The Underground King

Mila

My friends warned me about him, but I fell under his spell. Louis is one of those guys who will pick you up and dump you. I thought I was different, and I was because he hadn’t dumped me. Well, he hasn’t said the words; it is over, but he still walks out and leaves me mid date.

We are out for dinner, and he receives a call. I get that look from him to say the date is over, and he goes to bail out on me again. I’m glad this time we were finishing dessert.

“Another time babe,” he stands and gathers his jacket. He wouldn’t call me babe if he didn’t love me, right? With his thumb and finger, he grabs my jaw and tilts my head up. “So pretty,” he purrs. It is what confuses me about him.

I stare into his eyes, trying to read him, but he holds no clues to what he is conveying. “Am I ever going to be anything more than just a pretty face to you?” I dare ask, and he raises an eyebrow.

His jaw clenches and his eyes darken. My heart thunders in my chest, and blood rushes to my ears. “I will tell you when there will be more. But for now, I need your pretty little ass to go home. I have work to do.” A sly smile twitches over his lips.

“Well, I’m done with you then.” I push him back and stand. “I’m not a doormat for you to come and wipe your feet on whenever you want, Louis. Don’t bother calling me again. We are over.” My entire body is shaking because I’ve just told him where to go. I don’t think anyone has ever faced him like this.

An angry flash flickers over his face, then he grabs me around my neck and forcibly pushes me back into the chair. The chair tips back, but he holds it with his other hand.

“You are mine until I say we are done.” He snarls. His phone rings again and he lets go of my throat to answer it. “Five minutes,” he says, and then hangs up. “You will do as I say, Mila. Now open your mouth.”

Tears trickle down my face. I’ve seen him treat people with venom and I’m now at the end of it. He repeats for me to open my mouth. I shake my head no because I don’t want to.

“You defy me?” He grabs my jaw and squeezes it. “Open your mouth.” When I do, because I don’t have a choice, because he is squeezing my jaw hard, he smiles. “Good girl.” Then he spits in my mouth. “Swallow it.” He eases up in his grip.

I want to throw up. But I do as he says. Then he leans down and kisses me, ramming his tongue down my throat. It isn’t a kiss; it is him showing me he can do what he wants to me.

“Go home and when I call you again, you will be on your best behaviour.” He stands and tugs his jacket closed. “We have a corporation dinner to attend tomorrow night. I’ll pick you up at eight.” Then he walks off, leaving me feeling worthless and trapped.

As soon as he leaves, I rush to the toilet and throw up. I hate him. Why did I let myself get lured in by his handsome good looks and charm? I wipe my mouth and wash my hands. My body tremors return with a vengeance. It is just because I am nervous; I remind myself. With a surge of strength, I raise my head, the sounds of the world slowly returning as I walk out. I know people will stare, their whispers following me like shadows. They will know I belong to him and no one will dare speak to me. Although he occupies a powerful position within the company, the details of his responsibilities are unknown to me.

“They are all the same.” A lady mutters under her breath as I pass her.

She is obviously some stuck-up bitch who has money. I keep my mouth shut, as it will only get me into trouble. As I step outside, reality comes back to me. This place crawls with vampires late at night, but they won’t touch you unless someone brands you as one of theirs, and no one wants that.

I put my hand out and catch a passing cab to take me home. It isn’t much, but the one bed apartment keeps me off the streets. My job as an online reviewer doesn’t make me much, but it is enough to get me by. The restaurant tonight was supposed to be one of my reviews, but Louis spoiled it. Still, I write up that the food was exceptional, and give it an overall four star rating.

Once I am ready for bed, I snuggle down in front of the TV for a little while. The news comes on with the latest, and I sit up. In the past, I’d jump to another channel, but tonight I watch as it is local. The news reporter highlights two young women as victims of another kidnapping. “Stay safe out there, ladies,” she says as she goes into the next part of the news.

I switched it off. This leaves me questioning whether humans or vampires are responsible? There have been a lot of kidnappings recently, and this makes me wonder why. The police can’t figure out why they’re being taken, and questioning the vampires is too dangerous. Anyone who enters the underground does not come back out.

With a slight chill in the night air, the season is changing, and winter is arriving. I sink into bed, pulling the soft, warm covers up to my chin. I don’t look forward to tomorrow night, but now I have no other choice but to do what he says.

My phone buzzes me in the morning and it is Jenna who says she will meet me for coffee at lunchtime. I browse the newsfeed on my phone and then make myself get out of bed. My hair is a mess, so I tame it with a brush for now. Later, I will shower and wash it.

I pull on some leggings and a t-shirt, then grab a quick bite to eat. I couldn’t face eating anything when I came home last night. It was the most humiliating thing Louis has done to me publicly. I shudder at the thought of it.

When I have finished some other reviews, I gather my things and head out to meet Jenna. She is already sitting in the cafe waiting for me.

“For a moment I didn’t think you were coming.” She brings me in for a hug.

“Sorry I’m late. The bus got held up in the traffic. Next time I’m walking.” I kiss her cheek.

We settle down with drinks and a sandwich. I tell her what happened last night, and she grabs my hand. “You have to get away from him. He is bad news.”

