Diamond (17 page)

Another knock at the door, and Lip entered with a tray of food from the pantry. There was bread and other items far better than what they had in their packs.

“Food’s decent. I also brought up some canned shit, don’t know what it is, but it’s edible.”

Perfect.

“Nadya, I want you on your knees,” Diamond ordered.

V

Get on her knees?

What on earth for?

“I’m waiting.”

“Can I at least put on some clothes?”

Nadya watched Diamond as his gaze followed the line of her body. Up and down he went until he came back to her face. His eyes gave nothing away.

“Knees.”

Getting dressed was out of the question, apparently. Diamond said he would help her get a patron. It was the only reason she dropped to her knees in front of him and closed her eyes. This was as bad as being tied to the wall the night before. Inside, her mind was screaming that she knelt for no one. The voice inside her head was adamant that it was a show of weakness. Seconds seemed like hours as she struggled with her current predicament. She should drop the act and move forward, Anna and Dominika be damned. But she didn’t. Her last shred of honor and loyalty belonged to those women.

“Open your eyes and look at me.”

Her eyes popped open to see Diamond seated in a chair only a few inches away from her.

“Lip, you can sit the tray on the table here. Make sure we’re not disturbed for the rest of the night. We leave at first light.”

“Got it.”

Diamond turned his attention back to her before Lip was even out the door. He looked at the tray of bread and other items from the pantry. The can of mystery food looked old. Too old, but what did she know about food and their expiration dates. She’d been eating tree bark and bugs for the last six months.

“Nadya, I want you to feed me. Do it slowly, and wait for me to nod before you offer me another bite.”

Feed him?

Delusional
, she thought seconds later. This was in no way going to secure her a patron. Sick bastard was getting himself off.

That was the only answer she could come up with. She looked over at the table and decided she’d give him a piece of bread first. It wasn’t as dry as it looked, but crusty on the outside with white powder on top. The inside was actually soft and had a unique smell to it. There was also something creamy and smooth on the tray. She thought if she dipped the bread in, it would add flavor. It didn’t help that her stomach rumbled with hunger, or that her mouth watered to taste what her fingers were holding.

Nadya was going to feed him and hope he’d give her what was left. She slowly dipped the bread in the creamy concoction, making sure it wasn’t completely covered, and then brought it to his lips. His mouth opened but he didn’t move forward to take the piece from her hand, which could only mean he wanted her to do it for him. She brought the bread closer until it touched his lips.

His mouth covered not only the bread, but also her thumb and index finger. The inside of his mouth was hot to the touch. And soft. He pulled back slowly, never breaking eye contact. Something in the pit of her stomach buzzed at the act of feeding him. It wasn’t a bad feeling, but it was alien. She waited for his nod before going back to the tray, never breaking eye contact with Diamond. Every so often he’d make a sound at the back of his throat. The sound of a feral animal tamed by the hand feeding him.

She was about to feed him his fifth piece of bread when he grabbed her by the chin.

“Very good. Now it’s your turn. When I feed you, I want you to do the exact same thing. Don’t break eye contact. Chew slowly, make sure you lightly touch your lips to my fingers as you pull back. Relax, even if it doesn’t feel right. You need to learn to let go. When you find a patron, it may be someone you are not visually pleased by, you must remember to enjoy the simplest of things so that they become…
more
.”

“Are you going to kneel for me?”

“Hell, no. I don’t kneel for anyone, and neither will your patron.”

She watched as he went for the can. The label was already peeled away, leaving behind a silver container rimmed with rust in the dents. When he lifted the top, the smell was the first thing to hit her senses. She’d never tasted what was inside before, but her mouth certainly wanted to try it.

Diamond sniffed as well and mumbled, “Peaches.”

He dipped his fingers into the can. He pulled out a golden slice, slick with juice. She didn’t know what to expect when her lips met the slippery piece, but what she got was pure heaven. There was a slight tang, and then a flavor so full, so sweet, Nadya couldn’t help but moan. She shamelessly sucked on Diamonds fingers, trying to get more of the flavor. The saltiness of Diamond’s hand added to the glorious taste saturating her tongue.

Her eyes closed and a sound she’d never heard before vibrated beneath her chest and crawled up her throat, giving life to her already ravenous appetite. Her body swayed forward as Diamond yanked his fingers from her mouth, uttering a curse.

“That’s enough for today. You can eat the rest.” His voice was different. Broken. But Nadya tried not to focus on the sound of his voice. He’d said she could eat the rest of the sinfully delicious slices of sugary sweetness. She dove in with gusto, not caring that she was acting like a wild animal. She sucked down slice after slice until there was nothing left. She picked up the rust-infested can and tipped it up over her mouth to let the thick juice slide down her throat. Any she missed, she made sure to get with her fingers. The foreign sound from her chest continued until the last drop of juice was gone.

“Fuck.” Diamond’s voice brought her back to the present. His hands were tight fists atop the arms of the chair. The towel wrapped around his waist covered a very aroused male. This was not what she’d expected from a man like Lavarious Diamond. He’d said so himself. She wasn’t his type.

Nadya made a vow to herself: she’d use everything she had in order to get exactly what she wanted. If it meant cozying up to Diamond, she would.

Sleep was non-existent. Diamond tried, but his brain was chock-full of unnecessary images of Nadya going to town on the can of fruit. After excusing himself, he’d gone straight to the pantry and made a note of how many cans there were. If she was as into those peaches as she seemed, then he could only imagine what she’d do with him and the sticky slices.
Stop.
That wasn’t a place he was going. Not with her. To be turned upside down and inside out over a female eating peaches... Fucking ridiculous. She was a product. Something to sell. Nothing more. Even if, after the auction, he could partake, he wasn’t going to. She was a danger to his good sense. He could never forget that.

