Captive Beauty: A Reverse Harem Dark Romance

by Chloe Saint

  I looked into his face, searching for a sign that would help me answer him convincingly.

  Was I cooperating so they wouldn’t find any reasons to punish me? I knew they could hurt me if I didn’t please them. Was that was why I moaned under their caresses, screamed when they made me come, and gagged for their cocks?

  I knew they could hurt me.

  But I wasn’t sure that I believed they really would anymore.

  This was getting dangerous. I shouldn’t have let myself get so mixed up with them emotionally. Just because Daddy hurt them, just like he hurt me didn’t make them my friends. I didn’t owe them anything. Not the truth, not my real feelings, nothing.

  I would put on a mask and smile at them, be the perfect living doll for them, I told myself. So convincing that they’d never suspect how I really felt.

  Which was good, because not even I knew anymore how I felt.

  “And now…I think you’re trying your best,” I said, looking down unwillingly at my feet.

  “Truly?” Derrick said, sounding surprised. “A part of me thought that you were pretending to obey so we wouldn’t hurt you.”

  “I don’t think you could hurt me,” I said honestly.

  That, at least, was true. Derrick would spank me, he would punish me, he might even fuck me roughly. But I knew there was something in him that would never allow him to really hurt me.

  “But you want to be hurt,” he said, surprising me by guessing my innermost feelings.

  “No I don’t,” I said unconvincingly. I still didn’t look him in the eye, but he wasn’t taking it. He raised my chin and looked down at me gravely.

  “There’s no shame in wanting to be hurt…under the right circumstances, by the right person,” he whispered. “It’s understandable that you’d want that.”

  “No it isn’t,” I whispered. “And I don’t want to talk about this anymore.”

  Immediately after I said that, I froze and darted my eyes at him, holding my breath. Was this blatant contradiction going to get me in trouble? Had I let a moment of impulsive honesty ruin my chances of being treated well?

  Derrick just sighed, nodded and continued downstairs.

  I followed him, confused but the dread of crossing an invisible line slowly left me. Apparently I was still safe.

  I noticed that there weren’t flurries of snow falling against the windows anymore. The outside world wasn’t just a blank sheet of pristine, opaque white.

  Sometime in the last few hours, it stopped snowing.

  “Glad to see you’re finally awake, princess,” came a familiar but unwelcome voice.

  I swallowed sharply as Rohan came into view. He was wearing outdoor gear and an expression of impatient contempt. My irritation grew. Why was he so resentful that I was here? I didn’t understand his hostility. His brothers said they all wanted me here, so why was he any different? My brain just couldn’t wrap itself around the Emery brothers. They blew hot and cold, sometimes during the same conversation.

  “Why yes, I did sleep well, thanks for asking,” I said in a fake-upbeat tone.

  His eye twitched with annoyance, while Derrick chuckled softly.

  “That’s right, you’ve learned not to let Rohan get to you,” he said approvingly, and added something which made my blood freeze. “Since he’s going to be taking you out today, that’s probably just as well.”

  “What?” I protested. I remembered at the last moment to lower my voice, so it just sounded like an exclamation instead of a shriek of horror. “But why?”

  “Because that’s what we decided,” Rohan said coolly, glaring at me. “Is that a problem?”

  I almost said ‘Yes! Of course it is!’ before I remembered who I was talking to. Quiet, compliant and meek…the version of me who would never utter a word of protest. She would go where Rohan said to go, jump when he told her to, and suck his dick if he demanded as well.

  I ignored the way my body reacted with interest at the thought of having Rohan’s dick in my mouth. He already made it extremely clear that he didn’t want to touch me with a ten foot pole.

  “You’re going to have to change,” Rohan said curtly, nodding to Derrick who took it as permission to leave. I suppressed the urge to beg him to stay. I could survive a morning with Rohan, especially if that meant I would get to leave the house.

