“Mr. Chambers is looking at a sizable purchase.” X continued. “I invited him for a private viewing.”
“Mr. Carson,” Ben said, as he shook Z's hand. “It’s an honor to see you again. I’ve heard about the quality of your merchandise, and I’ve seen the tenacity of your daughter first hand. Xavier assures me your training methods ensure the most excellent, and compliant, slaves.”
Z's voice peaked with interest. “They have been suitably broken. How many girls are you looking to buy?”
Where did my father get these women? And how could I save them? I needed to find a way to make my father pay. For now, I was smart enough to know I needed to learn. That began by observing and learning as much as possible.
“I want the whole lot,” Ben said.
The whole lot? My insides twisted with a spark of hope. If Ben was taking the entire lot, maybe those girls wouldn’t wind up in a real slaver’s auction. Was this how it worked? I glanced at X, dying to know the inner workings of his operation.
“Excuse me?” Z's leather shoes squeaked on the marble floors.
Ben laughed. “I’m opening a resort.” He rocked back on his heels, presenting a cocky air. “My clientele expects compliant subjects. If your product meets with my specifications, we may be able to do business.”
“How do you intend to control so many slaves?” Z asked.
“I train my employees well and use technology to the fullest,” Ben said. “Xavier is trialing some of my tech now. On your daughter in fact.”
My guts twisted with that. I didn’t like my father’s eyes on me. I hated that he sat above me with that smug expression on his face. He did this to me and would make him pay.
“Is that so? You have interesting friends, Xavier,” Z said.
“Don’t we all,” X replied. “Come. My slave, Bay, will show you to your rooms. I know the flight can be exhausting. Once you have time to refresh yourself, we’ll enjoy cocktails. In the meantime, your associates can check on your cargo and examine the demonstration area for tonight.”
Chapter Fourteen
The vileness that was Z radiated off my father and flowed over my body, drenching me in a sourness that made me want to retch. Kneeling in nothing but a bra and panties before that horrible man intensified the queasiness ransacking my belly. I held back the strongest urge to vomit. I wanted to leap up and gouge his eyes out, tear his heart out with my bare hands, only that man had no heart. I would only find a dried-out husk beneath his breastbone.
With X’s hand pressing down on my head, keeping me firmly in place, I certainly wouldn’t make it to Z. That weighed on me with a sourness turning the bile in my throat into an unpalatable treat.
Two men to hate. I quivered with inaction. For one of them, my emotions remained conflicted.
X motioned to Bay.
“Gentlemen,” Bay said, “if you will follow me.”
I wasn’t allowed to lift my head, so I couldn’t see Z looking at me, but I felt every sweep of his gaze. The pressure of X’s hand kept my eyes rooted to the floor, but I felt the vileness of Z. His toes pointed toward me, hesitated a fraction of a second too long before turning to follow Bay.
Z and his entourage departed amid the scuffing of leather over priceless marble. The swishing of expensive Armani suits faded as the muscles between my shoulder blades pinched. Hot tears pricked behind my lids, but I kept my tears in check.
For X, tears flowed because I had yet to develop a defense against the tide of emotions he drew forth. For Z, I had a lifetime to shore up my defenses. I blinked against the heat behind my eyes, shoved my tears back where they belonged and swallowed my hatred into the pit of my stomach where it could ferment into the strength I would need to kill.
X jerked at my chain. “Come,” he said, tension rolled off him as he strode toward the library.
I obediently followed.
Ben fell into step behind X. Tapping on a cell phone sounded behind me as X dragged me into the library. Ben shut the door. X spun and his voice heated with displeasure.
“Why was I not told he was on the plane?”
“Master Xavier—” Ben began, but X cut him off with an upraised fist.
“Don’t you dare break character, one misstep and this all comes crashing down.” He poked a finger at Ben. “Text Chad and tell him to bring her some damned clothes.” His face turned red and he dropped my leash. “Forgive me, Raven, I would never have subjected you to that if I had known he would be here.”
