by Ashlee Price
“I did. I also know that you said you weren’t coming.”
“Are you mad that I did?”
I wasn’t mad that I was here. Here was where I wanted to be, but I couldn’t think with the light in my eyes and the pounding in my head.
“No, I just don’t feel good and I really want to go home.”
It was not what he expected, and if I’d really thought about it I would have known how wrong I was for saying it, but I couldn’t deal with everything that was going on.
“I’ll take you home if you want, or you can just stay here. Elie wants you there in a couple of hours. I would suggest that you not go. If he’ll drug you and sell you off, Mariah, I don’t think that there’s any way that you should trust him. He’s not a trustworthy guy.”
I knew that about Elie, had known it for a while, but I didn’t want Scott bringing it up. “Don’t worry about me, Scott. I know that I’m no good for your reputation.”
He sighed, sat up and put his legs over the edge of the bed. “I didn’t mean it like that. I just didn’t want to lose my company, but it’s too late now. As much as I paid, it’s bound to become a story. I haven’t heard from the board, but I’m sure that I will soon.”
I wanted to ask him how much, but then again I didn’t. How mad was he to have spent so much money on me and gotten nothing in return? It didn’t seem fair, but what was I supposed to do?
“You shouldn’t have come there, Scott.”
“How could I not?”
I knew that he was just worried about getting me in bed. It wasn’t enough. No matter how much he’d paid, he’d shown me what he truly thought. I was an embarrassment to him. That was all there was to it. There was no love, just lust and shame.
“Can you just take me home, Scott, please?”
“If that’s what you really want, Mariah.”
What I really wanted wasn’t going to happen. I wanted him to love me and be proud to be with me, but that was not going to happen. I’d spent too much time at the club, and if I stayed here in New Orleans, I would never get away from it. That’s why I had to leave, no matter how hard it was going to be. Scott winning me hadn’t changed anything. I was still stuck and in love with a man who just wanted to own me, not love me.
“It’s what I want. I just want to go home and lie down until all of this goes away.”
***
I woke up later that day. Much later; it was dark outside when I looked out. I was feeling a lot better, and now I felt like a jerk for how I had acted with Scott. I knew that what I was and where I worked weren’t exactly the most respectable things in the world, and I could understand why he wouldn’t want to be publically linked with me. It made sense, even if it hurt to hear it said out loud.
I wanted to call him, but something was holding me back. I don’t know if it was my pride or what, but I couldn’t do it. I didn’t know what to say, and all I could really think to do to make it up to him was to actually go and see him. There were no words to get it all out. I was just going to have to show him how sorry I was how everything had turned out. My feelings for him hadn’t changed. He’d come for me, even though it would hurt him in the end. I had to love him more than ever for that. It was impossible not to. I finally picked up the phone and dialed his number.
“Scott, I was hoping that I would get a hold of you. Are you still at work?”
“Yeah, I went in, although everything is a little crazy around here. Did you need something?”
His voice and tone were abrupt. I deserved it for everything that had happened and the way I’d reacted this morning. I’d been feeling horrible, though. I mean really bad. It had felt like I was about to lose myself, and even now I wasn’t sure what tomorrow was going to bring.
“I was hoping that we could have a redo, daddy. I know that I was naughty this morning. Don’t you want to punish me?”
There was silence that stretched for several heartbeats.
“Mariah, I… yes, I want a redo. You don’t need a punishment, though.”
I made a pouting sound. Punishment was what got me off. He knew that, and I hoped that he wouldn’t withhold it from me because I’d withheld myself from him.
“Can I come see you later then?”
“Yes.”
“When, daddy?”
“God, I love when you say it like that.”
I giggled and told him that I just wanted to make him happy. I did. There was always a draw to him, and a need in me to make sure that everything was good. I wanted him to be as happy as I was with him those few hours a week that I got to see him.
“So what time do you want me to come by?”
“I’ll be home around seven.”
“I’ll be there.”
“What about work and Elie?”
“I just woke up and I don’t know about any of that. I guess I’ll see him tomorrow.”
“Good, then I’ll have you for the whole night.”
“That’s what you paid for, Scott.”
“Mariah…”
“What?”
“It’s not like that. I bid on you because I didn’t want you to have to be with someone else.”
“So you don’t want me, daddy?”
I gave him the voice that had I noticed bothered him so well, and I got the growl that I was looking for. It was sweet music to my ears, and there was nothing more I wanted to do then but be there. Seven wasn’t that long to wait, but suddenly it felt like an eternity.
“You know damn well I do, Mariah.”
“Then I’ll see you soon.”
His answer was more sounds than words, and I hung up with a smile on my face. I must have had some kind of dream, because I’d woken up thinking of Scott. Now I was feeling like the day was not a total waste. I had a lot to deal with, but one more day wasn’t really going to matter that much. I still had too much going on to pretend like it was all going to be okay, but just for tonight I was going to pretend like it wasn’t all coming down around me. Elie and the club could wait. Tonight was going to be about me and Scott, as it should be.
