Bitterly, he snapped, “Tick tock, Natalie. Only ten hours to choose.”
His steps were heavy going out the door, my head vibrating with each pound. I pinched my arm until it bruised. I’d click my feet in fucking red shoes if I thought it would help. This couldn’t be my life! Nineteen and already abused by two who thought they had the right to own me, to use me for their pleasure, to lock me away as if I’d committed some atrocity that earned me this death sentence.
Veronica came to feed me cinnamon raisin oatmeal, but I wasn’t hungry. After she refused to acknowledge my many refusals, I finally told her he said I didn’t have to eat if I didn’t want to. She seemed completely unaffected by our altercation last night. I couldn’t help but pity her – and envy her all at the same time, because she was able to forget the horrors as soon as they happened. So maybe she was the luckier of the two of us after all.
Several hours later, he was back, looking none too happy with me. I wanted to panic and skitter backwards, but there was really no point. I knew that now.
Ruffling a stack of papers in his hand, he said with an annoyed tone, “Thought you’d like to start sifting through your list of suitors for tonight, maybe choose one in advance so I can tell him how much you hope he wins the auction.” He held the first one out. From my spot on the floor, I could see a picture of an older man, maybe in his fifties, and a bunch of notes written off to the side. “Here. This one’s fat and ugly.”
He threw it down and it lay beside me. He was right. Fat and ugly.
“This one’s fat and ugly, too. And I suspect Russian mafia. Good luck with that,” he snapped maliciously. “Ah! This one’s actually young and good-looking like me, but watch out because he’s hardcore S&M. Fat and ugly. This one’s so fat he’ll probably have a heart attack raping you, so I suggest you do whatever’s necessary to be on top.” With pinched, angry eyes, he added, “Wouldn’t want him to squish you to death in the process.”
I had been snatching all of the pictures as they fell, but I no longer cared. The pictures alone were making me queasy, my mind disgusted with the thought of any one of them touching me. But it was the next one who was the worst of the bunch.
“This one’s not fat or ugly, but he writes those torture porn movies, so I suggest you don’t piss him off. Ever.”
He stopped there, tossing the stack into the air, letting them float randomly down around me. Crouching down, he looked me dead in the eye, but I was too numb emotionally to feel the need to shrink back. As coolly as he could, he said, “This may not be your ideal situation, but it is your reality. These men will treat you no better than my brother, some worse. Very few owners will allow you to live freely within the house like I do. Granted, you won’t earn that kind of freedom right away, but it is there for the taking, should you be willing to abide to my rules.
“Veronica can give me sex. But I want more. I want something only a non-broken can give me. Sensuous sex. Lust. And it’s something I’m willing to give in return.” His hand swept the floor, sending a few of the papers sliding. “None of these men will give a shit about how they treat you. You’re disposable to them and will be treated as such. You want to go and be raped by one of them? Fine. Go to auction. If not, you can stay here, but I demand the sex between us be consensual.
“Now what’s your decision?” he beckoned firmly, his jaw twitching from the tension.
I really wanted to tell him to go get a fucking girlfriend if he wanted intimacy. Being the fucking rat, neither of his choices seemed a viable option. I swallowed the lump in my throat and weakly said, “I need some time to think it over.”
“You have four hours before I come to get you,” he deadpanned. “Think hard and fast.” He reached to remove my bindings, tucking the key back into his pocket. “Veronica will be taking you to the shower soon. Stay here until she comes for you.” Getting up to leave, he reminded me not to do anything stupid. “I can still throw you to auction whether you want it or not.”
After showering and drying my hair, Veronica led me back to his room and sat me on the rug. She lay her head down in my lap and stayed for ten minutes, but I was in no mood to pet her. So I lay there, my back up against the wall, completely jealous that she lacked the mental capacity to deal with this type of dilemma. She just did what she was told. I’m not sure what she could’ve had to do, but she up and left me, leaving me unbound on the rug.
