by Nashoda Rose
Raul chuckled. “True, but you wouldn’t have come if you didn’t want her.”
I squeezed my eyes shut to keep the tears from forming. Emotions ran rampant like I was being tossed and turned in a tidal wave. I didn’t know what was happening. He’d been told I was here? Raul told him? Kai knew Raul?
“She’s too skinny and I’m betting if she looked at me right now, her eyes would be dead. Your men have broken her already. I prefer to do my own breaking, makes for a loyal slave.”
Tears filled my eyes as I listened to his words. It was the last layer of me being slowly peeled back, but it wasn’t thrown away. I wouldn’t believe it. I’d seen something in Kai. I’d felt it. And if there was any part of the girl I’d once been left inside me, then I believed Kai was here to help me, not to destroy me. I saw the good in him. I felt it. I wasn’t wrong about him.
“Raven.” I stiffened as Raul spoke to me. “Get up.”
I stood and he grabbed my wrist, yanking me close. My thigh hit his knee and I nearly fell into his lap.
My heart pounded erratically as I sensed Kai’s eyes on me. Eyes I liked watching me a couple months earlier. Green eyes I’d been captivated by. Eyes that I dreamed about until that memory was beaten out of me.
Raul released my wrist and his harsh fingers dug into my chin as he raised my head. “She is striking, no?” Raul forced my head to the side so my face was directed at Kai.
I slowly raised my eyes to Kai’s and everything stopped as our gazes locked. It was like when I’d last seen him in my loft, when nothing else existed except for us. No pasts. No pain. It was knowing that despite our beginning, there was more than the lust. More than a deal. It was the reason he walked away.
And looking at him now, I knew it was also the reason he was here. His words resonated, ‘I’ll always come for you.’
Oh, God, Kai. I wanted to fall to my knees and cry. I wanted him to pick me up in his arms and carry me away from this place like he’d carried me from the fire. I wanted Kai to save me because I couldn’t save myself. Not from this.
“Yes,” he drawled.
He sat with his legs outstretched, one hand curled around a frosted glass which he casually turned and the ice clinked against the sides.
My eyes darted to it and I swallowed. I was never given anything cold to drink. I was given room temperature water and at meals, Alfonzo would on occasion offer me a sip of his wine if I was good.
I’d do anything to slip an ice cube in my mouth. To have it clink against my teeth as it melted slowly on my tongue, the sweet moisture drizzling down my dry throat.
I’d have begged for it if I could.
God, how did I sink so low? How did I become a pathetic girl who had lost all dignity?
But my fairy tale had ended. Like a book thrown in the incinerator, pages of my life had been burned into ash then re-written into a girl called Raven.
Raul’s hand dropped from my chin. “Go to him,” he ordered.
I hesitated, unable to take my eyes off Kai. Not wanting to drop to my knees in front of him, but knowing I had no choice. Then I realized what bothered me the most about this. I didn’t want Kai seeing me this way.
I stepped toward Kai and began to kneel at his feet when his arm snaked out and latched onto my wrist. He tugged and I half fell into his lap, my palms landing on his chest.
His heart beat steady and slow under my touch and I wondered how he could be so calm, so in control. But this was Kai. He was fearless even when in some criminal’s compound, who I suspected had more power than the government.
And maybe that was because Kai’s friends were like Raul. Maybe Raul was a friend.
Kai turned me around, so my back was against his chest then settled his arm on my abdomen. His heated breath swept across the back of my neck and I clasped my hands together in my lap as the tears formed again.
Raul’s voice broke through the momentary silence. “She’ll have to be kept hidden, but it is always invigorating to have something everyone is looking for. Si?”
“Mmm, perhaps.”
I stiffened as his hand slid over the top of mine that were currently clasped together so tight the tips of my fingers were white. He gently squeezed, his entire hand encompassing both of mine.
I dropped my head forward, letting the small comfort of his hand settle over me and, for the first time in months, I felt safe.
