“Because Bruce is his right-hand man,” I reminded her. “It wasn’t a favor to you or to me.”
“But that’s my point, Vanessa,” she said.
“It’s Aurora,” I corrected her.
She dropped her eyes. “Sorry, Aurora. The fact of the matter is that Bennett may have something worth getting to underneath all those layers of his. And now that you’re married to him, maybe you’ll get a chance to figure that out.”
“I have no interest in doing that,” I mumbled. “Once all this is over, I’m finding a way out of this hellhole to try to have some semblance of a life.”
“I thought you said he wouldn’t let us go?” she asked, continuing to pull food from the fridge. “Besides, I think you should take advantage of your new position.”
I looked at her in slight shock. Not too long ago, she was upset with me when I'd told her that there was no way out. She’d been so passionate about tricking Bruce into thinking she loved him just so he’d give her enough freedom to escape. To hear her say that I should stay and basically “accept” my new position as queen, it was almost as if she'd been brainwashed since the last time I'd talked to her alone. As if reading my mind, she gave me a soft smile.
"Love," she said.
"Love?" I raised an eyebrow. "What about love?"
"Love is what changed my mind," she said.
I scoffed. It hadn’t even been a month since Bruce had bought her and took her out of the bunker. I didn’t really know when their relationship actually started, but Savannah wasn’t one who fell in love easily or fast.
“But just like you, she’s not the same person that you know either,” the small voice reminded me. Even looking at now, I could see that. The Savannah I used to know was loud, outspoken, and outgoing. The woman standing before me was timid, always apologizing as if afraid she’d be punished again. Maybe she was just desperate for something as normal as love and would take it in any form.
"You love Bruce?" I asked. I didn’t know too much about Bruce as a person, as I only saw him as Bennett’s righthand man and lap dog. But I did see the way Savannah looked at him when I saw them together. I did see the way his eyes would light up when he saw her around the house, the glances and hidden smiles they shared. If she thought she was in love, who was I to burst her bubble?
"I am," she said. "I didn't think it would happen since I was more focused on getting out of here, but the more I uncover different layers to him, the more parts I find to love."
"Yeah, well, from what you've told me, Bruce hasn't physically hurt you. In fact, he hasn't hurt you in any way. What you have with him is nothing like what I've gone through with Bennett. Bruce is your savior; Bennett is my nightmare."
She shrugged. "Fair enough. But if you're so hellbent on not being with him, how are you going to get out of it? I mean you have to be able to leave the house on your own to get out of a marriage, right?"
I sighed. "I don't know yet. I'll just have to work my magic for right now and hopefully things work in my favor."
"You should be careful," she said, shaking her head. "Playing with a man's emotions can be a dangerous game."
"And fucking with mine is a dangerous one, too," I said, just as Bennett walked into the kitchen. Our conversation ceased as he slowly approached us, his eyes moving between the two of us. When his gaze settled on me, he swept it along my body.
“Get dressed,” he said.
Looking down, I noted the jeans and tank top that I had on, trying to figure out why my current outfit didn’t match his standards. I frowned at him and gestured to myself. “I am dressed,” she said.
“Get dressed for a date. I’m supposed to woo you, aren’t I?” he asked with a raised brow. I fought the urge to smile. He was really serious about winning me over. His expression was neutral, as if going on dates was a common thing for us. I wasn't sure what to expect from him, but I had a feeling it wouldn't be disappointing. I did say I'd give him a chance after all; if anything, I'd be amused tonight.
Savannah and I shared a look before I turned my gaze back to him. “Okay then,” I said and walked off without another word.
I walked out of the kitchen and pressed up against the wall in the hall outside the kitchen. Bennett voice was so low that I could barely make out what he was saying, Savannah lowering her voice as well.
"Need something, dark princess?" Saint asked suddenly, scaring the shit out of me. I gasped and clutched my chest, looking at him with wide eyes.
