“Don’t touch my property, Marcus.” James grabbed the guard’s wrist in a tight grip. A few intakes of breath from the guests accompanied Thalia’s gasp at James’ use of the guard’s name. It may have been the guard’s own shock at hearing his name that caused him to release her. James gently helped her to her feet, her legs felt like jelly as he pushed her slightly behind him. Now that she was standing up she could see the pain and fury in the guard’s, no, Marcus’ face.
“Thalia, please, just stay with me. Things will be different, I promise, just choose to stay.” He was begging her. She’d never even remotely heard that tone in his voice, but she didn’t want to stay. She didn’t want to stay where she would never feel safe again, where the rules shifted with his moods, where the threat of his brother was hanging over her if she made a mistake.
She was taking the life raft.
His brother was speaking to him in a low voice, and began to push him backwards by his shoulders. Marcus suddenly pulled his arm back and punched his brother hard enough to send him to the floor. “Fuck you, Anthony!”
Her heart was in her throat and she found herself clutching the back of James’ shirt. He took a step back with her still behind him, and she noticed the other guests had begun to move towards the door, not wanting to be a part of the aftermath. His brother, Anthony, stood back up quickly and turned his eyes to them. His mouth was bloody at the edge, but she was glad someone had hit him. He deserved a lot worse. “Take Thalia and leave, Dr. Hawkins.”
“No! Thalia, do not leave.” Marcus made it a command and took two steps towards her and she flinched, stepping farther behind James. He stopped like she’d slapped him.
“I told you your methods weren’t perfect.” James spoke the words calmly, but they struck Marcus. Thalia watched as his face paled, the red flush of his anger just bleeding out.
James turned to her and she realized she had been holding her breath. When she breathed again, it came out as a gasp. He leaned down a little to look in her eyes and gave her a reassuring smile as he slid the cuffs off her wrists and they dropped to the floor. The collar he left on, and then he spoke again, “Let’s go to the car and talk.”
She nodded, wanting away from the brothers. Anthony raised his voice, still speaking with the cold reason she’d identified him with, despite the bloody mouth, “The auction is over. We look forward to continuing a business relationship with each of you. Drive carefully.” It was a dismissal. He was still standing extremely close to Marcus as if prepared to stop him if he went for her again.
The other guests let them leave first, and James leaned down and lifted her into his arms to walk over the rock covered driveway. “I am sorry that did not go more smoothly, I knew he was attached to you.” He laughed softly against her hair, “I just didn’t know how much.”
Thalia couldn’t even think straight as he set her down next to an SUV. He opened the passenger door and he helped her climb inside, then he went around to the driver’s side. Her mind was whirring and her eyes were trained on the door of the house. The right half of the building seemed to be covered in glass, while the left was solid wood with very few windows. It was modern construction, slightly lifted off the ground with stilts. The sun was setting and orange light peeked over the tree line as the sky faded into a kaleidoscope of colors.
“Thalia?” Her head turned sharply and she was worried he’d said her name once before.
“Yes, sir? Um, I mean, Master?” Her voice shook and he reached over and cupped her chin.
“Calm down, pet. It will take a bit for us to get to know each other, and while I wouldn’t call myself gentle...” his hand slipped into her hair to pull her towards him, “I am understanding.”
Then he kissed her. It wasn’t sweet, it was full of heat. His other hand tilted her chin back so he could kiss her deeper, his fist tightening in her hair to make her moan against his mouth. It was so many promises in one moment. He wouldn’t punish her needlessly, he wanted her to know who he was, and he wanted to learn about her too. And the kiss promised more than what he’d done with her at the auction. When he pulled back from her she swallowed. His green eyes were a shade darker, and focused on her mouth.
“All I ask from you is six months. Give me six months as my submissive and then you can decide if this lifestyle is for you.” His mouth moved, and the words came out in that incredible accent, but her mind had some kind of car accident trying to process it.
“You? What? I can... what?” She babbled not so eloquently at him.
“Six months. Commit to me for that long, and then you can choose. Go free, figure out what vanilla life you want to live, I’ll even help you rebuild it. Or choose to stay with me. My original offer doesn’t change, this will be consensual.” His thumb brushed over her lips, “You can always stop me with a word.”
“What word?” She asked breathlessly.
“Your choice, pet.” He smiled at her wickedly and heat roiled in her belly again at all the promises his mouth made.
“Chair.” She said it confidently. He leaned into the back seat and handed her a small bag. Inside were clothes and shoes.
He laughed a little, “Why chair?”
“I’d like to focus on good memories of that word, instead of bad ones.”
He tilted his head at her, his eyes moving over her. “You’re very brave, pet.” He kissed her again as she was pulling a shirt from the bag, and as he continued her hands slid into his hair. His blond hair was a little longer than the guard’s, he smelled like a different soap, the tang of a men’s cologne. And she wasn’t afraid of him. She was excited at what he might show her, especially as his hand slid between her thighs again and made her arch against the seat, moaning into his mouth. He made a frustrated sound in his throat and leaned back from her, leaving her panting in the passenger seat.
