Page 61 of The Boy I Loved (Eternal Hell #1)

Mason took the lead, leaving me to trail behind him. We approached a wooden door a few feet away from the elevator, and he knocked his knuckles against it.

Anticipation sliced through my body like butter, causing me to tremble for entirely different reasons. Clay requesting my presence couldn’t be anything good. I’d gotten off vibes from him at Dominic’s party, I never would have expected he was involved in things as horrible as this.

The door creaked open, sending my heart directly into my throat. Clay’s gaze shifted from Mason, and then to me, before he pulled the door open wider. Mason slipped in first, staying closer to me than I would have liked. He probably expected me to run, not that there was anywhere to go .

“Have a seat,” Clay ordered, dropping down into the large leather chair behind his desk.

Mason glanced at me over his shoulder, and I didn’t miss the sudden tension in his posture. Interesting…

The mere thought that Mason was scared of Clay piqued my interest. However, I wasn’t stupid enough to say anything about it now. Instead, I strode forward and lowered myself into the chair on the left, leaving Mason to take the other one.

Clay assessed me silently for a few moments, letting my mind race even more profoundly. What did he want with me? Why was Mason here? My stomach lurched with repulsion as my mind conjured up a variety of horrible scenarios.

Finally, the leader of this awful operation folded his hands on the surface of his desk. “You look well,” he commented, raking his predatory gaze over my outfit. “Nice wardrobe .”

“That was Tristan’s doing,” Mason rushed to say, earning him a quizzical look from me.

“I figured as much,” Clay replied. “Dominic wouldn’t have been so stupid.”

Anger surged through me instantly. He spoke of Dominic like he was nothing more than a child who needed discipline. Biting my tongue harshly, I glanced away, attempting to summon the strength to remain quiet and docile.

Clay reached for his glass on the desk, tipping it back and swallowing down half of the amber contents. He didn’t tear his eyes from me for even a split second, as if he wanted to catalogue every single reaction I gave him.

Once he had his fill, he placed the glass back down with a soft clunk and folded his hands together on the table again. “How many times have you been fucked now, Hazel?” he drawled, his question catching me off guard.

“What?” I whispered in exasperation, not wanting to disclose any of that personal information to a predator such as himself. It was way too personal.

He shrugged in response as if my shock meant nothing to him. “I know my nephew took your virginity,” he explained. “What I’m asking is who else has been inside of you since then. Was he the only one before you came here? If so, who else has fucked you?”

My fingers curled into the palms of my hands, my nails digging at the rough flesh there.

The mere thought of Dominic disclosing that intimate information had my stomach curdling.

The only person I’d ever told about me and Dominic was Tory, and she didn’t even know about the second time I’d been with him.

A shaky breath expelled from my lungs as I attempted to regulate my heart rate. I was surrounded by snakes.

"Dominic and Tristan are the only ones," I confirmed through gritted teeth, shame filling every inch of my body.

Clay nodded, not displaying an ounce of emotion. “As expected,” he mumbled. “Have you ever thought about doing porn? Has Dominic ever filmed you two having sex?”

I glanced over at Mason, but his expression was just as unreadable as Clay’s. I didn’t know how any of this held any relevance. Turning back to the monster interrogating me, I shook my head.

“I have you down for your first porn session next weekend,” he explained.

“From what I’ve been told and have witnessed, you’ve been on pretty good behavior.

” He arched an eyebrow, and I didn’t miss the small flicker of surprise that flashed within his beady eyes.

“We reward those who deserve it. Is there someone specific you’d like to train you for your first session?

” he pressed. “Aside from Dominic. He’d be too gentle and easy on you. ”

The urge to tell him to go to Hell and die was strong, but I knew that if I wanted to survive and potentially get into one of the clubs, I’d need to continue being on my best behavior.

My mind whirled as I contemplated his question.

On one hand, Tristan was one of the last people I wanted to touch me, but I also wanted to keep him interested.

On the other, if I chose Tristan, he could get the wrong idea and assume I was already into him, leading him to get bored of me rather quickly.

I didn’t understand why I needed to be trained to have sex on camera. It wasn’t like I was that inexperienced.

Clamping my eyes shut tightly, my chest rose and fell with each ragged inhale.

