by Anna Zaires, Pepper Winters, Skye Warren, Lynda Chance, Pam Godwin, Amber Lin
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 fr
om 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 anything 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.
“My name is Gavin Darris. You are at my home in Europe, far, far away from civilization.” He grinned at her, making her aware that if she thought of escaping she wouldn’t get very far in finding someone to help her. “And I plan on keeping you here for a very long time, Ruby.” He ran his finger along his napkin but kept his focus on her. “My work doesn’t concern you, aside from the point that occasionally I must travel, and when that is the case you will stay here. I’m thirty-seven, and no, I don’t need to purchase women, but just because I don’t need to doesn’t mean I don’t want to.” She kept running her finger along her fork, and he saw the slight tremble in her hand.
“Am I the first woman you’ve purchased, or do you have a harem stashed somewhere in this house?” He could tell by her voice that she wasn’t trying to fight with him on this question. She was truly curious.
“You are the first female I have ever purchased. And the last.” Her eyes widened slightly. Gavin watched her run her tongue along the swell of her bottom lip, and his cock, which had gotten instantly hard when he saw her enter the dining room, grew harder still.
“Can you at least tell me what you plan on doing with me?”
“Don’t play coy. You know exactly what I plan to do with you. Why else would a man purchase a female from an auction if not to enjoy her body?” He brought his wine glass to his lips and took a long swallow while watching her over the rim. She picked up her fork and started moving the food around her plate. “You don’t like the grilled salmon?” She glanced up at him, but quickly averted her eyes. “I asked you a question, Ruby.” She looked up at him again and set her fork down.
“No, in fact I don’t.” He knew she probably meant to sound stronger, but those words came out in a whisper.
“You don’t like seafood?” He wiped his mouth with the linen napkin and set it down. Gavin leaned back in his seat and wrapped his fingers around the stem of his wine glass.
“Being kidnapped and held captive has a way of ruining a person’s appetite.”
He cocked an eyebrow. “Yes, I suppose it does.” He stared at her for several seconds. She started to fidget again. “Do I make you nervous?” She looked at him with shock written across her face, although it was a rhetorical question because he knew he did. She didn’t answer, but once again looked down at her lap. “Look at me, Ruby.” She didn’t, and he slammed his fist down on the table, knocking over his wine glass. The chardonnay spilled across the white tablecloth, but his focus was on the young women across from him. She was now looking at him, her eyes wide and her back pressed all the way against the back of the chair. Gavin leaned in and rested his forearms on the table. “Since my politeness in starting a civil conversation is not going over the way it should, I will have to just have to do this the hard way.” She audibly swallowed. “This is your new home, Ruby. You are mine, my property, to do with as I please. I have certain desires, and you are the one that will appease them.” She started shaking her head, but he didn’t think she even realized she was doing the act. “Oh yes, Princess. I have many things planned for you, for your body, and for how to make you scream for more.”
“I will never want that, or you.” Her vo
ice shook as she spoke.
“We will see, darling.”
“Why me?” Fat tears fell from her eyes and she angrily wiped them away. He leaned back again and smiled. “Why can’t you just tell me that? You can tell me everything else, but have yet to really tell me why you are keeping me here.”
He had told her already why she was here—to pleasure him. But it was clear his earlier words were not getting through to her. He knew her fear was paramount, knew that this must be very hard for her, but she would have to get used to it and accept it.
“Why not you? You were there for the taking, sweet Ruby. But I saw something special in you, something fiery and determined. I knew when you struggled on that stage that I had to have you for myself. I liked the fighter I saw in you, and there wasn’t anyone that would stop me from what I wanted, and what I wanted was you.” She didn’t respond for several seconds. “Go on, Ruby, tell me how you feel.” Normally he wouldn’t have cared what a female thought. He also didn’t care what others thought if he didn’t directly ask them. That was the way of the world, of his business, and it suited him fine. But Ruby was different than others. Yes, he owned her, and yes, she would be the perfect pet for his deliciously sadistic pleasures. But he just needed to look in her eyes to know that her resistance would slowly fade as she came to terms with her life now. It would take time, but they had an abundance of that.