Free Bayou Baby by Renee Miller Page B

other night was a misunderstanding. I didn’t have the time to be gentle, but it would never be that way again. We could be very good together if you gave me the chance to show you.”
    “You raped me, Henri. You attacked me in my bed while I cried and begged you to stop, and you laughed about it. Do you think I could ever trust you again?”
    “I thought… I knew what would happen and my cruelty was a kindness. I was helping you. Do you know what it would be like to come here not knowing what is was to be with a man who cares nothing for you? I didn’t want you to think that it would be like it was our first time.” He stood and walked to the wardrobe. Dread welled in her stomach, a nauseating sensation that smothered her, as he ran a large hand over the lock that held the hated doors together.
    “Please just get it over with. I don’t wish to talk to you anymore.”
    “What if I could take you from this place?” He smiled when she looked up at him.
    Rowan knew she looked desperate. She was. If escaping meant trusting Henri, it was a sacrifice she’d make. She could deal with him later. “You can do that?”
    “Yes. I could make sure that no one treated you like this again. What would that be worth to you?”
    “Your life.”
    Henri laughed, slipping his hand into his pocket and pulling out a small key.
    Rowan held her breath as he inserted it into the lock that held the wardrobe closed and opened the door.
    He pulled the whip from its place inside and turned to smile at her, running his hand down the length of leather. “You think I’m afraid of you? Silly girl. You forget I know the real you, not this façade of a hellion you insist on hiding behind. I know you care for me deep in your heart. You are angry right now.”
    “I hate you. Don’t ever doubt that.”
    “So you say, but your eyes tell me something else. They always have. However, I will allow you that lie. It’s all you have at this point. Are you willing to make a deal that would see you free of this place? I ask but a small price.”
    “What do you want?”
    “You. Not so much really, is it?”
    “I don’t understand.”
    “I want you to be my mistress, exclusively. I know you hoped for marriage, but I cannot taint my bloodline with that of a whore’s daughter. I would have been able to pass you off as white, or white enough to satisfy my parents, but your birthright they couldn’t overlook. I am sorry, but that’s life for you.”
    “I won’t be anyone’s whore.”
    “And you wouldn’t be a whore. Don’t you see? I care for you. I need to be with you, and being my mistress is the only way it’s possible. It’s not like any man would want you now anyway. You’re spoiled goods. While we don’t mind the occasional dalliance after marriage, a woman who comes to the marriage bed unclean is not the sort of woman that makes a good wife and mother.”
    Rowan shook her head; she would not be anyone’s whore, not willingly. She would not resign herself to what her mother endured. No.
    Henri toyed with the braided handle of the whip, watching her from beneath his lashes. He waited for her to accept, but the words stuck in her throat. She’d vowed that she would not accept such a fate, but what other choice did she have? Even if she could get out of here, she’d need someone outside to help her. She no longer trusted her mother. Henri wouldn’t be hard to get rid of. Be Henri’s whore for a little while or Lucien’s whore forever. The choice was simple.
    Rowan closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Okay Henri, I’ll take your deal. What are you going to do to get me out of here?”
    “I’m going to buy you.”
    “Rosaline won’t sell.”
    “Rosaline doesn’t own you, Lucien does.”
    Rowan turned to meet his gaze, her heart racing at his words.
    Henri chuckled and continued. “You didn’t know that? Hmmm, why would they not tell you?”
    “My mother signed a deal with Rosaline. She would never deal with