Savage Chains: Captured (#1) by Caris Roane Read Free Book Online

hear.”
    “Master.”
    “Louder, slave.”
    “Master. Master.”
    “One more time. What do you call me?”
    “I call you master.”
    “We finally understand each other. Good.”
    He released his hand from the slope of her neck and she fell forward, facedown on the runway.
    Applause resounded from the ballroom, letting him know he was on the right track.
    Turning to the doms, he called out, “I want shackles brought to me right now, for both wrists and ankles, preternaturally charged.” When they stared at him slack-jawed, he shouted in a resonant voice, “Do it now.”
    The men leaped like he’d struck them, though they were thirty feet away. Angelica remained prone, only partially conscious. Half a minute later the doms returned, levitating in swift flight down the runway. A few seconds more and the job was done, the shackles sealed and cutting into her skin.
    A third burst of applause sounded and he knew he’d finally done his job well enough. Though he would be wise to stay and parade her around, Angelica was in serious pain now and he’d had enough.
    Leaning down, he gathered her up in his arms.
    She moaned softly, regaining consciousness. “My arms and legs hurt and I think my wrists are bleeding.” Her speech was slurred.
    He hated that he’d hurt her so much. Unfortunately for her, things were about to get even more complicated. For one thing, he intended to shift into altered flight, a form of teleportation that would allow him to pass through solid matter. He’d be moving fast to get her out of the building, but that level of speed always hurt the average human.
    “Sorry,” he whispered. “But this next bit is really going to cause some pain.”
    Without trying to explain further, he flew her straight through the cavern wall. Her screams echoed in his ears, but she might as well get adjusted to her new reality as soon as possible.
    Within his mind, he formed a picture of the two-story mansion he’d had built not far from the Starlin headquarters and like a homing beacon, the location drew him in. Within seconds he landed in his foyer.
    He was about to explain that they’d be heading to Engles’s after-auction gala, but Angelica pulled from his arms, whirled, and threw up all over his entry rug. She shook head-to-foot, the long scarf trailing in the vomit.
    Holding her arm in a strong grip, he held her upright.
    His housekeeper appeared. “Master Reyes? What’s going on?”
    “Mathilde, we have an addition to the household, a human. I just flew her in and she’s airsick.”
    Mathilde frowned as her gaze took in the shackles. “Master, what have you done?”
    “Just fix her some tea and get her a robe. Do it now.”
    “Yes, master.” She left the room, heading back to the kitchen.
    Angelica groaned and tried to lift a hand to her head, but the shackles prevented her. She stared at them. “You’ve bound me with chains? Oh, God, my head hurts almost more than I can bear. And my arms feel like they’re on fire.”
    “You’ll be fine in a few minutes.”
    He reached up and unpinned the headdress, letting it fall to the carpet away from her feet.
    A moment later Mathilde and several of her housekeeping staff returned to help with Angelica. The women bundled her up in a robe and led her away. Even one of the maids turned and scowled at him. They’d all been slaves at one time or another and each knew exactly what preternaturally charged shackles felt like.
    Of course, they couldn’t know he’d just saved Angelica’s life by buying her at auction.
    For five million.
    His turn to groan. What had he done? What impulse had led him to throw so many careful plans to the wind?
    He could have saved five women tonight and cemented his position in the slavery community at the same time. Instead he’d used up a helluva lot of goodwill to rescue just one. And he’d made an enemy of Engles, the one man he’d needed to placate.
    A string of obscenities flew through his head.
    Mathilde returned.