Beasts & Bourbon Read online

  No way could I afford even one diamond, let alone several, but if diamonds were all it would take to be initiated, I was sure Roman would help me out in that regard.

  I stumbled up the stairs to try to keep up with his stride. In the corner of my eye, I could see the man smirk. “Oh, you will pay. You will definitely pay.”

  When we reached the landing, I tried not to focus on the cries of women I could hear coming from other rooms down the long expansive hallway. My head spun as I was trying to process what this man was telling me. What else was expected? I didn’t quite understand. Diamonds?

  “The Iron Colt Brotherhood created this manor for women exactly like you. Women who need guidance, structure, and a firm hand teaching them the way of our secret life. This manor is to break the old you, so that you can accept the new way of living. Royal blood does not run through your veins, so we must force the royal into you. Old money and lineage do not make up your bones, so we must shatter your current, and brittle ones, and then heal you to have the spine of The Iron Colt Brotherhood. We must feel that every woman in this manor is ready. And you are far from ready.” The man opened up a bedroom door and shoved me across the threshold while he remained in the hallway. “As long as you earn your hundred diamonds, you will come out of this alive. Your prince will be here soon. But remember… in this manor, your prince is dark, cruel, harsh, and unforgiving. In this manor, your prince is not your knight in shining armor.”

  Looking around the room, it surprised me to see that it looked like any normal guestroom that would be in such an elegant manor of its day. I was expecting a prison or dungeon of some sort by the way I had been treated so far. Instead, a large canopied bed mastered the room with lush bedding and pillows. There was a floor-to-ceiling window draped with heavy velvet curtains. Antique furniture adorned the room and was even accentuated with a large oriental rug that covered most of the marred wooden floor. The room was lovely, elegant, and welcoming. Quite the opposite of what I was anticipating.

  I turned and looked at the man, who stood by the door watching me examine the room. “How do I earn the diamonds?” I was almost too scared to ask the question in fear of what I would hear.

  “By doing every single thing your prince says without protest. If you argue or put up a fight, he will still act out what he intended to do, but you won’t earn a credit for it.”

  “Where is Roman now?” My voice cracked, and I thought I would have to run to the small bathroom I saw attached to the room and throw up.

  “He’s in the manor.”

  “When do I get to see him?”

  The man took a step toward me. “You’ll see.” He reached into a leather holder on his belt and pulled out a knife. The silver of the blade glimmered beneath the light cast by a small chandelier above. “But it’s time we begin.” He took another menacing step toward me as my heart stopped. “Remove all your clothing.”

  His command was accented by the scream of a woman in another room, as if I needed a reminder of what would come if I said no.

  I reached for the top button of my blouse and slowly unbuttoned it. “Am I to be a whore to earn these diamonds?” I asked, staring him directly in the eyes. “So, I have to fuck all the brotherhood if you ask in order to be free—to earn the diamonds? Is that what I am understanding?” Roman had told me that wasn’t the case, but maybe he had been wrong.

  The man closed the distance between us and placed the knife at the side of my neck right below my earlobe. “Fucking you would give you pleasure. And the last thing any of us plan on doing to you right now is give you pleasure.” He ran the knife along my collarbone and down until it reached my fingertips holding the button of my blouse. He then forced the blade between the button and the fabric and started plucking the buttons right off, disrobing me his way.

  I remained perfectly still. The knife was so close to my flesh that I worried the slightest move would have it slicing my skin instead of the blouse.

  The man used the knife to cut through the thin band connecting my bra between my breasts. He paused and looked me directly in the eyes as the cool air kissed my now exposed nipples as he ripped the material of the bra off me.

  He took a step back and said, “Now remove the rest of your clothes and stand naked before me. I will give you your first opportunity to earn a credit.” When I didn’t move right away, he raised one eyebrow and added, “You will be naked standing before me one way or the other. I’m giving you the opportunity to at least earn a credit toward your debt for the act. Your choice.”

