Page 97 of The Boy I Loved
The next few days were just as mundane. Tristan completely ignored my existence, Dominic barely spared me a glance and holed himself away in his spare time, and Mason and Vincent watched me like hawks.
Dinner had just ended when Mason finally approached me, his eyes unreadable and hard as stone. “Clay wants to speak with you,” he said at last.
The dining hall was loud with women putting away their dishes and making their way to their respective jobs or rooms. Chatter filled the large space, drowning out the tension that passed between Mason and I. The only person who seemed to notice the animosity between us was Stacy. Her brown eyes shifted to him, then to me, before she curled her fingers around the edge of her plate and rose. After a few moments of observing us silently, she turned on her heels and made her way across the room to dispose of her unfinished food.
Knowing better than to ask any questions, I blew out a breath and stood, grabbing my own plate. I didn’t know what Clay wanted from me and seeing him again after knowing he was behind all of this, made my skin crawl. After dumping out the bit of food I had left, I placed my plate on the rack and returned to Mason.
Neither one of us spoke as he led me to an elevator right outside of the dining area. He ushered me inside, following behind a few moments later. My chest felt tight due to our close proximity, my mind spinning with a myriad of thoughts and feelings.
“How are you settling in?” he asked, jamming his finger against one of the buttons displayed on the keypad.
The last thing he said to me was,“How’s your cunt?”Rightafter I’d been taken by Tristan for the first time. Mason was on my shit-list, too.
“Better than most, I suppose,” I replied, not bothering to hide the bite from my tone. There was no point in pretending to feel anything for him other than disdain.
“Looks like it,” he agreed, raking his eyes over my outfit of the day.
I was wearing a light blue blouse with a black and blue checkered skirt that was so short, I couldn’t bend without flashing someone my ass. The shirt was tight against my frame, revealing the swells of my bigger-than-average breasts. Tristan only allowed me to wear skirts. That way I was covered, but he still had easy access if he decided to come for me.
I didn’t acknowledge his assessment with a response. Instead, I turned to face the front of the elevator door.
When it finally came to a stop, and the door slid open, I hurried out of the enclosed space as quickly as possible. Mason’s smirk told me he knew why, but I just glared at him in response. He didn’t deserve any of my breath, especially not since he was one of the reasons I was here to begin with.
Mason took the lead, leaving me to trail behind him. We approached a wooden door a few feet away from the elevator, and he knocked his knuckles against it.
Anticipation sliced through my body like butter, causing me to tremble for entirely different reasons. Clay requesting my presence couldn’t be anything good. I’d gotten off vibes from him at Dominic’s party, I never would have expected he was involved in things as horrible as this.
The door creaked open, sending my heart directly into my throat. Clay’s gaze shifted from Mason, and then to me, before he pulled the door open wider. Mason slipped in first, staying closer to me than I would have liked. He probably expected me to run, not that there was anywhere to go.
“Have a seat,” Clay ordered, dropping down into the large leather chair behind his desk.
Mason glanced at me over his shoulder, and I didn’t miss the sudden tension in his posture. Interesting…
The mere thought that Mason was scared of Clay piqued my interest. However, I wasn’t stupid enough to say anything about it now. Instead, I strode forward and lowered myself into the chair on the left, leaving Mason to take the other one.
Clay assessed me silently for a few moments, letting my mind race even more profoundly. What did he want with me? Why was Mason here? My stomach lurched with repulsion as my mind conjured up a variety of horrible scenarios.
Finally, the leader of this awful operation folded his hands on the surface of his desk. “You look well,” he commented, raking his predatory gaze over my outfit. “Nicewardrobe.”
“That was Tristan’s doing,” Mason rushed to say, earning him a quizzical look from me.
“I figured as much,” Clay replied. “Dominic wouldn’t have been so stupid.”
Anger surged through me instantly. He spoke of Dominic like he was nothing more than a child who needed discipline. Biting my tongue harshly, I glanced away, attempting to summon the strength to remain quiet and docile.
Clay reached for his glass on the desk, tipping it back and swallowing down half of the amber contents. He didn’t tear his eyes from me for even a split second, as if he wanted to catalogue every single reaction I gave him.
Once he had his fill, he placed the glass back down with a soft clunk and folded his hands together on the table again. “How many times have you been fucked now, Hazel?” he drawled, his question catching me off guard.
“What?” I whispered in exasperation, not wanting to disclose any of that personal information to a predator such as himself. Itwas way too personal.
He shrugged in response as if my shock meant nothing to him. “I know my nephew took your virginity,” he explained. “What I’m asking is who else has been inside of you since then. Was he the only one before you came here? If so, who else has fucked you?”
My fingers curled into the palms of my hands, my nails digging at the rough flesh there. The mere thought of Dominic disclosing that intimate information had my stomach curdling. The only person I’d ever told about me and Dominic was Tory, and she didn’t even know about the second time I’d been with him.
A shaky breath expelled from my lungs as I attempted to regulate my heart rate. I was surrounded by snakes.
"Dominic and Tristan are the only ones," I confirmed through gritted teeth, shame filling every inch of my body.