  As far as houses went, it wasn’t a bad one by any means. It was practically a palace compared to the one I lived in with Daddy and the girls. But I’d been cooped up inside for the last—three? Four? Time moved so differently here—days, and I couldn’t wait to stretch my legs.

  Of course, I wasn’t ruling out the potential that I’d be able to make a break for it either. I was determined to charm Rohan until he was no longer antagonistic, though that seemed impossible, and make a run for it.

  I didn’t have high hopes for my plan, honestly. I didn’t know where we were, or which direction to go for the nearest town. Even the thought of leaving the relative safety and warmth of the Emery house made my chest clench with anxiety, but I had to.

  Even though there was an evil little voice in a dark little corner of my heart that told me running would be the worst mistake I ever made.

  I slowly trudged back upstairs, back to the room that I fell asleep in until a few minutes ago. I looked longingly at the bed, with its sheets still rumpled and warm from my body, but found the strength to look through the clothes instead.

  There were several sweaters to choose from, so I went with the simplest in white and picked up a thin tank and a long sleeved shirt to layer under it, hoping that would compensate for the lack of a bra, since the underwear I found was lacy and thin, not at all practical for going out in the winter.

  I grumbled as I pulled the pair of thong panties over my hips. I could hardly walk around without any underwear, but I hated the feeling of cloth between my ass cheeks, even if it was fancy Italian silk and lace. And it kept rubbing against the puffy, tender flesh around my puckered hole in a very distracting way.

  I blushed as I crossed my legs. No, that only intensified the sensation.

  “What is taking so long?” growled Rohan, appearing outside the room. Apparently he was tired of waiting, although I had only been gone for a few minutes.

  He stopped short, seeing my undressed state. I was still only wearing the thin tank and tight lacy panties. His eyes darkened as he raked up and down my body with a gaze so hot I thought he would melt the scant clothes off me with one look.

  “Sorry, I’m almost ready,” I stammered, flustered by the obvious desire in his eyes. I turned and scrambled into the sweater and a (thankfully fleece-lined) pair of leggings.

  He led me in silence downstairs, where I found a pair of thick, sturdy boots in my size, along with winter socks. The thoughtfulness behind the items blew me away. When I pulled the boots on, they fit me like a warm, snug glove.

  “These are gr—“ I started to say, but cut off when Rohan shoved a thick winter hat over my head and thrust a pair of gloves into my hands.

  “This seems like overkill,” I murmured quietly, but meekly followed him out into the cold.

  Since the storm had cleared away, it looked like a winter wonderland. Everything was pure white and the thick blanket of pristine snow was undisturbed.

  “Let’s establish a few things before we set out,” Rohan snapped at me while I was still taking everything in. “We’re going somewhere that isn’t safe. You won’t be safe. The sooner you understand that, the better, because if you get yourself in trouble, nobody will save you. Well, my sentimental brothers might, but trust me when I say I’m not as attached.”

  He followed that with an unfriendly smile.

  I nodded, head down and kicking lightly at the calf-high snow as he continued. I had a thousand questions but was sensible enough to know that asking them would get my head bitten off.

  “You’ll listen to everything I say. Even—and especially—about anything that doesn’t make sense to you. Assume that I know be
tter than you, because I do. Oh, and lastly? I don’t tolerate disobedience,” he added, his voice going ugly with anger. “My brothers might find it entertaining, like seeing a hamster baring its teeth, but I’m not as stupidly soft-hearted. And I won’t hesitate to leave you behind in the middle of winter. Got it?”

  “Y—yes,” I said, clearing my throat.

  He nodded, satisfied that he successfully scared the living daylights out of me. He went over to what I thought was just a six-foot high snowdrift, and began to chip at it with his pick. I stood there and shivered, and didn’t offer to help.

  Not that it was needed, and Rohan definitely wouldn’t have appreciated the offer anyway. But it was my small rebellion. I was a prisoner, but I wasn’t going to lift a finger if I wasn’t forced to.