"No," I said breathlessly. "I was just trying to see if Bennett would reveal what he had up his sleeve."
Saint chuckled. "Are you nervous?"
"It's a date. What's there to be nervous about unless he plans on doing something to torture me all night," I said as I folded my arms across my chest.
"That wouldn't be treatment fitted for a queen, now would it?" he asked with a grin.
"I guess not," I said, just as Bennett walked out of the kitchen.
He looked at me and frowned. "Unless you're getting dressed in the hallway, why are you still here?" he asked.
"Spying on you," Saint said and winked before walking away.
Bennett put his hands in his pockets and grinned at me. "Spying on me, huh? Trying to figure out what I have planned for you?"
"Just curious," I said with a shrug.
"Hmm..." He closed the distance between us, his body heat raising goosebumps on my skin. “Well, I can tell you that I have a little surprise for you that I think you’ll really enjoy.”
“You don’t know much about me to know what I’d enjoy,” I murmured.
He smiled. “I’m confident you’ll like this.”
“I’m not a fan of surprises,” I countered, trying to get my wits about myself. His close proximity, body heat, and cologne were clouding my senses. His eyes blazed his hunger as he looked down at me.
“You’ll be a fan after this one,” he said and then lowered his head until his mouth was next to my ear. “And after your surprise, I’m going to bring you back home and fuck you within an inch of your life and you’ll beg me to give you more over and over.”
His words made my stomach flutter and my core pulse with need, but I made sure to keep my face neutral. He slowly backed away from me, a hint of a grin on his lips.
“Now go get dressed, Mrs. Moreno. Don’t make me ask you again,” he said.
A part of me wanted to press my luck and see what would happen if I defied him as his wife, but a sliver of me knew that Bennett was still a monster that was very capable of hurting me. My new title didn’t make me invincible and I didn’t want to find out whether or not that was true.
“Fine,” I said and slid along the wall away from him. I walked away from him, feeling his eyes on me. I could already imagine what he looked like, his hands in his pocket with a smirk on his lips. Stealing a glance over my shoulder, I wasn’t surprised what I saw when I looked back at him. He was exactly how I thought he should be, except he winked and retreated in the direction of his office.
I let out a breath. Considering that I didn’t know where we were going or what we were doing, I had no idea what to wear. Carrie was nowhere to be found as I walked through the rest of the house, heading for the stairs.
“Guess I’ll have to figure this out on my own,” I mumbled to myself as I made my way up the staircase.
Carrie was already in the bedroom rummaging through the closet. She looked up at me when I opened the door, pulling out a short black dress.
“Bennett texted me and told me to help you get ready,” she said and continued moving around the room. “He wants you back downstairs in an hour.”
I glanced at the duffle bag on the bed. “What’s with that?” I asked, gesturing toward it.
“He just told me to pack it.”
“You’re leaving?” I asked, raising a brow.
She looked at me and frowned. “You are.”
My heart hammered in my chest. I couldn’t leave now. It wasn’t as if Bennett wouldn’
t find me anyway and—
“No, I mean you and Bennett are leaving after your date tonight,” she explained, noticing my bewilderment. “Instead of waiting until the weekend, you guys are leaving tonight after whatever you’re doing.”
“Oh,” I said, a mixture of relief and disappointment washing over me. The thought of actually being able to escape this place was nothing but a dream, but it was one I’d continue dreaming about every day. Either way, I couldn’t leave now. I couldn’t leave until I knew for sure that Wilson was dead.
“Is there anything in particular that you want to wear? He didn’t give me any specifics and right now, I’m just pulling out possible ideas.”
I shrugged. “Whatever he’d like, I guess,” I said and flopped down on the bed. Everything grew quiet as Carrie stopped moving clothes hangers. She slowly turned to me, her face white as if she’d seen a ghost. “What?”
“What’d you just say?” she asked softly.
I furrowed my brow in confusion. “Um…to pick whatever you’d think he liked,” I repeated, not seeing what the big deal was.
