Blood And Roses (Tainted Hearts)

by Lylah James

  Our foreheads touched, our lips millimeters apart. “Thank you,” she whispered.

  She was thanking me…yet I was no better than them. What a cruel world this was. Sometimes the monsters are right there in front of our eyes and we don’t see them.

  And just like that, Maria was blinded.

  I was betraying her. I was feeding her lies, yet I couldn’t bring myself to stop.

  I wanted that look in her eyes, the one telling me that I was everything. I wanted that look for however long I could have it.

  And I was not ready to lose it yet.

  So I let my Angel believe this lie. I let her believe that I was different.

  Our lips touched in the softest kiss. It was one that was achingly slow. My hardened cock was still aching and begging for attention, but I refused to focus on it.

  “The night is almost coming to an end,” I said as we came apart for air. Her eyes glassed over with pain and sorrow before closing.

  “Don’t worry, little Angel. This is not the end. It’s just the beginning. You’re mine now. Tonight is your last night here. I am taking you away.”

  My voice got her attention, her eyes opening again. Giving her a small smile, I placed a kiss on her forehead, letting my lips linger there for a moment longer.

  “Let’s get out of here,” I muttered, helping her out of bed.

  I kept a hold on her wrist. With her behind me, we walked out of the room. All eyes were on us, and Maria moved closer, hiding behind me, using me as her shield.

  Solonik came forward, his mouth opening in protest. The anger in his eyes was undeniable.

  Raising a hand, I stopped him before he even started. I didn’t have time for his bullshit.

  “Two point five. Take it or leave it. I don’t care. But I am leaving here with her. This is your only option,” I stated slowly with a raised eyebrow.

  His mouth fell open at the price. “Two point five million?” he sputtered.

  That was more than he demanded. But sometimes we had to play their own game to win.

  I stayed silent, waiting. Although I was losing patience with each ticking second.

  “Fine,” he finally accepted.

  Hallelujah, asshole. His acceptance meant nothing to me. I would still take Maria away, even if he hadn’t agreed.

  He turned to the audience, raising his wine glass. “My slave has been sold for two point five million dollars. As of now, she is in the keeping of Master Lyov Ivanshov.”

  He paused, looking at me from the corner of his eyes. “Well, that is until he decides to sell her off after having his little fun. Who wouldn’t want a virgin pussy?”

  There was some laughter. Others snickered.

  Isaak looked ready to commit murder. Agron and Gavrikov were just watching the scenes silently, taking everything in like they always did.

  I didn’t miss Maria’s small gasp, the way her fingers tightened around my arm. I held her wrist tighter, putting the smallest pressure.

  “I’m out. Enjoy the rest of your night, gentlemen,” I announced loudly.

  Turning to Solonik, I leveled him with a glare. “The money will be in your bank by sunrise.”

  Without waiting for his reply, I was already pushing Maria toward the door. But being the annoying bastard that he was, he stepped in front of me.

  “Wait,” he muttered with a small smirk.

  He snapped his fingers, and I saw a woman coming forward…with a fucking leash.

  “Rules are you can’t leave the building without having the slaves on a leash. It’s for protection, Lyov. I thought you would know better,” he chastised with a small fake frown.

  I looked at the leash, my disgust clear as day. There was no point hiding it.

  “I don’t need one,” I said loudly, bringing everyone’s attention to us.

  “What do you mean? There are rules. The leash is to keep them under control,” he hissed.

  “I hate repeating myself, but I will, because you’re probably fucking deaf. I said I don’t need one,” I continued just as calmly.

  I released Maria from my tight hold in proof. She stumbled back slightly in shock, and I took a step forward, away from her.

  “I don’t need a fucking leash to keep my slave under control,” I said, taking another step away from Maria.

  Another step toward the door. Another step away from her.

  “My words are enough,” I announced to everyone.

  Watch and learn, fuckers.

  “I don’t need a leash for her to follow me. I don’t need a leash to command her. Words are enough.”

  Without turning around and with my back still to Maria, I placed my hand out, palm up and waiting.

  “Come here, Maria.”

  Silence. Everyone froze. And they watched.

  They watched as I taught them the art of dominance.

  Feet shuffled closer, and I felt her warmth coming closer. And finally, she placed her palm in mine.

  My fingers intertwined with hers, and I pulled her closer into my embrace.

  “And that, gentlemen, is how you command your slaves. If you need a fucking leash to be in control, then you are no fucking Master. To a slave, her Master’s words are law. A real dominant’s words will always be enough.” I talked for the room while holding my Angel closer.

  “You just need to know how to be one. Having a leash around their pretty necks doesn’t make you a Master. If that makes you in control, then it makes you a coward. It makes you weak.”

  “So, gentlemen, don’t be cowards. Learn the true art of being in control. And that’s the end of the lesson. Enjoy the rest of your night,” I finished.

  Without waiting for any reaction, I made my way out. With Maria’s hands in mine, we walked out of the door together.

  It closed with a loud bang, leaving us in the cold, dark hallway. Quickly, I removed my suit jacket and draped it over my Angel’s body, hiding her the best I could.