The two men spoke about the upcoming fight between a guy named Sculpt and another man. From what I picked up on, that was why Kai was here. Raul had invited him to the fight and that meant they knew one another. I’d suspected Kai’s circles were dangerous, and maybe I was deceiving myself to believe Kai had good in him, but Raul… he was malicious and cruel.
“Touch her,” Raul said. “I’ve not tried her, but Alfonzo says she is tight.”
Kai’s comforting hand left mine and trailed slowly down between my legs.
I knew his touch. His familiar long fingers that had caressed every inch of me and made me ache and beg and shudder with release.
“Open for me, braveheart.” His mouth was against my ear as he whispered the words.
My spine straightened and I chanced a glance at Raul, wondering if he heard what Kai said and not understanding why Kai would take the chance that he would overhear. But maybe Raul knew Kai and I had been together. No, he’d introduced me as if it were the first time Kai had ever seen me.
I opened my legs knowing I couldn’t refuse with Raul watching. I closed my eyes as his fingers touched me.
“Beautiful, si? Alfonzo has told me she is one of his best. I suspect he’d keep her if he could.”
“Disappointing.”
“You don’t like her?” Raul’s voice was abrupt.
I tensed at his tone. Oh, God, no Kai. What was he doing? Raul would have me beaten if I didn’t please Kai.
“On the contrary. She is remarkable; however, I’m disappointed she’s not wet.”
Raul laughed, slapping his knee. “You demand too much. Slaves who get wet are difficult.”
Kai’s finger didn’t go inside me. Instead, he merely cupped me.
“Do you like me touching you?” Kai said, this time it wasn’t a whisper and I knew Raul heard.
I’d been trained to give the right answer even if it was a lie. “Yes, master.”
I heard him swear beneath his breath and his body stiffened. His breath wafted across my ear as he whispered so low that I barely heard the words. “Fuck, London.”
I sharply inhaled at the sound of my name. It had been months since I’d been called that. I was Raven now, but my real name passing his lips was like he’d given me a piece of home.
Tears welled and this time, I couldn’t stop one from slipping down my cheek. I quickly tilted my chin down further so Raul wouldn’t see it. I saw it drop onto Kai’s arm, soaking into his white dress shirt and leaving a round wet mark.
Kai withdrew his hand from me then reached for his drink. I had the urge to grab it from him and chug back the cool liquid, but his arm around my waist jerked as if in warning, like he knew exactly what I’d been considering.
I drew my eyes away from the frosted glass, but I heard him swallow the liquid and then he put it in front of my mouth. I parted my lips and he tipped the glass and the cold gin and tonic hit my parched mouth. It was like being handed heaven and it didn’t matter if I hated tonic and its bitterness. It was the best thing I’d ever tasted.
He causally set it back down on the patio table. “How did you acquire this one, Raul?”
“I was paid a great deal of money to take her, have her trained and advised to get rid of her as quickly as possible.”
“It’s been two months.”
“She’s been difficult.”
Kai chuckled and I felt the gin come back up. I quickly swallowed several times. “But they are usually worth the most.”
Raul laughed. “True. But I have potential trouble with my son and his slave. I prefer neat and tidy.”
&nb
sp; “And yet you kidnap a high-profile girl.”
“I was paid four times her worth or any other slave’s in order to take her.”
“And you don’t find that peculiar, Raul. Paid to kidnap a girl?”
Raul chuckled. “Money keeps me safe and my business thriving. And we both know that whoever wanted her to disappear could’ve had her killed, but they paid a great deal of money to keep her alive. They wanted her to suffer.”
“And you heard I was looking to acquire a slave and thought I could be appeased.” I stiffened. Kai had been looking for a slave? No, that didn’t make sense. Kai would never be with a woman who was forced.
“Yes.”
“Let’s be honest here, Raul. You used her as a lure to get me to your fight.”
“You have many friends, Kai.”
“I wouldn’t call them friends,” Kai replied.
Raul laughed. “You are a fascinating man. Perhaps you would consider staying a few days?”
“No. I am a very busy man.” He gently urged me off his lap and I knelt on the unforgiving cement at his feet.
“A shame. Perhaps another time.”