“You should put the clothes on so I don’t make a poor decision, and then we can leave.” He adjusted a sizable bulge in his pants as he twisted back to the steering wheel.
“Yes, Master.” The clothes fit rather well, and she slid them on in the passenger seat while James watched attentively. She blushed as she buckled her seatbelt, and then she saw Marcus standing in the doorway. Her heartbeat stuttered as he stared at the car. Others had filtered out, cars turning down the driveway while they had sat in the SUV.
“I understand why he’s so angry. You’re incredible, Thalia.” James brushed her cheek as he started the car. Marcus never moved as he backed the SUV out and turned it to head down the narrow driveway.
“He told me that too, Master.” Her eyes greedily devoured the forest and the fading sunlight, and the inky color of the night sky as it appeared. James sighed, and tucked her hair behind her ear.
“He may have said it to you, Thalia, but I plan to show you.”
And she believed him.
End Notes
First, thank you so much for reading the beginning of Thalia’s story! I still remember the chaos that this ending threw people into in the early readings of Thalia’s story on Literotica. I promise you, there’s a long road ahead for Thalia, and like all the best things in life the road to the end isn’t always easy.
In ‘Striking a Balance’ (Book 2 of the Thalia Series), we follow Thalia as she leaves the auction, learns more about James, and as she struggles not to lose herself completely in her efforts to understand the side that Marcus forced her to recognize. We’ve seen the darkness, now it’s time to start working towards the light.
Want a sneak peek of book two? There’s an excerpt just after this note!
If you liked this book, I do hope you will take a few moments to write a review. Reviews are the best way for people to take notice of stories like Thalia’s!
Want to know what happens with Thalia and James?
Find out in ‘Striking a Balance’, the second book in the Thalia series!
Check out this excerpt!
The ride away from Marcus’ house and the chaotic auction was surreal. For the
first part of it Thalia had been glued to the window watching the vibrant colors of the outside world dim as night took over, and then she’d sat slumped against the door staring up at the night sky. James, her new Master, had graciously given her the quiet she didn’t even realize she needed. Her mind wouldn’t shut up despite the alluring calm of the road noise and the dark, tree lined highway that they were on for about half the drive.
It suddenly hit her as she saw a sign signaling their approach to the city that the auction was over. The threat that Marcus had held over her was gone. The threat of Marcus himself, and his twisted brother, Anthony, was gone. A hysterical little laugh bubbled up in her chest and burst out without warning. She covered her mouth quickly, but James had jumped in his seat at the sudden noise before composing his face back into his calm demeanor as he looked over at her.
“Care to share the joke with me, pet?” His voice was warm silk, and she almost giggled again as his English accent shaped the words. She remembered his hand between her thighs, his mouth against hers and she tried to ignore the flush in her cheeks.
“I -...” She started to respond and realized she didn’t know how to explain herself. Her mind was swirling with all the panic and anxiety she’d built up about the auction, all the terrible things she’d imagined – and then there was James sitting next to her and calmly waiting for her answer. And thirty minutes ago he’d had her moaning under his touch. He was ridiculously handsome. The kind of handsome you saw in social circles that cared about ‘good breeding’ and trust funds and yacht clubs and, well, pretty much everything Thalia had never been close to associated with. His blond hair was artfully tousled so that it constantly seemed like he had just run his hand through it. But, actually, it had been her hands in it last, when he’d kissed her and slid his hand between her legs, and made her want to beg him to keep going. He had green eyes that looked like sea glass the first time she’d seen them, and like green bottle glass when he was aroused. A shiver went through her, and she noticed she was still incredibly wet from when he’d made her come at the party. On top of his accent, his looks, his social status, and the skill he’d shown her with his hands and his mouth... he had asked her permission. He had given her a choice to go with him. He had even asked if she’d be okay with him touching her before he’d even approached Marcus!
The hysterical laugh was threatening to burst out again.
In a million years she would have never imagined leaving Marcus’ house with someone like James – there had been days she wasn’t sure she’d be leaving alive at all. She psychotically felt safe with James. She knew that was insane. She didn’t know James, fuck, she didn’t know anything about Marcus except for his violence. She had only known both of their names for, what, an hour?
The laugh came out. She slapped both her hands over her mouth and leaned forward in the seat as her head swam and her ribs ached with the effort to quiet it. They were in the city now and the bright lights of buildings flashed by as James maneuvered the luxury SUV smoothly through the traffic. He glanced back over at her and arched an eyebrow, but he didn’t pressure her to speak.
She was glad, because she couldn’t answer him at the moment. Nothing was funny. She didn’t know why she was laughing. Of all things right now, she shouldn’t be laughing. Her breathing grew shallow as her situation came into focus. She was in a car with someone who was basically a stranger, a stranger who had purchased her from a really horrifying situation, but why would he have been there if he wasn’t the same? He turned into the parking lot of a very large, nice hotel and she finally felt the tears seeping through the shirt she was wearing. She was crying.