The door to the library burst open as Chad entered. “Master Xavier—”
X cut him off. “Get her some clothes.”
Chad pulled up short, his mouth hung open, a look of indecision scrawled on his face. “Um, what kind of clothes?”
X ran fingers through his hair. I watched this strange exchange with a rising tide of unease. What was I missing?
Ben stepped forward. “If I may, sir, clothes may not be the best choice.”
“I will have her covered.” A distraught expression flashed across X’s face, followed by anger.
“This may not be the best time to have this conversation.” Ben’s gaze flicked my direction and he caught me staring.
I averted my eyes before X caught me.
“Fuck that.” X spun to me and lifted my chin. “Raven,” he said in a voice that practically barked it was so abrupt.
I jumped at the harshness of his tone. “Yes, Master.”
He lifted a finger and pointed at Ben. “We might be able to salvage something of this.” X turned to me. “Do you know any of your father’s access codes?”
Was he kidding? Breaking Z's security codes had been my favorite pastime for years. Once I learned how to program a computer, I’d hacked every account he had. Although, except for mandatory summer vacations, I hadn’t spent much time around Z in the past eight years. Anything recent, or anything business related, I wouldn’t be much help with.
I shrugged.
X pounced on me, lunging in close and gripping my collar. His face, inches from mine, practically growled out his demand. “I asked a question, slave.”
Holy crap. Rather than recoiling in fear like a normal person, his show of power turned me on. Heat bloomed between my legs, confirming I was twisted in the head. My breaths came out in shallow pants and I couldn’t help but lick my lips, preparing for an assault on my mouth.
He leaned in close. His eyes followed my tongue and I thought he might kiss me, but he focused back on my eyes. “Answer me,” he said through gritted teeth.
I gave a sharp inhale. Oh, he was just as hot and bothered as I was, only he had more self-control than me.
I breathed out and took in a breath. “I used to know some of his codes at home, but I don’t know any of his business codes.” That was the truth, but it wasn’t the whole truth. I didn’t need to know Z's business codes to access Z’s accounts.
X released me and stood. He paced the length of the library.
Ben spoke with Chad, and after a moment, Chad rushed out of the library. Ben took a seat in one of the armchairs. His gruff voice sounded throughout the tall chamber. “So…Xavier,” a slight pause hitched at the use of his name, “how do you want to proceed? Are you bringing the girl in or not?”
X glanced at me and looked to Ben. “What do you think?”
Ben shrugged. “It’s too damn late, and she’s too damn smart. And so is he. He’s going to know if it’s not real. You don’t have a choice but to continue.”
“Know what?” Screw the damn rules. I wanted to know what they were talking about.
“Don’t forget your place, slave,” X said.
I stood and walked toward him. Confidence bloomed in my heart. “I’m thinking my place is becoming more negotiable.” In what way, I wasn’t entirely certain, but something was about to change.
Ben chuckled. “Oh, sweetie, you truly do not know your master.” He stood and came at me. Ben approached from the other side. A stern expression plastered on his face.
&n
bsp; I glanced between the two men, alarm bells sounding loudly in my head.
In front of me, X shook his head. “Then let’s make this real.” He took off his jacket and draped it over the back of the chair behind the desk piled high with books. He rolled his shoulders and cracked his knuckles. “Time to make you a slave.”
Like I wasn’t already? I didn’t try to flee as Ben grabbed my arms.
X opened a drawer of the desk and pulled out a long strap of leather. A swallow got stuck in my throat as he ran his hand down the length of the strap. Ben turned me around.
X’s voice dropped to a low whisper, “I own your ass.”
I cried out as he traced a finger down my spine. The soft touch was not what I expected.
“Count to five,” he said.
Without warning the air whistled with the crack of the leather strap. Pain striped over my left ass cheek, lifting me up onto the balls of my feet. I cried out as a shrill piercing wail of agony pushed past my lips.
Ben murmured beside me. “Count slave or the number is reset at zero.”