She gave me a small smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Stephanie used to say that a lot when she wasn’t in the mood to pick her clothes,” she said. “It’s so strange how you both have so many similar mannerisms.”
“Well, she was my sister after all,” I said with a sigh. “I don’t know what to wear because he didn’t tell me what we were doing or where we were going.”
“Can’t do wrong with a little black dress,” she said with a grin.
I looked at the dress and frowned. “Where’s the rest of it? It looks so short that it could pass for a shirt.”
“Just try it on. I think it’ll be fine since you’re not super tall,” she said, holding it out to me. I sighed and stood up, taking the dress out of her hands. Slipping out of my clothes, I put the dress on and examined it. It was an off-the-shoulders lace dress that stopped just barely above the middle of my thighs. The material was soft against my skin, the dress lightly swishing around my legs as I turned.
“Perfect, right?” Carrie asked behind me.
“Yeah, I like it,” I said with a grin. “I guess the dark king would like it, too.”
Carrie walked over to me. “I think he’d like anything that his dark queen puts on as long as it isn’t jeans and t-shirts,” she said.
I snorted. “Of course, coming from the guy who probably doesn’t even own a pair of jeans or sneakers,” I said.
I looked over at the vanity, the mirror no longer there after breaking it in my tussle with Bennett.
“I guess we’ll do your make-up in the bathroom,” Carrie said as she gathered the makeup from the vanity table. I took the chair from in front of the table and took it into the bathroom, sitting in it as Carrie arranged things on the bathroom counter. We sat in silence for the first few moments as she got to work, but I could tell there was something she wanted to talk about.
“Can I ask you something?” I finally asked.
“What’s up?”
“Is it true that Stephanie almost freed the girls downstairs?” I asked.
Carrie paused, her green eyes staring at me in curiosity. “Um…I’m not really sure,” she said. “I only know that he was thinking about leaving the mafia because he said he and Stephanie wanted to get married and have a family.” She started putting foundation on my face. “I do know that she used to complain about it. She’d gone down there once and heard something and ever since then, she kept saying to find something else to do if he insisted on remaining in the mafia, something that didn’t involve humans.”
“She sounds like she was a very compassionate person,” I said softly.
Carrie nodded. “She didn’t belong here, that’s for sure. She was a sweetheart, the only person I know that could tame the beast within Bennett. He was so different around her.” She was quiet for a moment before she let out a light giggle. “I used to tell her how thankful I was for her because she brought me back the brother in Bennett that I remembered before he took over his part of the business. Now that she’s gone, that part’s gone, too.”
“So, I’ve been told,” I said idly, remembering the dream I had of Stephanie’s murder. I could still remember the tone of voice he used when he spoke to her. It was softer, kinder, loving, nothing he’d used since I’d been here.
“Would you say that she had a big influence on him?” I asked.
“I’m pretty sure if she sweetly asked Bennett to jump off a building to show his love for her, he would’ve done so without a single thought,” she answered.
Bennett in love sounded as if he was an idiot who could be manipulated. In order to get out of here, I had to go forth with my plan. After having to move to South Carolina, I learned very early on that I was great at pretending. I could pretend I was happy, that I was in love, that I was vulnerable. I just needed to swallow any pride I had to allow me to do this with a man who’d destroyed my life.
I didn’t say anything else while Carrie finished my makeup and quickly curled my hair.
“Are you almost done? We’re going to be late,” Bennett said from the bedroom.
“One second,” Carrie called back and then looked to me. “Stay right there. I’ll be back in a sec.”
I looked at my reflection in the mirror. Dark makeup for a dark queen; how fitting. She’d paired a dark smoky eye with a deep, blood red lip. The color reminded me of the blood I’d spilled the night Bennett took me on business with him. I could still smell that man’s blood and see the contents of his skull sprinkling the floor as I hit him over and over, euphoria and ecstasy filling me with every swing of the fucking hammer.
