d tell me I wasn’t a fuck-up after reprimanding me for using the word, and Dad would try to act tough, but he’d fail as he usually did when we got all sappy.
I missed them so fucking much it hurt. Like a deep ache settling in the pit of my chest, spreading wide with the threat of swallowing me whole. The agony of my loss was crippling, knowing I’d probably never see them again.
And Tory…
My best friend would be so distraught when she learned of my disappearance. She needed me as much as I needed her. She might have been popular, but I was her only true friend—the only one who really understood her.
“Find a seat,” one of the guards called out from the front of the room.
Everyone was silent, moving to obey in fear of getting punished for their disobedience. I lowered myself into one of the chairs surrounding a square table, Stacy and Lauren joining me shortly after.
The men took the sofa. There were four of them: Mason, Nicholas, Ronan, and Cody. Ronan barely acknowledged us. He followed the rules as instructed and didn’t cause too much fuss. Cody shot me lingering looks whenever he passed, but he hadn’t spoken to me yet. Nicholas completely ignored my existence as if I was nothing to him, nobody he knew. And Mason … He hadn’t spoken to me since yesterday, but he’d told me it was only a matter of time before he got to play with me.
A shudder rolled through me, despite the efforts to keep everything locked tightly inside me. If they wanted robots, they should have ran an organization full of robotic sex dolls.
That was what they were trying to turn us into after all.
Mason’s gaze shifted around the room, his eyes assessing us all, taking us in, and then he rolled his lower lip between his teeth in contemplation, as if he didn’t know what he planned on having us do today and was deciding on a whim. When his gaze found mine, a sinister smile stretched across his face, one that promised retribution. I froze, fear skittering down my spine, but I schooled my features to the best of my abilities, even when it felt like my heart might pounce from my chest.
“To start the day off, I think we should work on our blowjob skills,” Mason announced. “Some of you use your teeth too much and that will not do.”
Bile rose to the back of my throat like an electrical current, my gaze snapping to Stacy’s. Either she was really used to doing this by now, or she was a damn good actress, because she didn’t seem fazed in the slightest.
“When I call your name, come up here. You will not say a thing unless spoken to, and you will not hesitate. Everything you do will be tested.” He glanced down at the clipboard between his hands, his gaze roaming over the list of names. “June, you’re with Cody. Karissa, you’re with Nicholas. Harley, you’re with Ronan. And … Hazel, you’re with me.”
Dread ruptured within me, spreading through my veins until the urge to recoil overwhelmed me. I should have known. He said he’d come for me, but somehow, I still managed to underestimate him. Maybe I didn’t realize it would be so soon. Maybe … I hoped he’d change his mind.
The chosen girls rose almost robotically, not bothering to hide any of their assets as they moved toward the couch and lowered themselves between the legs of the men waiting for them. I couldn’tdo this. I was too inexperienced, tooshy. How could I suck Mason’s dick in a room full of people?
My heart thudded to a dangerous rhythm, and for a moment, it was like I was outside of my own body, standing in the distance and watching my upcoming disaster unravel. I couldn’t hesitate though. Mason had made that much clear, and a blowjob wasn’t worth the looming punishment awaiting if I managed to mess this up.
What was I even saying?
A blowjob was intimate. Maybe it would be worth the punishment, after all. But there were worse things.
With that thought in mind, I pushed myself to my feet. My legs trembled slightly, despite my best efforts of trying to keep a level composure. I didn’t spare Stacy or Lauren a glance. They’d both be trying to encourage me to do what needed to be done when I already knew. There was no way out of it.
I drifted toward the couch in slow motion, Mason’s callous grin curling at the edges of his mouth. Maybe he didn’t think I could do it. Hell, he was probably expecting me to fail—hoping I would—so that he could be the one to punish me for it. When I finally reached him, a sparkle of surprise flickered through his blue eyes. He said nothing though, opting to move the clipboard behind him, so that it was pressed against the cushion of the couch and his spine.
A ragged breath fled my lips, erupting into the dry air as I lowered myself to my knees, nervous energy prickling along the outer layers of my skin.
“Here. I’m feeling generous,” he said, reaching for the button on his black jeans and popping it so that it fell away.
The sound of suctioning echoed through the room, indicating that at least one of the girls had already begun. I never took my attention off Mason, though. He was my immediate threat, the man who called me forward, the one who fully intended to torture me when I inevitably messed this up. He pushed his jeans down his thighs and past his knees, letting them coil around his ankles. Hisdick was already hard within the confines of his dark blue boxers, but he wasn’t shy.
