Locked Together (In Chains) (6 page)

At the sound of the door, Kayden spins around and immediately comes over to me. He looks hot, sticky and utterly gorgeous. He crouches down beside me and brushes my fringe from my eyes. “How you doing baby?” he asks. His gaze falls to my hands and he frowns as he clasps them in his large ones. Bringing my hand to his lips he plants kisses on my palm and along each finger. He shoots a glare at Reece. “Why ain’t you helping her out more? This shit’s gonna fuck up her hands.”

Reece glares back at him. “I’ve got my own work to do. If you’re so worried about her hands why don’t you fucking help her?”

I gasp as Kayden jumps to his feet and grabs Reece around the throat, slamming him back against the wall. “Prick,” Kayden snarls at him, “How am I supposed to do that when he won’t let me anywhere near her? You’re right there; you could help her instead of fucking hitting on her.”

“Kayden, he wasn’t hitting on me.” I stand and put my hand on his arm. My heart is racing; I don’t want him to get into trouble. “Let him go, he hasn’t done anything.”

Kayden’s gaze softens when he looks at me but he still has his hand around Reece’s throat. I glance at Reece, he looks pale and he’s not saying a word, which is probably a good thing. “I know he ain’t done anything, that’s the problem,” Kayden says. He huffs and lets go of Reece, who remains against the wall, rubbing his hand across his neck. “You don’t know him like I do,” Kayden cups my face in his hands and stares intently into my eyes. “He was hitting on you; he’s crap at it, that’s why you didn’t notice.”

We all look over at the door as we hear the lock click. Kayden runs back over to the press and Reece and I kneel back down beside the tub. The guard comes in holding a container of food. It doesn’t take long for the aroma to reach my nose. My mouth begins to water and my tummy grumbles, I haven’t eaten since last night. He puts down the container and strides over to me. Am I in trouble because my tummy rumbled? “Are you hungry?” He asks. I can’t tell from the sound of his voice whether he’s mad at me or not and I don’t know what I should say in reply. I look to Reece for help but his eyes are glued to the laundry. I decide the best course of action is to keep my mouth shut. “I asked if you’re hungry,” he says.

Oh hell. I swallow. “Yes sir, I’m sorry if the noise disturbed you, I can’t control it.”

I hear him sigh heavily. “Don’t be ridiculous. Get up.” As I stand up I look across at Kayden, his gaze is flicking between me and the guard, and he’s frowning. The guard notices Kayden staring and snaps, “Get back to work, slave.” Kayden scowls and clenches his fists, then he turns his back to us and brings down the press with a loud clang. Steam fills the air.

“Come over here,” the guard says to me. I stand by his desk; I can’t keep my eyes off his food, so I close them, safer that way. “Open your eyes.” His voice sounds softer somehow. “Sit down.” I do as he says, wondering if his sick punishment will be to make me watch him eat. “We’ve never had a human here. What’s your name?”

Oh no. I can’t remember my number. I take a deep breath. “I can’t remember my number sir, only that it begins with an F.”

He chuckles. “You can call me Jack.” Once again I don’t know what to say, so I say nothing. “I didn’t ask for your number, I asked your name.”

I tear my eyes away from his food at stare down at his black boots. Someone did a good job of polishing them, they’re very shiny. “My name’s Savannah.”

“My boots aren’t that fascinating, look at me Savannah.” I slowly raise my eyes to meet his, he’s smiling. “That’s better. Look, I don’t know how they’ve been treating you here but I can guess.” He scoops up a forkful of pasta and holds out the fork to me. “Eat.” Eyes wide I take the fork from his hands and open my mouth. Mmm it tastes so good, like a flavour explosion in my mouth. My tongue circles my lips to get every last piece of it and I remember Kayden doing the same thing the day I first fed him. Is this how he felt? I wish he could have some of this. “You shouldn’t be here,” he says as he pushes the container of pasta salad towards me. “It doesn’t sit right with me to treat a human this way.” I want to tell him that it’s not right to treat anyone this way.

I stuff my face with pasta, then stare down at the empty container in front of me. Jack takes the fork from my hand and picks up the container. “Did you enjoy that?” he asks. I nod my head and he smiles, then he leaves the room again.

