“Mrs. Sparr, my compliments,” my new master said, without taking his eyes off me. I felt my cheeks burn as Mrs. S came forward to smile at him. The two of them were fully clothed, while I stood only in skin and jewelry. It was surreal.
“Mr. A,” she purred, as she reached her hand out toward him. I watched as he took it, raising it to his lips.
“Always a pleasure,” he murmured in return. “You’ve outdone yourself,” he added, watching me intently. I felt the blush in my cheeks drop to my chest, deepening and making me sway on my feet.
“Forgive me,” my master said, reaching behind me to where my robe rested on the chain binding my arms. “You will keep yourself covered when we aren’t alone,” he said, as those steely eyes bore into me. “You’re mine now and the first rule is… I do not share.”
He slipped the robe up around my shoulders and covered me with it. His hands were huge too, like the rest of him. And rough. They snagged at the delicate silk. This was a man who knew hard work, I thought, physical work. He might be richer than any man here, but that wasn’t a body that came from a gym.
“Mrs. Sparr,” he said, turning back to her. “Privacy, please. Now.”
I cast a quick look around the room. Several men had already taken the women they’d bought into the next room. A large, luxurious room like an old-fashioned ballroom. Basically, it was exactly that.
The masters who liked to show off their girls, and those who wanted to share them, could take advantage of the reception held there after the auction. I’d seen Dalia go in with the black-eyed man, along with a second girl he’d bought earlier in the evening. I’d been warned it was a possibility, and had to restrain myself from sighing out loud from relief now. At least my master wasn’t taking me in there…
Even so… the idea of being alone with him… a perfect stranger, so soon…
I shifted nervously and bit down on my lip. My eyes darted from him to Mrs. S.
“Please,” she said with a smile, gesturing for him to lead us. “I’ve put you in the Citadel, Mr. A, as you asked.” She fell into step behind him as he walked with long, steady strides. It was obvious he knew where he was going. I wondered absently, how many girls he’d taken there before. And what sort of things happened… in a place with such an ominous sounding name…
“Eden,” Mrs. S whispered as she fell into step beside me. “You have no idea how lucky you just got. Mr. A’s been with us for years. He’s… different from the others, but the girls have never complained.” I looked at her sharply and saw her eyes glitter. “In fact, lots of them go out of their way, to try to appeal to him. I guarantee you’re the envy of every girl sold tonight.”
We walked past the wide entry to the ballroom. Fast, but not so fast I didn’t catch an eyeful. There were girls lying on the long elegant buffet tables, naked, their breasts covered in black caviar… the hollow of their bellies filled with oysters and ice. My steps slowed, my eyes huge as I watched a man lap at the caviar as he held his raging cock in his hand and pumped. Dalia leaned over the table and watched him, as she rocked with the thrusts of the man behind her.
I dragged my eyes away, biting my lip, as my own master led us to the elevator. Mrs. S took my hand and squeezed it hard “You’ll be fine, Eden. I know you will. Just do what he tells you. And do nothing of your own accord.” We caught up to my owner as the elevator door opened.
“Remember,” she said, letting my hand go. “Nothing.”
He unlocked the door to the Citadel and stood back, wanting me to enter first. Mrs. Sparr’s warning was still ringing in my ears. What the hell had she meant?
I walked into the loveliest suite of rooms I’d ever seen. Even in photographs.
Everything was in various shades of soft silver and grey. There were pale tones and dark ones, and the lighting was that familiar champagne color. It spread up the walls in soft fan shapes that gave the entire room a kind of golden glow. It was nothing like what I’d imagined. This looked like a very expensive condo, not a very expensive brothel… I shifted my shoulders awkwardly.
“Please, you’re uncomfortable. You must be,” he said.
He picked up a tiny gold key from a table next to the door and turned me in his hands, lifting the back of my robe. I felt the chain binding my arms go slack and sucked in the first full breath I’d taken in hours.
“You must tell me, whenever you’re uncomfortable. Or in pain, Eden,” he said, his eyes sharp on mine. “That’s not a request.”
I blinked… and nodded, afraid to speak without permission. He watched me a moment longer and moved into the living room, away from me. I stood where I was, waiting, trying to ease myself deeper into the folds of my slippery robe. Then I wondered why. It wasn’t like I could hide myself from him much longer…
He sat down and gestured for me to come closer. I stopped when he held up his hand. I was still a foot away. He still hasn’t touched me, I thought absently. I almost wished we could get it over with. The anxiety was building with every minute I had to wait.
“What is your name?” he asked, looking only in my eyes. His were curious, I thought. Sometimes cold grey, but sometimes warmer… like right now.
“Eden, Master,” I replied softly, as I watched the corner of his mouth tilt up.
“No…,” he said firmly. “Your name. Not the advertisement Mrs. Sparr dreamed up.”
I bit my lip again. He seemed amused somehow, but I wasn’t sure. I wasn’t sure of anything.
“Grace,” I said evenly, meeting his eyes. I saw them lighten and sparkle. Or at least I thought they did. “Grace… Clarey.”
