Page 233 of His Flash Mate
CHAPTERTHIRTY-SIX
My head hurt.The persistent ache chased me out of oblivion, forcing a wince and a need to rub it.My wrist caught on something.
I fought to open my eyes to see what, but they wouldn’t listen at first.When they finally did, I blankly stared at the fuzzy pink handcuff for a few seconds.
Konni had been serious about tying me up?
Clarity crashed through the foggy thoughts.
The dressing room.
Someone had grabbed me from behind.
These cuffs weren’t Konni’s.
My gaze shifted to the unfamiliar bed I’d been cuffed to, then the room.
I turned my head and met Hestian’s watchful gaze.He was sitting in a chair beside the bed, holding his cane between his splayed legs in a relaxed “king of this land” kind of pose.
“Your mind really is a beautiful thing.”His gaze swept over me.“Like the rest of you.”
If the pain in my head hadn’t been enough to turn my stomach, the lust in his gaze did the job.
I tried to sit up a little so I wouldn’t vomit on myself and discovered my legs were tied together too.Bound hand and foot, I wasn’t able to do more than scoot a few inches farther up onto the pillow.
“You’re very quiet.What are you thinking?”
“I’m focusing on how to sit up more so I don’t throw up on myself.It’d be easier if I could use my hands or feet.Both would be preferable.”
“I apologize for the temporary confinement.We can remove them as soon as you agree to marry me.”
I let out a defeated sigh.Not that I was willing to marry him, but because I was being forced to put up with his bullshit.
“You need to increase the dose of your anti-delusional meds.They’re not working.”
“It’s not delusional to believe a younger woman would be interested in marrying me.I have wealth, connections, and am easy to please.All I need is an heir.”His gaze slid from my face to my midsection.“You have more intelligence than my previous wives and have witnessed the trials of a divorce, so I understand why my wealth wouldn’t immediately appeal to you.”He reached over to a packet of paper on the bedside table and showed it to me.
“A prenup agreement?”I said, wanting to laugh.
“One million for marrying me, uncontested if we ever separate.Ten million for each live son you birth.”
The things I wanted to say bubbled up inside of me.I swallowed down the angry rhetoric and instead replied with a calm, “If I were interested in those kinds of terms, why marry you and not Drokonnen Steele?”
“He’s not an option for you.”
“He thinks he is.”
He hummed thoughtfully then thumped his cane on the floor.The door opened, and a woman entered.She radiated the subservience and fear of someone who’d been abused to the point they’d forgotten how to fight.
“This is Marta.She’ll be caring for you while you deliberate on my proposal.She doesn’t speak our language, though.”He pounded his cane on the floor again.
A bigger man entered, and the woman shrank further into herself.
“Tell Marta to check Ms.Elmantas thoroughly for any marks.”
The man spoke softly, and the woman hurried toward me, lifting my pant leg.
“I can save us both the time,” I said, not fighting her.“I have notable moles on my right butt cheek, left forearm, and back of my neck, and a flame tattoo on my left shoulder.”