  Glancing at the knife in his hand, and then at the way his jaw clenched while he waited, I decided it best to do exactly as he commanded. At least for now. I had to regroup. Think everything through. I needed time to process, but I needed to be alive to do so. So, if all I had to do was stand naked before this complete stranger, then so be it. Trying to not overthink, or allow my pride to get in the way of my survival, I disrobed as fast as I could.

  “Leave your panties on,” he instructed. “We will allow Prince Roman to take it from here.”

  I froze at the sound of another pair of heavy footsteps approaching a few moments before his deep voice broke my spell of compliance.

  “Yes, I’ll take it from here,” Roman said as he walked into the room, staring intently at me. “She’s mine.”

  The man nodded and handed the knife to Roman, but he remained where he stood.

  I wanted to run and hug him, cling to him, glue myself to his body as I begged for him to take me away from this manor of hell. I was scared and wanted him to make it all okay again. But he had warned me. He had told me this wouldn’t be easy. And he told me that the man I would see at the manor, would not be the boy I grew up with. That fact was obvious because though Roman stood in the room, staring at me nearly completely naked, he never once moved to cover me up from the eyes of the stranger. He never embraced me or offered to dry my tears. This man in the room was Prince Roman… but as I was told, he was now dark Prince Roman.

  “I don’t understand what’s happening. What is going to happen to me?” My voice quivered as much as my body did. Fresh tears erupted and ran down my cheeks as I watched Roman, the cold expression on his face unfamiliar to me.

  Roman closed the distance between us and put the knife under my chin so I had to look up into his brown eyes. He inhaled deeply. “The initiation begins, and you know what that means.”

  I nodded every so slightly, scared of the knife under my chin.

  “You understand what I must do? Who I must become?”

  I inhaled deeply and blinked a few times, not being able to control the tears. I thought I could do this. I thought I was strong enough. But facing it made my stiff spine disappear.

  “I love the way your tears smell against your cheeks.” He pressed the tip of the knife into my skin, forcing a gasp to break free from my closed lips. He then darted his tongue past his lips and licked a trail up my cheek, collecting my tears for his tasting. “These will not be the last of your tears,” he nearly growled as he then lowered the knife to the edge of my panties.

  “Please,” I said softly. Another sob broke free. “I’ll do as you ask. I’m scared. Please don’t hurt me.”

  Would he hurt me? My Roman wouldn’t… but this was a different man before me. This was Prince Roman, member of The Iron Colt Brotherhood, and he had an image to uphold.

  The knife dipped below the waistband of my panties and rested against my mound. The coolness of the steel against my intimate skin had me gasp again as Roman brought his lips to my ear. “Stay still, Cheri. It would be a shame to scar this pussy of yours.”

  “Please…”

  I didn’t want to do this!

  I wanted to leave!

  I was a fool in thinking I could do an initiation like this.

  I wanted out, but I also knew it was too late.

  He tapped the metal of the knife against my clit, causing a surprising surge of sinful arousal. The twisted sense of desire while shaking in
horror, due to my captive situation, weakened my knees. Beads of sweat formed on my upper lip as I focused on not collapsing to the floor, jamming the blade right through me.

  “By the time I’m done with you, diamonds will be paid and your life will be changed forever. You will be part of The Iron Colt Brotherhood whether you like it or not for the rest of your life. But while you earn your diamonds, your life belongs to me. You belong to me. I will be your captor, your sir…” He paused for a moment and examined my body from head to toe. “Fuck that. For you. For you, my dear Cheri, I will be your master, your trainer, the keyholder to your cage, and you will be my kitty locked away in this manor—caging you in. My filthy, dirty, raw, wild kitty. Yes, The Iron Colt Brotherhood will like hearing you call me Master.” He gave a wicked smile, clearly pleased with his thoughts of what that would mean. “I will be the man who controls every single breath you take and move you make. You will call me Master, my wild kitty. Trust that your Master knows best, and you’ll survive this ordeal.”

