by Lily White
Easy as pie.
But then, I’d never been the type of predator who missed trapping my prey.
. . .
The screams began a little over two hours after I brought Sarah home and chained her to the bed formerly occupied by Greyson.
Help!
Where am I?
What’s happening?
Over and over and over, she bleated questions like a damn goat with its head stuck between the bars of a cage. My feet were planted on the desk in my office, my executive seat relaxed back as I took my time reviewing emails that were about as interesting as watching paint dry on a lazy Sunday afternoon.
Finishing with them, I checked my voicemails, interest piqued when Paul’s voice came on the line telling me to call him back. I dialed his number not giving a damn of the late hour. He picked up on the third ring.
“The third Courtesan didn’t know anything about Christopher, or Greyson, or whatever the hell his name is. I went and spoke with her this afternoon.” Paul wasn’t one to bother with pleasantries. He was always straight to the point.
Help! Please someone help me! Loud sobbing could be heard and it reminded me to soundproof that room when I next had the chance.
“Who’s screaming?” Paul asked, without concern to hear the obvious sound of distress.
“Sarah Clarkson.”
“No shit? You got her? Thank fuck. I was worried the bitch would bleed us for another several million in the coming weeks. What do you plan to do with her?”
“I’m not sure, a little of this, a little of that. I assume she has some money to work off with the Owners and Masters who’ve been paying out. You’re welcome to come by and get your cut.”
The truth was, the spark was gone for some reason. Normally I spent the first few hours having a new woman in my home building up the anticipation for the welcome party. My body would buzz with violence, my head would swim with want, my teeth would clench with the desire to bend and shape, break and mold, strip away every bit of that woman’s hope until she was an empty vessel waiting for all the desires I wanted to fill her with.
But this woman? I had no interest. Not a drop. Now that the concern was gone she would run off to the authorities to blab everything she knows, I was more interested in putting a bullet in her brain than the time it would take to form her into a proper Courtesan.
Every time I attempted to psych myself up to do the job, my thoughts went to Rebecca. There was no doubt she could hear Sarah as easily as I could, no doubt she woke up when the first screams tore through the house. Yet, like the good little girl she was, Rebecca hadn’t emerged from our bedroom to see what the noise was about.
She knew.
She’d been there.
Rebecca had learned to avoid going near the Courtesan wing during the first days I had a woman. Her heart that refused to stop beating with warmth and human emotion made it difficult for her to witness the days during which the newest Courtesan begged for mercy.
Maybe she wasn’t a Master after all. Not in the same sense as me.
“I might do that. Bitch took me for a million. I’ll take it out of her ass.” Deep laughter filled the line. “Oh, forgot to tell you, although Jake’s Courtesan didn’t know a thing about Greyson, I spoke with her Owner and he told me something interesting.”
For the first time since I’d arrived home, my heart beat with a lively pump. Pulse a thrum just beneath my skin, I set my sight on the windows, watching the willow tree blow softly in the wind. “Were you planning on telling me or are you practicing your acting skills with the pointless dramatic pause?”
“Jake had a kid, apparently. A son. Don’t know his name. I’m not even sure what happened to him, but Jake mentioned it once during a conversation they had years ago.”
A fucking son.
I’d bet all the money I had that the kid’s name was Greyson.
“Well, isn’t that interesting?”
It didn’t make sense why Jake would have hidden having a kid, but then again, I didn’t know the man well. Perhaps this son was known among Jake’s contemporaries. Beyond that, if Greyson were his son, why the hell was he scarred all up and down and kept in a dark basement? Perhaps it was a long shot, but it was a path to follow.
“Do me a favor and follow up on that. If this fucker is his kid, I don’t want to think about what went on between son and daddy. I want to know why this son of a bitch is pretending to be a Courtesan.”
Paul agreed, his voice gritty when he asked, “When can I come pay Sarah a visit?”
