True leaned in closer. “Did any Species ever mount you?”
She was taken aback by the question. “No. Why would you ask me that?”
He hesitated. “You told me about what Polanitis did to you.”
Her stomach heaved. “What?” She hoped she’d heard him wrong.
“He forced you to participate in breeding experiments. Please tell me the numbers of the males involved.”
She cringed away, horrified as it sank in that he believed she’d had sex with multiple New Species at Drackwood. Alarm swamped her. He knew about the drug trials she’d endured. The only way he’d learn that information was if she’d really told him something. Her mind came up blank on any memory of doing so.
“Jeanie,” he rasped, “look at me.”
She refused, panicking a little inside. I wouldn’t have told him anything about what was done to me. He must have asked questions like he is right now. He might figure out I did it for him. The last thing she ever wanted was for him to feel responsible. All the blame rested squarely on Dean Polanitis. He was the son of a bitch who’d targeted her for blackmail and used True to keep her in line.
“You were heavily sedated after your panic attack and terrified you’d see Polanitis. You didn’t pass out right away but instead shared how the breeding drug hurt you.”
She squeezed her eyes closed and hugged her waist hard enough to hurt her injured side. “Stop. I don’t want to talk about this.”
“I do.”
She wasn’t certain how to respond. Her goal had been to protect him from ever knowing the truth. “Please, True. I don’t want to talk about the past. You said I was babbling and drugged. Chalk it up to that. Let’s change the subject.”
“We’re not done,” he snarled.
She jerked and stared at him, unsettled by that frightening demand. His handsome face loomed even closer since he’d leaned halfway across the bed until only inches separated them. Though his eyes appeared black with turmoil, he didn’t seem evil to her. He just looked angry.
“Did anyone mount you? Tell me the truth or I’ll call Midnight to bring another sedative. Don’t make me drug you to get answers, Jeanie. I would hate to do it but I need to know.”
“No.”
He studied her. “That’s the truth?”
“Yes.” She held his gaze. “I swear.”
“I’ve been given the breeding drug. I suffered unbearable agony until it drove me insane. I retained no memories of what was done to me or if I harmed anyone. You probably suffered the same fate. Males could have mounted you without you remembering.” His voice deepened. “I’ll find out, even if I have to speak to every male who came from Drackwood.”
The blood drained from her face as she purposely recalled the horrors of Polanitis forcing her to walk with him to visit Dr. Brask. She’d never forget being strapped to a gurney or being injected. The pain, humiliation, and terror that followed had haunted her many nights. She had nightmares about being back inside that room, screaming as her body writhed from excruciating pain.
“Jeanie?”
She closed her eyes, focusing inward instead. “I’m pretty sure I’d have known if that happened. I mean, every muscle ached from thrashing around and I’d have bruises on my wrists and ankles from the restraints but nothing indicated I’d been sexually assaulted.” She looked at him. “It was just Polanitis and Brask in the room. I don’t think I ever blacked out. I would have known if they’d done more to me. They seemed more interested in diluting the drug enough to get the effects they wanted. My guess is that they were attempting to make it so it wasn’t painful to take but still caused the physical symptoms of…” She paused, blushed. “Getting a woman unreasonably in the mood to crave sex. Just the right combination to cause mindless desire without debilitating the user. It was awful at first but gradually wasn’t as painful. I retained more memories of what was being done to me as the testing advanced.”
“You don’t have our ability to detect a male’s scent on you.”
She bit her lip, trying to think of a way to delicately explain, without embarrassment, how she’d have known. She decided to just be frank. “I had to shower afterward. I was soaked in sweat. I wasn’t messed with.”
“You wouldn’t know if it happened in the beginning.”
Heat warmed her cheeks and she dropped her gaze to his neck. “I don’t agree. I hadn’t dated anyone in over a year at the time and I’m pretty sure I’d have known if I’d been raped. I wasn’t sore down there or anything.”
“They could have been gentle.”
Nausea threatened to rise at that concept but it went against everything she knew about her old boss. “Dean Polanitis didn’t know the meaning of the word. He was a brutal bastard who enjoyed inflicting terror and humiliation on everyone around him. He would have told me what they were going to do if they planned to have me raped. He also wouldn’t have it done when I was passed out. That would have been too humane for someone so vicious.”
He studied her while seeming to consider her words. “He offered you to me.”
The shocks kept coming. “What do you mean by that?”
“He said I could mount you if I didn’t harm any more of the guards. He seemed concerned that hiring new ones to replace them might heighten the risk of Drackwood’s activities being discovered.”