Nadya was the type of woman who’d see stars at the slightest hint of kindness. She’d get ideas. The wrong kinds of ideas. He had no intention of filling her head with fantasies, which was why he put the thought of her out of his mind and made his way back to the room. He found her asleep on the lower half of the bed’s platform. She’d pulled her clothes back on and wrapped herself in one of the comforters. The only thing peeking out from beneath the blanket was her silky black hair.

Diamond went to the master bed to get some sleep. The next part of their journey would be troublesome. Amethyst was out scouting, and when she wasn’t around, her girls tended to get carried away. He knew there would be trouble. Passing through the park was the quickest way to get the group to their destination. Zira didn’t like him or the males in his company. She was partial to females, and one in particular. Thys. Zira was only loyal to Amethyst and Amethyst was loyal to him.

He should have stayed back at the Quarry
.
But Nadya was too big of an investment to go off with Lip and Lindy, just to have one or the both of them fuck it up. Plus, they would have killed each other. There was movement down on the mattress at the foot of the bed. Nadya whimpered in her sleep, and from the sounds of it, she was scared. Diamond edged towards her. His intentions, he thought, were clear. He’d just wake her up. What he got for his troubles was a knuckle blade at his throat. Two things went through his head as he felt the blade pressed tightly against his Adam’s apple. One, how the hell had she moved so fast, and two, where the fuck had she gotten the knuckle knives?

“You can put the blade down, Adya. It’s just me.”

Her breathing was erratic, and although the room was dark, it wasn’t pitch-black. A beam of light from the moon found its way through the spaces between the vines and highlighted her eyes. They were wild, and her pupils were large. She scanned his face before lowering the blade.

“Sorry about that.”

Her voice was remorseful, but it wasn’t enough to shut the lid on his anger. His hand reached out, snatching the blade from her. With his other hand, he grabbed her by the throat and yanked her forward, banging their foreheads together.

“Do that shit again and you won’t have any fingers. You’re in my bed. You don’t bring instruments of death with you. With me, you’re safe. That’s one thing you can be sure of.”

“That won’t always be the case and you know it.”

She was right.

“Right now, you don’t need it. He knew his fingers were tight around her throat, but not enough to restrict her airway. “If you ever pull a stunt like that again, next time, I’ll take your life.” Diamond tossed the blades onto the table next to his side of the bed. “What was the dream about?”

Nadya pulled the blanket tighter around her before answering. “I don’t remember.”

“Your eyes and your body say otherwise. You remember something.”

She hesitated, and that was all the answer he needed.

Fuck. Don’t do it
, his conscience warned.

Diamond ignored the part of his brain that normally led him in the right direction. He told himself it was just this once. She needed to learn to relax. Clients wouldn’t pay for jumpy merchandise.

“Come up here on the bed.”

“But you’re up there.”

“The bed is big enough for the two of us, Nadya.”

There was no movement for long moments. When it seemed like an eternity had passed, she finally moved. Slow and steady. He motioned to the other side where she could lie down. Stiff as a board, she got into position, her eyes wide and looking up at the ceiling.

“Relax. I’m not going to do anything. Maybe if you’re lying here beside me, you won’t have any more dreams.”

“Maybe,” she whispered.

Diamond made sure to put enough distance between them. He could be overbearing at times, but this wasn’t one of them. He wanted her to relax and feel safe. He was just starting to drift off when she started talking.

“I don’t know who I am. No memory of my past. What I do remember is the day I woke up and every day after that.”

Fuck.

He hadn’t expected her to want to talk. And he really hadn’t expected her to say anything like that. When he didn’t respond, she kept going.

“Anna and Dominika aren’t my real family, but they took me in. I owe them my life.”

Diamond should be pissed that she’d lied to him. He’d known she was hiding something, but this wasn’t what he’d expected. He actually respected her for her loyalty to those not of her blood. There weren’t enough loyal people in the world. For her to give up so much for people who weren’t her family meant something.

“Every now and then, I’ll remember something, snippets, but as soon as the memory appears, it vanishes and I’m left in the dark again.”

This is exactly why he didn’t sleep with females in his bed. They liked to talk, even if wasn’t about a bad dream. They just wanted to make conversation.
For fuck’s sake. Just say something, man.

“You’ll get your memory back when your mind is fully healed.”

He didn’t know if what he said was true, but it sounded good.

“Right.”

He felt the bed move. Knew she was now in his space, and probably looking to him for some sort of comfort. Diamond reluctantly turned in her direction, and was relieved when there were no tears streaming down her face. Such was the norm for most women who still hoped for a better future. But there was something different about Nadya. He could see it in her face, her resilience, her strength. She knew there was nothing better than what she could get or do for herself.
Smart girl. That
he realized was her beauty—that even in the darkest of situations, she’d survived. To her, that was beautiful. She wasn’t as naïve as he’d first thought. She was playing the hand dealt to her. Trying to show the people who’d taken her in gratitude and devotion. Why else go through all the trouble to secure their safety. She could have left at any time.

“You’re doing the right thing.”

She nodded her head but didn’t say anything else.

“You really don’t remember the dream?” he asked again, not really caring if she told him or not. But at least he gave off the idea that he could actually care.

“It was about my father, I think. I’m not sure because I can’t see his face. The man in the dream. I can only hear his voice. He’s disappointed in me. Thinks I’m weak.”