by Snow, Jenika
“Where are you taking me?” The car started to move and Ruby brought her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them.
“To your new home.” A chill froze her as she heard those words leave his perfect mouth. The devil took on a very beautiful form, but underneath he was still a horrible, evil creature. He watched her silently after that, with the corner of his mouth slightly turned up. No doubt he enjoyed her discomfort and fear.
His dark hair was short and perfectly styled. There wasn’t a hair out of place, or a stitch of his perfectly tailored suit disheveled. This was a man in control, and one that held a lot of power. She didn’t want to look at him, didn’t want to see that the monster that had bought her was a beautiful demon. Her shitty life back with her mother in that rundown trailer didn’t look so bad right now, even though wealth surrounded her, and the man that “owned” her was stunningly handsome. She looked away, buried her face against her knees, and prayed to whoever might be listening that she would wake up and this would all be one horrifying, screwed-up nightmare.
* * *
Gavin watched her look around the foyer of his home—of her new home. The limo ride from where the auction had been held had been a long three-hour ride. Then they had taken his private jet to his European estate in the countryside. It was isolated, with the nearest town hours away. It was the perfect place to keep his new purchase, especially since he knew she would be trying to run.
“You like your new home?” He stayed by the door and watched her. Her feet were bare, and she still wore that God-awful shift, but he’d remedy that soon enough. She looked over at him but didn’t respond. In fact, she hadn’t said one word since she had asked where they were going. Her fear was understandable, and he didn’t expect her to bend to his will instantly, but she would sooner or later. Gavin might be a patient man in some respects, but when it concerned this brunette, his property, he had many deliciously twisted things he wanted to do to her, and he wouldn’t wait forever to experience them.
She wrapped her arms around her middle and turned to face him completely. “This isn’t my home.” He smiled, but he was grappling for control right now. The fact that she hadn’t uttered more than a few words to him on this very long journey to his estate in Europe, not even when he had tried to get her to open up to him on their plane ride, had annoyed him as much as it tempted the monster inside of him to make her tell him everything about herself.
Of course he wasn’t talking about a literal monster inside of him, but there were many days when he felt as though the evil and darkness that he tried to control were stronger than he was. Purchasing her had been a very good idea, but also a very bad idea. He regretted nothing, though, and his actions were always calculated.
“Princess, this is the only home you will ever know from this point forward.” He heard her swallow, saw her throat move up and down from the act, and saw the slight tremble in her body.
“Do you plan on hurting me? Will you rape me?” She started crying, and his dick punched forward. He was a sick, sadistic bastard for deriving pleasure from her clear pain, but he’d teach her that with pain came pleasure. The end result would be a coupling to rival all others, and one that could never be broken. Because for him, this female was his in any way he wanted.
He didn’t move, didn’t try to hide his arousal from her, and when he saw her look at his crotch and her eyes widen, he was satisfied that she was clearly frightened by the sight. He was a big man…all over.
“Please.”
His heart pounded faster at that one word, and in his mind he could picture her on her knees, her tears falling fast as she looked up at him and begged him to stop, but then would plead for him to continue.
“Say it again.” His words came out as a low and harsh, and she took a step back.
“W-What?”
He took a step forward. “Say that word again.”
The pulse at the base of her neck beat frantically, and she swallowed again. “Please.”
It took a lot of self-control on his part not to go to her, rip off her clothes, and fuck her right there on the stairs, but there would be plenty of time for that. He might be a bastard, but he wasn’t a savage. She needed to bathe and eat, and he was sure she was exhausted. Of course she would have a slew of questions, and he had answers, whether she liked them or not.
* * *
This man, whose name she didn’t even know, had led her up the spiraling staircase, down a short ornate hallway, and gestured for her to enter a room. Ruby had never been this frightened in her life, not even when one of her mother’s boyfriends had come into her room late one night and tried to touch her. After a swift kick to his balls she had vowed to never be a victim again. But clearly she had broken her own promise to herself at the first major disaster in her life. She shouldn’t have left, and should have just lived the life she had been dealt. Maybe she was being punished? She had never been an overly religious person, but she liked to believe in heaven and hell, and thought that with evil there was always good. Had she done something wrong? She had stolen some nail polish from a convenience store when she was thirteen because her mom refused to buy it for her. Maybe this was karma making its way around all these years later? Although she certainly wouldn’t have considered that a life-changing sin, maybe that was all it took for someone to learn their lesson.
She stepped into the opulent room, and was struck by the beauty of it right away. The shades were a soft silvery color and light blue. The rest of the room was made up of lace accents and dainty furniture. The trip to get to this massive home had been long, and she couldn’t deny that she was happy to finally be on solid ground. She had no clue where she was, but she had seen the vast ocean below them from the jet, and knew wherever she was, it was far away from where she’d started. But they hadn’t landed at an airport, and there hadn’t been any kind of security asking them for legal documentation to get into the country. In fact, the plane had landed in a hanger, and then a car had brought them to this place just a few minutes away. But Ruby had been on alert to her surroundings, and to her utter disappointment she had only seen miles and miles of land as far as she could see.