Part of me wanted to get up and make another attempt at escape. But the other part of me knew what a stupid idea that was. This house was exactly like his brother’s place. Same electronic keypads, same bars behind glass panels that were apparently unbreakable now. Same steel doors that weren’t going to unlock without help from the people monitoring the security system. And if he truly had learned from his brother’s mistake, they’d probably been instructed never to unlock the system unless he called in for it personally.
There was no way out of this fortress.
I began to wonder if he left me unbound on purpose, to see if I’d learned my lesson from the first time, to see if I’d behave and stay where I was told to stay without snooping or trying to flee.
Great. Now I had become the fucking dog.
And as much as that pissed me off, there was nowhere to go, no way to leave. So I did the only thing I could think to do: weigh my options. Stay here or be sold. Let him rape me or let some out of shape, middle-aged, three-hundred-pound lardass rape me. Neither was acceptable, but I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t a difference in the level of disgust between the two. But then there was the fact that he shot the only guy I ever loved and left him for dead. I knew what he was capable of the moment I defied him. I imagined the others were probably guilty of similar crimes too, particularly the mafia ones. And torture porn guy? Shit. It was like he intentionally invited the worst of the worst to this auction.
My head dropped back. Always two options. The one he wanted me to choose, and the one so cruel he knew I’d never choose it. He was playing me all over again. Was there even an auction, or was he just trying to rush my decision? And if I chose against him, would he quickly turn around and create an auction? Just to punish me for denying him?
Diabolical.
After about two hours, no one had come back. My legs were cramping, my bottom bruising from doing nothing but sitting for days. I saw no reason why I couldn’t stand on my feet. Had I still been chained, it was something I’d have more than enough slack to do. So I stood and began pacing circles on my rug, my arms wrapping around myself for extra warmth. Looking to my burns, the redness was fading fast. The areas still felt numb but visually they were smoother and less pink. All except the spot on my right arm; it was still pretty red.
Luckily, I was able to go through Veronica’s drawers on my own this time, so I avoided wearing another see-through slip. I also dodged the more scanty lingerie I found in there. It sickened me, especially after that speech of his. He wanted lust from me, which basically meant hot and heavy sex normally reserved for your significant other. And he was most definitely not my significant other. But I knew the moment I opened that drawer, that if I chose to stay here, I’d be expected to wear things far more skimpy then the slips I was currently getting.
I needed to pee, but I didn’t dare go into his bathroom without permission. I didn’t dare go anywhere. I’d seen the way he beat me and Veronica, and felt the terror shivering all the way to my bones when he choked and threaten to beat me senseless when he thought I had simply lied. I didn’t want to do anything that was going to leave another painful welt across my face or leave me unconscious and at his mercy.
I slowly, fearfully, walked to the door, stopping before I could enter the hallway. I peeked my head out, looking both ways and finding nothing. I didn’t want to delay, in risk that he knew I was moving. Certainly he was able to watch his hidden cameras on his cell phone too. “Hello?” I called.
About thirty seconds later, he climbed the stairs and came to me, the slightest smile on his face. He was
probably commending himself for training me so well. “I need to go to the restroom.”
It wasn’t what he wanted to hear, but he acknowledged me with a nod anyways. “You can use Veronica’s. Go back to your spot when you’re done.”
I nodded and passed him in the hall. I hated doing my business when I didn’t know where the hidden camera was. Not daring to linger, I left Veronica’s room. He wasn’t in the hallway or his bedroom, so I was left unchained again.
Nothing left to do but lie down and wait.
It was funny, but once unchained, my body relaxed enough to finally sleep. The next thing I knew, he was stroking my arm to wake me up, calling out Natalie repeatedly.
I groggily sat up and rubbed the sleep from my eyes as he went to grab something off his bed. He held up a red dress by his index fingers, swaying it back and forth before me.
“What is that?”
He knew I was stalling and ignored my question altogether. “In my experience, red always seems to entice the men more. Maybe it’ll help fetch a higher price.”