Deciding to rip the band aid off, I cracked open my eyes again.

“Mason.” His name tasted like acid on my lips, defeat settling within me.

He was still a better alternative than Tristan or Vincent, but it didn’t make me feel any better.

Clay’s eyebrows rose, the surprise evident in his features. Even Mason seemed surprised that I would have picked him. It would seem that we all shared that sentiment.

“Not Tristan?” Clay inquired curiously.

I scoffed, unable to hide my hatred for him. “No. I have survival instincts. I’m not stupid.” He thought I was already smitten with Tristan, just like his former playthings were, but I was too observant. I’d play his game because that was what kept me alive, but it would never be more than that.

Clay hummed thoughtfully, his lips twitching at the corners. “You might survive just yet, Hazel Montgomery.”

A scream of despair tore from my throat but was quickly muffled by the pillow beneath me. Stacy was off doing who knew what. After my meeting with Clay, she’d been MIA, and right before that, she’d retreated into herself. At least it gave me some time by myself.

Between Tristan, Vincent, and Mason, Mason was the best choice.

I suppose I could have chosen Rodney, but for some reason, his deceptiveness cut me deeper than I wanted to admit.

Not to mention, I didn’t know how violent or aggressive he’d be.

Mason wasn’t exactly gentle from my previous encounters with him, but he wasn’t overly violent either. It was just a risk I had to take.

Blowing out a frustrated breath, I pushed myself off the mattress and made my way over to my closet.

I grabbed a change of clothes and slipped into the bathroom.

It wasn’t anything fancy. There was a double-wide mirror, a toilet, and a bathtub with a shower attachment.

Placing my clothes on the counter, I snatched a towel from one of the cabinets and dropped it on the back of the toilet before turning to the tub.

Just as I was stripping off my clothes and preparing the warm water, a loud bang reverberated through my bedroom on the other side of the door.

My breath caught in my throat, and my first thought was Stacy. Standing in the middle of my bathroom naked, I took a cautious step toward the door, only to have it fly open and ram against the wall beside it. I leapt back, my heart skipping into my throat.

Tristan’s scowl told me all I needed to know. He’d spoken with Clay or Mason.

I held out my hands in front of me, fear punching through my body in violent waves. I’d never had his anger directed at me like this before, and it was a sight I wasn’t sure I’d ever want to be on the receiving end of.

“L-let me explain,” I stammered, hoping he’d calm down enough for me to give him some lame sob story.

Tristan wasn’t super muscular, but he stood tall, his looming shadow bleeding over the bathroom tile.

The veins in his arms bulged in tune with his prominent rage.

Oh God. He was going to kill me. My plan backfired and he was going to end me now, just like he did to Nia and Emerson.

My stomach twisted, creating a series of knots.

“Nothing to explain,” he ground out, his voice vibrating with the animosity I could see in his eyes. “Perhaps I haven’t made myself clear.”

My feet were frozen to the cold floor as he made his way toward me with calculating steps. The rage poured off him in thick waves, filling the small space of my bathroom. The warm water didn’t help matters, steam billowing from the tub and seeping into my bare skin.

He reached out, wrapping his hand around my throat.

Fear skittered down my spine as he squeezed, cutting off my airflow.

He backed me into the wall a few feet away, the coldness of it sending a shiver through me.

Instinctively, my hands snapped out, curling around his wrist as if I could stop him from choking the life out of me when I knew it was in vain.

“How many times do I have to tell you you’re mine before you get the message?” he snarled. “How many times do I have to fuck it into you for it to click?”

I trembled against him, his fingers flexing around my throat.

I’d been scared a number of times, but nothing compared to how I felt now.

I’d seen him brutally kill Emerson, and that had been because she asked a simple question.

He killed Nia out of boredom. What I did …

He viewed that as a betrayal. There was no way he wouldn’t kill me now.

“Please,” I whimpered, the words getting stuck in my throat due to the tight grip of his hand.

Adding more pressure, he shoved me against the wall with more ferocity.

My head thumped against it, sending a spike of pain through my skull.

My breathing had been completely cut off, desperation trickling through my veins.

I fought helplessly for breath, struggling against his hold on me and digging my fingernails into his arm.

Nothing seemed to deter him, and that was even more terrifying.