Chapter 26 – Sasha
“Where is she, Sasha? I’ve been calling the house all day and I’m just now getting you answering. Where is Mariah at?”
I’d just gotten back a few minutes before. I didn’t know where she was, and I certainly wasn’t going to go look.
“I don’t know, Elie. I was out late last night and most of the day. The auction was for the day, twenty-four hours.”
“Don’t get smart with me. I know what I signed you up for, Sasha. I’ve got your check, as well as Mariah’s. If she doesn’t show up soon, she’s not going to get a dime. Maybe I’ll start charging her five percent for every day that she doesn’t come in.”
“That’s between the two of you.” I had learned my lesson about arguing with him. He was going to do what he wanted, and even though he wanted to make it seem like I could change that, I knew that wasn’t true. Nothing I did was going to affect or influence Elie. He didn’t care what I thought about anything, so there was really no point in arguing with him.
I started to walk through the house as he told me how everything was chaotic at work because so many girls hadn’t come in for their shifts. I could have reminded him that he was the one who’d planned it all. Maybe he should have done a better job. But of course I wasn’t going to tell him that. Let him figure it out on his own, as far as I was concerned.
“You’re involved, Sasha, whether you want to be or not. I would have never hired her if it wasn’t for you. You told me that she would do well here.”
“And she has. I heard about how much you made off of her. The percentage that you’re getting is rather high as it is.”
I closed my eyes and shook my head. I wasn’t even sure what had possessed me to say that, but I wasn’t going to apologize. I just didn’t want to, and the longer I was on the phone with Elie, the happier I was that I wasn’t ever going to have to go back there to work. I was going to pick up my chec
k and then tell him that I was leaving. I wanted to see the look on his face when I told him I’d had enough.
“She agreed to it.”
“Well, you’ll have to talk to her. I just got back and I haven’t seen her since last night.”
Elie wasn’t ready to get off the phone, and even though I felt like I was going to pass out where I stood, I couldn’t hang up. I wasn’t that brave, and I still needed Elie on my side until I got paid for the auction.
“Are you coming in tonight, Sasha?”
“I’m really tired, so I don’t think I’m going to be able to work, but I’ll be in to pick up that check.”
“Make sure you bring Mariah with you, Sasha, or don’t even bother showing up.” I wanted to say something, but I knew that it wouldn’t do me any good. There was nothing that I could do to make him change his mind. I was going to have to convince Mariah to come with me. We needed to get our money from Elie so we could leave. I didn’t trust him to hold on to it, and I was going to need that after I quit.
Finally hanging up the phone, I moved to knock on Mariah’s door. She was most likely still out, so I didn’t expect an answer. I opened the door a crack to see if she was in there sleeping, but I saw that she was actually getting ready for something.
“You’re looking hot. Where are you going?”
“I’m going to go see Scott.”
“Weren’t you with him last night?”
“Yeah, but nothing happened.”
“What do you mean nothing happened?” I knew how much he’d paid for her, so I found it hard to believe that nothing had happened between the two of them. How could it not? No man was going to pay that kind of money just for a girl’s company.
“Elie put something in my drink and I passed out before we even got to his home, apparently.”
I just shook my head. I wish I could say that I didn’t believe it, that he wouldn’t do something like that, but the sad reality was that I knew he was capable of that and so much worse.
“Are you okay?”
“I guess. I don’t really remember anything from the auction at all. I remember talking to you backstage, but then I was handed a drink and I just downed it. From there, it gets pretty fuzzy pretty fast.”
“Yeah. Elie is a monster half of the time. Did you try to leave?”
She told me that she had, but Bruno and Lex hadn’t gone for it. “They said if I tried to run they were just going to tie me up and carry me on stage. I didn’t really have a choice.”
That was how Elie liked to do it. He made sure that he’d gotten a person in a bind first, and from there it was no holds barred. Then he could do whatever he wanted. I swear, sometimes he must have just sat up at night thinking of ways to make people’s lives a living hell. He’d done it to me, and his creativity was formidable. It made him far too happy to mess with us girls the way he did.
“Well, I’m glad it was Scott that won.”
“Me too. I can’t imagine what would have happened to me if it had been anyone else. No other man would have been as well behaved. He put me to bed and I woke up with my clothes intact.”
That was hard to believe, although I did know a few clients who I thought could manage it. It wasn’t hard to see that a man like Elie would have taken advantage of her, but it was good to hear that not all men were like that. In this business, it was easy to think that way and forget that there were in fact still good men in the world. I’d always had a good feeling about Scott.
“I’m glad, too. I always liked him, although he never liked me that well. So where are you going with him tonight?”
“Just to his place, I think. I’m going to give him what he paid for.”
“Elie wants to see you.”
“Yeah, I know. He’s been calling me all day, but there’s no way that I’m talking to him. I’m not even going to think about it. Tomorrow I’ll go and see what he wants from me. I need to get that money and then I’m going to quit.”
“Me too. I’ve been thinking about it all day. I talked to him earlier and he was looking for you.”
“Did he sound mad?”
