by Stella Stone
“Ten million dollars,” I state.
A few gasps fill the room and I watch the man stand. He turns to me, his eyes spitting fire. He doesn’t speak, he leaves the room. A loser who cannot handle losing.
“Congratulations Mr. Lowell. Follow my man to my office and wait,” Mr. Sam states, breaking me of my thoughts.
Turning to Whitaker I lift my chin. “I have the cash in your trunk.”
Whitaker smirks, “I’ll grab it for you.”
PENELOPE
The man who lead me into this room opens the door. “Come, girl,” he says lifting his hand and pointing to me. The girl in pink glances to him and then straight forward again when he shakes his head.
I step off of the platform in my heels and slowly make my way toward him. I don’t know what will happen next, but my belly flips with each step I take.
My mind is still reeling with the girl in pink’s words.
Only when we’re dead, will it be over.
I’m still trying to figure out what exactly she meant. Did she mean that Mr. Sam will kill us? Or that he’ll keep us employed, as whores, until we die? Lifting my hand, I wrap it around my neck and hold on to myself.
I think I just made a huge fucking mistake—one that I cannot take back.
I’m lead into an office, the door closing quickly behind me, and I hear it lock. My spine straightens. I take a moment to look around. There’s a sofa against the wall, and a big desk across from it, along with a couple of chairs.
I don’t want to sit down but these shoes are killing my feet, so I slowly sink down on the edge of the seat. Placing my hands in my lap, I wring my fingers together. My stomach clenches as I wait for my fate.
The door handle jiggles, and my eyes shoot up, connecting with it as it slowly opens. I see one of the guards I recognize walk in and step to the side. Then, my breath escapes my lungs and I’m left not only breathless but speechless as well.
A man walks into the room. He’s wearing black slacks, and a black button-down shirt. He doesn’t have one wrinkle on his clothing anywhere. His shirt and pants are fit as if it was made for him and him alone.
His black hair is a little messy, but styled that way, and his midnight black eyes meet mine sending a chill throughout my entire body. He has a few days stubble on his firm jaw, and his body is fit, and trim. His waist small and his black belt wrapped around it, begging to be slipped from its loops.
“I will stay until Mr. Sam comes in,” the guard announces.
The stranger lifts his hand but doesn’t move farther into the room. His eyes are busy, too busy, inspecting me.
“Stand,” he demands.
It’s the first time he’s spoken. My body immediately obeys his deep rasp. I stand to my feet, my eyes staying glued to his. His lips twitch in a smirk and he glances to the guard.
“Yes, she’ll do,” he states.
My breath wheezes out at his words and my eyes automatically downcast to my feet.
Yes, I’ve made a colossal mistake.
Fuck.
CHAPTER THREE
ALDRICH
To show emotion, is to show weakness—in business, and in life.
My father’s words ring through my head as the pretty little girl’s eyes quickly drop to the floor. I made her feel bad. Tilting my head to the side, I study her. Her nipples are hard beneath her white lacey bra.
Her skin looks soft, and there’s an olive undertone screaming of possibly Spanish, or Italian descent. She is a match to me, in so many ways, complimenting my physical appearance, which will be good in public.
My father would be more pleased if she were Greek like him. Though I’m not sure why, since my mother is pale skinned with blonde hair. He’s always urged me and my brother to date Greek women. Even going as far as to sending us to Greece on fix-ups.
None of them appealed to me, not like this baby girl in front of me does.
The door flies open, and Mr. Sam walks inside. “Money?” he barks.
Whitaker knocks a few seconds later and I lift my chin. The guard opens the door and Whitty waltzes through with the duffle bag of money that I brought in preparation of the occasion.
My maximum amount to spend on a woman was ten million, I’ve taken it to every single auction I’ve attended from day one. I’m glad the other bidder left when he did. I would have had to come back in the morning for her after the banks opened.
“It’s all there,” I assure as Whitaker sets the bag down on the desk.
