Buttons and Shame

by Penelope Sky

  It would be a million times worse.

  Button snaked her hand through my arm and cuddled close to me on the bench. Her chest pressed into my arm, and her face rested on my shoulder. Her hair gently grazed my neck, soft like a rose petal. “I’m not going anywhere, Crow. There’s nothing that can come between us now.”

  Even if I left the business entirely, I still had enemies all over the world. The price on my head was still high, and my bank account made me a prime target. My past couldn’t be erased, and blood would always be spilled. I would never be safe, so I couldn’t take down my guard. If someone took my life, then there would be no one to look after Button.

  I was everything to her. What would she do without me?

  “You never know when things can change. I need to be careful—we need to be careful.”

  “I know, Crow. But we have to live our lives too. I was a prisoner for what felt like an eternity. Trust me, there’s no point in living if you can’t be free. I need to feel free.” She spoke into my shoulder, her lips moving against the fabric of my t-shirt.

  I understood her point of view. Truly, I did. But my life was complicated. “I’ll never be free, Button. I was born into a blood war. The Barsetti name is both worshiped and cursed. I’ll never walk the world without looking over my shoulder. You and I will never truly be free. That’s something we both have to live with—because you’re a Barsetti.”

  She leaned away so she could look me in the eye. “I’m proud to be a Barsetti. But I need more.”

  “That’s all I can give you.” If I could give her the world, I would. But that was one thing my fingertips couldn’t reach. “If there’s someplace you want to see, I’ll take you. If there’s something you want to do, I’ll make it happen. But we have to strategically plan every move. Otherwise, we can take a wrong turn. I know this is hard for you to understand, but this is the only life I’ve ever known. One wrong move—and you’re dead.”

  A handful of hair fell from behind her ear then repositioned itself around her face. Despite her abuse, she looked like someone who never lifted a finger. She was poised and graceful like a queen, with flawless skin that was healthy and vibrant. When she painted her lips that color, her teeth looked even whiter. Her eyes looked bigger, seductive when she did them that way. “Okay.”

  “Okay, what?” I eyed her lips, wanting them pressed against mine in a heated embrace. Sometimes when I looked at her mouth, I only wanted it wrapped around my cock. But right now, I just wanted to kiss her. I wanted to make love to my wife, to take the time to really feel her lips—both pairs.

  “I’ll be more cautious.”

  She wasn’t even Italian, and she was a very stubborn woman. For her to make that gesture, no matter how small and vague it was, was significant. So I would take it with gratitude. “Can I take you to dinner?”

  “I’m sure Lars has something cooking.”

  “We can have that for lunch tomorrow. There’s this great place around the corner I think you’ll like.”

  “Ooh…are we going on a date?”

  I stopped resisting the temptation of her lips and kissed her. “Yes. And I want to make love to you when we get home.”

  6

  Cane

  I returned to Tristan’s fortress and moved through the security measures just as I did last time. They patted me down and made sure I wasn’t packing anywhere unseen. The routine was unnecessary since I’d been doing business with Tristan for years.

  I joined him in the dining room and was relieved dinner wasn’t about to be served. All I wanted was my money so I could get the hell out and return home. The second I was in the house, I thought about his slave. She was nowhere in sight, so she was probably chained up somewhere.

  I wouldn’t allow myself to think about those tits. About that luscious pussy. If I let my thoughts get carried away, I’d have a boner in a room full of dudes. “Have you considered my offer, Tristan?” I didn’t play games when it came to business. I asked for a specific number for a very specific reason. There was no negotiation for my products. That wasn’t how I ran the show, and my clients showed me respect by not trying to talk me down.

  “I have.” He crossed his legs and rested his hands on his lap. “Your price is fair. However, I can only give you half.”

  “If you can only give me half, then you get half of the product.” The average cost for each item didn’t rise or fall. I wasn’t tight on cash, so I didn’t need to make a deal. Crow and I expected premium prices for premium items.

  “How about I give you half now and the other half later? You know I’m good for it.”

  “If you’re good for it, why don’t you have the money now?” Why make a big purchase if he can’t finance it? That was Bankruptcy 101.

  “I put a lot of money into a project and expect a return on that investment in thirty-one days. At the moment, I’m low on funds, but the investment was worth it. I will make a killing and have no regrets. But I do need the weapons now. Can we work something out?”

  Tristan was a man of his word, but that wasn’t enough. “If I make this deal for you, I’ll have to do it for others. So I can’t let that happen.”

  Tristan nodded like he’d been expecting that answer. “Is there something I can give you for collateral? That would make it fair.”

  “Do you have anything that valuable?” He would need to have enough jewelry to fill an entire store to cover the remaining balance.

  “It depends on your interpretation of value.”

  I smirked. “That doesn’t sound good.”

  Tristan snapped his fingers at one of his cronies. “Bring her in here.”

  My heart raced when I imagined whom he was referring to. I hadn’t stopped thinking about her since I left. Instead of picking up a woman last night, I went to the hotel and jerked off to the memory of her incredible pussy.

