Slave

by Sherri Hayes

  First published by The Writer’s Coffee Shop, 2011

  Copyright © Sherri Hayes, 2011

  The right of Sherri Hayes to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her under the Copyright Amendment (Moral Rights) Act 2000

  This work is copyright. Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part may be reproduced, copied, scanned, stored in a retrieval system, recorded or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either a product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual people living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  The Writer’s Coffee Shop

  (Australia) PO Box 2013 Hornsby Westfield NSW 1635

  (USA) PO Box 2116 Waxahachie TX 75168

  Paperback ISBN- 978-1-61213-048-4

  E-book ISBN- 978-1-61213-049-1

  A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the US Congress Library.

  Cover image by: Intst/Jimmy Lopes

  Cover design by: Jennifer McGuire

  www.thewriterscoffeeshop.com/shayes

  Sherri Hayes is a country girl at heart. She lives outside a small town in Ohio with her husband and three cats. Her mother encouraged her love of books and fondly remembers childhood story times. Sherri satisfied her need to be creative through singing and performance throughout her high school years. About three years ago, the urge to write started, and she has not stopped since. It has become an outlet for her, and she is excited to be able to share the characters and stories that constantly float in her head.

  Stephan

  Geno’s was a small Italian restaurant about a mile from my office. They had good food and a cozy atmosphere, which made it a great place to have an informal meeting with an old friend.

  The hostess greeted me at the door and let me know that my party had already been seated. She escorted me through a maze of tables to a corner booth in the back.

  The restaurant was busy, but not packed. Still, getting the back corner booth with no one sitting at any of the immediate tables surrounding it told me either luck was with Daren today or he’d pulled some strings. My bet was on the strings.

  Daren, my college roommate for two years, had called out of the blue this morning, asking if we could have lunch. He introduced me to the lifestyle I’ve lived for the last five years. Although he’d graduated a year ahead of me, we’d kept in touch through e-mails and the occasional phone call. Until I ran into him last month at a BDSM party, I hadn’t seen him since his graduation day.

  My Mentor was always more social than me, so seeing him at a party wasn’t exactly a shock. I just wasn’t aware that he had moved back to Minneapolis. It had been a pleasant surprise.

  Sitting down across from my friend, I took the menu from the hostess.

  “Kelly will be around to get your drink orders in a minute.”

  Thanking her, I set the menu down without looking at it and faced Daren. He was nearly my exact opposite. Where I had brown hair, he had blond. His eyes were a baby blue, whereas mine were a vivid hazel. I was tall and lanky, even though I’d buffed up some since college. Daren, on the other hand, was four inches shorter and could have easily passed as a body builder.

  Today he looked nervous, which was rather unusual for him. Not unheard of, but definitely not common either. Needless to say, it piqued my curiosity.

  “So do you want to tell me what’s up?”

  “I will in a minute,” he said, looking over my shoulder. His behavior gave me a negative feeling. “Do you know what you want, Stephan?”

  “Yes. I come here all the time.”

  “Good.” He sounded relieved.

  And then Kelly was there asking for our orders.

  As soon as she left, I raised my eyebrow in question, but he ignored me. “You’re still running the family business, I see.”

  “Yes,” I said, not sure what he was getting at. I doubted it had anything to do with why he’d called me. “I’m still head of The Coleman Foundation, but since it’s a not-for-profit, I’m not sure you could say it’s the family business.”

  He waved it away. “Same thing.”

  I waited, but he didn’t continue so I decided to play along. “You’re still consulting?”

  Daren released a sharp breath. “Yeah.” He leaned toward me. “Are you still looking to collar a sub?”

  So that’s what this was about? “If I find the right one, yes.” I noticed his shoulders relax, and he sat back a little. “What does that have to do with anything?” I asked, truly confused.

  The subject that I did not currently have a submissive came up during our conversation last month at the party. I hadn’t played with anyone in the last six months. No one had struck my fancy, and most of them reminded me too much of Tami.

  Daren had been with his submissive, Gina, since college. They were well matched in likes and dislikes and were much more open in their relationship than I personally preferred. I did not share my submissives, nor did I play with others when in a relationship. Many did, like Daren and Gina, but I’d never found it to be appealing. What was mine was mine.

  Kelly came back with our drinks, so Daren waited for her to leave again before answering. “Because I found a girl for you.”

  “Daren,” I warned, shaking my head. This was another no on my list. I didn’t enjoy being set up. Logan, my best friend, and his girl, Lily, had tried to set me up more times than I could count. I wasn’t interested.

  “Hear me out. She needs your help.”

  This aroused my curiosity. “What do you mean she needs my help?”

  “I know how much you like to help people, Stephan. I mean, look at what you do.”

  I was in complete disbelief. “Helping fund medical care for those who can’t afford it is a little different than taking on a submissive. Is she already a trained sub? Is she looking for a Dom?”

  “She’s a slave.”

  A slave. I didn’t have a problem with that, fundamentally. It was a complete power exchange. Slaves gave up all control of their lives, their bodies, to their Master or Mistress. Some women, and even some men, choose to be slaves. For most slaves it was a comfort to have someone else make the decisions in their lives for them, to give up complete control to someone else. That didn’t sound like the case here if she needed my help.