Mr. Sam chuckles, lifting a bundle of cash out of the bag. “I’ll count it before I let you go, just to be sure. You understand, don’t you? Business and all,” he asks, narrowing his eyes on me.
“I do,” I nod in agreement.
It feels like it takes a lifetime for him to count the cash. When he’s finished, he grins up at me, “Take your prize, Mr. Lowell,” he chuckles.
I wrap my hand around the girl’s forearm and tug her behind me as I walk toward the door. The guard opens it, and Whitaker takes long strides in front of me. Together, the three of us make our way to the backdoor of the building.
“Parked back here when I got the cash,” Whitaker announces.
Tugging the girl behind me, I open the door, folding the seat over and wait for her to slide into the backseat. Instead of following behind her, I slip into the passenger seat next to Whitty. He starts his engine, and looks at me, lifting a brow. I shake my head once and look out the front window.
What did I just do?
I just fucking bought a woman.
Shit.
Lifting my hand, I run my fingers through my messy hair, and close my eyes. The ride is silent to the club where my car is waiting. When Whitaker pulls into the parking lot it’s virtually empty. He reaches out and grabs ahold of my forearm. Turning to face him, I wait for him to speak.
“Be kind, Rich.”
His words, they hit me like a ton of fucking bricks. He knows me, almost better than I know myself. He and Sterling are my best friends, my childhood friends, and they know about my sexual desires, my needs better than anyone. He thinks I’m going to be a fucking asshole to this girl, that I’m going to hurt her.
The fucker of it all, he isn’t wrong.
“I’ll try.”
PENELOPE
I’m yanked out of the tight fit backseat, and practically tossed into the passenger seat of another fancy car, this time a sedan. I don’t know what’s happening and I really wish I wasn’t practically naked during it all.
My handsome, yet cruel seeming stranger slides into the driver’s side and starts the engine, leaving the other man in his fancy car to drive away.
I glance back, wishing I were with the other guy. He seemed nicer, his smile kinder. Although he didn’t intrigue me as much as this man. He also didn’t scare me as much, either.
Clearing my throat, I turn to him as he maneuvers the car through the parking lot, and out onto the city street.
“I’m Penelope,” I announce, introducing myself.
He keeps his eyes pointed straight ahead as he drives, silently. I think that maybe I’ve overstepped my boundaries, by speaking, until he clears his throat.
“My name is Aldrich,” he states.
He doesn’t leave any room for comment. I stay quiet, rolling his name around in my head. I like it. It’s commanding and sexy, just like him.
We stay in silence and I tug my robe a little tighter against my chest to ward off the cool air from the car’s air conditioning, which is pointing directly at my nipples.
“Don’t hide,” he announces.
Turning my head to look at him, my mouth falls open slightly. “I’m not, the air was blowing. I was a little chilly,” I say, my face turning hot, and assuredly red in color with embarrassment.
He chuckles. “You’ll learn, soon. Take the robe off, baby girl. Do not hide,” he practically growls.
My spine straightens, and I quickly peel the robe from my arms, leaving it in the seat. I feel exposed, thou
gh the robe itself didn’t cover much, but without it, I feel like I’ve peeled away part of my shield. A piece of my protection against the uncertain near future.
The car stops. I turn my head from Aldrich’s profile and stare at what can only be described as a mansion in front of me. It is all rock, no siding or stucco in sight. It’s breathtaking and looks like a castle. I wonder offhandedly if I’ll be residing in the dungeon.
Aldrich chuckles, and I turn to him. “The dungeon isn’t for sleeping, baby girl,” he rasps. My face heats, and I chide myself for speaking aloud.
“Come, I’ll show you your new home,” he states.
I blink, then I shake my head as he exits the car. Home? My new home? What the hell is he talking about?
The passenger door opens, and he waits, palm up for me. Slipping my fingers in his hand, I slowly shift my legs and try to keep from flashing him my nearly exposed center as I rise from the car. My mind is reeling as I walk behind him. Once we’re inside, the heavy wooden front door slams and I freeze in the foyer.
