under his skin; it just did. It was like a slap in the face to him. If
you’re going to be an asshole to me, I will do exactly what you want,
but you’ll eat your words. He was eating his words about his name
now, and he knew…that she knew it.
Norah
Gerald came in my room and laid a dress on the bed. He
walked to the closet and pulled out a pair of sandals then stood by
the door and gestured to the bed.
“When you’re done getting dressed, I’ll be waiting outside
the door,” he bowed his head and walked out. I looked at the dress
and shoes. It was light pink sun dress and white sandals. I put it on
and went to the bathroom to fix my makeup a little. I put on light
pink eye shadow that looked neutral on my dark skin, and light pink
lip gloss. I opened the door and Gerald told me to follow him. We
walked through the house and back to the where the basement door
was located. I cringed thinking I might be going back to the darkness.
Instead we past the door and he opened the back door to the
outside. We stood on the cement porch and I looked around at this
beautiful yard. His voice brought me out of my trance.
“I have lemonade over on the table. Enjoy yourself, Miss.” He
bowed again and walked back inside. I walked to the edge of the porch and looked out. I stepped
down the few steps and out in the grass. I took off my sandals and
let my feet touch the grass. This was unexpected, but very much
appreciated. I laughed out loud and twirled in the sun.
“Well aren’t you a sight for sore eyes?” I stopped and saw
Liam walking to me. He had a bouquet of flowers in one hand and his
other in his pocket. He also had a big smile on his face. I couldn’t
help myself, I ran to him. I jumped in his arms and wrapped my legs
around him. He wrapped his arms around me and we didn’t say
anything. It had only been four days since I had seen him. I had spent
more time in solitary confinement in the basement. But I missed
him, and I wanted him to know. He loosened his grip and I jumped
down. He touched my chin forcing me to look at him.
“You’re so beautiful, you know that right?” I didn’t answer.
He kissed my nose and handed me the flowers. “They’re beautiful, thank you.” I swayed back and forth. “I
missed you,” I whispered. I knew he heard me, but I was afraid he
wouldn’t want to hear it. “I know. I’m glad.” He smiled. “Come, I
have a picnic set up for us in the garden.” He took my hand and we
walked through the flowers and greenery. We came to small clearing
with a little fountain and a big tree. There was a blanket with a
basket under the tree. We walked over and he gestured for me to sit
down.
“You’re not worried about wrinkling what I’m sure is a very
expensive suit?” I asked. He was wearing a dark navy suit with a
golden tie. He always looked very sharp. I was sure he had his suits
made for him. He chuckled and took a seat. We talked about his trip
and how the CEO wouldn’t budge. We ate ham and turkey
sandwiches and drank lemonade. I laid down on the blanket and let
my body soak in the sun. Liam leaned against the tree and talked
briefly on his phone, then laid beside me. We didn’t touch, we just
looked in each other’s eyes. I kept licking my lips hoping he would
kiss me, but he didn’t. Finally he commented on it. “Do you want me to kiss you, Norah?” I lowered my eyes
feeling ashamed for feeling this way. “Don’t be embarrassed. It’s
alight. I want to kiss you too.” He put his finger on my lips. “But I’m
not going to.” I was confused but didn’t dare argue.
“Did you know you have been with me for two months?” I
didn’t realize it had been that long. If I had been with him for two
months, that meant it was August. I should be returning from my trip
soon. We had sent out post cards, and several emails, so my family
didn’t suspect anything. But not coming home would be a red flag. I
wanted to say something about it, but decided not to push my luck. I
just shook my head no. “Yes, it was two months ago today that I
bought you from that awful auction.” Awful Auction? How was it
awful for him? He was doing the bidding. “Were you scared?” he
asked. I sat up and looked away. He sat up behind me and moved
closer.
“I was terrified,” I said. He touched my arm. “Tell me how it happened? How did you end up there?” I
couldn’t believe he wanted to hear this. I certainly didn’t want to
relive it. But I didn’t want to make him mad.
“I had been in Paris about a week; I was sitting in a small café
drinking coffee and I saw this guy looking at me. He had been there
the previous morning as well, just watching me. I thought he was
French and just being overly obvious that he was interested. I
decided to be bold and ask him for directions. We talked for a few
minutes then he offered to take me where I wanted to go. We got in
the cab, and he offered me a bottle of water from his bag. It was hot
so I took it. When I woke up I was on an exam room table, legs
spread eagle, some guy between them with a light, and three guys
over me yelling at each other in a language I didn’t understand.”
