Broken Hope

by Nicole Fox

  “It is simply an unnecessary risk. If someone leaves, they could go to the authorities with their firsthand account of our operation, and we would all be arrested. There is also the risk that a guest could use their knowledge of our proceedings and the inn’s layout to alert their cohorts on the best way to infiltrate our operation. And beyond threats of arrest or violence, there is the chance that a desperate bidder would leave the estate to procure more money to bid on his woman of choice, which while great for our business, is bad for the integrity of the event.”

  “There are a lot of threats to your life and business,” I say.

  “Unfortunately, yes,” Edgar says. “It is a burden I have learned to live with.”

  Sensing I have no further questions, Edgar tips his head slightly before turning to go back into the lounge.

  But then he stops and looks back over his shoulder. “I don’t need to worry about you, do I, sir?”

  “Me?” I ask, rolling my eyes and smiling. “Of course not.”

  I can’t tell if Edgar is more or less confident because of my answer, but he goes back into the lounge and leaves me alone in the hallway.

  I stay there for ten minutes before rejoining the party.

  We eat dinner all together, Eve sitting between Fox-Face and one of the female bidders and across from the man in the maroon mask.

  While I have kept my distance all day, the man in the maroon mask has made his intentions quite obvious. He wants Eve, almost exclusively. And I realize how much he wants at the bidding that night.

  The price soars to over eight thousand before the man bows out and lets me leave with my wife. As we pass, however, he bows at the waist.

  “I hope you two have a pleasant evening,” he says, his exposed mouth pulled back in a wicked smile. “With the way you are spending your money, it may very well be your last.”

  With that thought burning a hole in my head, I lead Eve up the stairs to my room.

  14

  Eve

  Luka doesn’t talk to me as we walk to his room, and even once we are inside, he walks straight into the bathroom, pulls his mask off, and rinses his face in the sink.

  The day was long without being able to talk to him.

  I could feel the tension rolling from him all day, dark and ominous like an impending storm cloud. I expected him to release his rage in a torrential downpour at any moment, but he managed to keep it together.

  Still, it seems to have worn on him.

  When he comes out of the bathroom, I am sitting on the edge of the bed, my hands folded in my lap. I want to reach out and touch him. I want things to feel the way they did this morning when we could barely function without our bodies being pressed together. But things feel different now, and I don’t want to push Luka if he isn’t ready.

  He stands a few feet away, looking at me with his head tilted to the side.

  “Today was shitty.”

  I laugh out of surprise. “It really was.”

  “Not being near you felt like torture,” he says. “Plus, your little friend wouldn’t leave me alone.”

  “That was the only thing that made me feel better. Seeing you taking care of her left me with one less thing to worry about,” I say. “Thank you.”

  Luka pinches his lips together and looks down at the floor. “She wants me to buy her.”

  “What?” I ask, trying to imagine Maddie wanting anyone at all to buy her. The day before, she nearly had a breakdown at the idea. “Did she say that?”

  He nods. “Several times. Quite explicitly.”

  I shrug. “Well, I mean, who can blame her? You are obviously the best man in the room. She’d be foolish not to try for you.”

  “I don’t want to get her hopes up.”

  I know what he means. We won’t be saving her. Luka won’t pay for her, not if it means he won’t have enough money to buy me. And since Maddie is earlier on the roster than I am, Luka won’t risk bidding on her at all.

  I want to talk more about saving the rest of the women so it won’t matter how much money Luka has, but I know there is no point. We won’t reach an agreement. Not right now. Before we can have that discussion, I need to ease the tension building between his shoulders. We both need to be reassured in who we are together before I can press him to give anything more of himself.

  “It is just stress,” I say, standing up and moving towards him. I gently lay a hand on his shoulder, loving the hard feel of his body beneath my fingers after a day without it. “She is doing whatever she can to make this situation bearable for herself, and part of that is trying to ensure she is sold to a man who, at the very least, isn’t a monster.”

  Luka wraps an arm around my waist and draws me close to his body. He looks down at me, his lips parted in a breath. “The rest of these men are monsters.”

  “No argument here,” I say softly, unable to catch my breath. Even after being together so long, touching Luka and being pressed up against him never fails to make me feel weak in the knees.

  He curves both arms around my back, arching my body into his. “Especially the man in the maroon mask.”

  My cheeks flush, and I look away. “He is persistent.”

  “He is a pain in the fucking ass,” Luka growls. “When he told you to act like a dog, I thought I was going to have to kill him.”

  I smooth my hands from his shoulders down to his chest, loving the thump of his heart beneath my palm. “There is no need. Believe me when I say, there is only one man I want to get on my knees for.”

  A playful spark lights in Luka’s eyes, and I could almost cry when I see it because it is so normal. It is an expression I have seen on his face hundreds of times before, but not once since we’ve been trapped in this place. I had begun to worry I was never going to see it again.

  “Is that right?” he asks, one eyebrow raised.

  I swipe my tongue across my lower lip and nod my head slowly. “That’s right.”

  Luka’s eyes are glued to me as I drag my hands lower across his chest and grab a handful of his shirt. I pull it free from the waistband of his suit pants and unbutton them with a flick of my finger.