“Tomorrow, if you’d like. She’ll be laying around bored with not much to do. I’m sure she’d love hearing from an old friend.”
His laughter boomed through the line. “You’ve got it. See you tomorrow.”
Hitting the button to kill the call, I dropped the phone on my desk and breathed out a heavy sigh. The last thing I wanted to do was go wrestle the bitch into compliance, but she wouldn’t stop screaming if somebody didn’t pay her a visit.
My body was heavy as I pulled my feet from the desk and stood from my seat, my steps unrushed as I weaved halls in route to the dark room. Standing outside her door, I tried to imagine it was Rebecca on the other side, bound to a bed, scared, awaiting the monster who’d stolen her from the world.
Sarah’s nasally and shrill voice destroyed the fantasy and I wanted to slap her so hard her neck broke just for the fucking offense.
Slipping inside, I was thankful her screaming stopped as soon as she saw the flash of light from the hallway, heard my shoes click against the floor as I let myself in and closed the door behind me. Leaning against it, I waited a few seconds to allow my eyes to adjust to the lack of light.
“Wh-who are you? Let me go right now!”
It wasn’t the first time I heard the demand and it wouldn’t be the last. Quite frankly the repeated script was getting boring.
“Afraid that’s not going to happen, Mistress Sarah. You promised me we would play and I’m here to collect on the offer.”
A pitiable high pitched wail volleyed from her throat, one of my eyes closing as a headache pricked at my temples. Rubbing at the bridge of my nose, I sighed, “I’d appreciate it if you stop attempting to call all the dogs in the neighborhood. None of them will be able to hear you.”
“Let me go!”
“Not happening.”
“Where are my clothes, you fucking pervert?”
“Says the girl who promised I would call her mommy as she spanked my ass.” Pausing to let that sink in, I asked, “How’s the nipple, Sarah. Were the plastic surgeons able to save the sensation in it?”
She quieted, finally understanding why she’d woken in a dark room bound to a bed. “I’ll pay you the money back.”
I grinned, my shoulders shaking with silent laughter. “Bit late for that. You thought you could keep playing us. Hate to break it to you, sweetheart, but you pushed all of the wrong buttons. Now it’s time to pay the money back through service.”
Wrenching sobs filled the room, loud sniffles mingling with the sound. Groaning, I walked across the room to open the closet. I fucking hated it when they got snotty.
“What do you prefer, Mistress, the cane, the flogger or the belt?”
No, not the belt. That was reserved for Rebecca.
She didn’t answer, not that I thought she would, so I grabbed the bamboo cane, a thin instrument about the width of my thumb. Dragging it behind me as I approached the bed, I enjoyed the sound of the tip scraping on the floor for effect. Sarah didn’t. Apparently she was into the kink, but didn’t appreciate the art and mastery.
Without warning I slapped it over her tits, a scream volleying from her throat that was ear piercing. Shaking my head to relieve the pain of that sound, I laughed. “Looks like the surgeons did a good job. You definitely felt that.”
I slapped her again several times, shaking my head to hear her scream even louder.
“Please, let me go, I swear-“
My fingers wrap
ped over her cheeks, the cane landing with a thwack against the ground where I dropped it. “I don’t give a fuck what you can offer me, the time for playing nice is over.” Squeezing, I could feel the indent of her perfect teeth. “I don’t feel sorry for you either. Not one fucking bit. You had no problem riding a man you thought couldn’t say no, which makes you just as much of a monster as me.”
My free hand traveled down her body, past her tits, over a tight stomach and stopped just before I felt the hair between her legs. Instead of excitement, all I felt was the urge to puke. Touching her wasn’t what I wanted.
I didn’t even want to contemplate what that meant. Didn’t want to consider that perhaps Rebecca had been right when she said it was time for us to leave this life.
Being a Master was the only life I’d ever known.
