Sold (Keeping her in the Dark)

  women. But when he pictured having sex with Norah, a very

  different scene came to mind. He was still deep in thought when his

  phone rang. Norah looked over at him, as he stood up and turned his

  back to her. “Hastings,” he said in his phone. Then he listened as Steve

  explained that negotiations were done and they had not come to an

  agreement. “It’s the son, dammit! Mr. Stackhouse would let us help

  him if we could talk to him alone. He thinks we’re trying to screw

  him out of his own company, but if he would just listen to us without

  his son, we could make him understand we are trying to save it!

  Fuck!” He ran his hands through his hair. “All because he thinks

  Daddy is trying to sell the company out from under him. I’m not even

  asking for him to step down as CEO for fucks sake! Stackhouse Jr. will

  still inherit the company in a few years, and if we help him, he would

  get a better more profitable fucking company! Turning us down

  makes them open for an unwanted takeover, by someone that won’t

  give a damn about the reservations we negotiated!” Liam listened

  some more and paced back and forth. “Fine. Fine. No, I’m not happy.

  The old man will be bankrupt in a year, but I’ve done what I can do.”

  He ended the call and walked to Norah. “Some people just can’t accept help even if it’s right in front

  of them.” He wrapped his arms around her waist and felt her stiffen.

  That evening at dinner Liam could tell Norah had something

  on her mind. They both sat quiet while Gerald served them, and

  Norah waited for Liam to tell her she could eat before she picked up

  her fork. Her head was lowered and she didn’t make eye contact.

  Liam smiled as he sipped his wine. He was happy his mushy

  confession hadn’t taken away the basics of her submission. She

  tensed when he touched her, which told him she still feared him. In a

  weird way, Liam liked that she feared him, he liked her not knowing

  what he would do next. He wanted her to know he cared for her, but

  he also wanted her to remember being smacked for talking to him

  with lack of respect.

  “You look like you have the weight of the world on your

  shoulders, Norah. Talk to me. What’s on your mind?” he asked. She

  smiled a little and looked over at him, and then back at her plate.

  “I had a good day today,” she spoke softly. “I did too, but that certainly isn’t what’s bothering you now is

  it?” She shook her head. “Then tell me, little one. What has you

  distressed?” She swallowed hard and took a sip of her water.

  “You said before,” she paused and took a deep breath. “You

  said that I was the first slave you had ever bought.” She glanced over

  at him, not wanting to upset him. He didn’t look upset, so she went

  on. “But you seem very,” she paused again. “Experienced.” He

  bobbed his head.

  “Look at me, Norah.” She looked over at him and braced

  herself for anything. He took her hand and shook it, silently asking

  her to relax. “Yes, you are my first slave. Before you, I only had

  relationships with Submissive’s. Which is like a slave, just not as

  intense. They had jobs, lives outside this house, and some of them

  didn’t even live with me.” He took a sip of his wine. “But I realized I

  wanted something more; I wanted complete control. I think we both

  know I like to make the decisions and don’t like to be second

  guessed.” He smiled at her, and she lowered her eyes. “I like rules and I like obedience, Norah. I have no problem

  punishing you for not obeying me, should I ever need to.” He took a

  bite of his salad. “If ours was a sexual relationship, our rules would

  be very different, my demands on you would be very different.” He

  didn’t look at her when he spoke this time.

  “Will I ever see my family again?” It was a bold question. It

  took a lot of bravery on her part to ask, and he knew that. He didn’t

  like this topic, but he didn’t like the last one either.

  “I like your bravery, little one, I do.” He touched her chin and

  made her look at him. “But be careful, Norah, sometimes your

  bravery gets you in trouble.” He let her chin go, and then answered

  her question. “I would like for you to see your family again. But

  that’s really up to you.” He took a sip of wine not really sure how to

  answer her. “It’s like I said in the beginning Norah, if you are nice to

  me, I will be nice to you. You have been rewarded with being let out

  of your room, you’re free to roam the house as you please. You’ve

  been outside, and enjoyed this beautiful weather. I’ve slept in your bed with you, and,” he didn’t finish that sentence.

  He wanted to say ‘not demanded sex from you.’ But he had already

  told her he wouldn’t do that. He had never slept with a sub and not

  had some kind of sexual activity, and he never stayed the whole

  night. “These are rewards for good behavior. I don’t think I make a

  lot of outrageous demands of you Norah. I want you to respect me,

  it’s really that simple.” He took her hand and kissed it. Placing it back

  on the table he squeezed just a little hard. “But they are all things

  that can be taken away too, remember that, little one.” Then he let

  her hand go and went back to eating. She was deep in thought for

  the rest of dinner. Was he saying that if she behaved and continued

  to do as he said, that she would see her family again? Maybe have a

  job and be allowed out of the house, in public?