  I press my fingers against the hard muscle of his abdomen and lower until I feel the cut of his ‘V’ leading me down. Luka doesn’t hesitate to help when I begin pushing his suit pants down around his knees, and when I pull his underwear down, he springs free, already at the ready.

  “I was obedient this morning because I had to be,” I whisper, drawing circles in the thin trail of hair across his lower abs. “But now, I’m going to be obedient because I want to be.”

  Luka licks his lips as I slide to my knees in front of him, my hands resting on each of his hips.

  “So, what do you want me to do?” I ask, working my lips together before pouting them out.

  “Take me in your mouth.” His voice is husky, close to losing control before we’ve even started.

  I nod and then do as I am told.

  He moans as soon as my mouth wraps around him, and when I press onto him as far as I can go, he tips his head back and curses at the ceiling.

  I wrap a hand around his base to work him from both ends, and Luka curls his large hand around the back of my head, giving shallow thrusts into my open mouth. I accept him readily, sucking and swirling my tongue around him until his legs begin to shake under my fingers.

  “Goddamn it, Eve,” Luka growls, grabbing a handful of my hair and tipping my head back slightly.

  I can tell he is close already, and if he wants to finish this way, I’ll gladly help him. I wasn’t lying when I said I wanted to obey him. Tonight, I want to give Luka whatever he wants. And if he wants my mouth, he can have it.

  Luka moans when I swirl my tongue around his tip, but before I can take him fully in my mouth again, he pulls away.

  I wipe my mouth with the back of my hand and look up at him.

  His green eyes are lost to the dark of his pupils. He is half wild already, barely able to instruct me to lie down on
the bed.

  I lie back on the center of the bed, but Luka grabs my ankles and pulls me towards him until my ass is almost hanging off the side. He reaches under my dress and yanks my panties down in one fluid motion.

  “Legs up,” he says, motioning for me to put my legs over his shoulders. I do, and the moment they are in position, he finds my opening and presses inside.

  I’m ready for him, and he sighs with relief as he slips inside of me. “You are so wet.”

  “I told you I wanted to obey you,” I moan as my body adjusts to his size. “It makes me hot.”

  Luka’s body slaps against mine, and he pauses to look down at me.

  We are both still mostly clothed, which somehow only adds to the moment. The idea that he wants me so badly he can’t be bothered to strip his shirt off or unzip my dress is sexy as hell.

  He grips my waist with strong hands and drags me onto him again and again, his hips thrusting into me, slapping together until it is the only sound in the room. That and the sound of our ragged breathing.

  When Luka slips his hand between my legs to swirl a thumb over my center, I come fast and hard, unable to hold myself back any longer.

  Luka comes soon after.

  He collapses next to me, breathing heavily, but only a few minutes later, he unzips my dress, rolls me over, and takes me from behind.

  In the morning, my body is sore in the best way possible.

  We slept more than the night before. Both of us were exhausted from days of little sleep and stress. But whenever Luka woke up in the night, he would reach for me and pull me close to him, making sure I was there. And several times, that led to us finding comfort in one another’s bodies, clinging to each other until we found release from the fear that has become a near-constant in our lives over the last week.

  After I shower, Luka has me again, this time pressed against the bathroom wall. The steam from the shower is still heavy in the air, settling on my skin like a fine mist. Our bodies slip and slide together. Luka holds onto me with a crushing grip that I’m sure will leave bruises on my waist, but I don’t care.

  I wrap my legs around his waist, tip my head back against the wall, and stifle a cry as pleasure rips through me like a bolt of lightning. Luka comes and buries his head in my neck, pressing kisses to the sensitive spot beneath my ear.

  When the knock comes at the door, he hugs me tighter and shakes his head. “I’m not going to let you go.”

  “We have to,” I say, listening as the knocks grow more insistent the second time. “Just three more days.”

  Luka growls, “Three days is a lifetime.”

  I grab his face and kiss him long and hard, our lips soft yet urgent on one another. His tongue sweeps into my mouth, threatening to steal my sense, but when a third set of knocks raps against the door, I peel myself away from him, wrap a towel around my body, and go to the door.

  It is Kari, looking just as nervous as the day before and once again holding a red dress for me to wear.

  This one is closer to the one I wore the first day—tight and mid-thigh length—except it is strapless and the top cuts across the middle of my chest, exposing an incredible amount of cleavage.

  “I look like I’m wearing a corset,” I complain, trying to stuff myself back in the dress. Kari is waiting outside, so I don’t have time to try and tape down my chest or do anything to keep myself from busting out of the seams.

  “You look incredible,” Luka says from behind me. His hand is on my waist, but his voice is sad. Because he knows I look this way for the other men to appreciate. I am dressed this way for their eyes to devour me.

  I spin around and arch my body into him, wrapping my arms around his neck. “I love you.”

  He kisses me, making my stomach flip and my knees go weak, and when I leave with Kari, I turn and look at him one more time. He smiles, but the emotion doesn’t reach his eyes. I can’t blame him.

  Kari studies me for any signs of a breakdown as we head to the lounge, but I’m too focused on finding the energy to make it through another day to care.