“Thalia...” His voice was soft as he pulled into a spot far from the entrance.
His gentle voice didn’t help. She folded forward, hugging her knees as sobs started coming out. Somewhere in her mind she had thought the auction was the end of it, but it wasn’t. She belonged to James now, and he would do whatever he wanted with her. Whether that was more of what he’d done at the party, and in the SUV, or if he was more like Anthony – she’d just have to find out. A sob choked out of her as fear washed over her again.
“Thalia.” His voice was suddenly stern. It wasn’t like the soft one he’d used with her since the auction. But it effectively short-circuited the cycle of fear and panic that was escalating inside her and she sat up in response, gasping a breath. His voice came again, “Look at me.”
She tilted her head so she could look at him through the curtain of her hair. He sighed and reached for her, but she flinched and he stopped his hand.
“Thalia. Tuck your hair behind your ears so I can see your face.” He took his hand back as he said it and allowed her to sweep her hair out of her face and quickly swipe her hands under her eyes, a black blur of mascara and eyeliner marking her hands. “Thank you.” He said, still in that calm, direct voice.
Thalia opened her mouth to speak, but every time she started a sentence she would remember the need to address him as Master, which only tumbled her back into her panic. Her chest hurt as she tried to breathe, and the air in the SUV seemed stifling. She grabbed at her throat, and she heard James curse and unbuckle his seatbelt. His strong grip was at the back of her neck as he pulled her seatbelt slack and pressed her head forward between her knees.
“Shh, Thalia. Take a deep breath, you’re hyperventilating. Shh.” He still sounded stern, but it was actually helping. The high-pitched whine she was hearing was her own breaths rapidly whistling in and out of her lungs. His calm, controlled voice was so different from her panic that she found herself trying to cling to it in the fog of her head. A few minutes like that and her head wasn’t swimming any more, her pulse had dropped a little and her chest didn’t hurt quite so much. Her breathing quieted slowly and she licked her lips before she spoke.
“Thank you, Master.” She murmured and he released his grip on her neck and she sat up.
He rubbed a hand across his face before he gripped the steering wheel. “Thalia, I am not going to hurt you. Well, I will not hurt you anytime soon, and certainly not ever in any way you don’t want. I want you to heal. When you are healed and want to try submitting to me we’ll talk before anything happens. I promise you that.”
She bit her bottom lip and nodded, wiping her cheeks again and sweeping her hair back from her face. “Yes, Master. Thank you, Master.”
“God, Thalia.” He brushed his thumb across her lower lip and she forced herself not to pull back. He had not hurt her yet, or shown any inclination to. “We’re going to go upstairs and talk, and I want to check and make sure you’re okay. Can you handle that, can you handle walking in there with me?”
“Yes, Master.” She nodded and took a deep, shuddering breath to try and calm down the rest of the way.
“There’s my brave girl.” His thumb swiped across her cheek before he turned the car off.
It was a blur as he came around the car and helped her out. He walked towards the building and she followed him, but being around so many people after being deprived of interaction made the panic start coming back. After the longest elevator ride ever, where she hid against the wall while James effectively blocked anyone’s view of her, he finally tugged her elbow and they exited. The moment she was inside his room she dropped to her knees, the adrenaline making it a sharper movement than she meant it to be.
James shut the door behind her and she felt her muscles tense in response. He moved in front of her and she saw a physical change in him too, the same she’d seen when he had taken charge at the party, and bought her, and stood up to Marcus. He seemed larger standing over her, and she wanted to apologize for breaking down in the car. She was grateful he took her away from Marcus, and he did seem much nicer. She wanted to explain she was just afraid.
“Thalia, tell me your safe word.” The command surprised her.
“Uhm... it’s ch- chair, Master.” She stumbled through her response.
“Good. If at any point you need me to stop what I’m doing,
say it. I will stop immediately, and we will talk about why you needed to stop. After we may continue, or we may not. Do you understand?” He was so calm and direct, it was comforting on a variety of levels. What he said, and how honest and confident he sounded when he said it.
“Yes, Master.” She nodded along with him, keeping her eyes low. Her mind repeated ‘chair’ over and over.
“Good. Stand up and undress.” He spoke clearly and then moved away from her to what she assumed was the bedroom behind a set of French doors. Thalia stood back up and slipped off the clothes he’d given her, folding them and setting them by the wall on top of her shoes. She’d spent the last week without clothes and the pinch and press of the fabric had felt strange, and so it was almost comforting to be naked again. Which was insane, and some part of her brain knew that. She moved back into a kneel, a little more gracefully, as he stepped back into the living area.
He stopped in front of her, towering over her, still fully dressed. She kept her eyes down, but just his presence sent a thrill through her, heat gathering in her lower belly as she anticipated what he would do. Then he spoke in that low, direct voice, “Good, pet. Come with me.”
Security Binds Her (Thalia Book 1) (The Thalia Series) Page 20