I stopped. His hand squeezed my arm. I took it as a silent
request to continue. “I tried to move, to yell, but I was gagged and
strapped down.” I could feel the tears on my cheeks. I kept my back
to him. I knew he could hear me crying but I didn’t want him to see
me. “One of men yelled something at me, but I didn’t understand
him. Another one left the room, and when he came back he had a
small woman with black hair with him. He screamed at her, and she
looked at me. She asked me if I had ever been with a man. I shook
my head no. One of the guys in the room got very mad and another
man took him out.” I took a deep breath. “The man between my legs
stopped looking and said something to the other men and left in the
room. I felt a needle in my arm and I was out again.”
“They were checking to see if you were a virgin.” His voice
was shaky. It was quiet for a moment then he spoke again. “What
was your training like?” I couldn’t believe he was asking me about
this. Certainly a man like him had an idea of what the women he had
purchased went through before they came to him. It upset me that
he was asking, but I answered him anyway. “I was trained by an
Australian man. He taught me commands, positions, to never look
my Master in the eyes, never speak unless told, and not to hesitate.”
I looked at my fingers in my lap. “Did he hurt you?” He was closer now, and put his arm
around my waist. “He didn’t. But the men who worked with him did.
They never…ya know….because they couldn’t. The one guy who
tried, he killed.” I paused. He kissed my shoulder. “It was in the
middle of my training, and the men were taking a break. I could see
them off in the distance, eating, smoking, playing cards, and
drinking. He came out of nowhere and was all over me. I was
&n
bsp; shackled to a wall, so there was nothing I could do. I had been told
by a girl in my cell that girls that weren’t pure were sent to brothels
or worked as prostitutes on the streets. She actually told me I was
lucky that I would be sold at an auction to one man, and I had
started to believe her.” He kissed my shoulder again and trying to
reassure me that I was better off with him. “He drooled on me and
had his hands all over. It was the same guy that got so mad after
they found out I was a virgin the first day. He leaned into my neck
and called me a little whore; then I heard the gun shot and I felt his
blood splatter my face. I was crying. I saw the Australian man
standing there with a gun. He took a bite of the sandwich in his hand
and said something like, ‘that prick was determined to fuck you from the beginning. I warned him what would happen if he tried.’ Then he
turned back to the table. A few hours later two men came to pick up
the body at my feet. They didn’t clean off the blood for two days.” I
took a deep breath and stood up. “I don’t want to talk about this
anymore, is that ok?” He nodded and stood up with me.
“Norah, I want you to know I had nothing to do with your
kidnapping,” He took a deep breath. “And I hope on some level you
do think you are better off here than working in a brothel.”
I don’t know why but his comments just pissed me off. All the
sudden I wasn’t upset, I was angry, and it was directed at him. I knew
he didn’t have anything to do with my kidnapping, but he had
benefitted from it. I was here with him, and if I hadn’t been
kidnapped I wouldn’t be here. He stepped closer to me and pulled
me to him. “I’m so sorry that happened to you,” he spoke quietly. His
trying to be sweet just made me want to provoke him. I didn’t need
his pity, and I didn’t want his affection, not now. I crossed my arms
against my chest and took my best shot. “Why did you buy me, Liam?” I said his name again and he
hadn’t told me I could. Last time he proved that upset him. He
looked shocked by my question. I was shocked by my actions. For
four days I had done nothing but wish he was with me. But now after
making me relive my nightmare, and knowing he was the sole
benefactor just made me sick. “What?” He moved away a little and
put his hands in his pockets. “Why did you buy me? It isn’t a hard
question.” I couldn’t believe I said that. I just knew he was going to
slap me. But he didn’t. “Why are you trying to piss me off? It’s been
a nice day, let’s not ruin it.” He moved back over to the blanket and
started packing things up. I could tell I was under his skin.
“I mean, I was told all these horrible things would happen to
me. How my Master would fuck me senseless. How he would share
me with his friends. How he would make me perform sexual scenes
in front of strangers. And none of that has happened. Here I am still
a virgin.” He was standing fully erect with his back to me. I went on.
“I mean, I know I turn you on, so why did you buy me? Certainly it
wasn’t to take up space in your guest room. You must have some kind of idea of what you want from me. So what is it, Liam? Hmm?” I
waited and he dropped the basket. I knew it was coming and I
welcomed it. I was pissed and wanted to hate him. Hating him was
easier when he was angry. He turned to face me. I could see the
anger in his eyes. For a moment I was scared. He walked closer to me
and stood silently beside me.
“You’re deliberately trying to make me hurt you, aren’t you?
Do you want me to fuck you, Norah?” He grabbed my arm and drug
me back to the house. “This is what you want? You want me to be
rough? You want me to be angry? Is that easier for you to handle?”
He pulled me in the house and up the stairs. When we got to my
room, he shoved me on the bed then pulled off his jacket and tie.
When he started pulling off his shirt, I got scared and quickly
changed my mind.