“It suits you, Grace,” he answered, watching me closely. “There is some… business we need to discuss before… before we continue.” His voice was low and deep. It reminded me of a thunderstorm. Comforting. Soothing even, at a safe distance… Less so close up.
“You’re what I want. So I bought you,” he said quietly. “I’m in control,” he continued, never taking his eyes off me. “I’m always in control and you will never be… not while I own you.”
“You will do exactly what I tell you, nothing more, nothing less. You must agree to obey me without question.” His look hardened. “And I am unique in my requirements.”
I listened, watching his face as he spoke. His features stood like a stone wall in front of his thoughts. What the hell does he mean by unique?
“I’m not interested in making you do anything you’re not willing to do, Grace,” he continued. “But I won’t explain myself to you. And I can’t tell you now, what it is I’ll demand of you. You’re going to have to trust me. Completely. And agree to my terms. If you can’t, I will release you and Mrs. Sparr will be able to sell you again, still a virgin. A lovely, lovely one, I assure you,” he said, his eyes travelling the length of my robe.
“I will dominate you, if you choose to stay with me. Know that,” he said, lust apparent in his voice for the first time. “But I won’t force anything against your will. You can tell me no, at any time you please and for any reason. But our involvement will end at that moment.”
His eyes dropped from mine for the first time. “No matter what you decide, whether we proceed or not, you will never disclose, to anyone, for any reason, what’s transpired between us. I assure you, there would be consequences you would not care to face.”
“I don’t want one night, Grace. I want the whole week…” His voice trailed off as he reached forward and pulled the silk off my body. I saw his entire body tense, his erection huge and obvious under those expensive slacks. I was lost suddenly, in everything he was telling me, and in the sudden flash of unexpected heat I felt inside.
“I will introduce you to more pleasure than you can imagine, Grace.”
“I’ll do anything and everything to you that I please. And I do mean everything.”
“But you will tell no one what you’ve seen. You will not ask questions. And you will never, never, touch me.”
4
Grace
; Holy fucking shit.
I thought I was ready for anything. I thought I’d heard it all, with the wealth of information my friends had shared. They’d even brought over some porn videos one evening. All those guys wanted was for the girl to touch them, in every possible way.
And I’d thought nothing would shock me. Well, any more than the reality of all this was going to anyway…
I stood, probably with my mouth hanging open as he unbuckled the diamond collar from around my neck. “I don’t much care for these,” he said, putting it down on the coffee table. I put a hand absently to my throat and blinked, trying to understand.
“You will call me Kaine, not Master,” he said smoothly, watching me. “Sit.” He shifted on the pale grey sofa to make room.
I sank down, the thoughts rioting so loud in my head I was sure he could hear them too. I closed my mouth and took a breath.
“If you have questions, Grace, ask them now. I’ll answer only what I can. Most things have to wait until you’ve agreed to my conditions.” He reached for my hand. His felt warm and very strong.
“You can touch me…?” I began, feeling a strike like lightening shoot up my arm. It was the first time I’d felt the touch of his skin, and it tingled like electricity. “But why… You… don’t… like to be touched…?”
“I will touch you all I please, Grace. And it will please both of us… intensely. I will touch you in any manner I choose and I will touch you a great deal,” he said seductively. He ran his fingers up the inside of my arm and stopped just short, when the back of his hand brushed the curve of my breast. “That’s a very different thing from being touched.” He moved his hand to my lips and brushed his thumb over the lower one. “You can never reach out to touch me,” he said, his voice growing slightly harder. “If I choose, I might place your hands on me, but only if I choose. You will not reach out on your own. Not even in the most casual way.”
His words rolled through my head as I looked at him, feeling his touch along my jaw… his fingers trailing to my collarbone. When his fingers dropped lower, to the cleft between my breasts, something deep inside me tightened and tingled. His eyes never left mine. We just watched each other, and somehow I knew he could feel everything that was happening inside my body. He wanted to feel it. For some reason, he needed to.
“One week with me,” he said. “And you won’t have to go back to the auction. There will not be any other men.” His voice had a hard edge and he took his hand off me. My skin felt strangely colder without it.
“It should be a relief to you,” he went on, “to get what you want from this bargain without having to deal with the… preferences… of a number of men. But it requires a certain strength on your part. To make a commitment based on blind trust. Not knowing what my demands are going to be.”
He stood and walked over to the bar. “Would you care for anything?” he asked, pouring himself a tall glass of mineral water.
“Water too, please,” I answered.
“Water please, what?”
“Water please, Mast… Kaine?” I asked, faltering.
He smiled and handed me the glass. I was careful not to let our fingers touch and had a funny feeling I’d passed a test of some kind. I smiled back unevenly.
I looked at him over the top of my glass and felt that strange, warm stirring again inside. He was frighteningly large standing in front of me, but I couldn’t argue that what he was offering had to be better than facing as many as six more strangers after tonight. And he’d told me I could stop any time I wanted to. I could agree to do this now, without giving up the right to change my mind. All I had to do was agree to never touch him… and to keep my mouth shut about whatever he does to me…
I swallowed the water and it went down in a lump. I still had no idea what the hell he would do to me… But then I came here knowing I’d be facing a fucking mountain of unknowns.