“I tried to finish with him last night, but look what happened.” I remind her.

“Sweety, I’m scared for you. Why don’t you come stay with me for a few days? Disappear and hopefully he will just stop and move onto the next girl.” She begs me.

“After tonight then, I’ll pretend everything is alright between us. Then he won’t make my life more difficult.” I promise her.

She seems happy that I took her up on her offer. She had only met the guy once, and he treated her like shit and I couldn’t say anything. I’ve been with him for four months, and at first he treated me like a princess. I realize now it was to gain my trust in him. Then one night, he was meeting me and turned up to find a guy chatting with me. He became aggressive and started making me do stuff I didn’t want to do, apologizing after because he was jealous. I never knew if his switch was on or off. His moods have become unpredictable these last couple of weeks.

When I leave Jenna, I receive a message from Louis to say that I need a red dress for tonight. “Oh, great.” I huff out as I thought I’d get away with wearing my black cocktail dress. Now I need to go buy something for the evening.

I spend the afternoon trying to find the perfect dress because I know if it isn’t, Louis won’t be happy. I’ve nearly given up when I walk into a small shop just off the main street. It screams expensive, but I’m pleasantly surprised when I find they are half the original price.

“These are last years’ stock from the high-end designers. I sell them all at half price. If you see anything you like, I can do minor adjustments for a fee if it doesn’t fit. But it is what sizes are here.”

“Ah, thank you. I need a red dress for tonight.” I bite my lower lip as I don’t see anything that takes my fancy.

“Red you say?” A radiant smile beams from her. “I might just have the thing for you. They came in today, but I haven’t checked them over yet.” She gives my arm a squeeze, then dashes off into the back of the shop. A few moments later, she comes out holding a gorgeous red satin dress.

It is a little revealing around my boobs, but I can’t argue, it is beautiful. I have no option but to take it. At least Louis will be happy. I have some black sparkly shoes which will go with it, so I make my way back home. With the dress on my bed, I go take a shower and wash my hair.

My phone buzzes with a message from Louis to make sure I will be ready. I roll my eyes at it and send him a reply to say I’m just doing my hair and then I will be ready in ten minutes.

I’m slipping my shoes on when my door goes. With one last quick look in the mirror, I grab the shawl to put over my shoulders. When I open the door, he is in a black tux and damn; he looks sexy. My heart flutters when he smiles.

“So darn pretty.” He holds out a hand and leads me to the car he has waiting outside.

“You look very handsome tonight.” I compliment him as we sit. He has a chauffeur driving us. “What sort of dinner party is it?”

“You’ll see.” He casts his gaze over me. Then slides his hand along my leg, pushing the slit open and moving it higher. He reaches my silk panties and shakes his head, tutting at me. “Take them off,” he demands.

“What! I’m not walking around at some posh dinner with no panties.” I push his hand away.

“You will do as I say tonight.” He moves over me. One hand goes around my throat as the other goes under my dress and yanks my panties down. “If you dare say or do anything to piss me off tonight, you will regret it.” He releases me and I clasp my hands together to stop myself from shaking.

It takes all of my might not to burst into tears. I’m definitely going to hide away at Jenna’s after this. When we reach the event, it is a massive mansion in the middle of nowhere. Oh great, no way I’m going to feign a sickness and leave. Why didn’t I pay attention to where we were going?

The door opens and Louis steps out first, then holds his hand for me to take. He is smiling sweetly and as we walk to the entrance, he whispers in my ear to smile politely at everyone we greet.

The interior is grand and exquisite, with detailed decor; intricate moldings adorn the walls, and the scent of old wood and polish catch my nose. My heart races at the grand staircase where a man stands at the top. He is staring straight at me and it is unsettling.

It is Louis who pulls me out of my trance as he moves into another room. Several women wear red dresses and I don’t feel so out-of-place now. I relax a little when glasses of champagne float around being offered.

Things seem normal for a posh gathering, but then I look harder at the other women. None of them look happy, and the men they are with constantly hiss something into their ear.

Trays of appetizers, each a miniature culinary masterpiece, go around, but just as I go to select a shrimp toast, Louis stops me by seizing my hand. His tone is cold and dismissive as he utters the words, “Not for you.” Then, as if to say a fuck you, he takes a couple for himself and eats them like the pig he is.

This goes on for the next hour. We go around and he does all the talking. Occasionally, he introduces me. I stay polite and pray that this is all that happens tonight. I just want to go home and then run away.

A bell sounds, and someone ushers us into another room. There is a raised platform where a man stands. “Would all the ladies come forward?”

A hand on my back nudges me. “That is you, pretty.” Louis smirks.

An icy dread grips me, and I glare at him, my eyes narrow in fury. “What is the meaning of this, Louis?” I whisper, my eyes wide with a mixture of confusion and fear.

“This my beautiful Mila, is you being sold to the highest bidder.” A sly smirk plays on his lips. “Now be a good girl and make me money.”

The other girls in red dresses are all ushered up, me included. There are ten of us in total. Now it hits me. Is this the fate that befalls those who go missing? I’m never going home, am I?

Oh gosh, what a start. Do you love vampire stories? Well this one will be dark in places and of course those plot twists I love to throw in will have you screaming at me.