The scent of her vanilla perfume was making me gag, her body stilling over the mattress instead of at least doing me the favor of putting up a fight. Normally by this time, my cock would be hard and ready, but I could tell by the loose fabric of my pants that it was disinterested and flaccid.
I yanked my hand away, released her cheeks and stood above her staring down. Another idea crossed my mind, one that wouldn’t require me to think of Rebecca just to get a hard on.
“Speaking of men who can’t say no; your lover boy, Chris, is here. The one who bit you. He’s sleeping in a room a few doors down. I could bring him to say hello if you enjoyed what you did with him last time.”
She was whimpering now and I canted my head at the sound of it. Giving the idea more thought, I realized just how fucking perfect it was. But, I couldn’t simply borrow Rebecca’s Courtesan without first seeking her permission. I’d already disrespected her enough when it came to him. I wouldn’t do it again.
“Tell you what, Mistress, I’ll go wake him up and let him know you’ve requested his services. I’m sure he’ll be more than happy to perform. His real Master has been denying him sex for over a week and it’s left him frustrated and pissed off.”
I’d already turned to walk to the door when she begged, “Please! No!”
My hand curled over the knob, my lips pulling into a vicious smile. “I have two suggestions for you, little girl. Number one, don’t fuck with criminals when you have no idea how far they’d be willing to go to shut you up. And number two, start thinking about all the things you’d hoped Alessandro would let you do him so your body readies itself for sex. I don’t like you, so I won’t be providing you with lube, and we’ve discovered Chris has a real fascination with a woman’s ass.”
She was screaming when I left the room. Screaming as I walked down the hall. Screaming as I left the Courtesan wing and turned in route to wake Rebecca.
Would I admit I couldn’t get it up to take care of this job myself? Probably not. But I was sure she’d appreciate my having asked permission before releasing Greyson on Sarah.
A smile stretched my lips again to think that perhaps she’d like to watch.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
REBECCA
“Wake up, beautiful. I need your help.”
What Aiden didn’t know was that I was already conscious. Clenching my eyes shut when he snuck in the room, I pretended to sleep, refusing to let him know that the screams had bothered me, that I cared at all he’d brought another woman home.
Help? What could he possibly need from me? He’d done this a hundred times.
Slowly, I blinked my eyes apart, squinting them as if that would help me see his face in the low light. My throat worked to swallow, the knot blocking it a sign I wouldn’t show him of weakness. “Why are you waking me up?” I flicked a glance at the alarm clock. “It’s the middle of the night.”
From the Courtesan’s wing, the screams continued. High pitched, shrill, the kind that tear the sensitive skin of the throat until it burns like hell. I didn’t remember screaming like that, not until he was dragging me by the feet to the bathroom.
“She’s all yours, Aiden. Do what you must.”
Stroking a finger along my jaw line, Aiden sat next to me, the mattress dipping with his weight. “I’d like to borrow your Courtesan. Let the two of them play together.”
Brows tugging together, I pushed myself onto an elbow, eyes wide as I cranked my neck to look at Aiden’s face. “Why? He’s sleeping. At least, I think he is. It’s possible he woke up with all the noise she’s making.”
“All the better for us. I would have retrieved him myself, but I won’t step on your toes again, Pet. You’re his Master.”
The admission stunned me. Aiden asking for permission? Not in this lifetime. Yet, there he was, waiting for my answer.
“They can play tomorrow when you’re done with her.”
Silence answered me. I shifted over the mattress to sit up. Why was he looking at me that way?
Pure honesty in blue eyes, raw and naked. “I have no interest in touching her.”
I must have been dreaming. Aiden was not the man to lose interest in training. He wasn’t the type to allow anything to get in his way when it came to money or vengeance. Sometimes I believed there were two sides to him as well: the man I knew who, despite his denials, felt emotions just like everyone else, and the truly cold monster, devoid of anything but focus on the prize.
The first few nights a Courtesan spent in the dark room brought out the cold side of him, yet I was staring at the side that held a glimmer of warmth inside him.