He shrugged off his jacket and sat down opposite me. He crossed those long, powerful legs and I took in the lines of his broad, thick shoulders. His arms looked almost muscle bound through his thin white dress shirt. His head was tilted as he watched me. He looked patient enough to sit and wait as long as it took.
“I can see the question in your eyes,” he said, his voice husky in his throat. “It’s the last one I’ll answer… and only if I can.”
“I… it’s just that I…,” I started, unable to meet his steely gaze. Then something inside made me lift my face and look at him hard. I’m no fucking victim here, I told myself. So stop acting like one.
“Why here? Why me?” I asked. But the real question I didn’t ask was… What the hell is it that you want to do to me, that you have pay a hundred grand for??
He laughed, deep and throaty, taking me by surprise. The sound was such a shock, after an evening filled with more tension and fear than I’ve ever felt. In spite of myself, I smiled too, feeling a sudden lightness inside I hadn’t felt in a damned long time. Somehow, I was sure he understood exactly what I was really asking.
He stood and came to sit next to me, his smile giving way to a look that was deeper, more thoughtful. He paused for a moment before he answered.
“Because I will tolerate no arguments, no questions, no… complications.”
“Because you’ll do everything I demand, even if you think you can’t. Because this isn’t personal between us, Grace. And because it never can be.”
He put a large hand gently on my hair and let a long curl slide through his fingers. “I’ve found it takes a great deal of money to buy the kind of silence I need. You can’t ever reveal, to anyone, what we’ve done together… or what you may see. That part is ironclad and it’s best insured in a place like this.” He turned the curl gently so that it caught the light.
What I… see?
“I’ll never hurt you,” he said darkly, as I felt my stomach tighten in fear.
“But I can promise you... we will both suffer, just the same.”
5
Kaine
I watched her as my words sank in, wondering if I had misjudged her strength. She was pale and her breasts barely moved with her shallow breaths.
“You can leave if you choose, Grace,” I said gently. “And even if you accept, you can always change your mind.” I shifted next to her and let go of the silken curl. It fell against her breast and seemed to startle her.
“Suffer…,” she said, almost to herself.
I took her face in my hands and pulled her gently to me. I teased her lips with mine at first, tasting her… tempting her. “Yes,” I said into her barely open mouth. “You will suffer,” I kissed her easily. “And so will I…” I touched the tip of my tongue to hers and felt her respond. Then I deepened the kiss and pulled her closer. “But not the way you’re thinking,” I said. “Not at all in the way that you’re thinking…”
I wrapped her in my arms and plundered her mouth then, wanting to ease her mind and heat her body. She was delicious and sweet, I could feel her nipples hardening, crushed against my chest. Fucking beautiful girl, I thought. You have to say yes. I can’t survive without a yes. She kept her arms at her sides, not reaching out, not trying to touch me back…
She’s fucking perfect.
But I knew she didn’t understand. There was no way she could. I’d had thirty-one years to, and I wasn’t sure I did either. But I knew I had to have her. I wouldn’t let her tell me no.
I stroked her back, the texture of her skin even softer than the silk had been. I heard her breath coming quicker and took her full, lush breast in my hand. Warm and heavy, the nub of her nipple tightened under the pad of my thumb. I heard her gasp as I caught it in my fingers, rolling it. My cock was pounding along with my heart, straining for the freedom it had waited so fucking long for.
“You’ll want me more than anything you’ve ever wanted in your life,” I whispered in her ear. “You’ll want this all the way down to your soul,” I said, as I put my mouth to the tender curve below her ear. “You’ll want me more than you�
��ve wanted any man, and more than whatever reason brought you to La Laisse in the first place.” I lifted her breast, pushing it up and ran my lips over the pale skin.
“And I’ll want you the same way,” I growled, burying my face in her, kissing and tasting… pulling her nipple into my hot mouth and sucking her hard.
She arched in my hands, letting her head fall back, pushing her breast deeper into my mouth. Then I felt her begin to lift her hands to me…
“NO,” I ordered, catching her nipple softly in my teeth. I felt her hands drop, and I sucked a harsh breath through my teeth.
“Perfect,” I rasped out. “You are perfection itself. And beautiful beyond belief. A week from tonight, you’ll leave here knowing it’s the truth. Never doubting it… not for the rest of your life.”
I took her face in my hands and locked her eyes to mine, willing her to give the answer I had to have.
“Tell me, Grace. Tell me now, because I won’t wait any longer.” I brushed my lips against the fullness of hers and felt the struggle rage between her mind and her body. I knew exactly what she was feeling. And exactly what she needed…
“Yes…,” she said, looking into my eyes like she might drown in them.
“Yes.”
I removed every piece of jewelry she wore, slowly, piece by piece. She stood in the middle of the room, with that golden light that La Laisse was famous for turning her creamy skin to the color of lustrous pearls. I wanted her bare, totally bare. A beauty like hers needed nothing else.
I stood back, relaxing into the power of this moment. She was mine, by her own choice. I let my gaze roam her body, smoothly, easily... like a caress. I took a deep breath, savoring the moment of ownership. The gratification of having. It was a feeling I could never get enough of.
The Baby Contract Page 20