Sold: Highest Bidder

by Willow Winters

  I’m dreading telling him. I don’t know if he’ll quite understand. But if anyone could, it would be him.

  “Now, what happened?” he asks, when he’s done, placing the dirtied cloth down on the nightstand.

  As I stare into his green eyes, I suddenly realize what I’ve done. I’ve let my emotions overcome me and acting in a way that could displease him. Looking at the battered walls, I feel like I’ve disrespected his house. Ashamed, I quickly try to climb off of the bed and fall to my knees at his feet, but he grabs my waist and stops me, pulling me back onto the bed.

  “Please, Master, don’t be upset me with me,” I cry, trembling. My heart hurts so fucking bad. I want to hide. I don’t want him to see what I’ve done. I don’t want to admit it either.

  “Shh. None of that,” Isaac says softly, pulling me beside him and wrapping his arms around me, rocking me gently back and forth. I feel so safe in his arms, enveloped in his warmth. I just wish I could stay here forever. “I could never be upset with you over your pain.” He pushes the hair out of my face again and cups my cheek, forcing me to look at him. His hand feels so cool against my hot skin. “You just need to tell me what caused this.”

  Isaac’s peering at me, his gorgeous green eyes soft and caring. There’s no judgment there. I’m grateful. I thought he’d be angry with me.

  I shake my head slightly, trying to swallow the lump in my throat.

  “I don’t want it anymore,” I say, and it hurts just saying those few words.

  “I can see that,” he says with a touch of humor before taking my chin between his thumb and forefinger. “Tell me what caused it.”

  I take in a long and shaky breath. “I don’t know why. I just know that I don’t want it anymore. I don’t want any more reminders.” I swallow thickly, closing my eyes and not knowing how to explain but not wanting to explain any more either.

  Seeing my ravaged visage, Isaac gently smooths my disheveled hair out of my face and moves in close, kissing me on the cheek, my lips, and then kissing away my tears with his full lips.

  “I need to tell you something, and I think you need to know now.” I stare into his piercing gaze, my heart refusing to beat. He’s serious, and his expression tells me it’s something he doesn’t want to say.

  “They’re dead,” Isaac tells me. His words are firm and filled with finality. It’s a statement of a fact. “The other men in Carver Dario's cartel. They’re all dead.”

  Shock twists my stomach, taking my breath away. Did I really hear him right? I couldn’t have. But I look into his eyes, and my skin pricks at the ruthlessness I see in them. “Dead?” I whisper.

  Isaac gently strokes my cheek, his caring actions at odds with what he’s telling me. “I did some digging. I needed to know.” They’re really dead? The words seem to slowly sink in, a warmth of satisfaction surrounding me and then moving through me, giving me a sense of strength I didn’t feel before.

  “If I could, I would’ve killed them myself.” He hooks my chin and makes me look into his gorgeous eyes. “I wanted to. I wanted to make them suffer. But I can’t. And I’m so sorry I can’t give you that.”

  My heart beats faster and I feel a strong pull toward Isaac, a strong bond forming and drawing me closer to him.

  “They will never harm you again. You are safe. Always. Do you understand?”

  I nod my head, searching his green eyes for the same thing I feel. “Yes, Master,” I whisper.

  Chapter 27

  Isaac

  “I want you to choose one, for when you’re ready to wear it.” There are only five days left in our contract. Even if she only wears it for a day, I’ll be satisfied. I haven’t decided how to tell her that we may not be able to continue this… once the contract is done. Her wounds are still fresh from what she confronted days ago. I won’t leave her on her own while she’s healing, but any longer than that would be unfair of me.

  I know I need to tell her, but not yet. I’m not ready to say goodbye.

  “I’m ready now, Master.” Her soft voice and confession shock me. The ease of her tone and the way she looks at the row of collars I’ve purchased for her as though they’re a reward and she’s choosing the best one. It’s not what I anticipated.