  Slowly, he made headway through the ice and broke through to reveal a mud-colored tarp that was also almost solidly frozen. But that was removed as well, to reveal an ATV.

  The All Terrain Vehicle was huge, built like a tank and was one of the few things that could get around in this kind of weather. In fact, this thick snow was nothing compared to what it was built to withstand.

  The inside of it, although freezing, was free of ice and snow, and I climbed into the passenger seat with ease. Rohan pointedly didn’t offer to help me.

  Its engine jumped as Rohan turned the key, and roared to life. We moved through the snow like it was butter, so fast that the trees blurred by. I began to laugh as the wind whipped my face.

  I would be red and chafed in a few moments, like an unattractive lobster, but I didn’t care. I loved the scent of pine and fresh snow.

  I knew Rohan was looking at me. I felt him turning to observe me every now and then, like he was a compass and I was due north.

  Or like he was a jailer, and I was the prisoner he was assigned to guard.

  That sobering thought brought me quickly back to earth.

  The smile wiped itself off my face. Now I hunched down, tucked my neck into my jacket and watched the trees fly by indifferently.

  “Not going to ask where we’re going?” Rohan said, breaking the silence.

  I glanced at him, but he didn’t look at me, still concentrating on the snow ahead. We weren’t on any path, and I had a sneaking suspicion it was because anyone who checked the path could have seen our ATV’s tracks but they would be unlikely to check the woods.

  I shrugged. I couldn’t shake off the sudden heaviness I felt. Coming outside just underscored how trapped I was. It was instantly clear to me that I’d never be able to escape and survive by just running when their backs were turned. I would die in hours, maybe sooner.

  I moved from house to house as a prisoner with no agency. The Emery brothers only wanted me around because it spoiled Daddy’s plans.

  Maybe when I was entirely useless as a pawn, at some point in the far future, I would be free to make my own choices.

  How I wished I was useless right now.

  “It’s a manufacturing facility,” Rohan said, clearing his throat. He looked a little confused by my lack of interest. Good, I thought spitefully.

  “Mm,” I said, and looked to the side.

  He made a sound of exasperation.

  “Don’t try to convince me that you’re not curious,” he said, sounding frustrated.

  But there was a hint of something that interested me: the petulant boy I played hide and seek with at the gala, so many years ago.

  “Don’t tell me you don’t want to know my best hiding place,” he had said petulantly, skinny arms crossed over his chest. His hair flopped over his forehead, and he looked adorably serious in his suit.

  I’d lost at hide and seek twice, so I very maturely decided to give Rohan the silent treatment as payback. I didn’t remember how it had ended, or how we made up, but I had a faint memory of Rohan presenting a dessert cupcake to me sheepishly to apologize for winning.

  Oddly, this made my mouth quirk up.

  “What?” Rohan asked, noticing my reaction.

  “Just remembering…hide and seek,” I said quietly. He fell silent.

  “You remember that?” he asked, voice harsh.

  “It just came back to me,” I said truthfully.

  He hmph-ed and looked away.

  “We’re almost there,” he said, as we climbed what I thought was a featureless hill. I gasped aloud at the view it revealed. We were positioned at the crest, and I realized it wasn’t a hill at all, but the top of a cliff.

  The other side was a steep descent that led to a flat valley. Unlike the rest of the land around here, it showed signs of human occupation. There were huge machines that belched smoke, and prefab housing structures. I could see the little human figures moving here and there, calling out orders and working the machines.

  At the center of it all was a giant hole in the ground, protected by fences and even men in black outfits who carried guns like they knew how to use them.

  “What is all this?” I asked. Somehow the sight terrified me more than anything else had in my life, including the kidnapping.

  The sheer scale of it took my breath away. This was a smooth, well-funded operation, and they seemed to be taking care to be extremely secure. We were high enough that we could see inside the gated area to the activity inside, but as I saw cars come up to the forty foot high gate, bordered by fences equally high that bristled with sharp edges and were probably wired to shock anyone who tried to cross, I realized that it was probably all illegal.