I shrugged. He was pissed, but she didn’t need to know that, not yet. I would tell her in the morning after she’d had a good night. She deserved one after everything that Elie had put her through.
“Have fun. We’ll go together tomorrow. Better in numbers.”
“Do you think we should just act like everything is fine and then just not go back in or what?”
I personally wanted to tell him off, but that probably wasn’t the best idea that I’d ever had. It was better if I just let it go. I was going to have to temper my mouth, now and tomorrow.
“Well, we’ll talk about that later. Tonight, just have fun. Don’t think about Elie and the club. Go have a good time and tomorrow we’ll take care of the rest.”
“Thanks, Sasha. I don’t know what I would do without you. This has been a hard month.”
I had to agree. Her ex-boyfriend getting shot and then just the auction itself had been a big mess. It was not hard to see that just one month at the club involved a lifetime of drama.
Leaving her room, I could feel that the sinking in the pit of my stomach was only getting worse. I didn’t want to tell her the truth, which was that Elie was most likely going to screw us both over on our cut. He was like that, and since he was already starting to justify it, I wondered how much of it I would end up getting. It wasn’t like we could go to the police about it, and he knew it. He knew he had us over a barrel. He always did. That was his method of domination.
Let her have tonight, because in the morning we were both going to have to face up to the truth. I was prepared for the eventuality of what was to come. I didn’t know if Mariah was, but she was eager to leave and so was I. To me, it was a good sign. Kimmie was another matter altogether. I agreed with Mariah: I didn’t think she was going to want to leave. Since she had nothing to do with the club or Elie, she wouldn’t have to.
The day was just too much. I got a wineglass out of the cupboard and a bottle out of the fridge. Mariah left not long after I left her room. She had a glow to her face that was hard to respond to. I hadn’t felt that happy in a long time, and I was envious of her for a moment. I had a feeling that her heart would be crushed, though, so maybe it was good that we were leaving. It would save her the heartache I knew Scott would bring. Men like that didn’t fall for girls like us, not really.
Chapter 27 – Mariah
Why was I shaking? The whole way to Scott’s house, my hands were shaking on the wheel. I tried to grip tighter so that it wasn’t as noticeable, but then it just seemed to spread to the rest of me. I wasn’t able to help it.
It was a happy nervous, but a nervous nonetheless. I wasn’t afraid of what was going to happen. Quite the opposite, actually. I’d been waiting for this night for a long time. I’d wanted it long before I met Scott. I hadn’t known that it would be him, but I was glad that it was going to be. I could have left, taken his money and just taken off like I planned to do anyway, but I wanted Scott to be my first. I wanted to give myself to him in every way that I possibly could. Then I would leave, but I was going to give him something to remember me by first. I knew that I would always remember him.
Finally I was pulling up in front of his house. Several of the front lights were on, and they lit the place up like it was the middle of the day. I don’t know why that settled my nerves so much, but it did. Sitting in the car for a few moments longer to take a few deep breaths, I checked my reflection in the mirror before I went in. I was still a little jittery, and the more I thought about what was to come, the worse it got. This was one of those moments that I wished I could just turn my mind off.
I didn’t even have to knock. The door was opened about the time I was raising my hand to knock on it. I was expecting some sort of maid or butler, but it was Scott himself.
“You look amazing, Mariah.”
I looked down with a demure little smile. I knew that he wo
uld like this dress. He was always telling me how much he liked me in blue. It did something to him, and the slinky silver-and-blue dress I was wearing fit like a glove. It left nothing to the imagination, and the look of barely contained lust was what I’d been trying for. It was exactly what I got.
“Do you like it, daddy?”
His eyes flared, and I could tell that he did. He liked me calling him daddy even more. I don’t know why he’d started it, but I was glad he had. It was something that Greg had liked me to call him from time to time. It had just come out, I think, but the reaction was what got me to keep doing it. I liked the change that it made in him, and I liked the feeling that it gave me to say it.
“I like it a lot. I’m going to like what’s underneath it even better.”
I tossed my head, waiting for him to invite me in. I think that he’d forgotten all etiquette, because I finally had to just ask him if I could come in or not. His face turned a little red, and I liked that more than I could say.
“Sure, I just…wow, you look good.”
I couldn’t help the giggle that left my lips. He was adorable when he was like this. Scott was always so controlled, and he was always in charge, but at the moment that was just not the case. No matter how in charge he usually was, a little bit of silk had him in a shambles. It made me wonder who was the one running this whole affair.
It didn’t take long for me to be reminded. That momentary blush that I’d seen was something that I was going to pay for.
“Let me get your coat, Mariah. And as much as I like that dress, why don’t you give that to me as well? Might as well have you dressed for the occasion.”
From that point on, I knew that I didn’t have any control over this situation. I’d made up my mind by coming here tonight, and now I was going to pay for it. It was the kind of paying that I didn’t mind, though. I wanted him badly and I was tired of waiting. I’d been waiting a long time for this moment, this man. But tonight I got the Dom, not the man. I could see it in his eyes. This wouldn’t be just games anymore. This was going to be something different.