  “Okay,” I said, drawing out the word, still not quite sure where Daren was going with this.

  “I was at a party Saturday night. She was there. Her name is Brianna, and she belongs to Ian Pierce.”

  I knew of Ian solely by reputation. I’d never met him personally. He was well-known in the community, but from what I heard, he was into pain and humiliation. And he already had a slave. “What happened to his other one?”

  “Oh, she’s still there. Alex was at the party as well. Brianna is a new acquisition.”

  “And you don’t think she wants to be?”

  “No,” he said firmly. “I don’t.”

  “Maybe she’s into what Ian does.”

  “Trust me, she’s not,” he said, shaking his head. Then he added, “I wouldn’t have come to you otherwise. And if you had seen her Saturday night, you would know it, too.”

  I considered this bit of information. There was no doubt in my mind that Daren believed what he was saying. If this girl didn’t wish to be Ian’s slave, I couldn’t sit by and do nothing. How to help her was the problem. My options were limited.

  “What do you want from me exactly? It’s not like I can call the police and have them storm the place just on my word. Or yours for that matter.”

  He leaned in again, clasping his hands in front of him, but th
en had to pull back when our food arrived. Daren took a bite, and then looked me straight in the eye. “I have a collared sub, or I’d do it myself. Plus,” he said with a smirk, “you have more money than I do.”

  It was then I got it. “You want me to buy her.” It wasn’t a question, and he didn’t deny it. The thought of “buying” a woman turned my stomach, but if what Daren said was true, I couldn’t just leave her there.

  I needed more information and ignored my food as it grew cold on my plate. “What makes you think he’d be willing to part with his property?”

  Daren gave me a devilish smile. This was the Dom I knew. He could be quite twisted when he wanted to be. “I asked,” he said with a shrug of his shoulders. “In fact, I told him about you. Said you might be giving him a call.”

  “You what?” I nearly shouted. I couldn’t believe he’d told this man I might be interested in anything without talking to me, let alone the purchase of another human being.

  Daren looked around us, and I followed his gaze. Everyone in the restaurant was looking at us. That was something we definitely didn’t need, so I lowered my voice to almost a whisper. “Explain.”

  “Look, when I saw the girl, I thought of you. She has brown hair and blue eyes. I know how much you like brunettes.”

  I scowled, but he ignored me. “She’s really pretty, and scared to death from what I could see,” he said pointedly before continuing. “So I simply asked Ian if he was planning to keep her now that she was fully trained. He asked if I was interested. I told him no, but that I knew of someone who might be.” He shrugged. “I didn’t tell him you’d be looking for a submissive, though, Stephan. If you do this, you’ll have to go in acting like you’re looking for a slave.”

  My mind raced. If I did buy her, what would I do with her? What would she be like?

  I couldn’t just leave her there that was certain, not if she was there against her will. It just wasn’t in me. If I could help, then I had to.

  Could I do what needed to be done? Could I treat a woman like a piece of meat? Buy her?

  But how could I not, given the alternative?

  “Okay.”

  Stephan

  The entire drive back to my office I could not stop thinking about what Daren had told me. How did she get there? And was she really, as he suspected, there against her will? What if he was wrong?

  I couldn’t think about that. Daren wouldn’t have come to me unless he was sure.

  Pushing all thoughts of this mystery girl aside, I waited for the elevator doors to open. No matter what I decided to do, I would need a clear head.

  When I returned to the office, Jamie, my secretary, informed me our CFO was waiting in my office. The previous acting president had hired Karl Walker while I was still in college and before I took over my duties as head of the foundation. Karl was good at what he did, which was why he was still here. That didn’t mean I liked the man.

  He was rude. Not to me, of course, but to those he felt were beneath him, like Jamie. Karl was subtle about it, though; it was more sly comments than outright rudeness. Once, he’d told Jamie she was pretty good at her “little” job. The disparaging comment was a vast understatement of Jamie’s duties as an executive secretary. She earned every penny she made.

  Jamie had said more than once that she was very glad to be working for me and not him. Her comment was along the lines of “If I had to work for him, I’d quit before the week was out.” Although her words inflated my ego, it didn’t solve my overall problem with him. Or my current problem: why was Karl in my office?

  My CFO stood as I entered and waited until I took a seat before retaking his own. “What can I do for you, Karl?”

  He handed me a stack of papers. “I wanted to bring you the quarterly numbers as soon as the girls finished compiling them.” The look on his face was full of the arrogance I’d come to associate with Karl. And though I bristled inwardly at his words for the all-female team he’d assembled, I kept my irritation in check. My anger would get me nowhere, so I ignored his choice of words.

  “And?”

  “The numbers are good, but not where I would like them to be. I think we may need to ramp up the fall fundraiser to make sure we exceed our financial goal.”

  I set the pile down in front of me; there was no need to look at it immediately if there were no glaring issues. Besides, I had enough on my mind right now. “I’ll be happy if we meet our goal, considering the economy.”