  Chapter eight

  Norah

  The last few days with Liam had been wonderful. I was now

  able to roam the house freely and go out in the yard whenever I

  wanted. While he was at work I would help Rosa with her work, and

  she would teach me how to cook. Gerald never said much but I could

  tell he did not approve. But he never failed to help us out when we

  had a communication problem. We would always finish up before

  Liam would come home. He had never told me I couldn’t talk to the

  house staff, but he never said I could either. I didn’t want to upset

  him. We would eat together in the evenings and he would tell me

  about his day. He never went into a lot of detail, and I could tell he

  was trying to keep things simple so I would understand. I wanted to tell him I was also college educated and he didn’t

  need to talk to me like I was child, but I thought that would earn me

  another smack in the face.

  After dinner sometimes he had more work to do and would

  go to his study, sometimes we would take a walk outside and look at

  the stars. He knew a lot of about astrology and liked to talk about

  the stars and planets. Other nights I would sit quietly and read while

  he would shuffle papers and talk on his cell phone, insisting he

  wasn’t working. Most nights would end with me crawling in his lap

  and falling asleep. I would wake up in his arms as he carried me up

  the stairs, or when he would lay me down on my bed. I would always

  ask him to stay, and most nights he would crawl right in behind me,

  as if he had been waiting for an invitation. A few nights he had said

 
; he had to finish some work and would be back later. Sleeping in his

  arms was so comforting, it was the only time he touched me without

  holding back. During the day he held my hand and kissed my forehead, but

  always seemed to hesitate or act like he was holding back from doing

  something else. When he carried me to bed, I snuggled against his

  chest and neck. We were sleeping in the same bed, and yet he still

  hadn’t tried to have sex with me. I had made myself available, I

  thought. Letting him know I was ready, by moving my body against

  his, kissing his neck lightly while he was falling asleep, but he hadn’t

  taken advantage. I had done everything except actually say the

  words.

  One night we laid in bed talking, and when he leaned in to

  kiss my forehead, I made my move. I wrapped my arms around his

  body and rolled so I was on top. I looked down at him and leaned in

  for a kiss, which he eagerly accepted. We kissed for what seemed

  like way to long, but his hands never moved from my back. So I

  moved my mouth to his neck and then to his chest. He grabbed my

  arms and pulled me back to his mouth. I moved my body against his

  and tried to lower my arms, but he wouldn’t release them. I rolled

  again so he was on top of me and moved my hands to his hair. We continued to kiss, and when his mouth moved to my

  neck, I thought this was my chance. I lowered my hands to his hips

  and wiggled my pelvis against him. When I ran my hands over his

  waist band, I raised my nightgown at the same time. “Norah, please

  stop trying to take your clothes off.” I let out a deep breath. “I’m not

  trying to take my clothes off,” I whispered. “Okay, so please stop

  trying to take my clothes off,” he smiled against my lips. “Don’t you

  want me?” I asked, and I knew he could feel my disappointment.

  “Yes, I want you. I want you so bad, but I just don’t think this is the

  right time, little one.” He rolled off of me and I moved to my side

  with my back to him. I felt the bed move and then I felt his mouth on

  my ear and wrapped his arms around me. “Hey, when it’s right, it will

  happen, okay.” I touched his hands and turned to him. “Why isn’t it

  right now?” He smiled and kissed my lips. “Norah, I know you think

  you’re ready, but think about it, sweetheart; part of you is just doing

  this because you think this is what I expect, isn’t it?” I didn’t answer,

  but just lowered my eyes. In my stomach I knew he was right. It was

  the ache between my legs I had to convince. “Rosa’s daughter is in labor, I’m going with her to the

  hospital, are you going to be alright?” Gerald was panting as he ran

  out on the patio. “I’ve tried to call Mr. Hastings, but wasn’t able to

  reach him. Lina will still be here, and Raymond is out in the stables.

  I’ll call with any news!” He turned and ran back inside. I went inside

  and heard Rosa screaming something in Spanish to him, and him

  telling her to calm down in English as they rushed out the door. I

  looked at the grandfather clock in the foyer, it was 4:47. I knew Liam

  would be home soon, so I went to the kitchen and started making

  dinner. I took the three cooked chicken breasts out of the fridge, and

  shredded them. I sautéed some cream cheese, onions, chicken

  broth, diced tomatoes, and green chilies. I added some flour and

  butter to thicken it up a little, and then put in the chicken and lots of

  cheese. While it cooked, I found the tortillas and a long baking dish. I

  looked in the fridge and found some veggies and strawberries. I

  added the chicken mixture of the tortillas, rolled them, making six,

  and put them in the oven for 35 minutes. I chopped some lettuce,

  cucumbers and strawberries and mixed them in a bowl. I went to the

  pantry and found raisins and chopped almonds. I thought they would both make a nice addition, to whatever

  it was I was making. When I came out of the pantry he was standing

  at the island.