“Home?” I chance asking.
He turns to me, a smirk on his lips, and a glint that I can’t quite read twinkling in his eye. “Yes, home. You didn’t think I spent ten million dollars for just the night, did you?” he asks.
I blink, unsure that I heard the price correct and then that I also understood the unspoken words.
“What did ten million buy you?”
He chuckles, reaching forward and wraps his hand around the side of my neck. His eyes searching mine, and if I thought he was a nice man, I would say they’re smiling at me, almost.
I don’t think they are, I think that he’s like a wolf. He’s enjoying looking at his prey before he consumes it—me.
“Ten million bought me a pretty little, virgin. My very own doll, baby girl. Ten million bought me, you,” he says, his voice deceivingly alluring.
“Bought you, me?”
He chuckles, but it sounds completely humorless. “I own you now, baby girl. Every pure, untouched inch of you.”
I blink, my mouth opening then closing. I don’t know what to say. I didn’t sign up for this. In fact, I’m not sure what I signed up for. Right now, I realize that I didn’t know what I was doing when I offered myself up for sale with Mr. Sam.
CHAPTER FOUR
ALDRICH
Mr. Sam lied. He claimed the women offered themselves up, freely and knowingly as to what their future would hold. Penelope is a little doe, lost in the headlight’s beam of what is to be her future. She had no fucking clue what she was getting into.
Taking a step back from her, I wrap my fingers around her wrist and gently tug her behind me. The playroom, and my desires will have to wait until later. I cannot take her down there right now. I cannot in good conscious have my way with her until she knows exactly what is to be expected of her.
Fuck. I’m a bastard, but right now I wish I were a bigger one. I want nothing more than to sink inside of her tight body, it will be tight too. Christ, I can practically feel the way she’s going to squeeze my cock.
I can’t fucking wait.
Pulling her up the staircase, and toward my bedroom, I close the door behind us once we’re inside. “Tell me what he offered you, and what he said was happening here,” I demand as soon as we’re in the bedroom.
She looks down at her feet, then back up to me. It takes everything inside of me to keep my gaze from dropping to her pretty lace encased tits. Clenching my jaw, I place my fists on my hips and wait.
She inhales deeply, then her eyes meet mine, her pretty chocolate colored eyes.
“My brother, he was injured, a head injury. My mother left, and I couldn’t afford his medical bills. He was in a really bad facility. Mr. Sam said he would prepay for a year in a better place if I sold my virginity. I figured I would be a call girl or something, he didn’t really say much else,” she says her voice trembling.
I close my eyes, wondering how I can fuck her, keep her and do the things I crave to do to her. She’s good, not only pure, but selfless as well. I nod once, making a note to find out where her brother is, and if Mr. Sam was true to his word or not. He better fucking have been.
Nodding, I reach out to her, extending my fingertip to trace the single tear that’s just fallen from her eye. I trace my finger down her cheek, then over to her plump pink lips.
I like that they didn’t overly make her up as they typically do with the auctioned girls. I prefer no makeup on my women, especially in the bedroom. Makeup smears when they cry.
“I’ll make sure your brother is cared for, baby girl,” I vow.
Her eyes widen, and she gulps. “I can’t ask for that, not after the money you spent,” she mutters.
I chuckle, shaking my head as I take a step closer. “You don’t have to ask me for shit, baby girl. Money is money, doesn’t mean much. I didn’t buy you without the means to care for you, and if assuring your brother is well cared for is an extension of you, then it’s done.”
“Only people with money think it doesn’t mean much,” she breathes.
Her warmth fans over my face and I can’t help but chuckle from her words. She’s not wrong. When you don’t have something, and you want it, it means everything.
PENELOPE
Aldrich leans forward, his warm lips gently touching my own, my legs tremble from the touch. I think that they’re going to go out from beneath me, but thankfully they don’t. He takes a step back and I whimper, wishing I could feel his lips on mine again.
