Rite of Submission - Rite 1

13: Rewards

                I was awakened by a light tapping on the bedroom door. Stretching out, I was surprisingly disappointed when I found I was alone in the bed. The tapping came again a little louder, "Uh... Miss, um... Alexandria..." Blake's voice stammered on the other side of the door. "I'm supposed to make sure you make it across the hall."

Panic hit as I bolted upright, clutching the blankets around me. "Uh, just a minute," I answered, not wanting to have to walk across the hall naked. To my surprise, the pajama set he'd ordered me to strip off was on the pillow in his place. Smiling to myself, certain now that I'd done something right last night; I pulled the clothes on and made my way over to the door, twisting my hair up in a bun. "Good morning Blake," I greeted him with a beaming smile.

He looked surprised as he took in my smile. "Ummm, morning," he responded, "Miss..."

"My parents called me Alex," he looked unsure, "but my friends called me Lexi."

He relaxed a little, "Uh, Lexi, Luna is very anxious to see you this morning." He seemed to be looking me over with his eyes, like he was scanning for something.

"Let us not keep her waiting any longer then," I looped my arm around his and led him back out into the hall.

He knocked on Sophie's door as it flew open, making the pair of us jump back a little. She hurdled herself out the doors, throwing her arms around me like she'd never expected to get to see me again. "Are you ok? He didn't break his word did he? What happened? Are you hurt?" she pulled away quickly with the last question, afraid she was hurting me.

"I'm alright, I'm fine," I tried to reassure her, but the expression on her face told me that she didn't believe me. Leaving Blake in the hall, I pulled her into the room and shut the door. "I'm sorry I missed breakfast, Dmitri must've let me sleep in." I explained, not wanting to tell her why I'd been tired enough to sleep so late.

She turned me around in place, inspecting me. "Did he hurt you?" she whispered, I smiled and shook my head. "What did he do?" she accused, "I know my brother. He had to have done something bad enough to feel this guilty."

"What do you mean?" I'd assumed letting me sleep in, and giving me back the clothes to wear out of his room were my gifts for doing well last night.

She eyed me suspiciously again, "He was so mad about us going into my parents' suite yesterday, but now he says you can keep the clothes since they'd never been worn." She flopped down on the couch, "Plus we're allowed to go where we want, within the house. Of course we have to stay away from his main office and my parents' suite from now on." She chewed on her thumb nail thoughtfully. "He's never restricted access to the whole house to others like this before, just the upper floors, or a wing of the house if I asked to go to a specific room." She sat quietly for a minute before looking up at me again, "You'd tell me if he forced himself on you or if he hurt you, right?"

I sat down beside her and hugged her, "I swear to you, that hellhounds and the devil himself couldn't keep me from telling you if he'd done anything that could help me get out of that contract."

She burrowed her face into my shoulder, squeezing me tightly. "I've been going crazy ever since he yanked you out of here. I even found myself sitting outside his door in the hall, listening," I felt my face heat up as I blushed at the thought of her being able to hear how much he'd made me moan. "I thought maybe his wolf had taken hold and done something when I heard he called for Dr Martinez." Sitting back she brushed some tears out of her eyes.

"Well, if he's allowing us to run amuck," I smiled, "maybe we should get dressed and take advantage of it before he changes his mind," I was hoping this would be a distraction so that she'd stop asking questions I didn't want to answer. I didn't know if it was because I was embarrassed, or that I didn't want to admit out loud that I'd enjoyed some of it, and worse, that part of me wanted more.