Wicked Intentions

Rasmon

"Listen to me now," I said as I pressed the button on the keypad that allowed the sound of my voice to fill the room from the loudspeaker. "If you choose to remain disobedient, you will pay the price for it. No food—that's your punishment. This will continue until you're ready to obey."

Angry and agitated, I stepped away from the door, striding down the long corridor until I reached the top of the staircase.

I descended the stairs and only stopped when I reached my office. Once there, I slammed the door shut and ran my fingers through my hair.

The owner of the brothel warned me of her temperament but I didn't know what I would be dealing with until now.

I walked over to the cabinet with the decanter of whiskey behind my desk and immediately filled my glass. I'd hoped for a few moments of silence but heard the door of my office opening.

Aunt Velora said, "I saw you dragging the poor thing all the way to her room. I take it the meeting didn't go well?"

"Why would it have gone well?"

"Why wouldn't it?" she countered.

I ignored her and continued drinking my whiskey.

"Let me guess," she sighed before taking a seat. I groaned, knowing she would stay longer than I wanted her to. "You were a brute and she showed you her teeth?"

I clenched my jaw. "How else am I supposed to treat her?"

"Decently, for starters. She's not your enemy, Rasmon. Remember that."

"She's as close to my enemy as anyone else," I reminded my aunt. "You know that better than anyone."

"Still. It's no reason to treat the woman who will bear your children badly."

Slowly, I whirled around to face her. She was smiling mischievously as she always did, then lit a cigarette. The butt of the cigarette was stained red from her lipstick, and she ran a hand over her short hair to smooth it down. "When do I get to meet her?"

"Never. She's meant to stay upstairs indefinitely."

"Like a slave?"

"That's what she was raised to be," I gritted out. "There's no reason why she should be a part of this family, Aunt Velora."

"I didn't say that. But isn't that too cruel, even for you?"

I didn't answer her. My aunt had a way of getting under my skin like nobody else. I continued drinking and she interrupted me to ask me to fill her a glass. Her eyes remained on my face, studying me. I stared back at her, annoyed by her intrusiveness.

"Tell me what's wrong."

"Apart from the usual?"

"You know what I'm referring to."

"I know nothing," I retorted as I sat down. The day only started and already, it was a shitty one. I still had a meeting with Arius and it couldn't wait. He told me it was urgent.

"Rasmon."

I groaned, giving up. "Why don't you go ahead and tell me, then, since you know everything?"

Her eyes were searching once more before she claimed, "There's something about that girl that has you shaken up. Don't even deny it—I know you better than you know yourself."

"You mean apart from the fact that she's more trouble than she's worth?"

"You could've let any man have her. You could've chosen any other breeder."

"You know that's not true," I gritted out, pointing a finger at her. "It had to be her."

Aunt Velora simply stared at me, her face expressionless. I drained my glass, checked the time on my watch, then rose. It was still early to go but I didn't want to waste any time. "I've got to run. We can talk when I come back later."

I was almost at the door when her voice stopped me in my tracks. "Rasmon."

My hand was on the doorknob. I closed my eyes and forced patience to run through my veins. I turned my head slightly to look at her from the corner of my eye. "Yes?"

"Don't do anything that would shame Lucan's mother wherever she's resting now," Aunt Verona said. "Remember that when you choose to fight evil with evil, the price you'll pay for having a good heart will be too high for you to bear."

"Good heart?" I echoed. "Who says I have a good heart?"

My aunt fell silent and I took it as my cue to leave. I hated how her words clung to me, though. Again, she was an expert at crawling under my skin but this time, I was determined not to listen to her.

I would do what I had to do to the woman I bought. She was my property now and I was determined to break her and get everything I needed from her.

And nobody would stop me.

Not even the goddess herself.

I stepped outside, barked an order to have the car ready, and that was when Lucan spotted me from where he standing was across the courtyard. "Dad!"

He ran toward me, abandoning the toy he was playing with. I quickly made my way down the stairs before embracing him. I hadn't seen him all day and missed him too much.

"Where are you going?" he asked as I put him down.

"I have some work to do but I'll be back later."

"Will we have time to play fetch?"

I couldn't help but smile. I ruffled his hair and said, "Sure. But you better be careful not to throw yourself the shrubs to grab the stick. You hurt yourself last time. Aunt Velora wasn't too happy."

"I won't!" he smiled.

"Go on. Go play around," I told him before patting the back of his head. Watching him race toward the guard who usually watches him fills me with glee. Lucan never failed to put a smile on my face even when the world was falling apart.

The day he was born was the best and worst day of my life.

But I held onto the good parts. It was the only way I could find to survive.

Sighing, I started toward the car, which was waiting for me. I would deal with this matter with Arius as soon as possible and come home. I hated being out for long. Besides, I made a promise to Lucan that I intended to keep.

I opened the door and started climbing inside. Something prompted me to look up and I saw her—the breeder. She was standing by the window, peering down at me. In her eyes, I saw pure hatred. Stubborn. Disobedient. The brothel owner didn't lie. No matter; I dealt with worse in my life. But everyone had a limit; a breaking point.

I'd enjoy breaking this one.

That much I knew.