August 17, 1298

Seaport

Though Mathias had made it clear that she was his possession, Vivyka thought he might get tired of her quickly, especially when Bo and Jake commented on his slutty nature. Mathias, it seemed, was the guy who had a different woman every night, leaving her and his friends surprised when he decided to keep Vivyka around. Weeks went by and, much to everyone’s amazement, he still wanted her.

When she knew what to expect, she found that she actually liked dating him, at least when he was in a good mood. And, though she was shocked at herself at first, she even enjoyed his roughness. He liked to cause pain, but it was always followed with a lot more pleasure. And he was right—she was tough.

She found that he liked receiving as well. She had gotten curious and a little gutsy one night and had tried biting his chest. She was rewarded with a gratifying groan. She learned quickly what he liked, and she liked the effect it had on him. She liked her power over his body. And she especially liked how he passed up other women, most of whom she thought were much prettier than her. But he wanted her; he thought she was gorgeous, so much so that he wanted to show her off. She really liked that… until one night when it went too far.

After they had been together for almost a month, he informed her that when she got off work he was going to properly break her in, but wouldn’t tell her what that meant. She had a knot in her stomach for the rest of the day, worried about what would happen.

That night, she wore an outfit that he bought her for the occasion. He liked giving her presents and insisted that his girlfriend have only the best, so she was always wearing expensive things, and always according to his taste.

Tonight she wore a beautiful diamond cascade necklace and a matching bracelet. Her hair was down in tousled waves, since that was the only way he liked it. She had on strappy high heels and a tight-fitting black dress. The skirt of it stopped six inches above her knees, and the top laced up the front. As always, there was nothing underneath her dress. Easy access, he said.

He took her to the Claret Cat. As the name suggested, the tavern was predominantly decorated with deep wine-colored fabrics. It was extravagantly furnished with shiny walnut tables around the edge of the room, each surrounded with plush armchairs. Comfortable bench seats were placed against the walls in an L shape around tables in two of the corners while a bar and a stage with a band took up the other two. Potted plants were placed here and there. Several hung from the ceiling, interspersed with the golden lanterns which were the only sources of light since the windows were heavily curtained.

In the center of the room was a small circular stage where a woman, wearing nothing but black panties and high heels, was dancing seductively to the steady beat of the music.

“I don’t wanna be here,” Vivyka told Mathias quietly.

He followed her gaze and smiled indulgently. “You won’t have to dance tonight.”

She gaped at him for a moment. Did he want her to do that eventually? She was mortified at the thought. “Why do you even wanna be here?”

Bo laughed. “Oh, I think someone’s jealous.”

Mathias looked confused as he turned back to her. “Of what?”

She glanced at the dancer and then looked down at the hardwood floor. “I just don’t understand why you wanna see other women,” she muttered.

He grabbed her face and made her look back at the topless woman. “Because they’re sexy and entertaining,” he told her. “Now stop being stupid.” He took her wrist and led her to a table ten feet from the stage. He practically threw her into an armchair and sat in the one next to her.

Bo and Jake took the two on the other side of the table. “Don’t worry, Viv,” Bo told her with a nod to the dancer, “you’re way hotter than she is.”

Mathias nodded his agreement. “I only have the best,” he said. “That’s why I’m dating you, not her.”

He didn’t say it as a compliment; he said it as a simple fact. Vivyka blushed, knowing he was being honest. She always knew that. He didn’t seem to care about other people feelings at all, so he said whatever he thought.

Bo smiled. “Are you sure, though? You know, my memory isn’t the best. I think I need another look to be sure.” He leaned over and reached for the laces at the top of her dress.

She started to move away, but Mathias punched his friend before he could reach her. “Keep your hands off her,” he growled.

Bo sat back and rubbed his jaw. “You’ve never cared before.”

“I’m not done with her, am I?” he asked rhetorically.

Bo just sighed.

Mathias grabbed Vivyka and pulled her over to sit on his lap, making the point that she belonged to him, only him. She tried to turn her back to him but he turned her around, making her straddle him, and then kissed her.