Oh my God, he couldn’t be serious. I glanced at Ben, and by the look in his eye, I received my answer. I huffed out the count.
“One.”
Another whistle of air. Crack. And pain over the right side of my ass became my universe. Another scream tore past my lips as I rocked forward. I gasped for breath and Ben reminded me to count.
Crack. Pain over my thigh. Crack. Fire over the other thigh. Crack. My lower back lit up. I screamed at the top of my lungs and fell against Ben.
“Five.” I huffed against the pain. One strike to each of my buttocks, both my thighs and one against the small of my back. Shallow breaths did nothing to ease the fire burning against my backside.
“Turn her around,” X commanded.
Ben pushed me to my knees. Tears flooded out of my eyes blurring my vision. My damn eyes had sprung another leak.
“You were given a choice,” X said. “An easy or a more difficult path. You made your choice, and now your father has arrived, making today’s transaction…complicated.”
“Expectations of a slave are clear and hesitation by you will spell disaster to my plans.”
My nose ran with the flood of tears spilling down my cheeks. I blinked against the blurriness in my vision, but saw only the blackness of X’s trousers pressing near my face.
The anger of his beating had not aroused me as before. The power I had felt flowing off him, feeding the desire within me, had faded, evaporated with the knowledge of what tonight implied. The reality of enslavement, sandwiched against my fantasy of slavery, exposed the sick underbelly of this dark world. It took the arrival of Z to make it real. I could no longer walk around in a dreamlike haze, allowing a mindless attraction for X to override the very real terror behind my situation.
It didn’t change my desire for X. Didn’t dampen the magnetic allure of the man standing before me. What it did was sharpen and focus my place. The men standing to either side of me were my jailers, no matter how gentle they had treated me these past two weeks. X said he wouldn’t rape me. I needed to know if I could trust his word.
“You don’t want me to do anything against my will.” I believed that. I hoped I was right. I licked my lips and took a chance I had figured things out. “Tell me what my father is doing here.”
“I don’t take orders from slaves,” X said with an indrawn hiss of breath.
I glanced down at the floor. “You don’t know Z.” Images of long suppressed memories flooded through my mind, things a daughter should never have witnessed. I dragged my attention back to X, but I couldn’t hold his gaze as I spoke. Horrible images flashed past my eyes.
“I know him better than you think,” X said. “Remember who I got you from?”
I cringed at the loathing in his voice, but he was wrong. I stiffened my spine and lifted my gaze. “Z won’t be satisfied with watching you punish me. He’s going to want more. And the…” my voice hitched on the next word, “…the merchandise he brought with him…”
Ben’s hands clenched.
I extended the fingers of both bound hands under my chin. “He won’t permanently harm them, bad for business. If you’re selling his product, you know this. But, if he gave me to you, he knows you’re a sadist. He’ll have certain expectations.”
X took two steps back. He turned away, but not before I saw a look of disgust march across his features. I had no idea why the idea affected him so strongly, especially considering he had no such difficulties with abduction, enslavement, restraint, or using physical force against me. A sadist who couldn’t stomach rape. What a contradiction.
“Sir,” Ben said.
X gripped the edge of the desk. A stack of books tumbled to the floor, crashing into the silence that hung around all of us. He hung his head. “I didn’t know he would be here.” He lifted his head. “Ben, why wasn’t I informed?”
Ben’s cheeks flushed. “None of us knew, sir. He wasn’t listed on the manifest, but it does give an unprecedented opportunity.” Ben took my elbow. “Sir,” he said in a strangled voice. He pushed me forward and took two steps back.
Had I just been presented as a sacrificial lamb?
X gave Ben a long hard look. Finally, with a sharp wave of his hand he barked out a command. “Leave me.”
Ben bowed and backed out of the library, but not before Chad returned with a shimmering length of fabric. Ben snatched it and laid it on a rail of one of the book cases and quickly ushered a very confused Chad outside.