Was he seriously continuing with this messed up game? I wasn’t some dumb zombie girl. I had the brains to figure out what was going on around me.
But the seriousness of his face scared me, and made me think otherwise. Was he seriously selling me? He freaking tracked me down, shot my boyfriend to avenge his ass of a brother who totally deserved to die, then began the process to wipe my skin clear of scars and burns, just to turn around and sell me to make a little money? What the hell?
He waved that silky, slutty dress in front of me with a low cut top and slits all the way up both thighs and I was freaking screaming inside!
“Don’t make this difficult, love. I can see your face flushing so I know you’re thinking things you shouldn’t be.”
Oh, I had every intention of making this difficult. When I didn’t budge, he calmly laid the dress on the bed, but his demeanor changed for the worst when he stalked me, backing me up against the wall. Panicking, I began to realize the stupidity behind my resistance. There was nowhere to run and he had a heavy fist.
I gasped when he snatched my jaw, squeezing down to the bone with such force that I cried out in pain. My hands went to his chest in defense, but I didn’t dare put any real force behind my push.
“You have two options right now,” he threatened, yanking my jaw until I looked him square in the eyes. “Either put the dress on yourself or I’m taking you downstairs to meet your suitors naked.” He threw me back against the wall, releasing me, and then, like nothing had happened at all, turned and walked out. “I’ll give you two minutes to decide.”
My jaw shuddered, aching where he had held me so roughly. I could already feel the bruises starting to form. I rushed to throw on the dress. I didn’t have a lot of options, and naked wasn’t going to be the one to win out.
I was still shaking when he returned, clearly pleased with what he saw. His fingers traced down my bare arms, assessing me, a sense of longing in his eyes that disturbed me so much I had to look away. Next, he played with my hair, fixing my part and combing his fingers through my messy hair.
A single tear fled down my cheek. Nick had always done the same. He loved how wild my hair looked when I woke up each morning.
“There,” he said softly, wiping my tear away, “now you’re ready to make me some money.” He grabbed my hand and pulled me into motion. “Come. Our guests will be arriving any minute.”
Oh, my God. He wasn’t screwing with me. He was actually going to do it. He was going to sell me to some dirty, fucking sleazeball.
And I thought I was shaking before! It started off as a shiver, quickly progressing to something more intense. I did not want to go back to that life. Locked away with no hope in sight, possibly no drugs to dull the pain or cloud my mind. As much as it disgusted me to think it, the man holding my hand was by far the better deal. I’d seen firsthand how Veronica got to live.
“Wait!” I shouted, pulling him to a stop. “Please,” I begged. “Don’t sell me.”
Amused, he smiled and pulled me along again, his grip slipping to my wrist and tightening fast. “You had your chance, Natalie. Time’s up.”
“No! Don’t! I’ll do anything you want!”
My insides twisted into knots when I said those words, bile burning the bottom of my throat, threatening to rise as my anxiety level jumped off the chart. I’d just sealed my fate.
“Prove it,” he said darkly. “And I won’t sell you.”
Backtracking to the bedroom, I flat-out panicked like never before, my lungs just shy of hyperventilating. The words taking a few seconds to come together, I finally blurted, “But you said they were almost here.”
A smirk overtook his face. “I lied. We still have an hour.” He released me and disappeared inside the room. “Come along, love.”
He fastened the chains to my wrists. I couldn’t look at him, couldn’t bear to acknowledge what I’d done, what I’d done willingly. His words haunted my thoughts. In just three days, you’ll be begging me to fuck you.
It sickened me. I sickened me, and I lay down on the fur rug, curling myself into the fetal position. I was dressed in my slip again, but I still felt naked, could still smell the scent of his skin on mine.
He kissed on my neck and shoulders, probably thinking he could comfort me, but mentally, his touch had the opposite effect. Unfortunately, he hadn’t ignored me the way he did Veronica. My defiance, my snippy retorts, the fact that my body could react when he touched me – it turned him on, and he eagerly used his hands and mouth all over my body to make me squirm within his grasp even more.