“Aurora?” Carrie asked, looking at me with concern in her eyes. I blinked and looked at her, the dark desire slowly ebbing away as her innocence penetrated through it.
“Sorry…did you say something?” I asked, forcing myself to give her a small smile.
She held out the stilettos to me. “Your shoes,” she said, still giving me an odd look.
I took them from her and busied myself with putting them on. “Thank you,” I said. She stood off to the side until I finally stood up, ready for whatever Bennett had in store for me tonight. “How do I look?”
“Beautiful as usual,” she murmured. I smiled.
“Thanks. You’re like a personal fairy godmother,” I said and gave her a quick hug.
She didn’t say anything, only watching as I walked out of the bathroom and over to Bennett. He held the duffle bag that was once on the bed in his hand. His eyes traveled along my form, desire, lust, and want filling his gaze.
“Are you ready now?” he asked.
“I suppose so,” I said and walked out of the bedroom.
He didn’t say a word as we walked through the house and out to the garage. The usual three—Bruce, Nyxin, and Saint—we were also already there, the trunk of one of the cars already opened. Bennett put my bag in the trunk that also held four other bags, and I couldn’t help but roll my eyes. So much for true time alone, I mused to myself.
“Don’t focus on that,” the small voice reminded me. “You don’t have to be completely alone to seduce a man. Bennett knows how to ask for alone time.”
I ground my teeth and got into the car without a word. Patience; I needed to be patient. If I caved too eagerly, it would put him off. If I waited too long, he may grow uninterested. As long as I remained in control of my emotions—including my anger and the brewing darkness within me—I should be fine. No matter the outcome, I’d get one of two of my desired choices: I’d either break Bennett and get out of here, or I’d be dead.
We drove for what felt like forever, the setting sun casting oranges, pinks, and blues across the darkening sky. Bennett’s eyes were glued to his phone screen as usual, but I didn’t bother calling him out on it. My mind ran with a million thoughts of where we were going and what we were doing. When we pulled up to a warehouse, I frowned. It was in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by other w
arehouses.
“What the hell is this?” I asked, looking over to him.
He only grinned in response and got out of the car. I watched him through the window as he walked around the car and opened my door.
“Come on; get out,” he said.
I glared at him as I got out. “Is this your ‘surprise?’” I mused as he closed the door behind me. “If it is, let me tell you that I’m not impressed and it’s looking more and more likely that you’re going to bed with blue balls tonight.”
“That’s the least of my worries, babe,” he said. Bruce walked over to him with a folded white garment and passed it to Bennett, who then passed it to me. “Put this on.”
I watched as he unfolded it, revealing it to be what looked like a white biohazard suit. What the fuck were we doing that required me to have to wear this?
“What was the point of getting dressed in something nice if you were going to just make me put this ugly shit on over it?” I complained.
“Just put it on,” he said. Though his voice was calm and even, I could see the impending irritation lingering in his gaze at having to repeat himself. I pursed my lips together and kept my eyes on him as I slipped the suit on over my clothes. He pulled a fabric from him pocket and motioned in air with his finger. “Turn around.”
“Why?”
“You know how much I hate repeating myself,” he said with an exaggerated sigh. “Besides, it’s a surprise, remember?”
I huffed and turned around, allowing him to tie the cloth over my eyes. He took my hand, his skin warm against mine and slowly led me away from the car. The air was damp, warm, and musty inside the warehouse. At first, the only thing I could hear was everyone’s footsteps as we walked across the floor. But then I heard something that called to me, something that called to whatever it was inside of me that thrived on pain, on suffering, on blood.
A muffled voice sounded a few feet away from me, a mixture of sobbing and trying to plead around a gag that may be in their mouth. My heart raced with excitement, a smile spreading across my face without even having to see in front of me.
“You didn’t,” I said.
Rules of Bennett: The Complete Collection Page 47