When I’d finished with my lessons, I went to my father’s office to speak with him. For once, he wasn’t in the middle of something, and he gestured for me to sit in the chair opposite.
“I think Catalina will need schooling soon,” I announced.
He put down his pen and folded his arms. “Why do you think that?”
“She’s getting older—she must be six years old now—and she wants to learn. Won’t she be worth more to you if she’s educated?”
He tapped his fingers to his lips. “Hmm. As long as she doesn’t get any ideas above her station.”
“I can teach her initially, and then when I leave for school, Mr. Nicholas can still come here, but can teach Catalina instead of me.” I was warming to my subject, happy that he hadn’t just kicked me straight out of the room.
My father exhaled a sigh. “I was wondering what to do with the old coot. I guess this means he’ll still have a job for the next few years, at least.”
Warmth blossomed in my chest and I jumped from my seat. “Can I go and tell Catalina?”
He seemed bemused by my excitement, but gave me a dismissive wave. “Go on, then.”
I went to find her. I discovered her out in the yard, stirring what appeared to be mud and leaves into a bucket filled with water.
“Hey, what are you doing?” I called out to her.
She grinned up from where she was squatted next to the bucket and waved the stick she was holding at me. “I’m making a potion.”
“Yeah, that’s cool. What kind of potion?”
“It’s a magic one that’s going to give me wings. I’m going to be like the birds and fly over the walls and out into the forest.”
“Wow. That would be amazing.”
A flicker of sadness touched her blue eyes. “Yeah, it would. But it’s only pretend.”
I hated seeing that sadness in her, that knowledge even at such a young age that she was missing out on the rest of the world, and there was something beyond the walls that made up her prison.
I wanted to take that sadness from her. “Well, guess what?”
She looked up from where she’d started to stir her potion again. “What?”
“My father says that Mr. Nicholas can become your tutor after I leave for school.”
Her mouth dropped open. “He can? Will he teach me those books you were reading?”
I laughed. “Yeah, but not for another few years.”
Her small brow crumpled. “But when will I see you if you leave here?”
“I’ll come back. It’ll only be for term time. And anyway, I won’t be going yet.”
“So Mr. Nicholas won’t be teaching me yet?”
“No, not until I go.”
“Will you teach me until then, Angel? I’d really like that.”
“I’m sure that would be okay.”
She dropped the stick and lunged into my chest, her little arms wrapping around my neck. “I don’t want you to go away, Angel. I’m going to be sad without you.”
“I’ll be sad without you, too, Kitty-cat, but it won’t be for a while yet. We can enjoy the time we have left together, okay?”
She nodded against me, her voice muffled. “Okay.”
“Good.” I untangled her arms from my neck. “Now show me what goes into this magic potion.”
She grinned and bounced away. “Do you want to fly out of here, too, Angel?”
“Yeah,” I said. “We can fly out of here together.”
Chapter Twenty-one
Present Day
A SHOUT FROM OUTSIDE caught my attention, and I lifted my face from my work. I’d been sitting at my father’s desk, trying to focus on business and not on how Catalina bucked against my hand when she’d climaxed, or those sexy little noises she’d made.
My phone buzzed, and I snatched it up, certain the phone call had something to do with the shouts.
I was right.
“We’ve got a visitor.” It was Rufus, one of the men who’d been watching the gates.
I frowned. “Who is it?”
“Elliot Torres, and it seems he’s brought some friends with him.”
My stomach knotted. “He’s two days early.”
“You’d better tell him that. He’s pretty insistent that he’s let inside.”
I knotted my hand in my hair. Fuck. I couldn’t not let him in. “Okay, open the gates. I’m coming down.”
I ended the call and got to my feet. I hesitated for a moment, and then slid open the top drawer of my father’s desk, where I knew he kept his gun. I didn’t normally walk around armed—especially not here—but I wasn’t sure what direction Torres’s visit was going to take, so I wasn’t going to take the risk of meeting with him unarmed, and I’d left my own weapon in my bedroom.
Leaving the office, I hurried through the house and out into the courtyard. The gates were already opening, and two large black Range Rovers with blacked-out windows drove through.
Where was Catalina now? I glanced around quickly, trying to spot her. A couple of the other women had emerged out of interest in the new arrival, but Catalina wasn’t one of them. Did she know who this was? Was that why she was staying away?
The door of the first Range Rover opened, and a man in his mid-thirties climbed out. He was physically larger than I was, and older, too, but I tried not to let that intimidate me.
I forced a smile and stepped forward, my hand held out. “Mr. Torres. What brings you here?”
Elliot Torres removed his sunglasses with one hand and shook mine with the other. “Hello, Angelo.” I noted how he’d only used my first name when I’d addressed him as Mister and it grated on me. “I would have thought that was obvious.” His gaze skittered over my shoulder, no doubt in search of Catalina.
“You’re two days early. The agreement is that you will collect her after her eighteenth birthday, which isn’t until tomorrow.”
He shrugged. “I figured a couple of days wasn’t going to make much difference.”
