Total pages in book: 130
Estimated words: 121008 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 605(@200wpm)___ 484(@250wpm)___ 403(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 121008 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 605(@200wpm)___ 484(@250wpm)___ 403(@300wpm)
“Your… I apologize, sir. The girl is rather ignorant,” says the small man named Reeve, reminding me he’s still here. My stupid eyes won’t leave Beck. Reeve barely comes to Beck’s waist. Compared to Beck, he looks like a boy. A boy with a bushy beard and a pointy red cap. It seems to be a uniform of sort. All the jailers wear them.
“I am not ignorant.” I hate feeling small, and that’s where I am now. Trapped. I’m trapped and I can’t find my way out. Anger starts to flare through me. I’m always trapped, aren’t I?
“I did not mean it that way.” Reeve’s fists clench in obvious frustration. I noticed that he tried to maintain a soft tone when speaking to me or any of the other women. He’s polite, even when I curse him. “The lady is obviously intelligent, though lacking in any kind of manners. She is from the Earth plane.”
Beck turns from the smaller man and back to me, his mouth hanging slightly open. He stares at me, as though he’s having trouble processing what Reeve just told him. It gives me a chance to study him.
He’s tall. He has to be at least six foot four. I’m only five foot five, and a rather round one at that. The god in front of me doesn’t have an ounce of fat on him. He’s broad-shouldered, his arms thick with muscle, though he doesn’t look like some steroid-crazy gym guy. He’s earned his muscles. I would bet he hasn’t earned them pumping iron. He works, and at hard, most likely physical, labor. His skin is bronzed from the sun.
If his body is heavenly, then I don’t know how to describe his face. It’s all sharp planes and harsh angles that come together to form something truly beautiful. His jaw looks like it was carved out of granite. But his eyes are like soft, gray stones in his face. He is, without a doubt, the loveliest man I have ever seen.
It’s too bad he’s a dream, and not one I would have thought to have. I’ve never gone for his type before. Beck looks like an escapee from a Renaissance fair, with his open-necked, linen shirt under a leather vest. His trousers appear to be made from some sort of animal skin, as are the boots that come to his knees. A sword peeks from behind his shoulder, held by a scabbard across his back.
“Is she truly from the Earth plane?” Beck asks.
“Yes, sir. You can see why I called you.” They both stare at me like I’m some rare, exotic creature at a zoo.
Suspicion tickles at my consciousness. Why exactly am I here? A million scenarios toss through my brain. I’ve read articles about human trafficking. Had they led to this particular nightmare? Maybe there’s another way out. I’m willing to try anything at this point. I bite my lower lip and look at the five other girls in the tent with me. They’re all caged in the same fashion, though these women keep their heads lowered and comply with their jailers’ requests. “You shouldn’t buy me. I’m not very pretty. The other women are prettier. They’re thinner, too.”
The other women are all blondes. They look like something out of a Swedish high-fashion magazine. I do not fit with them. I carry around an extra five or ten pounds that never seem to go away. I’m an overblown hourglass in a world where svelte is worshipped.
Beck frowns. It does nothing to mar the perfection of his face. “Are you cruel then, love? Funny, I wouldn’t have thought that of you. It’s mean to point out their flaws. They can’t help that they don’t get enough to eat. Why do you think they’re here selling themselves?”
“You don’t want her, Your Highness,” a soft voice says. I look over to see the blonde nearest me staring at Beck through the bars of her cell. “She doesn’t understand a thing about our world. She yelled at Cara for not having all the foods she wanted. I believe she is cruel. I would be thrilled to belong to you.”
Way to throw a sister under a bus. “Yeah, fuck you, too.”
Beck shakes his head and looks slightly disappointed in me. The spark of shame that goes through me is unexpected.
He walks over to the young, waifish blonde. “She is not from this plane. She is frightened. Allowances must be made. I hope you all find kind mates today. I hope your mates value you all for the precious gift you give them, but I must find a bondmate.”
Beck gives Reeve a hand gesture that sends the smaller man into action. Within seconds, drapes are drawn, and I find myself in a private room with only Beck inside. Sunlight pours in through a hole in the top of the elaborate tent that seems to function as some sort of skylight. Now that we’re alone, it feels like a spotlight. I’m painfully aware of my unclothed state. I can feel my nipples puckering under his steely gaze.