  Just like the day before, the women are lined up in front of the fireplace with Edgar in front of them, hands folded behind his back. When he sees me approach, he beckons me with a wave and then waits until I’m in position to clear his throat.

  “Today is about showing the men that you can handle more than just pleasure,” he says. “For the first hour of the day, you are all going to complete a different chore. However, let’s not forget the lesson from yesterday. If anyone asks you to stop or take on a different chore, then you must listen. Be obedient.”

  My sense of self-respect almost demands I refuse to take the duster Edgar thrusts into my hand, but just at that moment, the bidders began to arrive, and I see Luka walk into the room.

  His black mask covers the most beautiful parts of him, but it lends him an alluring air of mystery. His suit today is coal gray and crisp, and his black shoes are perfectly shined.

  Edgar claps his hands, announces to the bidders what the first event today will look like, and then waves for all of us women to begin our work.

  Several of the girls in purple dresses are tasked with cleaning out the fireplace, others are sent to the kitchen to take care of the breakfast dishes, and the rest of us set about dusting and mopping and cleaning windows all around the first floor of the inn. The bidders split up to watch whichever woman they are most interested in, which leaves Luka, Fox-Face, and the man in the maroon mask lingering close to where Maddie and I are working.

  Maddie’s purple dress is a loose shift today with thin straps that crisscross around her neck and across her chest. It barely brushes the tops of her thighs, so every time she leans forward to put some weight behind the mop, she flashed a peek of her backside, which the men can’t seem to ignore.

  Fox-Face and Maroon Mask take up position directly behind her, though far enough away that we can’t hear their commentary. Thank goodness. And Maddie doesn’t seem to notice she is being watched at all. Her eyes are focused on the floor and nothing else.

  “How are you doing?” I ask her quietly as she mops closer to where I am dusting picture frames and knickknacks on a long buffet table.

  “Fine.” The word is clipped and harsh.

  I narrow my eyes and move closer to her. “I know this has been hard on you. Understandably so. I just want to let you know that you can talk to me if you need—”

  “I don’t need anything from you,” Maddie says, glaring at me. Her thin top lip is pulled back and her blue eyes are vibrant and shining with emotion.

  The first night, Maddie seemed to cling to me. She was frightened, and I did my best to comfort her.

  Now, however, she is being openly hostile and treating me like her enemy.

  “You and I are on the same team,” I remind her. “Don’t let the Cartel manipulate you so easily.”

  She huffs out a laugh. “You think I’m the one being manipulated? Please. You’re the one who looks relieved to spread your legs at the end of every day.”

  Her words hit me like a physical slap, and I rear back from the blow. “Excuse me?”

  Maddie smiles, happy to see her words found their mark, and then shrugs. “I’d almost think you like being Luka’s slave.”

  I don’t know what to say or how to defend myself. I can’t tell Maddie that Luka is my husband. It is too risky, especially since she is clearly upset with me. There is no telling who she would tell the information in order to help herself.

  In the end, it doesn’t matter because Fox-Face draws closer to us and begins openly enjoying the sight of Maddie mopping the floors. I slowly slip away, dusting down the length of the buffet and then moving towards the hallway so I can have a second away from everyone’s eyes.

  Before I step into the hallway, I turn and see Luka at the far end of the room. He is standing next to one of the female bidders, arms crossed over his chest, eyes on a blonde woman who is on her hands and knees in front of the fireplace.


  My heart squeezes with jealousy.

  I know it isn’t fair. Luka doesn’t want to be here anymore than I do. However, even the thought that he would look at another woman the way I only want him to look at me leaves a sour taste in my mouth.

  Suddenly, I’m even more eager to get away from the others.

  Edgar finds me soon after I step outside and instructs me to clean a nearby bathroom if I have nothing better to do with my time.

  The bathroom is small—just a few paces wide in each direction—and noticeably spotless, but that is fine with me. I set to work pretending to clean the already clean room, glad for a few minutes alone. I’m so deep in thought that I don’t hear anyone walk into the room. I only look up when the door closes.

  It is the man in the maroon mask.

  He is smiling, his teeth glimmering in the single light above the vanity. He looks like a wolf before pouncing on his prey. I stand tall and press myself flat against the wall.

  “Would you believe me if I said I was surprised to find you in here?” he asks, tilting his head to the side.

  I want to speak. To say something light and breezy—anything to let him know he isn’t scaring me.

  Except, he is.

  My throat is suddenly so dry, and I can’t formulate any words. All I can focus on is the thrum of my heart in my chest and my desperate desire to slow it down.

  He licks his bottom lip and then turns towards the toilet. I’m certain he isn’t doing what I think he is doing until he lifts the lid and unzips his pants.

  I grimace and face the wall while the sound of his urine hitting the water fills the small room.

  “Feel free to look,” he says over his shoulder. “Take a little peek at what lies in your future.”

  A shiver rolls down my spine.

  When he finishes, I finally manage a haggard breath, hoping I’ve just endured the worst of this encounter.

  He moves to the sink to wash his hands, and for the first time, I notice his limp. It is slight enough that he can usually play it off, but in the enclosed space, he doesn’t have as much room to move and maneuver.