As soon as the door closes Kayden calls across to me. “Why is it everyone wants my girl?” He kneels down beside my chair; I kiss the frown line between his eyes. “Watch him,” Kayden says.

“Watch who, Reece?” I ask, frowning.

“Fuck you,” Reece scowls at Kayden.

“Well yeah, him as well,” Kayden says, “but I was talking about the guard.”

We’ve almost finished the laundry, I hope they don’t bring in more because it will be mind numbing doing this day after day. I’m placing the final clean, wet sheet in the tub when there’s a shift change. Jack leaves and is replaced by a woman guard. She points her finger at the tubs of clean washing. “Bring those outside and hang them up.”

Reece and the other slave each grab a handle of one of the tubs and carry it towards the door. Kayden tosses his last pressed sheet into the basket and comes over to help me. We each hold one side of the tub and head for the door. We’re walking around the back of the laundry building when my foot catches on something and I hurtle forwards, the tub tips sideways. My hands go out to break my fall and I feel a stinging on my palms and knees as I hit the ground. Kayden kneels down beside me and examines my hands. “Are you okay baby?” he asks, kissing my sore palms. He pulls up my pant legs and checks my knees; he presses his lips against my grazed skin. My hands are red but there’s no damage. As Kayden helps me up I spot the female guard heading our way.

“Who’s responsible for this?” Only now do I notice the upturned tub and the once clean laundry that is now scattered across the mud. She scowls and her cold eyes flick between me and Kayden. “I said, who is responsible?”

I’m about to own up when Kayden replies, “It was me ma’am, I tripped.”

“I’ll decide your punishment later. Pick it up. Now. You’ll be re-washing it this evening.” She stands there with her hands on her hips. Kayden begins picking up the laundry and putting it back in the tub. I start to help him when the guard calls out, “Stop. He dropped it, he’ll pick it up.” I don’t know what to do so I just stand there. Kayden picks up the tub and takes it back to the laundry and the guard follows him. She glances over her shoulder at me. “Don’t stand there like a statue, slave. Get back to work.”

I help Reece and the other slave hang the washing on the lines. “What did you do to upset her?” Reece asks.

“I tripped over and dropped the washing.”

He sucks air through his teeth. “I feel for you, her punishments are nasty.”

My stomach lurches. I can’t let Kayden be punished for something I did. The guard returns and stands watching us, her arms folded across her chest. I stand in front of her and lower my head. “Permission to speak please ma’am.”

“No,” she says, “get back to work.”

When Kayden comes back I tell him that I tried to explain to the guard it was my fault, but I only get half my sentence out before the guard tells us we’re not allowed to speak. I hate this damn place and I hate this guard most of all.

Kayden and I are pegging a sheet onto the line and the guard is busy watching Reece and the other slave, she’s too far away to hear us if we speak quietly and the sheet will keep us hidden from her view. “I tried to tell her it was my fault but she wouldn’t let me speak. I’ll try to tell her again later,” I whisper.

He frowns at me and shakes his head. “That ain’t happening baby. I’m not letting anyone punish you.” He looks across at Reece. “He’d better keep away from you while I’m gone or me and him are gonna have problems.”

Jeez, I don’t know what happened between the two of them but they seem to hate each other. I hold on to Kayden’s arm hoping he won’t go over to Reece. “How long do you think you’ll be gone for tonight?”

“Too damn long, I’ve been away from you too much already,” He sighs and shrugs his shoulders. “I dunno, I’ve got punishment and then laundry, so a few hours I guess.”

I stroke my hand over his arm. “I’m going to be worrying about what they’re doing to you.”

He pulls me back into his arms and rubs his nose against mine. “Don’t worry, I’m a big boy, I’ll be fine.”

“What happened between you and Reece?”

He frowns at me. “Nothing happened; I just know what he’s like, he’s gonna be trying to get in your pants.”

“He said the same thing about you.”

Kayden laughs quietly. “He’s right, I love getting in your pants but that’s okay coz you’re mine.”

I can’t help grinning, he’s such a goof. “No silly,” I slap him on the arm, “I mean he pretty much said you’re a male slut and all you want is sex.”

