Page 4 of Cruel (Brutal Academy)

CHAPTER2

LILA

The inside of the building was nothing more than a large shed. Foldout beds sat in lines along one side. Along the other were open-fronted shower cubicles. We could get clean, but our captors would see everything.

Clean shift dresses sat folded on the end of each bed. A welcome relief from the assumption they’d keep us naked the entire time.

With the promise of being able to cover myself, I hurried to one of the showers and turned on the water. I thought it would be ice cold, but it was actually warm. A few degrees cooler than I'd prefer, but better than freezing.

A spout sticking out of the shower wall delivered liquid soap to my hand. Another was for shampoo. I lathered myself and rinsed in about a minute and a half flat, all with Brutus watching me, his hand beside the telling bulge in his jeans.

I shuddered at the thought of him touching me, and turned the water off with a snap. I plucked a towel from a nearby shelf and dried myself faster than I ever had in my life.

His gaze still on me, I hurried over to one of the cots and scooped up the dress. I was shaking it out when I became aware of his presence behind me.

"What's the hurry?" he asked. He placed a finger in my shoulder blade before running it down my back and over my ass. "You look good like this. I bet you're a lot of fun."

I slipped the dress over my head and tugged it down into place. At the same time, I tried not to be too obvious about jerking away from him. Electrified fences and dams might be the least of the punishments they’d use on us if we pissed them off.

And nothing pissed off some men more than rejection.

I turned around to face him. "I don't know about that." According to my guys, I was a ton of fun, but he didn't need to know that. He was only a handful of years older than me, but if this was what he did for a living, he could fuck off.

He chuckled. He raised his hand and pressed two fingers slightly to my cheek. He trailed them down my face and over my lips.

"There's one like you in every batch. Smart. Sassy. Clever enough to know what it takes to stay under the radar, but with enough spirit to be interesting. You try to act cool and calm, but when push comes to shove, you'll fight back." He leaned in to whisper in my ear. "I bet you squeal really pretty."

I swallowed. "I don't—"

He pressed his fingers to my lips. "Shhh. No need to say anything. We both know. You and I, we're alike. We're survivors. We don't let people push us around and tell us what to do, what to be and what to think. We grab life by the balls and live it."

He dropped his other hand to mine and pressed it against his semi-hard cock.

"If you look after my balls, I'll look after you."

I forced myself not to flinch. I wanted to jam my knee into his groin.

He rubbed himself against my hand, making himself harder.

"See, you're already a lot of fun. How about you get down on your knees—"

"Brutus," Hades snapped. "Stop toying with the merchandise and put the truck away." He gave me a look like it was all my fault.

Asshole.

Brutus grunted softly but let my hand go and stepped away. "Later, baby," he said. He gave me a wink before he sauntered away, back out of the barn. A couple of minutes later, the truck engine kicked over and rumbled away from the building, the engine so loud the walls shook.

Hades and a couple of other men watched over the women while they washed. Hades himself leaned against a wall, legs crossed at his ankles, eyes half closed, taking in everything.

One of the women, a petite blonde with a silver septum piercing, grabbed up a dress and started to pull it over her sweat-streaked body.

"No you don't," Hades snapped. He straightened up and stalked toward her.

"Get clean first. No point dirtying a perfectly clean dress." He grabbed the fabric and pulled it out of her hand.

She lunged for it, but he slapped his hand against her chest, holding her back.

"You can stay naked if you prefer," he said easily. "I don't give a shit. The dresses are only a courtesy, not a necessity." He shoved her back.

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