Page 10 of The Vixen

At a glance from afar, I would read her confidence and poise, but I would never imagine her capable of commanding the respect and admiration of multiple grown men. I would never guess her to be cruel.

Even now, with her finger at my mouth so I can eat from her hand like an animal, there’s this odd sense of self-consciousness that flicks her eyes up and down like she can’t seem to decidewhether she should be staring at my eyes or my lips. The slightest hint of pink kisses her porcelain cheeks.

Embarrassment.

Lust.

Or is it just uncertainty? What kind of leader can afford to be so uncertain?

My mouth opens easier as I settle into the chair, the twitching of my muscles easing. The food has cooled, but the butter is still rich and nutty as Luna pushes her finger past my lips. She goes to pull away when I suck off the food but stops when my teeth lightly clamp.

She takes in the softest gasp while I trace my tongue along her nail bed. With little thought, I move over the pad of her finger in a back and forth rhythm she might remember.

Her eyes divert as she rips her hand from my mouth. Her breaths come quicker than before.

Justlike a girl.

“You should know… Your actions today will determine your tomorrow,” Luna begins like a fucking nineteenth-century war general, wiping her hand on my shirt instead of her own. “I provoked you before, with the pet names. I shouldn’t have done that. Your mind is obviously much too weak for such games, but uh…” She grips the edge of the table as she leans toward me. “If you choose not to cooperate, I’ll be forced to send you back to the mines. We both know you won’t last much longer there.”

“So?”

She blinks. Her spine straightens as she waits for me to go on.

I don’t.

“So if you wish to keep your life…” A surprised laugh pops from her mouth as she waves to the food, then the fire. The treasures my mistress has kindly offered. “If you want to be warm and fed, then you’ll do as you're told. You won’t disrespectme, especially in front of others. You won’t… Why are you smiling?” Her brows kiss. A blush creeps between both temples.

“What is it you think you’retellingme to do, Luna? Am I supposed to be training sex slaves? luring sex slaves? Am Iyoursex slave? My head has gotten foggy with all the lies and false identity shit. Please, enlighten me.”

“We have an inbreeding problem,” she doesn’t hesitate to say. Her glare softens, and the ice in her eyes thaws with importance she’s stupid not to hide. “We need new women added to our gene pool. But the Shadow Sanctum has had little use and little luck initiating women, and I’m afraid finding willing individuals to fill the necessary role of breeders is even less feasible…”

She scoots to the edge of the table and takes a deep breath. “I don’t want the women to feel pain as much as I don’t want the situation to make my people uncomfortable. While the women’s purpose will primarily be to breed, my plan is to slowly replace the Seraph cast with the new initiates. They will be sacred, both to the Sanctum, and to me personally.”

Her hands draw to her lap while her nose lifts in conviction. For such a talented, intelligent woman, she tells herself the most ridiculous lies.

“They’ll be as cherished and content as the women on your island,” she goes on. “All I need is for you to get them here and open their minds. That’s it. I can handle everything from there.”

My eyes narrow as I watch her face for a tell—in the twitch of a cheek or the break of her gaze. For her sake, she’d better be lying. Trafficking rings are disgustingly simple to establish, and mind-shatteringly difficult to live with. They have no place for the well-intentioned.

But there’s no twitch. Luna’s face has hardened to stone, and her conviction is solid in her sloped jaw and crystal eyes.

She’s serious.

Already, she’s failed.

“Take a good look at me,” I say, my face drooped with exhaustion while my lips find the energy to lift. “Do I look like the poster child for paradise?”

“Not today.” She tips her head. “But in a week, after you’ve had plenty of rest and food… You’ll be fine.”

“Unless of course, you throw me back in the mines.”

She’s quiet for a moment. Then, a nod.

“Luna…”

She doesn’t respond to the whispered word. I’m not even sure it’s her real name—or if anything she told me was true.

But my read on her… That was real.