I tightened my jaw. “Let her have her birthday here, surrounded by the people she knows. It might not make much difference to you, but it will to her. She’ll be yours soon. Just give her these next couple of days.”
He narrowed his eyes at me. “Why the fuck do you care? She’s just a slave.”
“Yes, she’s a slave, but she isn’t just a slave. We still have some work to do with her, so if you want her to come to you in the best possible state of mind, content and eager to please, I suggest you return on the day you’d previously agreed with my father.”
His expression darkened. “I’ve traveled a long way. I don’t appreciate being turned away.”
“That was your own choice. Have you even spoken to my father about this?”
“He knows I’m coming.” His tone was dismissive.
“Yes, but did he know you were coming today?”
“Look, I don’t see what the big deal is. I was in the area, and I figured I might as well drop in and pick up what is mine.”
No one was ever just “in the area.” We were surrounded by miles of forest, with the nearest town more than thirty miles away. I had zero intention of letting him take Catalina today. I didn’t want this to get messy, but I was prepared to, if that was what it took.
“Well, you can just go right back again and return on the agreed date.”
I didn’t want to have to threaten to call my father. It felt like a childish thing to do. This man needed to leave because I’d told him to—not because of the threat of my father getting involved.
“Fine,” he said, and I took a moment to breathe before he added, “under one condition.”
I straightened. “What is that?”
“That I get to spend a little time with her before I go.” A sly glint sparked in his eyes. “I’m sure you wouldn’t want my trip here to be for nothing.”
I hesitated. Was this some kind of trick? Would he grab her and run? No, my father’s men outnumbered his. He’d be stupid to try something like
that in the middle of the day, and Elliot Torres wasn’t a stupid man.
I couldn’t believe I was actually going to agree to this, but it seemed like a better option than us shooting at each other in the middle of the compound.
I turned to where one of the women, Marie, watched with curious interest. “Go and find Catalina,” I told her. “Tell her there’s someone here to see her.”
The woman nodded and ran off in search of Catalina.
“I’d like a little privacy, if I may?” Torres said.
There was no possibility I was going to allow him into one of the rooms with her. “You can use my father’s office. But I mean it, Torres. She remains with us until the day after her eighteenth birthday, and you’re not to take her virginity until after then. That was the agreement. If you break it, you’ll be breaking the contract, and my father will have every right to keep both the money and the girl.”
He gave me a knowing smile. “And I’m sure you’d like that, wouldn’t you?”
I ignored the comment. “Bruno, take Mr. Torres to the office.” I addressed Torres again. “I’ll make sure Catalina comes to you shortly.”
He ducked his head in a nod of thanks. “I’ll be counting down the minutes.”
Elliot Torres walked toward the house with Bruno leading the way. One of his men remained with the cars, as though he thought one of us would want to steal it.
I wasn’t worried about a fucking Range Rover. I was more concerned that it would be a girl who’d be stolen.
Chapter Twenty-two
Present Day
“YOU’RE WANTED IN THE master’s office.”
I looked up from the book I’d been reading in a nook under the stairs to find Marie frowning down at me. I’d noticed some commotion from outside, but figured it had nothing to do with me. I’d taken myself away and hidden to read. I only had another couple of days where I’d be able to do this, and I’d wanted to make the most of the time I had left.
“I am? Why?”
“There’s someone here to see you.”
My stomach fluttered. Was it Angel? Had he ordered me to the office for more of what we’d done this morning? I didn’t understand the change in locations, though. He’d been insistent that the things we’d been doing only took place in the room.
“Who?”
“The man you’re going to. Torres, isn’t it?”
My mouth dropped. “But... but... I’m not supposed to be leaving here for another two days!”
She shrugged. “Sorry, I’m just the messenger. I don’t know anything more about it.”
“I guess I’d better go and see, then.” To my surprise, I found myself blinking back tears. I’d thought I’d come to terms with leaving, but this was a shock. I wasn’t ready to go yet. I hadn’t packed up any of my belongings. I hadn’t said goodbye to anyone. Would he give me time to do that?
I swiftly stood, not wanting to keep him waiting. I didn’t want to make him angry before we’d even gotten started.
Angel was at the end of the hall, waiting for me. I had to hold myself back from throwing myself into his arms and sobbing against his chest.
“Angel, what’s happening? Am I leaving now?”
He caught me by the arm, as though trying to hold me down, to ground my rising panic. “No, calm down. It’s not time yet. I’ve made him promise that you’re not going anywhere until the day he’d agreed with my father.”
Something inside me relaxed a fraction. “Oh, thank God.” Two days still felt like too soon, even though I’d had a lifetime to prepare for this moment, but at least I wasn’t leaving now.
“He just wants to spend some time with you, okay?”
I nodded. “Okay.”
“And Catalina...” For once it was him unable to meet my eye. “Torres has promised that you remain a virgin until after you turn eighteen. It’s in the contract he signed with my father. He’s not allowed to have sex with you, do you understand? You must say no if he tries.”
“Sure.” I couldn’t imagine how that was going to work.