“I’m sorry. Please don’t do this,” I held up my hand.
“Oh, it’s too late for sorry now little one. You brought this on
yourself.” He pushed his pants down and took his shoes off. He
crawled toward me on the bed and I tried to move away. He grabbed my ankle and pulled me to him. He covered my
body as he pushed my dress up over my head and threw it on the
floor. He grinded himself against me and held my hands down so I
couldn’t fight him. I turned my head so I couldn’t see his face. He
moved down my body and pulled my underwear off, then covered
me again, and held my hands down. He parted my legs and pressed
himself on top of me.
“Please, stop,” I begged.
“Is this what you want? You want me to fight with you? You
want me to rape you, Norah?” I shook my head and begged him to
stop. “Oh beg me some more, please. I thought I wouldn’t like
fighting you, but I think I like it very much.” I got an arm loose and
slapped him. His eyes grew colder. “You slapped me?” He grabbed
my arm and slammed it in the bed. “You make me angry, provoke
me to hurt you, and now you slap me?” He moved his pelvis against
my sex. “Is our relationship easier for you to handle if I’m a monster
all the time?” He licked my neck and kissed me hard on the mouth. “You think I have hurt you in the past, wait until I shove this
inside that tight pussy of yours. Then you’ll know what a fucking
monster I really am, Norah.” I clenched my eyes shut and let the
tears take over. I had asked for this. I provoked him. In a weird way, I
just wanted to get it over with. “Just do it, you sick bastard,” I panted
and prepared myself for the worst. But instead he stopped moving.
He released my arms and moved off of me. I opened my eyes and he
was kneeling between my legs. He looked at my face and then ran
his hands over his. He moved to the end of the bed and pulled on his
pants.
“I don’t want it like this. I never wanted it like this.” I don’t
think he knew he was talking out loud. He leaned forward, and
grabbed his clothes off the floor. He turned to me, “Why did you
make me do this? We were having such a beautiful day.” Then he
walked out. I cried for a while then got up and took a shower, put on
my pajamas and got back in bed. I curled up and tried to sleep.
Things had just become decent between him and I and I ruined it. He was acting like he actually cared for me, and I pissed him
off on purpose. Usually he was the one that pushed me away after
he got too close. This time it was me pushing him away. Part of me
wanted to protect myself from him, make him happy to keep him
happy, but another part told me this relationship was fucked up from
the beginning and I shouldn’t like this man no matter how nice he
was to me. I wouldn’t be so confused if he was mean and hurt me all
the time instead of flipping back and forth. Then another very small
part of me said, he was just as lonely as I was; it said he wanted my
company and he bought me to be with him. It told me my caring
feeling
s for him were fine because he really did care for me too. I
cried for so long, and worried that he would return having changed
his mind. Finally as the sun set I drifted to sleep. My eyes flew open
when I heard the door open. I saw his dark outline walk to the other
side of my bed. I looked at the alarm clock and it was after midnight.
I tensed up thinking he had come back to finish what I started. I felt
the bed shift as he climbed in behind me. His arms wrapped around
me, and I could feel his face in my hair. I tried to pull away. “I’m not going to hurt you, Norah. I don’t want to hurt you.
Please don’t fight me, I’m so sorry.” He was apologizing to me. I
provoked him. He moved my hair off my shoulder and kissed it. “Did
I hurt you?” he asked. I rolled to face him. I could see his face, and he
looked sad. I shook my head no.
“You just scared me,” I breathed. I touched his chest with my
hands and pulled at the neck of his t-shirt. He kissed my forehead.
“I scared myself. I let my anger take over. But I don’t want
you like that, Norah.” I looked up at him, and he wiped my tears
away. “I want you, believe me, I want you so bad.” He kissed my
forehead again. “But I can’t do it like that, no matter how angry I am.
That isn’t me.” He touched my chin and forced my eyes on him. “If
you’re worried about that, don’t. Don’t be worried. I will never force
you to have sex with me.” He stopped and swallowed hard. “Have
you been waiting for me to…” he trailed off like he couldn’t even say
the words. “Is that why you provoked me today?” “I knew it would happen sooner or later. Rehashing how I got
here today, just made me remember all the bad things they said to
me. I’ve been so scared, I just wanted it over with.” I took in
staggered breath and started to cry again. I pressed my head in his
chest and he rubbed the back of my head.
“I don’t know what I’m doing, Norah. I should have never,”
he cleared his throat and didn’t finish that sentence either. “I’m so
confused about you. I want to be close to you. But I guess I’m
afraid.” I looked up at him.
“What could you be afraid of? You’re so strong, powerful and
always in control.”
“I’m afraid that you hate me because I bought you. I’m afraid
Sold (Keeping her in the Dark) Page 11