X lifted my chin. “There are worse monsters in the world than me, Raven. Men such as your father. With your help, I’ll bring him down, but I can’t allow your defiance to jeopardize my plans. You’re right, your father has certain expectations, and I’ll do what I can to protect you, as much as I’m able, but you must trust me to know what that is. You must obey me.”
“But…” I shook my head; certain I hadn’t heard him correctly.
“I don’t have time to explain every detail, except trust me when I tell you I’m not the monster you believe me to be, but I will do whatever is required to bring one down.” His jaw clenched.
Questions would wait. Power flowed in the strength of his gaze. He left me in the library with instructions not to leave until my guards returned. No lock on the door held me. The front door lay just a few feet away. I could run, but X had left me with the dolphin bracelet wrapped around my wrist—a reward for my obedience. Although, I didn’t know what that bracelet allowed me to do.
The only thing holding me in place was the force of his will and an insatiable curiosity about his plans for Z. My eyes darted to the door of the library. Outside was the foyer. Beyond the foyer, doors led outside. Outside lay freedom. Yet, I stayed on my knees and waited for my guards.
Chapter Fifteen
I wasn’t kept waiting long, which was a good thing. Thinking about the short distance from where I knelt to outside that door did things to my head. The temptation to flee overwhelmed me, but the anchor wrapped around my ankle, that damned GPS tracking device, held me in place. Not to mention, X had not freed my wrists. They remained manacled to my collar. Running with my arms flapping, wrists bound to my neck, pretty much ensured I would trip and fall.
That damned bracelet was no gift of freedom. X knew what he was doing in giving it to me. It was a chain like any other, though it taunted me with the illusion of freedom. He was so much better at this game than I was.
Ben opened the door to the library, drawing me out of my contemplation. He snagged the discarded fabric Chad had brought in earlier and brought it to me.
“Go ahead and stand,” he ordered.
With my hands bound, it was harder than it should have been to get to my feet, but I managed.
He shook out the pearlescent gauze, more of a filigree of interlocking spider-web than fabric. Tiny gems glittered in the light as he held it out for me.
My brows lifted as I examined it. “I’m supposed to wear that?”
He nodded.
“Why bother?”
The garment reminded me of a harem slave outfit, billowy leg coverings, with long flowing fabric that offered no coverage apart from a very minimal and questionable thicker weave around the groin. As he thrust it at me, I arched a brow and turned my palms up.
“Either you dress me, or release my hands so I can dress myself.” I shook my head as I took another look at the outfit. “Does it come with a top?”
“Come here,” he said.
I took a step toward him and he released my wrists.
“Get dressed.” He thrust the delicate fabric into my hands.
I plucked the harem pants from him and stepped into them. The GPS anklet tangled in the hem. The pants hung low over my hips, exposing the expanse of my back. I turned to him feeling more exposed in the fabric than I had without clothes.
He handed over a mass of silver strands.
Oh, my God, he expected me to wear this?
My eyes met Ben’s.
“Here, let me help you,” he said.
Ben fastened the contraption of silver around my chest and breasts, encircling them in a birdcage bra of…well, I’m really not sure what I was wearing. I was dressed, but I had never felt so on display in my life.
I looked down at myself. Sterling silver ropes draped over my breasts. My abdomen was bare. The sheer filigree did little to conceal the pink lace of my panties, but the thicker weave over my groin hinted at some degree of modesty.
Ben fingered the bracelet lying next to the silver cuffs. “We will go over this later. I’m happy to see he let you keep it. You must have pleased him.”
I frowned at Ben’s praise, knowing how true his words were. X’s pleasure had stirred a reaction in me that I had to face. I needed to understand why I responded to X the way I did.
“What does it do?”
Ben flicked the dolphin with his finger. “The dolphin holds a sensor that allows access to different areas of the house. You’re being granted some degree of freedom, but not tonight. Don’t wander off alone. It hasn’t been activated yet.”
She’s Mine: A Captive Romance Page 11
