by J. L. Beck
Air swirls around my legs, and a whisper of a touch across the top of my foot shoots me backward into him. There’s a scuffle in front of me and the sound of someone being dragged off.
“What part of ‘don’t touch’ do I have to make clear?” he says, his voice low and menacing. It’s the voice I heard the night we met, more monster than man.
Numbers start flying around me. Thousands of dollars turn into hundreds of thousands. My knees wobble, and I fear my legs will give out. But I don’t want to show that kind of weakness in front of these people.
There is a shuffle behind me, and then Nicolo draws me back to sit on his lap. I have to turn to keep my legs closed as the dress leaves me completely on display. His hand feels just as possessive around my waist, clasping me into his body. The memory of him on top of me, of him holding me naked, threatens to swamp me, but I shove it out of my head. We’re done with that now.
It’s all I can do to keep my head up and not let the tears fall as the auction winds down when someone shouts from the back.
I don’t hear him, but by the way Nicolo tenses behind me, he does. “Say that again, and I’ll drag you out of here. In the years I’ve been moving product, when have I offered something fake? Tell me,” Nicolo demands.
The other voice is closer now, the heavy scent of his cologne making my nose itch. “Look at her, Diavolo. How are we supposed to believe you didn’t fuck her while she was in your care?”
Now’s the time to speak out. I can tell them all I’m not a virgin, and maybe they will stop bidding. The second I open my mouth, Nicolo’s hand clamps across my lips, and my head is wrenched back into the curve of his shoulder. “You say a word, and I just let them have you. Understand?”
I move my lips until I can dig my teeth into the fleshy part of his middle finger. He doesn’t react to the bite outwardly, but his hands tighten around my face and waist.
“If you don’t want to bid, then don’t bid. It’s your choice,” he tells the man calmly.
There is more shouting, and Nicolo settles again, using his thigh to part my own instead of allowing me to keep them closed. I try to maneuver sideways again, but he spreads me wide open. No one can see my nudity since I’m so far up his thigh, thankfully.
The bidding is down to two men. Their voices rise and fall as they throw out numbers. Then one of them yells two million dollars, and the other falls silent.
I hear Soo say from across the room, “Sold for two million.”
The word sold blasts through me. Sold. Sold?
Sold.
This can’t be happening. Through the haze of sweet cigar smoke and the grating sounds of laughter, I hear it again. Sold. It’s like my stomach’s bottomed out into my toes. I can’t draw a full breath in. I just can’t believe he actually did it. All this time, some tiny part of me hadn’t released the hope that I’d be saved or that Nicolo would, by some miracle, change his mind.
He didn’t, though.
Sold. The word still echoes in my ears.
Nicolo pulls me to my feet, and I stumble forward, my legs like jelly, as he leads me away. We enter a room, and he yanks the ribbon from my face and grips me by the throat.
“Did you fucking bite me?” he growls into my face.
The cold wall is at my back, and no one else is in the room. I expected my new owner to be here, but maybe Nicolo just wants one last run with his toy before he hands her off.
I throw up my chin and glare. It’s all bravado. An act as my breathing seesaws in and out of me, each one heavy and jagged. I’m three seconds from hyperventilating. But I refuse to let this beast see me break.
“Yes, and if you put anything else near my mouth again, I’ll do the same.” Before I can stop them, the words come tumbling out despite my breathlessness. “You disgust me. You talk about revenge and family honor, and here you are selling a defenseless woman to a bunch of disgusting pigs. I can’t believe, for one minute, I let you touch me, that I actually thought…”
His smile turns predatory. “Actually, I’m selling you to one pig, and what did you think, princess? Finish your tirade since it’ll be the last time we speak.”
My gaze narrows. “I thought maybe that you had a soul. Obviously, I was mistaken. You’re the devil, a heartless, cruel, asshole, devil. You are no better than my father.”
The smile falls from his lips, and he shakes his head. “Soo will be in to take you to the car. Have a nice life, princess.”
I say nothing as he walks out, slamming the door behind him. It’s obvious he’s angry, but so am I. If only he had changed his mind, we wouldn’t be here right now.
Some of the righteous fury fizzles from my blood. A tremor takes over, and a wave of nausea follows. Oh, god.
I double over, bracing my hands on my knees. It’s hard to breathe, and my head is swimming against the heavy pounding of my heartbeat. How did this happen? I was supposed to convince him to keep me. I’d completely misjudged his intentions, hoping that he would give up the revenge and money for something more.
Stupid. I was so stupid. The creaking of the door as it opens causes me to glance up and jump back. I’m half expecting Nicolo to come walking through the door, but I know better than to hope for such a thing. Instead, a familiar face saunters into the room.
I’m not dumb enough to relax, not around him. “What? Didn’t get your turn, so now you’re here to take it before you miss your chance?” I spit the words at him.
His hands are shoved into his pockets, and he surveys me with wariness. Gone is his usual brooding venom. He steps toward me, slowly, like a wolf hunting its prey, but I hold my ground despite the roaring fear in my blood and the shaking in my hands.
When he remains silent, the knot of fear in my gut tightens. “What do you want? Surely you didn’t just come in here to stare at me?” Despite the words coming out in one piece, they give away my defeat. “Please, just leave me alone.”
Again, he says nothing. Hell, he’s not even looking at me, keeping his gaze firmly over my shoulder.
These are my last few moments alone. Who knows what will come next. I don’t want these last moments to be in his presence. Wanting him to go away, I spin around and give him my back. What can he do to me that hasn’t already been done, anyway?
It doesn’t matter. None of it matters.
“Is that any way to talk to your big brother?”
Big brother?
“What the—” I don’t get to finish the sentence because, in the next instant, something hard hits the back of my head. Pain flares bright through my neck, shooting stars behind my eyes. The strike sends me to my knees, and my vision blurs as the floor comes into view. Is this how it ends? After everything I’ve been through?
“Sorry, this is going to hurt.”
My last thought before everything goes black… he has to be lying. There is no way that he’s my brother.
Thank you for reading Devil You Hate, part two of this Duet, Devil You Know is coming soon!
About the Authors
J.L. Beck and C. Hallman are a USA Today and international bestselling author duo who write contemporary and dark romance.
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