  I hated having her parade around naked, but it was the only way. If I had covered her before, it would have been suspicious.

  Now, we were alone. Fina-fucking-lly.

  “The car is waiting for us outside. It’s going to be a little cold. I’m sorry, you’ll have to bear with it for a few seconds,” I muttered.

  She didn’t reply or make a single sound as I swept her up into my arms. Cradling her close, we walked out toward the waiting car.

  I made quick work of getting inside and settling Maria on the seat. Taking my seat, facing her, I watched her reaction.

  She looked outside the window, staying strangely quiet. Maria pulled the jacket closer to her body, holding it tight like she never wanted to let go.

  And I didn’t want her to let go.

  “You’re safe,” I muttered in the silent car as it started moving.

  She continued watching outside, her eyes moving with each tree, light, and passing car. My little Angel looked entranced, her eyes twinkling in the dark as each light reflected into her blue orbs.

  “You saved me,” she said quietly, still not looking at me.

  You saved me.

  Oh Angel, if only you knew the truth.

  I saved her for my own selfish reasons. Yet another monster in the dark, waiting to devour her.

  Finally, she turned toward me. Her face soft…everything about her soft. Her shoulders drooped low, like thousands of pains had finally left her.

  In her mind, she was free.

  With our gazes on each other, her lips parted to speak. “Master…” she started, but I quickly moved forward.

  She gasped, reeling back in surprise, but I had already gotten her into my trap. My fingers grasped her chin, a little more roughly than intended.

  My touch kept her in place, her wide eyes on mine as I spoke.

  “I have told you before, and I will tell you again, little Angel. Don’t call me Master,” I said roughly, my lips close to hers. “Lyov,” I muttered.

  She stared at me, confused, her body trembling slightl
y.

  “You are mine. I think it’s time I introduce myself.”

  Maria blinked, waiting.

  “The name’s Lyov. Lyov Ivanshov.”

  “Lyov,” she whispered oh so softly.

  Fucking beautiful.

  Pretty Angel, I didn’t save you. I just captured you.

  Chapter 6

  Maria

  There were no words to describe what I was feeling. It was strange, the way my heart was beating faster. I could feel my pulse raging in my neck, right below my ears. It was harder to breathe, sitting in such close proximity with Master.

  Lyov. Lyov Ivanshov. That was his name. He wanted me to call him by his name, yet it felt weird to call my Master by his name.

  I felt like I wasn’t submitting any longer.

  The thought made me sick. If I weren’t submitting, then what was I going to do?

  What was he going to do with me?

  Wasn’t that why he bought me? To be his slave, serve him, worship him, like the whore everyone wanted—needed.

  My eyes stayed on the window, watching the world swirl by as the car sped along the highway. I was finally seeing the outside world after eight long months.

  Only eight months but it felt like an eternity.

  Eight months since I was taken away from the sweetness of home.

  Eight months since I was stripped of my dignity and innocence.

  And eight months since I became a slave, no longer holding the value of a human being. I became a toy. One that could be played with and then discarded when I wasn’t needed any longer.

  My gaze shifted from the windows toward the man who saved me. His eyes were already on me, watching me so intensely that I shivered.

  His grey eyes looked like a soulless pit of blackness in the dark. He looked dangerous. Vicious. Like an animal stalking its prey, holding it still with its gaze.

  In this case, I was the prey and he was the predator.

  My heart accelerated, and I felt tingles down my body. His heated eyes didn’t waver from mine.

  He held me in the palms of his hands, and I was a willing captive, falling deeper into his trap.

  I had no chains around my neck, yet it felt like I was chained to him. His words. The way his gaze touched my body wordlessly, it had me captured. My mind, my heart, my body. And my soul.

  He didn’t have to touch me to assert his ownership.

  I was his. With a single gaze, I became his.

  The moment our eyes met in that room, with me kneeling between his legs, I became his.

  I should have fought it, but I couldn’t. The feeling brewing inside of me, the way my stomach twisted—butterflies—all those feeling became stronger with each passing second.

  It felt like so much more.

  When he touched me…there were no empty promises. When he spoke, he meant every word. Every word held a meaning. Whether it was good, bad, light, or dark. It meant something to my already fragile heart.

  He touched me to give me something nobody had ever given me…without asking anything in return.

  I gave, and he took.

  He gave, and I took.

  A balance of power.

  A slave and a Master. I should have been doing the bowing, kneeling at his feet. Yet he bowed for me.

  He didn’t force his dominance. It was given to me, and I accepted it.

  I willingly submitted to him because he earned my submission.

  But now that I looked at him, his dangerous eyes tracking me, drinking me in, I wondered…was it all a game?

  He was a Master. One of them. I was most likely not the first girl he bought.

  Did he kill the others? When he got tired of them, did he discard them like a used toy—like they meant nothing?

  Did he steal their innocence and then sell them? My previous Master did.

  He wasn’t any different, was he?

  My brain was in a constant battle with my heart. I wanted to believe he was good.

  He saved me. He smiled at me with soft eyes. He held me gently. He kissed me sweetly.

  This Master desired me, not as a slave, but as a woman.

  You were so good, Angel. So beautiful. So perfect. You amaze me.