“You’ll clean up and dress for dinner.” She turned and looked at him, but fear closed off her throat and swelled her tongue. At that moment she couldn’t have responded even if he had asked her something directly. She didn’t know what he had planned, but it seemed she had the rest of her life to figure it out. Whatever this evil bastard was going to do to her would surely not be something that she would ever want. He was holding her prisoner, keeping her here to probably be his little sex slave. Why else would a man have to purchase a woman? But he was gorgeous in his own right. Why would he need to resort to buying someone that had been kidnapped? But all she had to do to feel the darkness in him was look in his blue eyes. They almost seemed void of life, and she had glimpsed another presence within him. She had a sickening realization that this was only the very beautiful surface of a monster.
She didn’t say anything, just stared at him. He had a very stoic expression but she wasn’t fooled into thinking his guard was down in the slightest. There he stood in his dark suit with his hands behind his back and his feet slightly parted. He looked very intimidating, controlled, and like he had everything planned out. But of course he did.
“There are clothes your size in the armoire and dresser, and the bathroom is over there.” He pointed at a closed door to his left. “You are old enough to clean and dress yourself, but I have two servants that are here at all times to tend to the house. If you need anything you have but to ask.” He slowly let his eyes move up and down her body, and she crossed her arms over her chest when she felt her nipples harden. She was far from aroused, but the sight of him was almost as powerful as if he was reaching out and actually touching her. “I’m sure you have a lot of questions, but those will be answered later. Right now you’re filthy, and I want you clean and looking presentable.” She swallowed at his words. “You
are my property, Princess, and as such will obey any and everything I say. That is the first rule.” He took a step closer, and she moved one back. This dark look covered his face and he shook his head. “The second rule is that you never deny me.” He stopped in front of her, but she had nowhere to go anyway. The bed was behind her, and no way in hell was she going to get on that just to get away from him. He would probably take that as an invitation to use her body, and that was not going to happen.
“Do you plan on hurting me?” she asked again, since he hadn’t answered her the first time. Again, he didn’t respond right away, but instead lifted his hand. Ruby tensed and watched as he moved that hand closer to her.
He lifted a piece of her hair off her shoulder and looked at it, rubbing it between his fingers. He slowly moved his gaze away from her hair and looked at her face. “You are very pretty. Very beautiful, in fact.” He said the words low and deep as he looked in her eyes, but she wasn’t fooled by this seemingly gentle disposition. This man was a demon intent on hurting her.
“Will you hurt me?” Ruby asked again. She would continue to do so until he answered her.
He titled his head slightly to the side and seemed to study her. “Tell me your name.” She shook her head. She wouldn’t give any part of herself to him. Not one damn part. When she didn’t answer he moved the hand that held her hair to her throat. It was a loose hold, but the threat was there. He could have snapped her neck, or strangled her without so much as breaking a sweat. “Have you forgotten the rules already, Princess? Obey everything I say.” He lifted a dark eyebrow, but otherwise kept a very hard composure. “Now, I will only ask you once more, and if you disobey I promise you will not like my reaction.”
Ruby felt sweat bead her forward, knew her eyes were as big as saucers, and felt the strength she had wanted to hold onto crumble. She was weak, so frightened of what he would do, that she opened her mouth to give him what he wanted.
“Ruby Jacobson.” As soon as her name left her lips she felt like a failure. She had given him what he wanted so easily. What else would she give him without much of a fight? The corner of his mouth lifted, and a very pleased look crossed his face.
“Good girl.” He moved his hand up the side of her throat until he could brush his thumb along her bottom lip. But everything inside of her was frozen. “And to answer your question…” He didn’t say anything for several seconds after that, and she knew it was to make her think on that statement, to make her fear him more, and it certainly had the desired effect. “Yes, Ruby, I do plan on hurting you.” And then he leaned down and took her mouth with his own. It started off slow at first, but he became more demanding and rough with his lips, teeth, and tongue. She placed her hands on his chest, felt the hard, defined muscles flex beneath her touch, and pushed him away, or at least tried to. He was very strong, so much stronger than she was. She was able to push him away, but only because he allowed her to. She covered her mouth with her hands, felt the blood rush to the surface of her lips from where he had lightly bitten her sensitive flesh, and couldn’t stop herself from crying.
“I can be a lenient man, Ruby, and treat you as a treasured pet, but my patience can only go so far, especially if you are adamant on being stubborn and denying me what is rightfully mine.” He spoke the words evenly, but she wasn’t fooled into thinking he was calm in the slightest. His erection tented the front of his slacks, and she cried harder. That only made him grin. “And just so you know, seeing you cry makes me even more turned on, darling.”
She dropped her hand and said in a wavering voice, “I’m not yours, and never will be. You don’t own me, even if you bought me.” She gripped her gown as soon as the words had left her. She was pushing him, she knew this, but she couldn’t just stand here, let him touch her, kiss her, and speak to her as if she was nothing but an object that he could fuck any way he wanted to.
“That is where you are wrong, Ruby.”
She licked her lips again. Had she spoken that out loud?