“Why not?”
Sweeping a stray hair from my face, he glanced away as if the answer eluded him. His expressive lips thinned. His jaw ticked once. “Does it even matter?” His stare returned to me. “I don’t have interest, and I’d like to use Christopher to do what I prefer not to. Will you give me permission to do that?”
Permission...
Dear God, if I could have snatched that word from the air and captured it with my hands, I would have framed it and proudly displayed it next to all the photos Aiden had taken of me. Asking him to say it again would have been pushing my luck, but I wanted to. The urge to make him say it again was compulsory. I bit my tongue in refusal.
I feigned thinking his request over. For once in this relationship I had the upper hand. I had the power. I wasn’t about to speed through the moment without taking just a few seconds to enjoy it.
“Yes,” I finally answered, my voice hesitant. “But on one condition.”
Aiden arched an arrogant brow, curious interest obvious in the glimmer of his blue eyes. “What’s the condition?”
Fighting not to smile, I lost the battle. “I control my Courtesan. I’ve been training him for two weeks now, and I’ll have to present him before too long. It would be a shame to see all that go to waste because you wanted to let him go crazy on this new woman you’ve brought home. He has rules he needs to follow and it should be his Master that ensures he abides by them.”
Slowly, his lips stretched, a sinuous curve that was so very sly. “I believe I can agree to that. But you’ll need to get up and get dressed. If we don’t do something soon, the little bitch will scream all night.”
“Give me a minute.”
Surprisingly, Aiden stood from the bed and walked from the room, calling over his shoulder that he’d wait in the hall before closing the door. I called back to him before the handle caught with a quiet click.
“Actually, I’d like you to stay while I prepare.”
He turned to me then, more interest in his sapphire gaze. “Shall I sit or would you prefer I stand?”
My lips curled into a smile. “Either, just as long as you keep you eyes on me.”
Inclining his head, he leaned against a far wall, the same one where he’d stood over a week ago to ask me to play with him that morning. It felt like an entire lifetime had passed since the day he’d led me into the playroom so he could fuck me and leave me to discover the photo of what he’d done to Greyson. Now, here we were, my Master asking permission to use my Courtesan rather than just taking what he wanted.
It di
dn’t seem real.
A spark of change was in the air, of hope, of something positive. I didn’t miss the heavy weight of dread I’d felt just hours before when I’d crawled into our bed knowing he was bringing another woman home.
The procession of the past few days had been whiplash. A tug of war between Aiden and I that would run one direction, only to stop and charge in the other.
Had it finally stopped?
I didn’t know, but I was willing to find out.
There was no time for a shower, so I slipped on a satin robe to go about brushing my hair, securing it back in a high ponytail before applying makeup. I felt like I was going on a job interview, my hands shaking because of my nerves. But, in a way, I was. Aiden hadn’t paid attention to the training sessions between Greyson and I; he didn’t know that I’d managed to create a decent Courtesan despite not fucking him.
It was odd, but in a way I understood that, while Greyson could be a Master if he wanted, he preferred the role of submissive. I didn’t understand why. And I was still in the dark as to the games he was playing, but I knew it to be the truth.
Although it hadn’t made much sense to me, I’d used it to my advantage. He would make a great Courtesan for the person we sold him to, as long as he continued with his good behavior.
Makeup done, I slipped the robe from my shoulders allowing it to puddle on the floor behind me. Fully naked, I could feel Aiden’s appreciative gaze follow me from the bathroom to my closet.
This moment was like foreplay leading up to a meeting of Masters. I actually looked forward to presenting Greyson in a way which would impress the man who taught me everything I know about this life.
“Skirt and shirt, or dress?” I called from the closet.
His voice chased me into the shadowed interior. “How tight is the skirt?”
“Tight.”
“Dress, then. I’d like the easier access for when we’re done. It would be a shame to destroy another article of clothing in my rush to thrust inside you.”