Kai stroked my hair. “Mmm, yes. A shame.” There was something about the way he spoke that made me think he was angry. No, not angry. Furious. But Kai was an enigma and even after spending several nights with him, I didn’t know his true emotions except perhaps when he desired me. His hand stilled on my head. “This girl… Raven, who paid you to take her?”
Smoke drifted into my face as Raul held his cigar between his fingers on his lap. “Anonymous. But nothing to be concerned about as the transaction was clean. No ties. The girl belongs to me. You will have a taste of her tonight after the fight.”
“I do not taste, Raul. I fuck and I fuck girls who belong to me and I don’t do it publicly.”
Raul laughed and slammed his hand down on the table. I jumped at the clash of his glass as it tipped over.
“Then she belongs to you now. And I hope this will strengthen our relationship and perhaps we can do business in the future.”
Kai’s voice grated out, “I don’t believe our businesses have the same interests. But of course, I appreciate the gift and it will not be forgotten.”
I barely listened as I watched the cool liquid slip over the edge of the table and drip to the patio stones. I thought about licking it off the cement where it puddled in front of me. I even took the chance of shifting slightly forward on my knees until Kai’s foot slid out in front of me blocking my path. He rested his heel in the puddle and I dared a glance up at him.
He was already looking at me and his dark brows lowered over his narrowed eyes in warning. I cast my eyes down again, my shoulders slumping forward in defeat.
Kai’s chair abruptly pushed back and he stood. “I’ll leave directly after the fight. Have her ready.”
“No. No. You will come to the dinner party afterwards and meet Sculpt.” Raul’s tone hardened. “I insist. The girl will be brought to your table.”
“Fine,” Kai said and then walked away.
I WAS DRESSED in a sheer red bra with gold sparkles and thin, interlinked gold chains dangling from the underside. It didn’t cover my nipples and its purpose was solely to push my breasts up. I didn’t have much, but by wearing this it looked like I did. I had on matching panties minus the dangling chains. My discomfort sleeping without clothes had been obliterated the first month of my captivity. Or rather, my ability to be embarrassed had been obliterated. I was numb to everything.
Except Kai. He had awakened the hope that I’d escape this hell.
Alfonzo brought me to the dining hall an hour ago and I’d been kneeling on the floor beside a table before Kai strode into the room. Even with my eyes on the floor, I knew he walked toward me because, like always, when Kai entered a room, he owned it, even one filled with powerful criminals.
He sat in the chair beside me while he chatted with Jacob who had accompanied him. He had yet to touch me or acknowledge I was even there, and for a moment a wave of doubt flooded me. Maybe he wasn’t going to get me out of here. Maybe he’d changed his mind. Maybe I’d missed reading the signs he gave me this morning.
As if sensing my unease, his hand lowered onto the back of my neck and he gently squeezed before pulling away. I closed my eyes, shoulders sagging.
“Raven!”
I jerked as Jacob’s harsh voice shouted my name. Oh, God, I hadn’t been listening. I had no idea if he asked me to do something. Fear clamped down on me and I trembled, fingers digging into my thighs as I stayed frozen, uncertain what to do. I knew better. I’d been taught better. Always listen.
“Do what you’re told and please your new master.”
Kai’s hand pressed hard onto my shoulder, forcing me to stay in place. “As I told Raul, I do not publicly have sex. That includes having my cock in a girl’s mouth.”
There was a moment of silence before Jacob said, “She gives you trouble, let me know. We will exchange her for another. Enjoy your evening.” I caught a glimpse of Jacob’s white shoes as he turned and walked away.
I inhaled a deep breath of relief. Jacob told me the truth. He was my worst nightmare and there was no one I feared more. The man was psychotic and enjoyed watching pain and suffering.
Kai’s hand cupped my chin and he tilted my head so I met his eyes. They were soft and yet beneath there was swirling anger, but I knew it wasn’t directed at me. “Remember what I told you?”
My mind spun as I thought of our time together, before any of this. It seemed so long ago, almost as if it hadn’t happened. As if my life hadn’t happened before this place.