She was taken aback by the question. “No. Why would you ask me that?”
He hesitated. “You told me about what Polanitis did to you.”
Her stomach heaved. “What?” She hoped she’d heard him wrong.
“He forced you to participate in breeding experiments. Please tell me the numbers of the males involved.”
She cringed away, horrified as it sank in that he believed she’d had sex with multiple New Species at Drackwood. Alarm swamped her. He knew about the drug trials she’d endured. The only way he’d learn that information was if she’d really told him something. Her mind came up blank on any memory of doing so.
“Jeanie,” he rasped, “look at me.”
She refused, panicking a little inside. I wouldn’t have told him anything about what was done to me. He must have asked questions like he is right now. He might figure out I did it for him. The last thing she ever wanted was for him to feel responsible. All the blame rested squarely on Dean Polanitis. He was the son of a bitch who’d targeted her for blackmail and used True to keep her in line.
“You were heavily sedated after your panic attack and terrified you’d see Polanitis. You didn’t pass out right away but instead shared how the breeding drug hurt you.”
She squeezed her eyes closed and hugged her waist hard enough to hurt her injured side. “Stop. I don’t want to talk about this.”
“I do.”
She wasn’t certain how to respond. Her goal had been to protect him from ever knowing the truth. “Please, True. I don’t want to talk about the past. You said I was babbling and drugged. Chalk it up to that. Let’s change the subject.”
“We’re not done,” he snarled.
She jerked and stared at him, unsettled by that frightening demand. His handsome face loomed even closer since he’d leaned halfway across the bed until only inches separated them. Though his eyes appeared black with turmoil, he didn’t seem evil to her. He just looked angry.
“Did anyone mount you? Tell me the truth or I’ll call Midnight to bring another sedative. Don’t make me drug you to get answers, Jeanie. I would hate to do it but I need to know.”
“No.”
He studied her. “That’s the truth?”
“Yes.” She held his gaze. “I swear.”
“I’ve been given the breeding drug. I suffered unbearable agony until it drove me insane. I retained no memories of what was done to me or if I harmed anyone. You probably suffered the same fate. Males could have mounted you without you remembering.” His voice deepened. “I’ll find out, even if I have to speak to every male who came from Drackwood.”
The blood drained from her face as she purposely recalled the horrors of Polanitis forcing her to walk with him to visit Dr. Brask. She’d never forget being strapped to a gurney or being injected. The pain, humiliation, and terror that followed had haunted her many nights. She had nightmares about being back inside that room, screaming as her body writhed from excruciating pain.
“Jeanie?”
She closed her eyes, focusing inward instead. “I’m pretty sure I’d have known if that happened. I mean, every muscle ached from thrashing around and I’d have bruises on my wrists and ankles from the restraints but nothing indicated I’d been sexually assaulted.” She looked at him. “It was just Polanitis and Brask in the room. I don’t think I ever blacked out. I would have known if they’d done more to me. They seemed more interested in diluting the drug enough to get the effects they wanted. My guess is that they were attempting to make it so it wasn’t painful to take but still caused the physical symptoms of…” She paused, blushed. “Getting a woman unreasonably in the mood to crave sex. Just the right combination to cause mindless desire without debilitating the user. It was awful at first but gradually wasn’t as painful. I retained more memories of what was being done to me as the testing advanced.”
“You don’t have our ability to detect a male’s scent on you.”
She bit her lip, trying to think of a way to delicately explain, without embarrassment, how she’d have known. She decided to just be frank. “I had to shower afterward. I was soaked in sweat. I wasn’t messed with.”
“You wouldn’t know if it happened in the beginning.”
Heat warmed her cheeks and she dropped her gaze to his neck. “I don’t agree. I hadn’t dated anyone in over a year at the time and I’m pretty sure I’d have known if I’d been raped. I wasn’t sore down there or anything.”
“They could have been gentle.”
Nausea threatened to rise at that concept but it went against everything she knew about her old boss. “Dean Polanitis didn’t know the meaning of the word. He was a brutal bastard who enjoyed inflicting terror and humiliation on everyone around him. He would have told me what they were going to do if they planned to have me raped. He also wouldn’t have it done when I was passed out. That would have been too humane for someone so vicious.”
He studied her while seeming to consider her words. “He offered you to me.”
The shocks kept coming. “What do you mean by that?”
“He said I could mount you if I didn’t harm any more of the guards. He seemed concerned that hiring new ones to replace them might heighten the risk of Drackwood’s activities being discovered.”