  It should make me relieved. I should be happy. But I’m not.

  It only means she’s so much further along than I thought she was.

  I know I need to send her away.

  I don’t want to though. And we have a contract. I at least need to see that through.

  But once it’s over, I have nothing more to offer her. I can’t provide for her in the ways she’ll need. I can direct her, but she’ll only grow more attached. It’s too selfish.

  She purses her lips as she lifts one of the five collars. The bracelet on her wrist, the Pandora one I gave her on New Year’s, jingles as she lifts the collar and holds it up to her throat.

  It’s the thinnest of them all. It’s rose gold and two thin bands of metal that cross at the center. It would look gorgeous on her. All of them would.

  In truth, I’d like her to desire all of them. I want a collar on her neck every second of the day. Even when she’s out of the house and around people who aren’t in the lifestyle. That’s why four of them resemble jewelry.

  The fifth is a traditional collar, but the leather band is a soft pink the color of rose petals.

  “I really love this one,” Katia says as she turns and presents the collar to me. She knows better than to put it on herself. My chains are to be placed on her by me, and taken off by only myself.

  “Master?” Katia asks softly as I clasp the collar around her neck. “May I wear the chain as well?”

  “Of course.” I absently touch the thin chain, once again satisfied with my claim on her. “I expect you to.”

  As she plays with her collar in the mirror, I remember last night. She asked to sleep with me and when I asked if it was because of her missing anklet, she answered no. She hasn’t asked for the weighted blanket either, and for the last three nights she’s slept soundly.

  She wanted to be available for my needs. And she admitted she enjoys it when I hold her when she sleeps.

  I enjoy it as well.

  I almost said yes, simply because I wanted to feel her soft body against mine as we slept. I wanted to be there in case she has another night terror. But there was something else in her eyes, something that made me push her away.

  Things have changed for her, I know they have. The way she touches me, kisses me, even the way she talks to me.

  She’s at ease and trusts me. She’s given me control of everything. Completely.

  “Do you think I’m a good Master?” I ask Katia, my fingers teasing down her side before pulling her back into my chest and resting my chin on her shoulder. Her pale blue eyes find mine in the mirror.

  “You are. I’m grateful to have you,” she says sweetly, turning her head slightly to rub her cheek against mine.

  I close my eyes, loving her warmth, her sincerity, but New Year’s continues to play through my mind.

  How she told me she was afraid. She has every right to be afraid. Her life and her goals aren’t aligned with mine. She knows this, but she’d continue to put faith in me and the fucked up relationship we have for as long as I’ll allow.

  I have five days left.

  I kiss her softly on the lips, hating how much I love the tenderness in her touch and the soft sounds of her sighs.

  I don’t want to tell her goodbye, but I must.

  I’ll carry out the contract for the next few days, only because I’m selfish. But I’ll keep my distance. I’ll make this as easy on her as I can. I don’t want to hurt her, but I have to let her go.

  “Katia, what does being a Master mean?”

  “It means loving someone so strongly that your life revolves around them. That every action is made with their wellbeing in mind. Their happiness is yours. Their pleasure is yours. Their life is yours. And the opposite is true for them.”
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br />   Love? I wish I could tell her she’s wrong. But she’s not. “My happiness is yours?” I ask her.

  She looks me in the eyes and answers confidently, “Yes, Master.”

  Chapter 28

  Katia

  I sit back on my heels at Isaac’s desk, watching him work on his laptop. I can feel the warmth of his leg and I want to lean against him, but I don’t. His brow furrowed, he’s typing something important, not paying me any mind. Yet, he’s all I can think about. I’ve been worried about him. About us.

  He hasn’t been himself lately, his words and actions distant, his eyes filled with pain as if he’s losing something. I want to help him with whatever is bothering him. Like he’s helped me. But when I try to get him to open up, he shuts himself off from me. A surge of emotion threatens to choke me, but I push it away. I hate it.