“Don’t beat yourself up, love. You did the smart thing tonight.” I felt him rise beside me. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go get Veronica ready for the auction.”
Grabbing the red dress that he’d stripped me of and tossed to the floor, he added, “I’m going to lock you in. With all these buyers in the house tonight, you’d be smart to remain quiet.” With that, he left, and I heard electronic beeping outside the door.
My chest hurt from the number of heaves my body jerked over the next half hour. I cried for Veronica, whose poor mind was so far gone she didn’t even know what was happening, that her world was about to get far worse. And I did that to her.
I cried for Nick. Who wanted nothing more than to protect me. Who could have died protecting me for all I knew. It was Nick I tried to imagine beneath me as I was forced to ride him, so he could prove that our sex was my choice, and that I had all the power. He even kept his hands laced behind his head in the beginning so it could better sink in that I was screwing him and not the other way around. But my lack of enthusiasm didn’t offer him enough aggression, so he soon flipped our positions. And the way he kissed and licked me so greedily, made it extremely difficult to pretend it was Nick.
But I had no power, other than determining my fate. And it sickened me that I threw Veronica under the bus to ensure my own survival, to make certain I wouldn’t have to endure the life I’d suffered before. I could only pray she truly had no comprehension of what was happening to her. But nothing would ever replace the horrible fact that I knew someone would always be using her, and that there was nothing I could do about it. We were both being used in some way; completely helpless, hopeless.
I don’t know how much time passed until he came back, hours maybe, but the room was pitch black before he did. I continued to lie there once the lamp was on, even though my body ached to move about, afraid the tiniest movement would remind him I was there.
As if he’d ever forget.
He began unbuttoning his shirt, directing his gaze towards me. “Sorry it took so long. Turns out Veronica is quite the people person. She was more than happy to go about the room getting to know each of the buyers intimately before the auction. She created quite the bidding war.”
My hands smothered my face in shame, as I rolled my body tightly inward. I did that. I did that to her.
He disappeared into t
he bathroom, leaving me to wallow in agony as he took his shower. My head rolled his way when I heard footsteps. Oh, no. He was coming for me, not even a towel around his waist, a body so curved and ripped I wouldn’t have even a tenth of his strength.
“Ready to celebrate our newfound relationship?” he asked, rolling me on my back and climbing on top of me right there on the rug. He didn’t even unbind the leather around my wrists. He just pushed my gown above my head, the straps removed from my arms but still trapped by the chains. I had no choice but to lie there and let him do as he pleased, knowing that if he didn’t beat me to death, he had the power to sell me off like he did Veronica. I’d forever be forced to bend to his will.
He’d tamed me. Just like he said he could. And it only took him three days. No drugs. No knife to my throat. Just persuasion, fear of something worse.
My fucking body betrayed me again. As much as my mind opposed what was happening, it didn’t keep my body from becoming aroused in a twisted manner and allowing him to slide easily inside me. I wasn’t able to control all the tears, and a few trickled out as he used me for the second and third time that night. But he didn’t care, saying that with time, I wouldn’t find the need to cry anymore, that I would come to enjoy our time together. He merely licked the tears away, his eyes boring hard onto mine, silently declaring you’re mine now.
A piercing alarm snapped me out of sleep. It was completely dark when my hands clamped over my ears. Feet hit the floor hard, needing just three steps to reach the cabinet and throw open the doors. The collection of TV screens lit up the room with a white glow, his body blocking my view of what they showed.
He bent over and quickly tapped something on the keyboard. The alarm disarmed, the master door slammed and locked automatically, and a portion of the wall slid open. His shadowed face turned to me. “Sorry, love. But I’ll need a little time before we can continue this affair. But don’t worry. I’ll bring you home again.” He snatched a bag inside the armoire and ducked through the wall bare ass naked before it closed behind him.
NEARLY Trilogy Page 24