Gangs Aren't My Style (A Black Death Novel)

Chapter 10 - When Stripped of Destiny

Gangs Aren't My Style

Book I of the Black Death Trilogy

PART ONE: Tears Fall When You See The Truth

Chapter 10 - When Stripped Of Dignity

Despite the virile male beneath her, Ally could not make herself to relax into his capable hold. She rested upon one of his muscular thighs, her legs awkwardly dangling off the chair between Daniil's own, and suffered with the ache of keeping her back ramrod straight instead of leaning back into the support the chest behind her offered. However, as the meeting she had been forced to sit in dragged on and on, Ally found herself beginning to sway in her decision.

Her back protested the rigid position, her muscles having not yet recovered from the last such meeting she had participated in, and Ally finally reigned in her pride, relaxing back against her captor. As if rewarding her, Daniil pulled her legs up so that they extended the entire way across his lap and almost immediately began to rub small circles into the exposed skin of her thigh that emerged from underneath the thin material of the nightgown. Despite knowing that he was the man who held her hostage and had beaten her mercilessly, Ally couldn't help but to be comforted by the gesture. Even the knowledge that he was currently forcing her to parade before his men wearing only a nightgown did not matter to her at that moment. He was holding her and, despite the fact that she experiencing some of the worst trials of her lifetime, she had not been held as such since Trenton.

Releasing a long breath of air, she resigned herself to his hold and turned slightly in his grip so that her back was supported by his arm and her side rested against his chest. The tiresome drag of the conference, paired with the soothing circles Daniil's thumb made across the entire area of her lower thigh, soon had her head drooping until it eventually came into contact with his warm torso. Her eyes fluttered shut next as she gave way to the tiredness within her bones, no longer caring that her actions might be seen as giving in to her tormentor.

Ally was only awoken by the sound of scraping chairs echoing around her, signifying that at some point during her slumber the meeting had come to a close, and groggily lifted her head from its comfortable resting place to look at the swarm of departing people with half lidded eyes. A deep chuckle came from directly behind her and Ally glanced up at the man she was resting on, confusion briefly causing her to furrow her eyebrows before she remembered giving into the temptation and leaning back against her captor.

"Come on you, let's get you to bed." His words were amused and gentle, a completely different side of Daniil than she had ever glimpsed before, and despite her better wishes, she found herself enjoying the benefits of obeying the man who had laid claim to her. With her mind still foggy from her nap, Ally realized that she could almost forget why she was in the mansion, forget what the men around her did for a living, and enjoy Daniil's company.

She carefully swung her legs off of his lap and gently eased her weight onto them, purposely giving them time to restore proper blood flow before she attempted walking. Obviously still happy about her public displays of obedience and affection towards him in front of his men, Daniil waited for proper feeling to return to her legs and then allowed her to walk on her own instead of forcefully dragging her from the room as was his usual style.

A long yawn caught her off guard and Ally covered her agape mouth with her hand, her eyes closing upon instinct even though she kept moving. Feeling as if she were asleep on her feet, Ally had just forced her eyelids to reopen, coercing their cooperation with a secret promise that they could stay closed for hours if only they remained open until she got back to her room , when she collided into a hard form.

Her eyes widened in shock as the man stumbled forward but she didn't have long to ponder his predicament because she quickly noticed that she herself was doing the same, unable to regain her footing with her movements still being slow and sluggish. The man instinctively turned to face her and attempted to keep her up when he realized she was most likely going down, placing warm hands on her hips to steady her, but only succeeded in taking himself down with her.