Page 8 of Pleasure Lessons

CASSANDRA

My heart beats so loudly it nearly echoes against the walls of my room. Every sound of the house shifting has me on edge. Every creak could be his footsteps, coming to see me and ruin everything.

Arthur. The man holding the keys to my cage. Keeping me from the happiness of my life.

“If you make the decision to leave him and go with me, there’s no going back. It’s ride or die. All or nothing.”

That’s what Rhett said to me last night, staring at me with his piercing eyes. His words feel embedded in my soul, like they’ve been imprinted on my heart. I take calm, precise breaths, as if one wrong gasp could shatter me and I’d be gone from the man I love.

I’ve been pacing my prison all day, surrounded by silk drapes and ornate woodworking, unable to eat, unable to sleep, unable to do anything but think of the promise he made to me. That we made to each other.

Are we really doing this? Will it work?

“Don’t question it!” I hiss at myself. “Of course it will!”

My lips still taste of him. My center still aches from him breaking me in last night. I’m no longer an eighteen-year-old girl . I’m a woman. All thanks to Rhett and his mighty manhood.

I gaze out the window at the setting sun, golden light slicing through the tree tops, illuminating the shadows of the darkest thoughts of my mind.

It’s almost time.

My bag is packed, my shoes are laced tight, and my black hoodie is lying on the bed beside me. I also have my purse with letters and cards from my mom that I couldn’t bear to lose.

Rhett’s plan is simple: quietly leave my room, slip out through the servants’ wing, cross the back gardens, and take the trail through the woods that leads to the main road where Rhett will be waiting in his truck. Then he’ll drive us away and we’ll be free together.

I close my eyes and take a breath.

Yes, this is actually happening. It’s sundown. It’s time. My life is about to change forever. And despite the fact that I’m starting to tremble, I can’t wait to get out of here. I never thought my life would go any other way. An arranged marriage was my only future.

But then Rhett came into my life, and everything changed.

The door creaks as I open it. It’s quiet but too loud for tonight. My footsteps are soft as I slip out into the hallway, my heartbeat hot and heavy in my ears. I move quickly to the servants’ wing and am almost to the outside door when Clarisse appears, arms full of laundry.

She pauses and looks at me–at my bag–her expression bland as my heart skips a beat. Guilt seizes my chest. Does she know? Has she figured out what I’m up to?

No, of course she hasn’t. How could she? She’s not a private investigator. For all she knows, I’m just out for a little evening stroll around the estate…with a bag…

“Good evening,” I say as I walk past her.

“Yes, it is,” she replies, nodding her head.

My eyes blink quickly on their own as anxiety pulses through me. My heart feels unsteady now as I grip the knob to the outside door and twist.

A cold breeze hits me, and I step out into the welcoming dark, leaving the manor behind me. I glance once over my shoulder to make sure I’m not being followed, then pick up the pace.

By the time I reach the gardens, a smile has started to creep across my face. I can feel the dew on my shoes and follow the path that splits off to the tennis court where Rhett and I first met.

I’m smiling now, remembering our lesson. How it felt as my crush on him grew and grew, so quickly. I’m sure we’ll find another court to play on. A place to relive those memories.

I’m just about to hop a low fence when I’m blinded. Floodlights snap on in front of me like some screaming danger, ready to pounce on me.

I shield my eyes and squint at a man’s silhouette. It’s unmistakable.

Arthur.

Two men flank him. Rough looking guys in dark suits. I recognize them as men who sometimes escort him to and from the office. Bodyguards.

All breath escapes my lungs. My legs cease to work.

Another, smaller figure steps into view from the blinding light. A female figure. Clarisse. She stands by Arthur like a statue, her lips a thin, unreadable line. She’s not smiling or sympathizing with me. And then I get it.

She did figure it out. And she betrayed me.

“You think I wouldn’t notice?” Arthur asks, his voice pompous and kingly. “You’re not as subtle as you think you are, Cassandra. Fawning over the help, taking a late-night drive like you’re some covert operative.”

I can barely speak. “Arthur, I–”

The bodyguards step forward, causing my breath to catch in my throat. Their boots crunch on the gravel as they approach. I’m shaking. I try to speak, but nothing comes out.

“Thought you’d run away with him , did you?” Arthur smiles cruelly. “Brave but stupid.”

My heart stutters, skips, and beats hard like a drumroll leading to a heart attack.

His bodyguards reach me, each taking hold of one of my arms. Arthur steps forward casually, menacingly, his face stony and threatening.

He reaches out, smelling like cigar smoke, and places a hand on my shoulder.

For a moment, he simply leaves it there, like an affectionate caress.

Then, without warning, he snatches my hair and yanks my face right up to his.

“This charade ends tonight .” He grimaces, whiskey on his breath. “You think you can leave me? ” He shakes his head. “You’re not going anywhere.”

My knees are ready to buckle. Tears well up in my eyes, but I blink them back. He’s not going to make me cry. Not in front of him. I glance at Clarisse, whose eyes narrow on me.

“Why?” I ask, nearly sobbing. “Why would you do this?”

She looks like she wants to say something, but she can’t answer. But the longer I look at her face, I realize she doesn’t have to.

Jealousy. It’s written all over her. She has a thing for Rhett, and she hates me for being with him.

“Yeah,” I hiss through tight lips. “He’s mine .”

Her eyes flare, and she looks like she’s about to rush me when Arthur puts his arm out and blocks her. He tightens his grip on me, pushing his fingertips into my flesh. I cry out. I never expected violence like this from Arthur.

The guards yank me by my elbows and pull me back toward the house, causing my purse to fall to the ground, spilling my mother’s letters everywhere.

Almost amused, Arthur bends down and picks them up.

“Letters from your mother,” he muses, flipping through them.

He taps me on the nose with them. “Maybe if you’re a good girl, I’ll let you have these back.

Boys, take her back to her room and lock the door. I’ll deal with her tomorrow.”

I kick and scream as the massive men grip me hard and haul me back across the gravel to the house. I try to fight back, but I’m completely outmatched. There’s nothing I can do.

I’m nearly sobbing as I think of Rhett, sitting in his truck where we planned. He’ll be waiting for me. And I’ll never show up.

Will he ever forgive me?

I’m tossed into my room like a bag of trash tossed into the dumpster out back. My bag lands on my head, knocking me to the floor. The door slams shut behind me, and I hear it lock from the outside, then some other kind of grinding, metallic sound–like a deadbolt.

The room is silent. Tears fall from my eyes. And then the sobbing begins.

How can he be so cruel? Why would he even want me when it’s clear I don’t want him?

He’ll never be able to make me love him, but he will be able to destroy me.

Stop me from ever seeing Rhett again. Force me to live here like a caged bird, trapped, silent, and obedient, while I think about my love for the rest of my life.

I draw in a shaky breath and try to calm myself, but the tears fall, one by one, darkening the wood until I feel the ache in my throat from all the sobbing.

I look at my window. It’s high, but I could make it. But when I go over to it, I see the flashlights below. More of Arthur’s men posted up to keep me prisoner.

My knees give out from under me, and I curl up into a ball. My mother’s letters are gone. Rhett will be barred from ever seeing me again, and I’m running out of ideas.

Can it be that Arthur has finally won?

Will I belong to him for the rest of my life?