  The workers were all dressed in identical dark green worksuits, and neither they nor the trucks and other vehicles had any name on them to indicate who they worked for. Why go through all that trouble to cover your tracks unless you had something to hide?

  “This,” Rohan said grimly, “Is what your father is doing with his share of the money.”

  Chapter 9

  We drove back in silence, as I tried to take in that information.

  I didn’t bother telling myself that he was lying. The secrecy, the well-planned operation…they were both exactly Daddy’s style. Whatever he was looking for, he wouldn’t want anyone to know, in case they tried to muscle in on his territory.

  “What are they digging for?” I asked at last. “It must be valuable.”

  “It’s valuable beyond belief. It’s an entirely new kind of oil that only requires a fraction of the processing of crude oil, and your father found a pocket of it that may contain enough to supply us for the next century.”

  “That’s crazy,” I said. “Something like that would make him the richest man in the country!”

  “And probably the world. And god only knows how many people he’s murdered, used and abused to get to this point. Think about it, would anyone who had this information let him use it willingly?”

  “So you think…”

  “I think he has a long line of crimes to answer for,” was all Rohan would say, but I could fill in the blanks myself. A few minutes later, we reached the house. I realized that I couldn’t even feel my face anymore, and that it was snowing now. A few flecks of snow landed on my face and began to melt.

  “Get inside,” Rohan commanded, jumping out of the ATV. “The snow’s going to fall heavy this time.”

  “How do you know?” I asked him, but he went to look for the tarp to cover the ATV, and didn’t hear my question.

  I sighed and went back inside the house. Thankfully the front door was left open, probably because the rest of the brothers were still in there, and as soon as I stepped into the foyer I was greeted by a blast of warm air.

  “Oh sweet mother,” I said, groaning in gratitude as I let the vent thaw me out. My nose began to prickle, a sure sign that my blood was starting to circulate again. My ears felt like icicles, but at least I’d had the flaps of the fluffy hat protecting them.

  I peeled my boots off, and rubbed my feet, still sitting in the foyer, until they didn’t feel like blocks of ice. I thought about showering in blissfully warm water, but something stopped me.

 
It was Rohan. I had to confront him, and maybe ask for the thing that we were both afraid of.

  But I didn’t want to do it right there or in the living room. It seemed too voyeuristic. A strange thing to consider when Killian and Gunner had both fingered me, eaten me out and come on my breasts in that same living room and on that same couch, with their brothers watching.

  I padded up the stairs to the room that I realized must be Rohan’s. It was clean and bare, just like the others.

  I wondered what they did in their free time, apart from plot to end Daddy’s plans. Did they have any hobbies? They didn’t seem to. It looked like revenge was the only thing on their minds.

  Rohan’s face tightened when he noticed me in his room.

  “What do you want?” he asked, turning away. Without paying any more attention to my presence, he began stripping off.

  Distracted by the rippling muscles of his back, I opened my mouth to respond. “I want to figure out why you hate me.”

  He threw me an unreadable look over his shoulder.

  “That’s not why you’re here,” he said, and began unbuckling his belt.

  “Yes I am,” I said, refusing to let my eyes drift below his waist. “I want to talk about it, that’s why I came—“

  He climbed out of his jeans, holding my gaze, daring me to look.

  And…I did.

  My eyes went to his bulge as though magnetized. His briefs were thin, hugging his muscular thighs like a caress. His cock…my pulse picked up in response to the sight of its outline, long and thick and obscene, the head of it pressing against the front of his briefs like a leer. He was half-hard, so there were beads of moisture soaking through the grey material.

  He was big. Just as big as Gunner. Maybe that explained how my mouth watered. I swallowed and dragged my gaze back to his face.

  “I know why you’re here,” he said, and walked over to me, just in those briefs that hid nothing. “You’re thinking about what your father did over the years. What he let people do to you. You feel unclean. You know that I can help. You want to find out how far I can take you, and if you’ll be able to bear it.”