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It was just one more thing that had made her odd on the Moon. Everyone else up there was experimenting and having sex with everyone else. But Trish had always held herself apart. Maybe because she hadn’t trusted anyone else or fit in anywhere. The other orphans and children of workers had attended one school; Trish and the children of wealthy families had attended another. There had been other scholarship students there, but none of them had been orphans or particularly friendly. So, Trish had focused on her studies and hadn’t bothered with relationships. Her few friendships were shallow. More like acquaintances, really.
So, she didn’t understand why her body reacted the way it had. Why it felt good, even though she was scared to death, when Jordan caressed her in certain ways.
What she did understand was her physical reactions were completely out of synch with her emotional ones.
The room Jordan had brought her and Bella and Alex to was big enough to hold a large number of people, and a dark-haired man sat on a dais at the far end.
She stared up at the Wolf, blinking, wondering what her fate would be. He was a handsome older man with dark hair thatwas grey at his temples—something she didn’t think she’d seen before; no one on the Moon allowed their hair to grey—bright-green eyes, and a stern jawline. The very air around him seemed heavy with the weight of his authority, with a sense of power that should have terrified her to her bones. Yet her emotions felt so far away, right now.
Beside her, the Viking was holding her left arm, so tall he towered over her, making Trish feel very, very small. Strangely, when the Wolf’s gaze landed on her, though she was too hollow to be frightened, part of her wanted to lean against the man holding her arm, as if he would protect her from his boss.
Crazy.
That’s what was happening. She’d snapped and she was going crazy.
“Jordan…” The Wolf said, his eyes sliding over to the other woman and man. “So what have you brought me today? A present?”
“You did say you wanted a replacement for Abbey, soon,” Jordan said.
Trish shivered. Her emotions were starting to feel a little sharper again. Like she was remembering what fear felt like as she thought about losing her virginity to the powerful and intimidating man in front of her. Thought about the wild stories she’d heard. Wondered what had happened to those who hadn’t shared their stories.
If she had to be trapped here, please, oh please let her be one of the short visits. Not that she would want to tell this story, but she if she was going to suffer… well, those stories hadn’t sounded all bad, and at least she’d know what would happen.
“Mmmm, I could be persuaded to take a blonde… It would make a contrast from Abby,” the Wolf said.
Now she remembered fear. It was sharp and bitter and made her stomach twist. Trish tried to shrink back, but Jordan’s handon her arm tightened, holding her in place. His fingers gave her an almost reassuring caress. She remembered the pictures of the last long-term captive the Wolf had taken—a redhead with green eyes. Vibrant. Colorful. The complete opposite of Trish.
The Wolf’s gaze turned toward the other two. “Then again, it has been a while since I’ve had a couple.”
Trish was a bad person because part of her felt relief and hope—maybe he wouldn’t want her, but that meant hoping he’d want Bella and Alex, instead. Shame curdled, and she closed her eyes against the tears. It was starting to feel like she’d never stop crying.
“We’re not a couple!” Bella protested.
Shock and despair surged as Trish opened her eyes and turned to look at the brunette. Did the fact that they weren’t a couple mean the Wolf would turn his attention back to Trish? Bella looked back at her with horror, as though she felt the same way Trish had a moment ago—as though she were a bad person. But she shouldn’t because Trish knew exactly how she felt.
“Not a couple…” the Wolf said, almost as if tasting the words as he said them. Trish clamped her mouth shut as the Wolf leaned forward, obviously more interested in Alex and Bella now than before.
“The driver said there was another couple following them out of the hotel, begging for a second chance,” Jordan said. His fingers caressed Trish’s arm again. It felt as though he were somehow advocating for her, as if he were diverting the Wolf’s attention to the two brunettes, but that couldn’t be right. Why would he care? “From what I understand, these two caught their partners together. I thought you might find the dynamic intriguing.”
Okay, so the big Viking-like man obviously made the final decision on who to present to the Wolf… so it was his fault she was here, right? But why her?
Not only that, but his diversion had worked. The Wolf now stared hungrily at the couple who were not a couple, his eyes lit with interest.
“You may have the blonde,” the Wolf said, waving his hand at Trish. She felt like she was going to faint. Was that why she’d been taken? Because the Wolf’s right-hand man wanted her?
“Trish!” Alex shouted and tried to move toward her.
Hope—stupid, ridiculous hope—sprang up for a moment, but then he was surrounded by the Wolf’s guards. Jordan’s hand on her arm tightened. Of course, they wouldn’t be able to just escape like this. Of course, Alex couldn’t protect her. He was a prisoner, too. The three men who had converged on him forced him down to his knees as Jordan pulled Trish slightly away, turning her from the sight of Alex in his ropes, on his knees.
She started shaking again, a sob working its way up into her throat as she realized exactly how small she was next to the big Viking. How vulnerable.
The big man shifted, lowering his head next to hers so he could whisper in her ear, his hand stroking up and down her back in what was supposed to be a comforting manner.
“Don’t cry, little one, I’m not going to hurt you. You’re mine now, and I always take care of what’s mine.” His hand moved further down, caressing her ass. “I’m going to make you feel good, babygirl.”
Trish tried to close her lips to muffle the noises as she started sobbing again, absolutely terrified.
She knew what he meant. He was going to take her, do things to her that nobody ever had, and there was nothing she could do about it, nothing she could do to stop him.