  I study his profile, his chiseled jawline and the stubble shading it, the clicking sounds of his fingers running across the keyboard in my ears. I don’t know what it is, but something’s off. Something has shifted. I feel like he’s less attached to me.

  Maybe it’s his collar, I wonder to myself, unconsciously bringing my hands up to my neck to feel it. I love it and his claim on me. But ever since I put it on, it seems like a wall has sprung up between us. I hate it. I want back what we had. I want to get past whatever is bothering him. We can get through this together. All he needs to do is allow it.

  I think he may be doing this on purpose, being distant from me. He knows our contract is over soon. I constantly remind myself that our days are numbered, and the contract is ending. But I don’t want them to be. If he wanted to keep me, I’d happily stay. I don’t care about the money. I care about everything he’s done for me. I would never have this inner strength without him. I know I wouldn’t. I feel whole again. I feel untouchable even.

  I don’t want to leave him. I may not say it out loud, I may not want to admit it. But I love him. Whether that’s wrong or right, I don’t care.

  I need to give him a reason to keep me.

  “Master?” I ask.

  Isaac pauses midtype, looking down at me. My heart skips a beat as those green eyes prick my skin. But not because of the intensity that used to be there. He doesn’t look at me the same anymore. His eyes are filled with sadness. “Yes?”

  Disappointment flows through me that he doesn’t use my pet name. Another sign that something is wrong. But maybe I’m paranoid and am reading too much into it. Something tells me I’m not though. “What can I do to please you?” I ask, swallowing the lump in my throat, hating the tightness that constricts my chest.

  Isaac stares at me, and I bite the inside of my cheek, increasingly feeling as if there’s something wrong. It’s there. “You’re already doing it,” he replies, gently petting my hair. Normally, I would feel assured, but his words only make me more uneasy. They have no strength to them, no passion. Even his petting of me is weak.

  I lick my lips, not wanting to outright accuse him of lying, but I know I can’t let this go. “But I don’t feel as if I am pleasing you right now. I feel like… I need to do more to satisfy you.”

  Isaac frowns, his hand falling from my head to hang lifelessly over the side of his chair. “You don’t need to do more.”

  His words are saying one thing, but I’m feeling something entirely else from him. It almost feels like a spear of ice is slowly being pressed into my heart. “I can’t take that you give me so much pleasure, yet I give you nothing in return.” I know you’re in pain. I can see it every day.

  Isaac flashes a me a look that makes me tense. His eyes narrowed as if daring me to continue with my train of thought. But at least there’s passion there. “How can you think that you give me nothing? You give me so much, Katia.”

  “I want to make you happy,” I say thickly. I look him directly in the eye as I say, “And you aren’t,” challenging him to say otherwise. Challenging him to lie to me.

  Isaac takes a long time responding, his emerald eyes studying my distressed face. “You’re worried for me?” he asks finally.

  I nod my head. “Yes.” I’m more than worried. I think you want to get rid of me as soon as this contract is over. You don’t want to deal with what’s hurting you. Just thinking the words brings tears to my eyes. I’m hoping desperately that I’m wrong and I’m just imagining things. But I know I’m not.

  “Then that’s my fault.” My breath catches at my throat at the pain reflected in his eyes. “I’m sorry I failed you in that respect, Katia.”

  Oh God no. My heart pounds in my chest and my breath comes in pants as I cry, “No, Master. You haven’t failed me at all.” I’m trying to stay calm. We can talk our way through this. I can help him. Please just give me something.

  “I have.” His words are emotionless, as if he doesn’t see me breaking down right in front of him. God, he’s fucking killing me! “Your worries are mine, not the other way around.”

  I tremble at his feet and try not to break down, hoping this is all just a bad dream. It isn’t real.

  “Go to your room,” he orders coldly, not appearing to notice my distress.

  I look at him, seeing the pain in his eyes, and feel defiance. He can’t fucking blow me off like this. He doesn’t have to do this. “No,” I say rebelliously. “I’m not going anywhere.”

