NINETwo weeks. I've gone two weeks without being summoned by Kaden Sario. I'm not complaining. Strolling around the manor has been pleasant. I spend most of my time in the garden, feeling the rich soil between my toes, smelling the petals of flowers, and touching the leaves of greener-than-green trees. There aren't any flowers in the Unfortunate camp. There's nothing but mud and dirt. I push my tongue against the roof of my mouth, somehow tasting the smell of the pungent earth in the back of my throat."Hey!"I startle, yanking a handful of leaves from the thin stem of a bush I'm caressing. An Unfortunate female jogs toward me, her curls bouncing around her shoulders, the sun gleaming against her gorgeous sun-kissed skin. I drop the handful of leaves and smooth my hand down my tunic, ridding my palm of sticky sap. "You shouldn't spend so much time in the garden. You won't hear Master Kade if he calls for you."I recognise her from the party after the ceremony. She poured Kade's drin
KADEFrustration thickened his blood as he stared at his unmade Unfortunate. She was a gift for his birthday, yet she didn't look like one. He couldn't believe she had the nerve to appear in his bedroom undressed. Nine shivered in her tunic, the red gown he hand-picked for her clenched in her fist. Shadows, cast from the fireplace, nestled in the hollows of her cheeks and under her covered breasts. "Is there a reason," he began, sliding his teeth together, "you are not dressed?"She didn't answer, and that thrust his frustration in the direction of rage. He gripped his bottom-heavy glass and dragged an inhale through his nose as he stepped closer. "I asked you a question," he spoke, hoping his dark, low tone penetrated her flesh and speared sense into her. "It's in your best interest to answer it.""Yes," she whispered, swallowing hard. "It exposes more than—""Speak up, Unfortunate." Nine lifted her head, her pretty violet eyes flaring in a way that quelled the frustration in his b
She snapped her head up, and, whatever she saw in his expression, forced her to keep her mouth shut. If he could keep getting away with a single stern look, he'd never have to resort to physical punishment. Nine crawled toward him, swallowing pride he didn't know Unfortunates were born with. Her auburn hair cascaded down her arms and circled her palms, their ends kissing the shining wooden floor. Eventually, she knelt at his feet and lifted her chin to lock eyes with him. Kade knew he should commend her for coming so far and to let her go…...but he couldn't. There was something about her that called to his soul, something that gripped his gut and squeezed. "Closer," he demanded, keeping the arousal he so strongly felt from his voice.Nine inched closer until her body was pressed against his leg. She was warm. He could feel her radiating through the leg of his pants. He leaned forward and hooked a finger under her chin. She gasped at his touch, and he guided her to her feet. He brou
NineKaden Sario is as still as stone beneath me, our mouths close to touching. Can he feel my heart? The way it's beating against his, threatening to tear through my chest at any given moment? We're not taught how to kiss. There were no kisses shared between Fortunates and Unfortunates in the slides I studied in class. In fact, a kiss between the two classes is considered unlawful if construed as romantic. "If kissing isn't hard, why do I feel so out of my depth?" I ask, losing breath the longer his brittle obsidian irises bore into mine. "Because you want to be good at it. You want to please me." Do I? My eyelids flutter. He's right. I do want to please him. Pleasing him is the key to my survival, and if he needs me to boost his family name like he claims, then I am valuable to him. "I want to please you. I'm afraid I don't know how." "Kiss me," he says, blasé, and I pull back. Has he forgotten the rules? That an Unfortunate cannot initiate physical contact with a Fortunate, in
KADENine followed closely behind him as they made their way to the exit at the back of the house. As they were about to step out of the manor, Kade slammed his hand against the doorjamb, startling his Unfortunate. He locked his elbow and blocked her way."A few rules for tonight, Unfortunate," he said, turning his head. She peered up at him, doe-eyed and innocent. Kade knew better than to fall for it. He still felt her pressure on him. Her passion seared his soul. "You don't wander, you keep your mouth shut, and you steer clear of my brother."She eyed him curiously. It was the kind of look another Fortunate wouldn't dare let her get away with, but Kade allowed it. Because he found her cute, and her personality intrigued him. The realisation turned his stomach. Grimacing, he looked out across the open yard and prayed the impending thunderstorm, brewing to the west, put him out of his misery, and washed away the party."Why don't you like your brother?" she asked, and Kade stilled.She
NINEWhen I return with Michael's drink, the three men circle a small table, its surface at rib height. They talk politics, mostly. It's a conversation led by the man with the most power. Michael Sario. His power terrifies me. The way he manhandled me on a whim… I shudder. I stand at Kade's side, on his left, with my hands behind my back, my fingers threaded together. I do my best to filter out their discussion, knowing better than to eavesdrop. Sugary giggles across the courtyard catch my attention. Children, an even mix of boys and girls, chase each other through the throng of adults, ducking and dodging, shrieking in playful fear. The sound of their excitement is both a familiar melody and an alien symphony. They rush past, and I twist to watch them spill onto the field in a burst of colour. The children weave together, haphazard yet delicate, threads of joyous youth that leave sharp tendrils of bittersweet longing in the pit of my gut. "Nine?" I whip my head and meet Michael's o
My eyelids flutter. The dress? He dips his chin, a subtle confirmation. Yes. I swallow hard and push the flimsy fabric strips off my shoulders. The dress falls with ease and pools at my feet. My skin pebbles and my nipples harden as cool air nips at my warm flesh. A zephyr blows, pushing my hair across my chest, shielding some of my nudity from prying eyes. Embarrassment scorches my face, and my vision blurs, but I keep my chin up. In a matter of seconds, shadows darken my spot as a group forms around us. Whispers and snickers, heavy breathing and wafts of alcohol. I do my best to ignore it all and remain a pillar of perfection for Kaden Sario. "What are you doing?" Elizabeth demands. "She can't be naked here. There are children around."Kade kisses his teeth. "You're right." Pushing off the table, he strolls toward me. Smoothing his palm along the underside of my breast and drags a thumb over my nipple. I clench my teeth in fear of his tender touch parting my lips and exposing the f
NINEMy fingers tremble. There's a lump of dread caught in the base of my throat, preventing me from filling my lungs. I shift my weight, and my knees sink deeper into Kade's soft mattress. I've never felt a bed so soft or touched blankets that soothe the skin instead of making it itch.It's been hours since I left the party. At any moment, Kade will walk in, and I don't know how he'll react when he sees me like this, naked and scared. I keep my attention on the door, on the thin border of light that seeps through the crack around the frame. It's the only source of light in the room save for the fireplace's dying embers on the far side of the room. A cool, midnight breeze blows in from the far window and across my naked back, lifting the fine hairs on my skin.The handle rattles, and my heart races, beating erratically in my chest, threatening to smash through my ribs. I hold my breath in silent panic as his deep murmur carries through the wood and petrifies me to the core of my being.