Free Bound by Fate by Sherilyn Gray Page A

me—but I decided to
play his game as I copied him movement-by-movement as he cut his steak into
small pieces and began eating.
     
    The rest of the meal passed by without
incident, but the more I sat there, the more disheartened I became. Although I
wanted to please him, after making mistake after mistake, I was beginning to
think I would never meet his high standards. Why was he keeping me around when
I obviously wasn’t cut out for this type of lifestyle? He said he wouldn’t play
any tricks on me, but what was he doing taking me to fancy places like this?
     
    I tried to enjoy the meal he bought for me,
but it was starting to taste like ashes in my mouth.
     

Chapter
Eight
     
    I was visibly sulking as we left the
restaurant. I didn’t care who noticed, not even Victor. Let him punish me, for
all I care. I glared at Victor’s back as I followed him outside the hotel.
Tears burned in my eyes and threatened to spill over. Why do I even bother
trying to please him in the first place when all he does is reject me? I looked
up and down the streets of Paris. I suppose if I really wanted to, I could run
off and live here. Surely being homeless in Paris couldn’t be too bad. There
seemed to be a lot more tourists here than in San Francisco, so maybe I would
be able to get more money from them begging in the streets. Then I wouldn’t have
to worry about Victor or his stupid rules ever again.
     
    As we climbed into the backseat of a sporty
black car, Victor finally seemed to notice my dark mood. He didn’t say a thing
as he put an arm around my shoulder and pulled me close to his side. Almost without
thinking, I snuggled deep into his embrace and took a deep breath. The feel of
his strong arm around me made me feel steady once again, reminding me of our
time earlier as we quietly embraced in the shower. I took another deep breath
and was able to regain my composure. Whatever happens, I can get through this.
I had been through hell and back trying to survive out in the streets; did I
really want to go back to that lifestyle? Living this strange little life with
Victor, eating fancy food and driving around Paris should be a cakewalk in
comparison. I should be grateful for what had been practically given to me.
     
    “Where are you taking me?” I asked him.
     
    He gave me a small squeeze. The gesture
seemed so familiar, but I tried to not let it confuse me. “You know I don’t
like ruining a surprise. Let’s just say that we’re going somewhere special.”
     
    I relaxed back into his arms, and after a few
quiet minutes of driving, we pulled up alongside what looked like a huge
palace—it made our entire hotel look like an ant in comparison!  Just like
many of the buildings in Paris, it looked older than time itself and was
absolutely majestic, but what was most strange was a large glass pyramid that
sat right in the middle of everything, surrounded by three smaller ones.
     
    “The Musée du Louvre ,” Victor told me,
as though those words would ring a bell. I furrowed my brows as we got out of
the car and walked towards the pyramid. A gaping entrance greeted us as he came
near it. “I noticed you had interest in my small art collection. So I thought
you might enjoy this.”
     
    As we walked into a lobby underneath the
pyramid, filled with maps and various signs, I realized we were in a museum,
and it seemed to me like the largest museum in the world.
     
    We were all alone, and I couldn’t begin to
think of how Victor had managed that. I peeked into one of the wings adjacent
to the lobby, and my jaw dropped as hundreds of pieces of art met my gaze. “Oh,
thank you. Thank you so much.”
     
    He laughed. “We haven’t even started yet.
Where would you like to go first?” I pointed ahead. “Well, lead the way.”
     
    My heart soared as we toured the museum.
There were rooms devoted to every aspect of art history imaginable, including
an expansive collection of Ancient Egyptian artifacts, Greek and Roman