I swallow as the grin falls from his face. “He said what?” Oh hell, me and my big mouth. He glares at Reece as he picks up the empty bath tub. I hope he isn’t planning on hitting him with it.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Kayden

I love watching her eat. I so badly want to kiss her little pink lips right now. I stroke my hand across the small of her back. Sometimes, when I look at her my heart feels like it’s gonna burst. She puts the last forkful of meat into her mouth and I snatch the fork, drop it onto the plate and pull her in for a hug. I need her close to me. Fuck it, I’m really gonna miss her tonight. The alarm sounds to let everyone know the meals over but I don’t want to let Savannah go. I rub my cheek against hers. “I love you baby.”

She pecks me on the lips and smiles at me. “I love you. Try not to be too long.” She gets up and I walk over to the door with her. I know I can’t go with her but I want to watch her leave.

The guard doesn’t let them out, instead she searches around in the kitchen cupboards and brings over two metal buckets which she drops at my feet. I guess she wants me to clean the kitchen as punishment, that seems a bit tame for her and why the fuck would I need two buckets. I’m still frowning when she lugs over a big bag full of sand and tells me to fill the buckets with it. She fills a big jug with water. I look at Savannah; she’s raising her eyebrows at me. I shrug; I dunno what the hell’s going on. She pours the water on top of the sand and I watch as the sand soaks it up; she’s standing in front of me with her hands on her hips and a stupid smile on her face. “Slave, you seem to have a problem keeping hold of things, you obviously need more practice.” She nods her head towards the buckets. “Pick them up, one in each hand.” I do as she says. “Raise your arms out to your sides, up to your shoulders.” The buckets are heavy but I manage to do it. I look over at Savannah and a little smile creeps onto my face, I know she likes my muscles and she’s got a good view of them right now. She’s not smiling though, she looks worried. I frown as the guard steps in between me and Savannah and blocks my view of her. “You will hold that position for the next hour.” I’m not smiling anymore. “If your arms fall even an inch, you’ll earn yourself extra time. I can keep you here all night if I have to.” She opens the door to take the slaves to the cell; Savannah looks back at me as she walks through it. I smile, to let her know it’s gonna be okay, though I’m not sure it is.

The guard comes back a few minutes later, she puts a chair in front of me and sits down on it, a smug grin on her face. If I have to spend the next two hours looking at her I think I’m gonna puke. I close my eyes and think of Savannah’s beautiful face and it’s like she’s standing right here in front of me and I’m looking into her sparkly eyes that show me everything she’s thinking. I can see her soft, pale skin and her sweet, pink lips. I smile as I imagine those lips wrapped around my cock. Shit no. I need to think of something else, I don’t want to get a boner in front of this bitch. I snap my eyes back open and look down at my junk, there’s no obvious bulge so I’m good. What the hell am I gonna do to amuse myself for the next hour? Maybe I can talk to the guard, it’s better than nothing. “What music do you like?” I ask her.

“Shut up.” Okay, I guess I won’t talk to her then, fuck her; I don’t give a shit what music she likes anyway. I look around at the kitchen. I wonder what we’re gonna get for dinner tomorrow. I smile, remembering the first time that Savannah cooked for me. That was a mistake, I’m feeling hungry now. Sighing, I try to find something to think about that won’t get me horny or hungry. I can’t see a clock anywhere; I wish I knew how much longer I have to stand here. Maybe I should sing to myself, or maybe I should sing out loud and out of tune, that might get rid of the miserable cow. “Do you find this amusing?” She says. Shit. I didn’t realise I was snickering. “You just earned yourself another thirty minutes.”
What? Fuck this shit. Evil fucking bitch.
I know I’m glaring at her but I can’t help it. “Your arms moved, get them back up. You’ll now be here for two hours.”

Bitch.
It’s probably not a good idea to sing out loud, I’ll sing silently inside my head. I think back to the songs I’ve heard and close my eyes as the words to ‘Titanium’ float through my brain. It kinda fits how I feel right now. I bounce my head to the imaginary music. Okay that must have killed about five minutes. These buckets are starting to get heavy. I grit my teeth and try to think of another song, one I’ve heard enough times to remember the words. Another five minutes wasted.