Her stomach fluttered uncomfortably, then knotted when his hand slid under her skirt. She pushed at him, but of course it did no good. He caressed her inner thigh, moving all the way up. She gasped at him touching her like that in public, but he just chuckled. A moment later he stopped, but her breath caught when she realized he was undoing his pants.

She hid her burning face in his neck. “Don’t. Please,” she begged quietly.

“Look around, Viv; it’s what this place is for.”

It was true—just a few tables over there was a woman grinning as a man pulled off her shirt and laid her back across the table. But the display meant nothing to Vivyka; it did nothing to ease her humiliation.

Her eyes stung and her cheeks heated more. He moved his hand into her hair and forced her to lean back so he could kiss her again.

She hated that he felt good, hated that an electric thrill shot through her body, like it did every time he touched her. But how could she feel it now, through such embarrassment?

Just then a waitress came to their table. “What can I get for you guys?” she asked, completely unaffected by the scene, even though Mathias didn’t stop.

Vivyka put her head against his shoulder and let her long hair cover her face. She closed her eyes and tried to imagine they were somewhere else, and alone. It didn't work, of course, especially with the low roar of the half-crowded room.

“Ale,” Mathias answered casually.

“Yeah, me too,” Jake said.

“Same,” Bo told her. “And send a girl over.”

“Of course,” the waitress said pleasantly, and left to get their order.

Mathias grabbed Vivyka’s hair again, more roughly this time, and made her sit up. She stopped moving as soon as his hands left her hips. “Stop hiding,” he told her. “Shyness is ridiculous, and it’s pissing me off.”

“Get that dress off her,” Bo suggested with a wolfish grin. “That’ll get her over it much quicker.”

Mathias fingered the laces there.

“No,” she said in a horrified whisper. “Please.”

“Not tonight.”

She heard Bo’s sigh of disappointment just as she sighed a little with relief.

Moments later, he let out a small, satisfied sigh and then pushed her off his lap and redid his pants. She returned to her seat, feeling as though her blush permanently stained her cheeks. She looked at the fabric of the chair, keeping her gaze away from the others and letting her hair fall into her face as much as possible.

A new woman, with long brown curls and breasts that threatened to burst out of her tight-fitting top, came over and set their drinks down.

“Oh, did you want something, Viv?” Mathias asked her.

“Whiskey,” she mumbled. She had never tried it before, but just then she was wanting something strong to blur out reality.

Mathias chuckled as he lit a cigarette. “Get her a glass before you do him,” he told the woman. Bo rolled his eyes, not wanting to wait, but he nodded to her and she left.

When she returned, she handed a short glass of amber liquid to Vivyka, who muttered her thanks. The woman nodded, then turned her attention to Bo. “So, you want me here or in the back, darlin’?”

“Back,” he answered as he stood. “Jake, come on.” His friend smiled and got up as well.

The woman looked a little surprised, but obviously didn’t mind. “That’ll cost double.”

Jake glanced at Mathias, looking hopeful. Mathias waved a dismissive hand, and Jake smiled.

Bo grinned at Vivyka’s astonished face. “Just wait till he’s done with you—”he nodded to Mathias—"then we’ll have you,” he promised with a wink. He walked toward a hallway that led to some back rooms. Jake and the woman followed.

Vivyka looked worriedly at Mathias.

“Don’t worry about it,” he said easily. “I won’t let that happen.”

She gave him a small smile of thanks, but then asked, “Do you… do that?”

He shook his head. “I don’t share.” He smiled when she looked relieved. “I also never buy whores—that’s just them. But then, they can't help how ugly they are,” he said with a smoky chuckle.

“Do you pay for their whores?”

“I pay for everything.”

“Why?”

He shrugged. “It’s nothing to me.”

“But how do you afford it all?” she wondered, glancing down at her own expensive things. “You don’t even work.”

He absentmindedly messed with the leather band on his right wrist. “I do jobs here and there. But don’t worry about it. Look.” He nodded to the stage.

She sighed and did so. The dancer got down as another climbed up. The new one was very beautiful, and much more curvaceous than the last. Vivyka looked back at him and hated how he was gazing appreciatively at the woman.