“Have you ever been touched before?” he asks, as soon as he’s a bit farther away from me.
I gulp, looking up at him, trying to gauge what he wants to hear. In the end, I decide it doesn’t matter, he’s getting the truth.
Pressing my lips together, I roll them for a beat then release them before I speak. “No, I haven’t. I’ve only ever been kissed, and only twice,” I admit.
His brows furrow together, then he shakes his head. “I’m not like most men, baby girl. You will probably hate me. I’m a fucking asshole because I know that, and I’m still going to keep you,” he says his voice husky and sexy sounding.
“I think that if you were really as bad as you claim, you wouldn’t promise to take care of my brother, in fact, you wouldn’t even care enough to ask me about him,” I say.
He chuckles, his lips twitching. “Outside of the bedroom I’m a good man. Your brother is outside of it. However, inside this room, or my dungeon. I will make you cry, Penelope. I will hurt you,” he announces taking a step closer, again. He lifts his hand and places it on the middle of my chest, feeling my heart race beneath his palm. “I will love every fucking second of it too, baby girl,” he breathes. “I will fucking crave it.”
His words roll through me, and I know he’s trying to scare me but for whatever reason he doesn’t. Lifting my hand, I attempt, for the first time to touch him. Using my finger, I trace his full lips, my eyes following the movement of my hand.
“Will you ever hurt me just to hurt me? Abuse me?” I ask.
He makes a noise in the back of his throat. “Everything I do to you will have a purpose, Penelope.”
Inhaling a deep breath, my finger falls from his soft lips. My eyes lift to meet his dark ones and I let out a shaky exhale. “I’m ready, Aldrich.”
He hums, lowering his head, his lips grazing my own. “You aren’t ready for me, baby girl. You’ll never be ready for me, but you’re getting me, anyway.”
Aldrich takes a step back, again his eyes scanning me. “I have rules,” he announces. I nod, afraid to speak. “You’ll learn them all, eventually. Tonight, your only lesson will be, two things.”
I wait, assuming it’s going to be something demeaning, maybe he’ll have me eat his ass or something. I saw that once on the internet. I’m not sure if it’s for me, but if it was what he wanted, I guess I would at least try it.
“No lace, I fucking hate it. When you step into my room, I want you naked. When you step into the dungeon, I want
you naked. That is, unless I’ve given you specific instructions to dress otherwise.” I blink, relieved yet, confused by his words. I was waiting for some big bomb to drop and that’s all he gave me, be naked.
“Also, submit to me, Penelope. I shouldn’t have to ask you to open your legs, or your mouth,” he murmurs. “Those are your first two rules for this evening. Now, go into the bathroom, freshen up and wait for me in the middle of the bed. I have a few things to take care of,” he states.
I watch as he turns around and walks out of the bedroom, leaving me alone, surprised, and oddly excited for what’s to come.
CHAPTER FIVE
ALDRICH
I don’t want to leave her alone in my room, but I’m reeling from the information she’s given me. What in the actual fuck was Sam thinking? I shake my head.
I know what he was thinking. I know exactly what he was thinking. A virgin is extremely prime real estate in his business. Something you don’t run across every day, especially one that is older than eighteen and one that comes willingly? Priceless. Except Penelope has a price, ten million dollars.
Walking into my office, I sit down at my desk and fish my phone out of my pocket.
“No refunds,” the voice booms.
I almost laugh. I wouldn’t give that girl back if someone paid me to. “What’s her last name? Where is her brother? What’s his name?” I demand.
The line is silent for a moment, then I hear Mr. Sam burst into a booming laugh. “You’re talking to her instead of fucking her? I’ll never understand you rich fucks,” he chuckles.
I don’t respond. He wouldn’t understand anyone, I’m convinced he’s not even fucking human. “Last name is Thomas. Brother is at the Shady Oaks rehabilitation center; his name is Blake Myers.”