  Such beautiful words for a slave who didn’t deserve them.

  I was dirty—filthy. A whore. A slave.

  “What are you thinking so hard about?”

  I flinched at the voice, so hard, so sudden in the silence of the darkened car.

  When he placed his hand on my knee, I flinched again. A small tremor caused my body to feel cold and then hot. He dragged his hand up, caressing my leg until it rested on my thigh.

  He touched burned my skin, and my gaze flew down, watching his rough hand on my naked thigh. It looked so big, manly, and so dangerous there.

  The touch could have appeared innocent. But it wasn’t. It spoke of so much more.

  The hold he had on me…it said that he was claiming me.

  His hand tightened just a little, a warning. My eyes went to his, and he raised an eyebrow, waiting for my answer.

  While my previous Master didn’t like it when I would speak, Lyov Ivanshov was trying to hear my voice every time.

  Clearing my throat, I answered him. “Nothing, Master. I am just grateful that you have saved me.”

  “You think I saved you?” he questioned darkly.

  His hands moved up, stopping when he reached the hem on his suit jacket. I internally smiled. He had given me his jacket. One of the sweetest things a Master could have done.

  I nodded. “Yes, you have. My previous Master wasn’t a good man. But you are.”

  He chuckled low in his chest, a tiny smirk on his face. It made him look dangerous but very handsome. I liked it.

  “You think I’m a good man?”

  I nodded again. He was. Better than the others. Maybe it was a childish thought, but he had proved himself to be better so far.

  You are safe.

  He had whispered those words to me, and my heart had skipped a beat. It was that moment when I decided that he was a good man. My mind was in denial, but my heart…it believed.

  So I was going to trust my heart. I was going to believe my Master—Lyov.

  And I was going to serve him with all of me—mind, heart, body, and soul. I was going to become his favorite so he wouldn’t discard me.

  Releasing my thigh, he sat back into his seat. I instantly missed his touch and felt cold again.

  He gave me warmth…I loved it.

  And now I craved it.

  Master shook his head slightly, a smile on his face. Like he was having an inside joke with himself. I liked his smile.

  It made him look young and happy.

  I wanted him to smile more. I wanted to make him smile.

  “I will be a good slave to you, Master,” I whispered softly.

  The air around us shifted and changed, almost instantly. It felt colder. Darker. Angrier.

  Master lost his smile.

  No. No. No.

  I whimpered, hating it. Because I realized that I must have said something wrong. And he was going to punish me.

  Wasn’t that what they always wanted?

  They didn’t want good slaves. Good slaves didn’t get punishment.

  Masters loved to give punishments, so they wanted bad slaves.

  He moved forward in a flash, grabbing my chin and holding me roughly. “You will never call yourself a slave again. I don’t want to hear that word from you. Is that understood, little Angel?”

  Master looked so angry. Furious. His beautiful eyes crackled with intensity, and I almost cowered back.

  I nodded mutely, submitting, giving him what he wanted.

  He closed his eyes, breathing in and out, like he was trying to calm himself. When he opened his eyes again, they looked softer. His touch turned gentle. He caressed my skin, his fingers moving sweetly over my cheek.

  “You are an Angel, Maria. And you will address yourself as such,” he continued quietl
y. The words were softly spoken, but I heard his command. “Is that understood, little Angel?”

  I nodded, although it didn’t make sense. “You want me to call myself Angel?” I asked in return, confused.

  He smiled then, another beautiful smile. “I want you to think of yourself as an Angel,” he whispered, his lips so close to mine.

  “Okay,” I answered quickly, wanting to please him. I wanted to make him happy…please him in whatever way he wanted.

  “Good girl,” he praised with another caress, his fingertips featherlight on my neck.

  My own lips lifted up, smiling. He made me smile.

  “You have a beautiful smile, Maria. I want to see it on you every day.”

  My heart soared at his words, and when he smiled wider, I felt suddenly giddy. He was making me giddy…happy.

  His words were my safe haven, and I drowned in them, wanted them desperately.

  I will always smile for you, Master. Promise. Forever. Until my last breath.

  When he pulled away this time, I didn’t feel cold. I still felt warm. His words stayed with me through the whole drive.

  My eyes started to get heavy, tiredness making its way into my body. But I didn’t want to sleep.

  I didn’t want my eyes falling away from the man who made me happy.

  I blinked, trying so hard. My body grew heavier, and when he noticed, he nodded his head. “Go to sleep, Maria. I will wake you up when we get there.”

  When I didn’t move, he sighed and quickly unbuckled his seatbelt. My eyes widened when he switched seats and came to sit beside me.

  Drawing me closer into his body, he pushed me down until my head was lying on his lap. I breathed out, my body going limp.

  It felt nice…perfect. It felt right.

  His fingers were in my hair, playing with the strands. He caressed my cheek with his other hand. “Sleep.”

  This time it was a command.

  Closing my eyes, I did as I was told.

  Chapter 7

  Maria

  I was being shaken awake the next time I came around. My eyes opened tiredly before I jumped up in fright.

  When I met grey eyes, I felt myself relaxing.

  “We’re here,” he said.