“She’s good. Watch and learn.”

Vivyka looked down at her drink. “Why don’t you just have her, if you like her so much?” she mumbled.

“I want you,” he said simply. “Now watch.”

She stood and set her drink down. “I’m just gonna go home,” she said, meaning his place, since she lived with him now.

“Sit down,” he ordered.

“But I really don’t wanna be here,” she told him, fighting back tears. “I just wanna go.”

“Sit down,” he repeated, his anger rising. When she didn’t move, he stood and grabbed her arm roughly. He threw her back into her chair, then backhanded her. She caught herself on the arm and put a hand to her stinging cheek. “You want to piss me off?”

She glanced around at the other people in the tavern. Several of them looked her way, but when they saw that she was with Mathias, they all turned a blind eye.

When she took too long to speak, he hit her again. “Answer me,” he demanded.

She shook her head as tears slipped down her face. “No.”

“Knock off the crying,” he told her, then took her face in one of his large hands and jerked her head toward the stage. “Watch and learn.” He handed her back her drink and returned to his seat.

Vivyka looked at the woman. She made sure to keep her face turned away from Mathias so he wouldn’t see the tears she couldn’t stop. After a moment, she brought her drink up to her lips, but wrinkled her nose at the smell of it. Then, figuring she would just get it over with, and wanting very much to be drunk, she tried downing the whole glass. She didn’t swallow more than the first gulp before a shudder went through her and she started coughing as the liquid burned her throat. She almost gagged, as if her body were trying to reject it.

She heard Mathias’s chuckle, and it just made her angry. Suddenly wanting to show him, she drank the rest as quickly as she could and managed not to gag or cough too much. She wiped the tears off her face and turned to him. “I want another.”

He laughed again. “Give it a minute, it’ll kick in,” he promised, and then looked pointedly at the dancer.

She sighed and returned her attention to the woman. She watched her sway back and forth in a seductive dance. She hated how beautiful the woman was. She hated her smooth, tan skin that looked incredibly soft, her wide hips, and especially her very full, perfect breasts. Her long, straight blond hair fell to her waist, swishing gently with her movements, and her pouty, red lips curved in a smile that was filled with promise.

After a few minutes, Vivyka peeked back at Mathias. She instantly felt new flames of jealousy jump to life at the desire in his eyes, and she suddenly wanted to hurt the woman for affecting him like that.

He noticed her not watching again. She quickly turned away, forcing her gaze back to the dancer, but he grabbed her hand and pulled her over to him. The movement made her head spin, and she practically fell into his lap. He caught her and situated her so that she was straddling him again; she was feeling tipsy enough now that she didn’t really care.

But when he started pulling the laces at the top of her dress, she tried to push his hands away. “You said not tonight,” she reminded him in a panicked whisper.

“Changed my mind,” he said simply, but then he dropped his hands. “You do it,” he ordered.

“No,” she mumbled, wincing slightly, unsure if she would be hit again.

“Fine,” he said, surprisingly calm. He pushed her to one side of his lap and motioned to the dancer. Anger flooded her as the topless woman came and stopped just a foot away from his other side.

“Something I can do for you, Mathias?” she asked hopefully. The way she looked at him was too familiar, and Vivyka was sure he had been with her before.

He let his gaze travel over the woman appreciatively. Then he placed a hand on her waist as if he were about to pull her closer, but he just held her there for a moment while he looked at Vivyka, raising an arched brow.

She felt fiercely possessive, even though she knew she should let him have someone else—she should just get herself away from him, away from his abuse and the things he wanted her to do. But she hated even his hand on the woman.

When she hesitated, he moved his hand further up until he was touching the bottom of the woman’s breast. She leaned into him a little and ran her fingers through his hair, urging him on. Vivyka willed herself not to care and stayed still. His hand slid around to the woman’s back and pulled her closer.

Jealousy boiling inside her, Vivyka shoved the woman away and fully straddled her boyfriend again. She hurriedly unlaced the top of her dress and opened it for him, exposing herself, and then reached down to undo his pants.