  He reaches down, gripping my chin. “Go,” he growls right in front of my face, his hot breath sending chills down my neck and shoulders. “Now.” His voice holds a threat. But I don’t care.

  I try to shake my head, but can’t. He’s holding my head in place. “No,” I say breathlessly, my heart beating frantically. “I don’t want to leave you. I feel like you don’t want me anymore.” It hurts saying the words and admitting the truth.

  At first, pain flashes in his beautiful eyes, but then anger twists Isaac’s handsome face. He releases my chin and rises to his feet, pulling me up along with him. “Is that what you want?” he growls, grabbing me by the hips and pulling me into his hard body. He takes both my arms and pins them behind my back, his powerful grip sending sparks of want through my body. I just want this passion. Always.

  “Yes,” I whisper. “Take me. Use me. Do whatever you want with me.” I just want to help you.

  Isaac stares at me for a long moment, his chest heaving, and then without a word, he pulls me from the room, dragging me down the long hallway. I don’t resist as he takes me all the way to my room, opens the door, and slings me into the room.

  “Please stay!” I cry imploringly, scrambling to my feet and rushing for the door. “Talk to me, Isaac! What did I do wrong?” Let me fix you.

  “Nothing, Katia. There’s nothing you did wrong.” His voice is hard, but at least he’s talking to me.

  “Just tell me, tell me what happened! I want to fix it. I want you back!”

  He stares at me for a moment, his expression vulnerable, wanting and raw. He needs me. His grip tightens on the door and I swear it’s so hard it’s going to crack. Isaac, please, just tell me.

  “Stay,” he commands.

  Before I can get there, he slams it shut with powerful force.

  I stand there staring at the door, a range of powerful emotions running through me. Pain, sadness. Rage. I feel so helpless, so incredibly lost. I don’t know what’s going to happen from here, but something tells me this could be the end.

  I bring my hands to my collar, wanting to take it off and throw it against the wall in rage. If he’s going to just break up with me at the end of our contract, why draw it out? It only has a few days left. I should just get it over with now. I place my finger over the latch, my heart racing as tears stream down my face. But I can’t bring myself to do it.

  I don’t know what he’s feeling or going through right now, but I know one thing for sure.

  I want to be his.

  Chapter 29

  Isaac

  She thinks I’m in pain.

  I’m the one needing help?

  She’s wrong.

>   I pace my office, hearing her words over and over. A rage building inside of me. I’m not broken. I’m not in pain. I have a scarred past, I know that. But I’m fucking fine.

  I breathe in, ragged and trying to calm myself. She shouldn’t be trying to fix me. Or heal me.

  That’s not her place.

  And it’s not mine to require that from her.

  I knew I should have sent her away.

  Selfish! It was selfish of me, and now I’m paying the price.

  She’s paying the price.

  I run my hand down my face, clenching my jaw and trying to calm down, but as the anger wanes, a sadness replaces it. My body trembles as I sink into the leather chair at my desk, my breathing erratic.

  I don’t deserve her. Not at all.

  She shouldn’t have to bear my pain. It’s not her burden. I can’t ask her to live with a man like me.

  I lean forward, rubbing my forehead with my hand and closing my eyes tightly, wanting to deny it, but I can’t. I’m not worthy of her.

  She needs to get out. Now.

  I’ve already been thinking of reasons to keep her.

  There are two days left, but I can’t continue. My Katia is full of happiness; a purity has survived in her that I will taint. I can’t do that to her.

  I won’t.

  I rise from my desk, feeling a surge of conviction and hating it. I fucking hate who I am. I hate that I’m only capable of breaking and scarring and causing pain.

  Feeling the rage coming back, I swipe at the clutter on my desk as I scream in fury, spewing it over the floor, the papers fluttering in the air as if taunting me.

  She needs to leave. She needs to go now.