He must have sensed my hesitation. “I’m going to have one of the men right outside the door. He’ll be armed. Just call out if there are any problems.”
“Where will you be?”
“Nearby, Catalina.” But he still didn’t meet my eye. “I’ll be nearby.”
He was putting me into a room with a man he felt needed an armed guard to prevent him from raping me. Betrayal stung my heart. I knew he wasn’t supposed to care about me. I’d known that from the start, but it still didn’t stop it hurting.
He released his hold on my arm. “You can go in now.”
I nodded and turned away, not wanting him to see the glassiness of my eyes.
Even as I approached the closed office door, I longed for him to say something to stop me—anything. But he remained silent. Whatever this strange thing was between us, it didn’t trump the sale his father had made of me all those years ago. Nothing had changed.
I hesitated outside the door. Did I look all right? I only wore one of my old summer dresses, and my feet were bare. My hair hung in loose waves around my face, and I wasn’t wearing any makeup. I wished I’d had time to change into one of the dresses I’d worn with Angel, but weirdly, that felt like a betrayal to our time together.
Paul, the man ordered to stand watch while I was in there with Torres, frowned at me. “Get on with it. He’s waiting for you.”
Pushing down my nerves, I knocked on the door. It felt strange that I wouldn’t be finding either the master or Angelo behind it.
“Come in,” a strange voice called out.
I opened the door and stepped through, but as I did, I glanced over my shoulder. Angel had already gone.
I needed to stop thinking about him. This was my future now, and it would be easier on all levels if I just accepted it.
A man was standing in front of the desk.
“Hello, Catalina.”
I regarded the man who had bought me, and my breath caught. A pair of herb green eyes, with flecks of gold around the pupils, regarded me with curious amusement.
Elliot Torres.
He was fairer than Angel, a close-cropped beard adorning the lower half of his face, creeping down his throat to meet the crisp white of his shirt and silver-gray of his tie. He was clearly older—I’d have put him in his mid-thirties—as fine lines spanned from the corners of his eyes and across his forehead. He looked good for it, though. An expensive suit jacket hung off shoulders that were wider than Angel’s.
No, I needed to stop comparing them. It felt wrong to do so.
Suddenly, I realized I was staring and quickly lowered my gaze. It was against my training to look a man directly in the eye unless he told me otherwise. My heart thumped, and my mouth ran dry. This was the man I’d been sold to almost eight years ago.
The man who wanted my virginity and had been prepared to wait eight years to take it.
I’d only ever seen him from a distance before—a fleeting glimpse of the back of a head or the flap of a suit jacket as he climbed into a car. Meeting him like this, face to face, was an entirely different experience.
“Hello, sir,” I mumbled, unsure how I was supposed to address him. He didn’t make any move to correct me.
“Well.” He took a couple of steps toward me, his head tilted on an angle as he regarded me. “Aren’t you a pretty little thing.”
“Thank you.” I kept my head down.
“It’s okay, Catalina. You can look at me.”
I forced a tight smile and lifted my face to his. He smiled in return. “That’s better.”
My heart stuttered. He didn’t look like a monster. Not in the slightest. I could have done a lot worse. This could be some overweight, sixty-year-old man with bad teeth who stood before me now.
He might be handsome, but he wasn’t a good man, and I needed to remember that. What kind of man buys a young girl to keep her virginity for himself?
My heart ached for Angel.
I wished he’d come into the room with me, just to break the intensity of this moment, but perhaps that would have only have made things harder.
“You know what’s going to happen the day after your birthday, don’t you?” Torres asked.
“Yes, I’m coming to live with you.”
“That’s right.” He stepped in closer, the air between us crackling with tension, and I sucked in a breath. “You’re going to be mine, and you’re going to give me something very precious. Do you know what that is?”
I nodded and bit my lower lip. “My virginity.”
“That’s right. I’m going to be the first man who is ever going to be inside you. And I’m going to relish that moment, Catalina, because it can only ever happen the once.” He gave a small chuckle. “I mean, I intend to be inside you more than once, but there will only ever be that initial first time.”
He leaned in closer still, and the scent of his aftershave wafted over me. For a moment, I thought he was going to kiss me, but then he trailed his nose up the side of my face, inhaling me. “Ah, you smell good, Catalina. Like I could eat you right up.”
I trembled, my breath trapped in my lungs. I remembered the armed man outside of the door, and how Angel had told me to call for help. But that was only if he tried to have sex with me. Anything that came before that point was fair game. This man owned me, after all. In a couple of days, he’d be able to do whatever he wanted to me, as many times as he desired.
“I’m very much looking forward to being inside you. I’ve literally been counting down the days until I can make this mine.”
He pushed his hand between my legs, up under my flimsy dress, and cupped my pussy over the top of my panties.
I sucked in a breath.
“When the time comes,” he continued, “you’re going to spread your legs for me, and I’m going to push my hard cock inside you, and I’m going to just hold it there, feeling your virgin pussy clamped tight around me. Because you will be tight, Catalina. Almost painfully tight.”
For Him: The Complete Series: A Dark Romance Page 13
