Sold (Keeping her in the Dark)

by Sansom, Leslie

  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