  Tristan’s man guided a blond woman into the chair across from me. Blond hair, big tits, and flawless skin, she looked like she’d been snatched from a pageant. She didn’t wear any scars like the other woman, but she was just as terrified. She couldn’t stop shaking, and she wouldn’t meet my gaze or Tristan’s.

  I eyed him and waited for an explanation.

  “She was on a modeling gig from America when she was taken. I bought her for a million dollars at the gentleman’s auction. She’s a virgin—it’s been proven. As a thank you for giving me an extra thirty-one days to gather the second half of the payment, I’ll give her to you. Do whatever you want with her.”

  The woman began to breathe heavily as tears burned in her eyes. She started to shake violently just before she turned hysterical. Her tears turned into sobs that echoed in the dining room.

  “Shut it,” Tristan hissed. “Or I’ll break your ribs.”

  She silenced her cries but wouldn’t stop shaking.

  Tristan turned back to me. “We have a deal?”

  She was beautiful, but I didn’t find her attractive. She was scared and weak, nothing like that other woman. She didn’t hold herself with respect despite her station. There was nothing unique about her. Her eyes were blue, and her hair was blond like every other model in the world. She didn’t do anything for me. “I don’t want her.”

  Tristan placed the back of his fingertips against her arm then slowly moved up to her shoulder. She shivered at his touch as if his fingers were made of ice. When they reached her shoulder, they moved across her body to her tits. He gripped her breast through the bra and gave it a firm squeeze. “You don’t want her?”

  I probably would if I hadn’t had the other first. “I want the woman I had last night.” I didn’t think it through before I made my request. “I can tell you find her valuable.” I hadn’t stopped thinking about her, and her request kept playing in my mind. She wanted to be with me rather than be trapped with Tristan. I would enjoy fucking her for thirty-one days. I’d make every single day count.

  Tristan leaned back in his chair and narrowed his eyes like he’d been insu
lted. “My woman?”

  I nodded.

  He tilted his head slightly like he still couldn’t believe it. “That’s a pretty bold request.”

  “You’re asking me to make an exception for you. That’s pretty bold.” If he wanted me to give up my prized weaponry with only half the deposit, then he better offer me something incredible in return. I didn’t want this voluptuous blonde. I wanted that beautiful brunette with the pussy that tasted like ice cream.

  He grabbed his wine and took a drink, his features contorted in anger. He took his time drinking, stalling before he gave an answer.

  The blonde began to breathe normally again, relieved I wanted someone else instead of her. Little did she know, she just lost out on a great deal.

  He finally set the glass down. “No. She’s off-limits.”

  “Then we don’t have a deal.” I rose from the chair. “When you get the second half of the payment, we’ll talk.” I finished off my scotch before I walked away from the table. I wasn’t a fan of this deal anyway. The only reason why I considered it in the first place was the prospect of having that woman again. Without her, I didn’t have any interest in making it work.

  “Hold on.” Tristian rose from his chair, his hand still resting on the stem of his wineglass. “There has to be something else we can agree to. I’ll give you two women.”

  I turned back around and searched his beady black eyes. “I don’t want two women. I only want one woman.” His obsession matched my own. I’d only been with her once, hadn’t even fucked her, and I still needed her again. I understood his resistance. “Unless you have something else.” There was nothing he could possibly own that would rival the cost of the shipment. Even if he had a boat, that still wouldn’t come close. If he really wanted to make this deal work, he’d have to give in.

  He finished off the rest of his wine before he threw the glass against the wall. It shattered loudly before the pieces sprinkled onto the floor. The blond woman nearly jumped into the air at the sound. “Alright, Cane. I’ll meet your demand. But I have one condition.”

  “I’m listening.”

  “I won’t give her to you. But I’ll loan her. Once I pay the second half, she’s mine again.”

  I knew that was Tristan’s best offer. He would let me walk away from the deal if I didn’t take it. I wasn’t going to let her slip through my fingers, so I shook his hand. “Deal.”

  7

  Adelina

  “Up.” Tristan walked into my bedroom where I was chained by the ankle to the metal bedpost. In the short time I’d been a prisoner, my treatment had been anything but humane. I always had a chain around one of my limbs as I remained locked in my bedroom all day while Tristan worked. I didn’t get any food, and if I had to pee, I had to hold it all day. And if I couldn’t, I had to pee on the bed—which I slept on.

  My life was a nightmare.

  I hadn’t been here for a week, but I already had forgotten what freedom felt like. I couldn’t remember the way the warm sun felt on my face first thing in the morning. I couldn’t remember the breeze through my hair. I’d just gotten to Greece with Lizzie when our taxi had been hijacked, and sacks were pulled over our faces. My life was savagely taken from me on my first trip from home.

  I wanted to die.

  How did I keep going?

  Would I ever make it out of there?

  Not only was I raped dozens of times, but I’d been beaten like a dog that wouldn’t listen. I’d been kicked in the ribs, punched in the face, and stomped on like a rug. I didn’t have a name anymore. I wasn’t a person anymore.

  I wasn’t human.