  “I still think we need to set our sights high,” he said, pushing for more.

  I was not going to argue something so stupid with him. “Fine. Meet with Lily and put together a proposal.”

  With that he left. Picking up the phone, I dialed Lily’s number to let her know he was coming. She detested Karl Walker and would kill me if I didn’t warn her he was coming. Lily didn’t take crap from anyone.

  Lily answered on the third ring. “Stephan. To what do I owe this honor?”

  I managed a smile. “Karl Walker’s on his way down to see you.”

  She whined. “I have to be nice?”

  This time an actual chuckle escaped. “Yes. You have to be nice.”

  “Do you know what he wants?” She sighed.

  “He wants to discuss some changes to the fundraiser.”

  Lily’s tone became defensive. “Changes? What kinds of changes?”

  The fall fundraiser was Lily’s baby. She took it personally. “The quarterly projections are lower than what he’d hoped.”

  “Ah,” she surmised. “He just wants to impress the boss.”

  I wasn’t going to disagree with her. She was probably right.

  Ian Pierce had been pleasant enough when I’d talked to him on the phone. Daren had been correct; he was open to “selling” Brianna.

  My appointment was for six o’clock, Wednesday evening, and when I pulled my car up to the gated house ten miles outside of the city, my stomach started churning, just as it had every time I thought about what I was going to do. I am going to buy someone!

  The gate opened. My sweaty palms gripped the steering wheel as I drove my car down a long driveway leading to a house that looked like something out of a Gothic horror movie. I could only imagine how eerie it would be once the sun set.

  Taking a deep breath, I put my game face on. I’d done a little research on Ian after setting up the appointment. From everything I’d found, Daren had been right about the man. Ian respected those who emanated power and detested those who exhibited weakness. I would have to mind my actions the entire time I was within the walls of his house.

  Less than a minute after ringing the doorbell, a tiny woman opened the door, wearing nothing more than a tube top and a short miniskirt. Her hair was long and blond. This was not Brianna.

  The woman did not speak and her gaze, after the second it took for her to see who I was, was cast down.

  “I’m Stephan Coleman.” My voice was firm but even.

  “Yes, Sir. Will you follow me?”

  She stepped back and waited for me to enter before closing the door behind me. I assumed this was Alex, Ian’s alpha slave. She led me down a long hallway to a large, solid-wooden door that she knocked on twice, firmly. A stern voice answered, telling us to enter. My escort opened the door for me before following and immediately dropping to her knees.

  The room was masculine, full of dark woods. The walls were lined with bookcases filled with books. In the center of the room sat an older man, who I assumed was Ian, behind a large desk. He looked up and appraised me. I’d just come from work and wore a tailored black suit and tie with a white shirt. Classic, but it also said power, which was exactly what I’d intended.

  Without looking at the woman on floor he dismissed her, telling her to wait outside until she was wanted. The door closed behind me, and suddenly the room felt small. Ian sat staring at me, watching, looking for something. He stood to walk in front of his desk, stopped, and appraised me some more. Scrutiny was nothing new for me, but for some re
ason this guy gave me the creeps. I refused to let it show and stood confident under his examination.

  I made the decision right then that I wasn’t about to walk out of here without Brianna, so I pushed my nerves aside and stepped forward. “I’m Stephan Coleman. I’m here to look at the girl.”

  “Ah, yes. Brianna. Your friend told me you had an interest in my slave. Why?” His tone was even and cold.

  This was a test. My response would determine if I was worthy in his eyes to own his girl. “I don’t believe I need a reason.”

  He smiled wickedly at my response. Yep. Test. “True.” He tapped his fingers together just under his chin. “Would you like to see the merchandise?”

  “I would.” I kept my voice flat.

  “Alex!” he yelled sharply. The door immediately opened and the woman from before stepped through. “Bring Brianna to me,” he ordered.

  “Yes, Master.”

  She left quickly, scurrying out of the room, but returned shortly. The woman at Alex’s side was taller than her, but still petite, and wore the same tube top and miniskirt uniform. I couldn’t see her eyes, but I knew they would be blue just as Daren had said. She was beautiful from what I could see. Beautiful and broken.

  Brianna had medium brown hair that fell below her shoulders and curled up at the ends, framing her face and drawing attention to her breasts. Her curves were well defined, but not extravagant. In different clothing, she would have reminded me of the girl next door.

  Seeing her, all my reservations vanished. Something inside me screamed that I needed to protect her. I would buy her no matter the cost.

  Then Ian’s sharp voice interrupted my thoughts. “Stand in the middle of the room, Brianna.” She did so quickly, obviously fearful of her Master.

  I knew what was expected of me now. Walking to her, I circled, giving her a cursory evaluation. “Nice.” And she was. She was young, and she had a subtle beauty to her. Her skin was pale with a light pink hue. There were no blemishes that I could see, which surprised me given how young she looked. I was drawn to her lips. They were a darker shade of pink, but with the expression on her face they look wrong. She was not happy, and I wondered what her lips would look like as she smiled.