  “Where’s Rosa? The house is so quiet, and you didn’t meet

  me at the door. Is something wrong?” He asked. I lowered my head

  and walked to him and he kissed the top of my head. He had never

  formally told me he required me to meet him at the door, but he had

  expressed how much he loved it.

  “You’re the one thing I have been looking forward to seeing

  all day.” I smiled, but my head was still lowered.

  “Whatever you’re doing in here, it smells wonderful.” I

  stepped back a little. “So? Tell me what’s going on?” I didn’t raise my

  head to answer him.

  “Rosa’s daughter went into labor today, so Gerald took her to

  the hospital. Lina was still here, but Gerald told me she was a cousin

  or niece or something of Rosa’s, a while back, so I just told her to go

  too.” He laughed. “Yes, I guess that’s what I get for hiring an entire family to

  work for me. When something happens to one, they all want to be

  there.” He picked at my salad a little. “So what did Rosa leave us to

  eat?”

  “She didn’t. So I made us some enchiladas. They should be

  done in about 20 minutes, and I’m working on a salad here.” I

  pointed to the bowl he was picking at.

  “You made dinner?” he asked. I nodded.

  “Yes sir.” I still wasn’t sure what to call him. He had made it

  clear even though he told me his name, he didn’t want me to use it.

  “Hmm. Well good.” He paused and looked at me. “I’m going

  to go take a shower.”

  I added the almonds and raisins to the salad and chopped a

  few more strawberries since he seemed to have eaten a lot of them.

  I made an oil and vinegar dressing, and started setting the table. I

  was putting the food on the table when he came back down. “This looks like a scene from ‘Leave it to Beaver’.” He

  laughed. “The little wife making dinner, while her husband worked

  hard at the office all day.” I tensed up. I wasn’t sure if that was a

  good thing or not. He didn’t seem like he wanted a little wife at

  home. He touched my hand and I looked up at him. “Don’t worry, I

  like it.” We sat and he went right for the enchiladas. He took several

  bites but didn’t say anything. I didn’t touch my food, I was too

  nervous. “This is delicious, Norah, really delicious.” He motioned his

  hands for me to dig in, so I did. It was rather good, even if I did think

  so myself. “Thank you, sir. Rosa has been teaching me few things

  while you’re at work.” I swallowed hard not knowing what he would

  think of that. “Really?” he said. “Well, her lessons have paid off.” He

  smiled and I relaxed a little. “So would you like to hear the family

  drama, and why Gerald rushed out of here with Rosa?” he asked,

  licking his fingers. I nodded and looked over at him briefly. “It’s ok if

  you look at me when I talk to you Norah.” I looked back and he

  touched my hand. “I do appreciate the respect you show me. Believe

  me, it doesn’t go unnoticed.” He took another bite of his salad. “Two years ago, Gerald’s son, Nathan, worked here over the

  summer. He worked as my driver, while Trig was home with his wife
<
br />   and new baby. He helped Gerald, when he needed it, and Raymond

  with the gardening staff as well. Well the same summer, Rosa’s

  daughter, Sofia, started working here full time as a housekeeper.” He

  paused and took a sip of his beer. “The two met, and fell in love.

  When the summer was over, Nathan had to go back to school in

  Dublin, and Sofia stayed here. But from what I understand just from

  listening to the staff talk, they continued to see each other, and nine

  months ago, she turned up pregnant.” He took another sip of his

  beer. “I don’t think Gerald nor Rosa were happy about it. They are

  both devout Catholics, and think it’s a sin to engage in sex before

  marriage.” I smiled wondering what in the world they must think of

  Liam and all his dark tendencies. “They got married before she

  started to show,” he paused, “here actually, in the back yard.” He

  said back yard, like he had a pool, swing set and a grill with his patio,

  and not the acres of land he actually had with tennis courts, stables,

  and yes, I’m sure there was a pool somewhere. But I couldn’t see

  him pushing kids on the swings, or flipping hamburgers. “The best of it all, was Rosa and Gerald. Rosa has been a

  widow for, I don’t know, ever since I can remember. She came to

  work for us when I was in middle school and her husband died

  shortly after that.” Wow, Rosa had been with him for a very long

  time. She knew him as a boy, and has watched him grow into a man.

  “Gerald, however, had a wife, but they haven’t lived together in the

  same house for 20 years. They separated when Nathan was just in

  grade school, but never got divorced, because of their religion. But

  with all this interaction between Rosa and Gerald because of the

  kids, they ended up falling in love too!” I smiled and laughed a little.

  This was really like a soap opera. It was great to see him so

  animated. “So when I said, I hired a family, I really did. Gerald

  divorced his wife, and he and Rosa now live in one of my guest

  houses, as well as they have a room here in the house too. Sofia, is

  Rosa’s daughter, married to Nathan, Gerald’s son, and are having a

  child of their own. Maria, another housekeeper of mine, is Rosa’s

  younger sister, and Lina is Maria’s daughter.” He laughed and started