  I’d always pictured how I would lose my virginity. It was with a man I loved, and it was beautiful. But my first time was savage. He shoved himself inside me hard, broke my hymen, and then fucked me while I choked back my sobs.

  Tristan stared me down. “I said up.”

  “Do you not see the chain wrapped around my ankle?” Every time I was a smartass, I got punched in the face. But at this point, I was immune to pain, so whatever.

  He grabbed my ankle and dragged me to the edge of the bed. Instead of a hard punch, he backhanded me across the cheek. My skin immediately burned, and I knew there would be a handprint for the rest of the day.

  I didn’t make a sound. He liked knowing when I was hurt, so I did my best to hide it. He took away my freedom, so I would take away the intensity of his orgasms.

  He unlocked the metal chain from my foot, and I hid my relief. My skin was callused and bruised from the constant constriction. It was impossible to get comfortable when the metal was always digging into my skin. The only time it was removed was when he came to fuck me.

  And every time, I felt sick.

  “For the last time, up.” He slapped me in the center of the face, hitting me right in the nose and the eyes.

  My eyes smarted and my nose stung painfully, but I still didn’t release a grunt. I moved off the bed and got to my feet, feeling weak from not eating a real meal in four days. My body was beginning to go into shock because I was severely dehydrated. A migraine had settled in my skull since I arrived.

  “Good girl. Listen up.” He grabbed me by the throat even though it was unnecessary.

  I pushed his hand off. “You have my attention. You don’t need to grab me.”

  Here it comes.

  This time, he punched me right in the face.

  My nose bled, and the blood dripped into my mouth.

  He grabbed me by the neck again. “I’m loaning you to a friend for thirty-one days. Pull any stunts, and that will be the end of your friend Lizzie.”

  I had no way of knowing if he was telling the truth. Lizzie could have been sold off to a psychopath. Or worse, she could already be dead. But if I didn’t cooperate, she was guaranteed to lose her life. He held that over my head extensively, making me behave like an obedient animal. “I know.”

  “Try to run, and I’ll torture her first.”

  It wasn’t the first time he’d told me that. “Who are you giving me to?”

  Without warning, he punched me hard in the stomach. The air left my body, and I fell to the floor, too weak to hold myself up.

  “Slaves don’t ask questions.” He grabbed me by the hair and dragged me across the hardwood floor.

  I screamed and tried to get up so the pain would subside from my skull, but he moved too quickly. Chunks of hair came loose as he continued to tug on it like it was reins on a horse.

  He finally let me go once I was in the center of the entryway. In just my panties, I was naked for all of his men to see. Some of them had taken turns fucking me, so we were acquainted. “Up.”

  I didn’t test him this time. I got to my feet, feeling shaky. My hair was in my face so I couldn’t see in front of me, but I preferred it that way. I wanted to stick my head in the sand and pretend none of this was happening.

  I pretended I was at home.

  “I’ll see you in thirty-one days, Cane,” Tristan said.

  Cane?

  I pulled my hair from my face and looked at the man who was just here last night. With deep green eyes that looked equally kind and horrifying, he stood tall in a black t-shirt. I’d seen him naked, every inch of his masculinity. He was different from the others because he was good-looking. He had a nice jaw, strong eyes, and a five o’clock shadow that never seemed to fade. He was the tallest one at over six feet. He was the only man I’d encountered who had been somewhat nice to me, so I viewed him in a different way from the others. He was the only one who understood the meaning of no. He claimed he wasn’t a good man, and that was probably true.

  But I hoped he wasn’t as evil as they were.

  I wondered why Tristan was loaning me to someone else when he just got me a few days ago. He fucked me around the clock, coming into my bedroom during his breaks at work. He was obsessed with me—even though he had an odd way of showing it.

  “I want her in the same condition as she is now—no broken bones.” He pushed
me forward so I could get closer to Cane.

  One of his men bound my wrists together with rope, even though it was clear I couldn’t escape. Even if I got away, I couldn’t live with myself for leaving Lizzie behind. I could go to the police and tell them everything I knew, but by then, it would be too late. These guys were masterminds of the underworld. They introduced me to a world I’d been blissfully blind to.

  “Got it.” Cane removed his black blazer to reveal his muscular physique in a tight black t-shirt. He placed the thick fabric over my shoulders and wrapped me in the clothing, keeping my nakedness from the prying eyes of the sick perverts around me.

  It was the first time that someone offered me clothes, that someone treated me like a human rather than an animal. I wanted to cry at the gesture because it meant so much to me. It was a jacket, something I would have taken for granted in my former life. But now that jacket was a life vest in freezing waters.

  “Get my money, Tristan.” Cane placed his hands on my shoulders and guided me to the front door. “I know you’re good for it—but you better not prove me wrong.” He guided me outside the front doors and to the sunlight that hit my face.

  I stopped in my tracks and closed my eyes, wanting to weep at the feeling I’d missed so much. If I kept my eyes closed, I truly felt free. The air smelled like fresh flowers from a field, and I could recognize the salt from the sea air.

  Just an instant of joy—but it was everything.

  Cane grabbed me by the elbow. “Move.”