“You are something. In fact, you’re something very special to me, Princess.” He reached out and smoothed a finger along her jawline, but she couldn’t move as he touched her. And then he moved away from her, turned and left, shutting the door behind him. There was no click from him locking the door and so she moved closer, gripped the handle, and turned it. To her shock it opened silently. She glanced out into the hallway and saw him descending the stairs, but he stopped right before he disappeared past the banister and turned to look at her. “This is your home. You’re not a prisoner, but you are mine. Let there be no mistake that there is any escape because I won’t let you go. The sooner you come to terms with that the sooner you can start to accept your new life and enjoy it.” He stared at her for a long moment, and she gripped the handle tighter to stop her shaking hand. “And don’t make me have to come back up and fetch you, Ruby.”
He turned and left her standing there. Ruby stepped back into the room and closed the door. She rested both hands on the smooth, cool wood and leaned her forehead against it, closing her eyes. That last parting statement had been a threat and a dark promise. She had heard that although he didn’t want her to disobey him, she knew that he also wanted her to. That had been clear when the corner of his mouth lifted and he flared his nostrils, as if he were excited.
Ruby turned and pushed away from the door, and looked at her beautiful prison. Everything was cleaned to perfection, and the sweet smell of something akin to flowers and baby powder filled her nose. She walked over to the window and pushed the heavy drapes aside. She was too far up to try and escape that way, and although she probably would have survived a fall, she wasn’t in the mood for broken bones. The scenery was quite breathtaking, with flat, green land long and far in the distance, thin, willowy trees on either side of the house, and the promise of freedom just beyond the glass and stone of her prison.
Moving away from the window, she walked toward the armoire, and after taking a deep breath reached out and grabbed the ornately yet daintily carved brass handles. Pulling open the doors revealed an array of shoes, mainly stilettos, evening and casual gowns, skirts, and blouses. All were silky, lacy and very feminine, and all in her size…scarily enough. She turned and opened the drawers of the dresser and found satin slips, hose and garter belts. Amidst all the articles of clothing were two things that were very much absent. Bras and panties. Clearly he liked to have his playthings easily accessible to his depravity. She slammed the drawers shut as hard as she could and got a small moment of pleasure from the act of rebelling.
Ruby needed to decide if she was going to fight this with tooth and nail, risk whatever wrath was hidden behind the gorgeous exterior of her captor, or fold and play the perfect piece of property that he clearly wanted. She sat on the edge of the bed and stared at the bedroom door. He was just downstairs, and the threat for her not to make him come “fetch” her played in her mind over and over again. She was good at thinking about the horrible things he would do to her, and they weren’t something she wanted to see come true. So she stood, walked over to the closet and grabbed the first thing she touched. She went into the bathroom, turned the light on, but wasn’t surprised to see this also held a wealth of opulence. What she did know was that right now she might concede with what he wanted, but she would fight for her freedom and would find a way out of this place.
Wherever they were at was very far from civilization, but it didn’t take a genius to realize why he would want to be isolated from everyone and everything. If no one could hear her scream, then no one would come for her. But no one would come for her anyway. She had no real friends, no family that gave a shit about her. No one. She was just another runaway, another statistic, and soon she would be forgotten, if in fact she had ever been thought about at all.
Chapter Five
Gavin sat across from Ruby at the dining room table and watched her. She looked very uncomfortable, which was evident by the way she kept fidgeting. “Wouldn’t you like to know my name? Or anyt
hing else about me?” She glanced up and him but didn’t respond. It amused him, but his humor only went so far.
She shook her head, but there was a spark of fire in her eyes. “I don’t care who you are. All I know is you’re holding me against my will.”
He smirked at her little outburst. “I suppose, but your life here will be very comfortable. You will never want for anything.” She stared at him, and although she tried to keep a blank expression, he saw the way she clamped her jaw.
“All the money in the world wouldn’t make me want to stay here with you.”
Gavin was trying to stay calm, but no one spoke to him this way, least of all a female. She must have seen the dark look move over his face, because her lips parted and she breathed out forcefully enough that he heard her. Ruby didn’t say anything else, which was very smart of her, and Gavin let himself relax once more.
“Ask me, Ruby.” She glanced down, but before he could order her to keep her eyes on him she was looking at him once more. “Ask about the male that owns every part of you.” She was so very young, but she had a strength that rivaled his own. It had been that strength that made him want her so badly, even if he wanted her to surrender it to him in the end. He wanted a female that would fight him, would give as good as she could take, and he knew Ruby was that female.
“I don’t know what to ask.” He clenched his jaw. This felt like a tug and pull with a child. But she started speaking again. “What’s your name? How old are you? Where am I and how long do you plan on keeping me here? What do you do since it is clear you’re wealthy enough to buy a stolen human being? And why do you feel you even need to buy a woman?” She rambled off the questions, and although she was attempting to sound genuine, there was no doubt in his mind that she was trying to show her stubborn will. But she would realize that he was the only dominant one in this coupling. She asked that last question quickly, as if she had been slightly unsure if she wanted to tread that territory once more. He let it slide, though. This was her first night, and he could be a lenient man, but she would follow his rules, and if she thought to break them after that, well, than he would deliver a very delicious punishment.