  He was serious. This man was fucking serious.

  “Do you understand what I am saying, Cheri?”

  I nodded, trying to stay as still as I could as the knife resting on my pussy reminded me how precarious my situation was.

  “Answer me the proper way,” he said firmly.

  Not sure what he meant exactly, I tried to guess and replied, “Yes, sir.”

  “No, you do not call me sir. Not for you. That’s too common, and I know that you are far from common. You will call me Master, dirty girl. Say it.”

  I swallowed hard and with wide eyes tried one last time to beg for mercy. “Please don’t do this. I know I said I could do this, but I’m scared. I’ll do whatever The Iron Colt Brotherhood wants me to do and say whatever they want me to say. I can keep secrets. I promise you that I will never betray them. We don’t need to do this. An initiation is not necessary.”

  “But we do. All who marry a member of the brotherhood and want to truly be accepted must be initiated. You aren’t the first, and you won’t be the last.”

  “Please,” I pleaded as fresh tears fell. “I beg you.”

  “You aren’t begging yet. Trust me. But you will. When I’m done with you, you’ll be begging for more. You will beg for my cock to be inside of you. You will plead with those tears in your eyes for my tongue to go lower and deeper. You will beg, dirty girl. Trust me. You will beg.” He pressed the knife a little harder against my mound. “Now say it. Say yes, Master.”

  “Yes, Master,” I whispered.

  “Say it louder.” The knife went even lower, rubbing my clit with the burn of seduction on its descent.

  “Yes, Master!” I said louder as I tensed. It felt good—but was so fucking wrong.

  “Say it again and look me in the eyes like a good girl.”

  I opened my blurry tear-filled eyes wide and stared at him. “Yes, Master.”

  “Very good,” Roman praised. “You just earned yourself a diamond.” He rubbed the knife up and down in a slow and sensual manner. He inhaled again, brought his lips to my ear, and whispered, “I smell you, dirty girl. I can smell those naughty juices of yours. I have a feeling we are going to have great fun earning your dues.”

  I cried harder—more out of shame and humiliation this time rather than fear. The man who escorted me to the room was still standing there witnessing everything Roman was saying and doing to me. I couldn’t look at him, embarrassed that not only could he see me naked, but he was also witnessing me call Roman Master… and no doubt, he could see what it was doing to me. My body hungered for more, and I hated myself for it.

  I was his. His.

  I now had a Master.

  There was nothing I could do. Nothing I could say. My cries grew louder and joined the screams from the other rooms. It was a symphony of misery. A chorus of terror. And as I looked at my new Master, I realized he would be the man orchestrating it all.

  12

  Cheri

  “So now we begin,” Roman said, removing the knife from my panties.

  He raised the blade up to meet our eye level. Glancing at it, I could see it was coated with my signs of fucked-up lust and twisted sexual need. It glistened with sin. Roman was right. I was a dirty girl. Yes, filthy. So fucking wrong. I should be screaming. Demanding freedom. I should be fighting to escape, but instead I was nearly coming on a weapon used to kill.

  There was a sparkle in Roman’s eye and a smirk on his face as he put the blade back in its holder on his belt. “The Iron Colt Brotherhood likes to watch from afar. There are cameras everywhere in this manor. They want to guarantee that the women are being properly initiated.” Roman’s face grew serious. “And if they don’t feel you are, they may revoke my right at initiating you and will send in a harsher replacement. So, I advise you to be a good little girl. Do you understand?”

  I nodded and softly said, “Yes, Master.” I didn’t want to have anyone else but Roman. I could do this. I could earn my diamonds. I already had one. Ninety-nine more to go. Ninety-nine more diamonds for my freedom and my future life married to Roman. I could do this. I had no choice but to do this. “What are you going to do to me?”

  It suddenly dawned on me that I was still standing with my arms at my sides. Like I was a private in the army standing before a general.

  Yes, sir.

  No, sir.

  Whatever you say, sir.