His thumb stroked back and forth. “Only willing, braveheart. No other way.”
I had no response and I knew he didn’t expect one. He released me when a girl was pushed down beside me. I kept my eyes on the floor, but caught a glimpse of her from the corner of my eye. I felt her gaze on me. Stupid. You were beaten if you dared to look at anything except the floor unless you were told to.
I’d seen her the day she arrived. She belonged to the fighter, Sculpt, and hadn’t been here long. I’d also heard her screams in the room beside mine after she foolishly spit in Raul’s face and called him a disgusting parasite. Alfonzo was giddy with excitement that the girl would be taken to Jacob. No one wanted to spend time with Jacob.
“Sculpt. Good fight.” Kai’s tone was controlled and cold. The mild amusement often attached to it was gone.
“Kai,” Sculpt said.
Kai’s leg brushed against me as he leaned to the right. “I have no interest in the fighting circuit, but I was rather impressed by your ability. And I lost a lot of money tonight.”
“Raul mentioned your name in passing,” Sculpt replied. “I’m curious, why is it that you’ve travelled all this way for a fight you’re not interested in?”
Kai reached toward me and grabbed my chin, raising my head. “Her. I was curious when Raul sent me the invitation to the fight. I declined, however. Raul must have known I would, and he is intelligent. He also knew if I refused to come, many other of my acquaintances wouldn’t either, so he offered me her. Alfonzo’s latest.”
From the corner of my eye, I noticed Sculpt’s slave put her hand over her mouth and her eyes widened. I remained impassive. Nothing bothered me anymore, not her reaction, not what would happen to her tonight. Every emotion was ripped out of me except one… that flicker of hope that sparked the moment Kai showed up.
Sculpt nudged his girl with his leg, and she lowered her hand from her mouth. “He is giving her to you? Raul doesn’t like to give anything away.”
Kai chuckled. “No, but I required a new girl, and Raul knew that. When I saw her picture, I had to have her.”
Kai grabbed me by the collar and jerked upward. It was meant to look aggressive, but his other hand had slipped down onto my hip so the pressure on my neck was minimal. He pulled me onto his lap, my back to his chest and then his hand reached around and played with my nipple, pinching
and circling hard then soft. “He knows my type and this one is… is special.”
I remained in his lap while he chatted about the fight, but despite appearing relaxed, I felt the tension in him.
He fed me parts of his meal and let me sip his wine and ice-cold water. The usual sounds in the dining hall were the same as every night except louder and filled with excitement over the fight.
Kai kissed my ear and it appeared as if he were enjoying himself, but the tension pulsed in every muscle in his body. “Baby,” he whispered. His voice was so low that I had difficulty hearing him. “Raul is watching us.”
I lowered my chin in a subtle nod so he knew I heard him.
“She is stunning.” Kai nodded to Sculpt’s girl. His hand rested between my legs, not doing anything, merely cupping me like he’d done that night on my couch.
“Hmm.”
“Dinner appears to be over, and my understanding is Raul likes to play afterward. Care to indulge?”
This is what Raul’s parties were about and even though I’d only been to a few, I was experienced enough to know that the best chance of survival of what was to come, was to be obedient and quiet.
“Not really.”
Kai’s finger twitched. “Then why bother having her? My suggestion is tame, nothing to frighten your little slave. She does look like she wants to be swallowed up by the floor.” Kai reached over and stroked the side of the girl’s face. “Look at me.”
“I don’t share,” Sculpt said abruptly.
“Neither do I,” Kai said, and his hand dropped from her face to stroke my inner thigh. “But watching the women together. Two beauties… now that I would enjoy.”
I knew exactly what Kai was doing. He’d never fuck me. Not now. Not when I was being forced to. But there had to be a show for Raul so he was using Sculpt’s girl as a scapegoat.
“No.” Sculpt raised his voice.
“No, what, gentlemen?” I stiffened at the sound of Raul’s voice and couldn’t help but lean further into Kai’s embrace.
He was right, Raul was obviously watching us.
Kai spoke, “I suggested a little play between the women. Sculpt has declined.”