The Lies We Breathe

Chapter 12 - Friday, August 4th: The nipple

I dreaded the moment I finally pulled up in front of the Shields mansion. This time, the gates opened for my old car and I drove in. There were already many cars parked, one fancier than the other. I considered just dropping everything and driving back home. And then what?

I felt like a lamb heading for slaughter. I sighed. I know one can never be a hundred percent prepared for anything. And every time I remembered Blake's face when he told me he'd have some surprises for me, a shiver ran down my spine. Well, I had a few surprises of my own. I looked inside my bag, checking that I still had the flash drive. It was time I found out a few of his secrets.

I just had to be careful and pray that luck was on my side once more.

A friendly housekeeper opened the main entrance door for me.

"They are all by the pool," she explained. I thanked her and followed her inside. She let me out through the back door into the garden. Loud music played and there were already lots of people everywhere.

"Look who is finally here," Frank shouted as soon as he caught sight of me. Liam was right beside him and he greeted me with a friendly smile.

Shoot.

Now, all eyes were on me. Be the Alpha, I told myself and took a deep breath.

In the crowd, I found the face I dreaded seeing the most. Blake was sitting in a chair by the pool, with some pretty brunette by his side, whom I had seen at school before. He eyed me up and down as I approached, and then told something to the girl. She laughed and gave me a very condescending look.

I couldn't help but look down on myself to see if anything was amiss. I wore a summer dress with elbow-long sleeves, that stopped short of my knees. I know the dress suited me. Simple sandals covered my feet.

I looked back at Blake, who had only his beach shorts on. He looked calm and relaxed. This was his home, I was on his territory now.

I knew he was waiting for me to come to him. I thought of stalling but everyone was looking from him to me. There was no point in dragging it out even further. So I stepped closer.

"So you came to earn your stay, ponytail" Blake said, stating the obvious. I made a sour face. He knew I hated him calling me that. If I protest, he'd just do it anyway so I chose not to comment.

"What now?" I said calmly, trying to keep any anger out of my voice.

"Now, you entertain us," he replied pleased with himself. I heard a few laughs.

He whispered something to the girl beside him. She stood up gracefully like a cat. I noticed that she wore a bikini that left nothing to the imagination. We all watched her walk up to one of the garden chairs and then returned with a box. She handed it to me and sat down beside Blake again. I didn't like the smile she gave me.

I looked at the box without comprehending.

"Go on. Open it," Blake said. Slowly, I peeled off the lid, half expecting to find a dead rat inside or something even worse. A bomb perhaps?

Instead, there was a neatly folded servant's uniform. Of the kinky type.

A million curse words shot through my mind. But I bit my tongue and instead gave Blake a murderous look, which only seemed to amuse him further.

"I knew you'd like it," he said, giving me his best smile. "Wear it or leave. It's up to you."

I had to suppress the desire to punch him into his perfect nose and feel the bone crack. Everyone seemed to half expect me to run away crying. A part of me wanted to. But then the stubborn part of me, that never gave up, took over.