Free Bound by Fate by Sherilyn Gray

looked up at him for
approval and he nodded for me to continue. I hadn’t eaten a thing since we left
California, and although it seemed disgusting at first, the little snails were
starting to sound good. I set one of the shells on my plate and scooped it out
with the small fork before putting in my mouth. The texture was strange, but
everything was drenched in a garlic sauce, which I suppose was to make up for
the sliminess.
     
    After a few more bites of escargot, I decided
I had my fill. The salt and the garlic made me incredibly thirsty; I brought my
glass to my lips and took a few quick swallows of the wine before the vibrator
went off again. I barely avoided spilling the wine all over myself and the
table. Anger and confusion began to boil deep within me after he turned it off.
     
    “Must you keep doing that?” I said through
gritted teeth. What was the point of him playing with me like this? Is watching
me squirm and embarrass myself in front of everyone somehow amusing to him?
     
    “How else are you going to learn your
manners?” he replied coolly. “You obviously didn’t learn much during your short
stay in my house.” I stiffened, bracing myself, thinking he would turn the
vibrator back on for speaking out, but he never did. “You don’t drink wine like
it’s a glass of water,” He lifted his wine glass. The way he held it so
naturally in his hand made him look like a model for the wine company,
something I would see on a billboard or in a magazine advertisement. “First you
twirl the contents around in the glass, which releases the flavor and the
scent, and then you sip, letting the wine settle on your tongue for a moment.
This is so that you can taste the drink as you are meant to. Breathe in through
your nose as you sip so that you are able to smell the flavors as well as taste
them.”
     
    I did as I was told, and sure enough the wine
tasted a million times better after it had settled on my taste buds before I
swallowed. I looked at the wine thoughtfully. So this particular lesson wasn’t
just about manners, but about how to derive as much pleasure as I could from
something. I smiled as I thought about using this little trick the next time
Victor came in my mouth. I wondered how differently he would taste then.
     
    “How is it?”
     
    His voice broke me from my fantasy. “It
tastes...” I searched my mind for a fancy word to use, “exquisite.”
     
    He seemed satisfied by that answer. “Good. As
it should be. This is the most expensive wine on the menu and I would want you
to enjoy it like it was meant to.”
     
    “The last time I had alcohol was when I met a
few people around my age living on the streets. I decided to join them because
I thought I would be safer than if I were alone. One of them stole a few
bottles of vodka from a liquor store. I ended up drinking way more than I
should have. I didn’t know any better, but they did. They made off with
everything that I owned the next morning, including the money I had made that
week from recycling cans.”
     
    “I’m not here to play tricks with you, Dove.”
His voice was serious. “You will know exactly why I do the things I do to you.”
     
    Somehow I didn’t quite believe that. I guess
I still had some trust issues. “I-I know,” I lied and took another sip of the
wine.
     
    We were served two plates of sirloin steak,
marinated in a tangy sauce and topped with sautéed mushrooms and a side of
steamed broccoli. When I jabbed my fork into the steak, I was already expecting
the vibration to jolt through my body. I cringed as the uncomfortable surge of
pleasure wracked my body.
     
    “Your knife is there for a reason,” he said,
without looking up from his own plate.
     
    I found myself wanting to talk back to
him—the vibrator was causing me to feel feistier than usual, and honestly, all
I wanted to do was lunge across the table and tear Victor’s clothes off, or
reach out for his hand under the table so he could finger