  Only this time, the private was wearing nothing but a pair of white lace panties. I didn’t have to look down to know my nipples were hard, and I didn’t have to press my legs together to feel the leftover wetness from the kiss of the knife.

  Roman took hold of my hair and circled it around his hand. He then guided me out of the room as if my hair was a leash and I was his filthy kitty. We walked down the hallway, and I noticed that there were cameras placed in strategic places. The Iron Colt Brotherhood was watching. I could practically feel their eyes burning holes into my exposed flesh. When we reached the bathroom door, Roman turned to me with seriousness washed over his face. “We are going to start filming from the minute we walk into the bathroom. The Iron Colt Brotherhood will be watching every single moment. They want a close-up recording so they can truly examine how grateful you are for your opportunity to become a member of the society. Are you going to be able to behave and act as they would expect someone who wanted to earn reward diamonds would behave? I’m serious when I tell you that what you do from this point on is crucial. It will determine if you live to see tomorrow. So will you be able to do exactly as I say?”

  I swallowed hard and took a deep breath. In a very tiny voice, I answered, “I think so… Master.” The word still felt foreign, but didn’t necessarily feel more fucked up or wrong than my current situation.

  My body trembled with the overwhelming nerves exploding from inside, but I didn’t want The Iron Colt Brotherhood to see that anyone had the ability to break me. I would remain strong no matter what occurred on the other side of the door.

  Roman’s face lit up, and he stroked the back of my head. The act didn’t feel loving, but rather condescending. Humiliation was clearly a tactic of his. I wondered if it was only because he was on camera, or was he enjoying a part of this? “That’s my good girl. You just do as I say and don’t fight me in the slightest. Swallow that pride that will be raging inside of you. Your pride is only the first of what you will lose while here.” He took a deep breath, as if he was nervous of what was to come. Would The Iron Colt Brotherhood order him to kill me if I acted out? Would he try to stop it if they did order my execution? “Once The Iron Colt Brotherhood sees that you are coming along nicely, they won’t require so much monitoring.” He opened the door and gave a nod to a man who stood at a video camera. “That’s Gage. He’ll be recording this session tonight.”

  I walked into the pristine bathroom, fiddling with my fingers as I gave Gage a small awkward nod. I was standing in nothing but my panties in front of a complete stranger… again! I didn’t know what to do or say
to Gage, but I could see the red light was on the camera and knew that there was no turning back. The Iron Colt Brotherhood was watching.

  “All right,” Roman began. “Let’s get you out of those panties.” His command was firm.

  Only pausing to appreciate my breasts for a moment, Roman took hold of my panties, squatting as he pulled them down all the way to my ankles and lifted my feet one at a time so I could step out of them.

  Glancing up and staring at my exposed and completely bare body, he scowled and stood up. “Naughty, naughty girl.”

  I flinched at his words and the stern expression on his face. I had no idea what I had done wrong. I did exactly as he had asked.

  “Only very bad girls have hair on their pussies,” he lectured.

  I glanced down at my brown little curls of hair and then back at him in disbelief.

  “We do not tolerate women being initiated into the brotherhood to ever have body hair. This is not acceptable.”

  He took a step forward, lifted my arm, and ran his fingertips along my armpit, nodded, and then ran his hand down the front of my leg and nodded again.

  “Lucky for you and your ass, you at least took care of the rest of your body hair. But,” he said as he went and sat on the edge of the tub, “you will still be punished.” He patted his lap, which I assumed meant he wanted me to lie over it.

  “I… I’m sorry.” I had no idea what to say or do. The humiliation of this entire conversation was almost too much to endure.

  “Mistakes happen. This manor is all about mistakes. But that does not mean that there won’t be consequences.” He patted his lap once more. “Now come here. I haven’t got all day.”

  Oh, Jesus.

  This was it. I was about to be spanked. Spanked over a man’s knee. Was this really happening? Was I really standing naked in front of two men and a camera? All because I was fated to marry a prince. Death or… shame and humiliation?