It was an unlikely tether, yet Cameron’s dark eyes on me were a mix of emotions.
Anger. No, more intense. Rage.
Impatience.
Annoyance.
While also predatory and determined.
And still, there were more.
Could it be desire?
Mr. Knapp’s voice barely registered. Even the calls from the crowd were muted under Cameron’s stare. With my chin held high, I found myself unable to look away. There was a strange sense of security as well as trepidation in the familiar dark eyes.
I was about to be sold, of that there was no doubt.
What if my fate didn’t land at the feet of a stranger but at Cameron’s feet?
Mr. Knapp reached for the silk wrap, pulling me back into the present and my gaze away from Cameron.
“Stop,” I said, pushing his hand away.
The crowd erupted in laughter. Not everyone. Cameron’s expression hardened.
“One million,” an older man called out. The woman on his arm nodded.
Did they expect a threesome?
“One million ten,” another man called.
My head snapped to Mr. Knapp. “Two million and I purchase myself.”
“Oh,” he replied excitedly. “I told you she was first-class merchandise. Come now, surely someone will outbid the lady herself.”
Time wasn’t moving or maybe it was. More bids came and went as others called again for the silk to be removed.
“Two and a half million,” a tall man with dark skin said, stepping to the front of the crowd. “And she’ll accompany me back to my homeland.”
My eyes widened. “What? No. This is one night.”
“We have two and a half million,” Mr. Knapp said with a grin. “While this was meant to be a one-night arrangement, we here at Malaking Kuta are always willing to make exceptions. As luck would have it, the contract Ms. Pierce signed could be open for interpretation.”
My flesh prickled with goose bumps as the room began to swirl.
What was happening?
I eyed the edge of the pedestal. I could make a run for it, but then what?
“My offer stands,” the tall gentleman said.
“Going once. Going twice.”
“Five million.”
A hush fell over the crowd before it erupted, blooming into a symphony of murmurs and gasps. Through it all, only one man came into focus. The man who had just bid five million for me.
He was the same man who’d earlier held my stare. Cameron Kidwell stepped forward until he was in the front of the crowd beside the other bidder.
His dark eyes were more focused than they’d been a few minutes earlier. He wasn’t looking at me, but at Mr. Knapp. In his tuxedo, Cameron was an incredibly handsome man, his shoulders broad, chest wide, and waist trim.
Sometime over the course of the last few years, he’d changed. He was still intimidating, but there was more. There was energy that permeated from him, powerful and steady. His presence commanded the room.
“You heard my bid.” Cameron lifted his long leg, stepping up to beside the podium and turning toward the crowd. “Five million for this woman. I would suggest not countering; however, that is the way Mr. Knapp’s entertainment is done. Last chance, do I hear any?”
Even the man who had bid before shook his head.
“Mr. Knapp, do your job.”
Booker Knapp lifted his hand. “Ladies and gentlemen, remember we have two more excellent specimens yet to be auctioned. The night is still young.” He turned to Cameron. “Very well. Five million, going once, going twice.” He took a deep breath before bowing graciously at the waist. “Congratulations, Mr. Kidwell, may your deepest fantasy come true.”
Cameron offered me his hand. “Briana.”
“I—I...” Words didn’t want to form.
“Take her away. We have another to take her place.”
I placed my hand in Cameron’s. His long fingers surrounded mine as he helped me to the floor. Before leaving the spotlight, he unbuttoned the jacket of his tuxedo and without a word, removed it and wrapped it around my shoulders.
The spicy scent of his cologne mixed with the fresh aroma of bodywash filled my senses as the jacket enveloped me. With Cameron’s hand at the small of my back, we took a few steps. Before we reached the side stage, another woman passed by wearing a silk similar to the one I had been told to wear. Her eyes were red from tears, yet she continued to walk to where I had been standing.
Had she been given the same choice, dignity or hog-tied?
The crowd began their cheers and calls.
I was forgotten by all but one patron—the man who arranged my sale.
Curtis stepped from behind the side curtain. Avoiding my gaze, he spoke only to his brother. “Look at this, my little brother is taking sloppy seconds.”
Before I could speak, Cameron’s fist connected with Curtis’s chin.
“Oh,” I gasped as my fingers came to my open lips.
Curtis staggered backward before standing straight and rubbing his chin. “Don’t give her back broken.”
Cameron’s neck straightened—tendons and cords coming to life—with the obvious restraint he was enlisting to not hit Curtis again. “Goodbye, Curtis. Go back to Detroit. Briana’s condition is no longer your concern. I’m not giving her back.”
This time, Cameron reached for my hand and escorted me away.
The black velvet sky sprinkled with millions of stars came into view as the Alpine lift moved farther and farther away from the mansion. It wasn’t until we were near the beach that I finally spoke. “I don’t know if I should thank you or hate you.”
Cameron’s lips quirked upward. “There’s a good chance that before the night is through, you’ll do both.”
CHAPTER SIX
Cameron
She walks around the hut with its fifty-thousand-dollar artwork and profusion of fresh tropical flowers. It’s a beautiful place. She belongs in a beautiful place, one without the tawdry undercurrent of Malaking Kuta.
Her gaze studiously avoids the silk-covered bed on the platform.
Slender fingers brush the top of a carved belalu wood cabinet. “What did you mean when you said you wouldn’t give me back?” Blue eyes seek mine, beseeching and brave. “Will you take me to Detroit?”
I shake my head without saying anything.
“What about after—” Her confidence falters. “After you use me?”
Another shake of my head. And for emphasis: “No.”
“This was only supposed to be for one night.”
I push away from the doorframe where I’d lingered, approaching her, feeling like a tiger stalking his prey. She fidgets with the fabric barely covering her luscious body. The strips of fabric only highlight her nakedness. “Is that what you agreed to do for Curtis? You must love him very much to offer your body for his debts.”
“No.” A blush tints her cheeks. It spreads down her neck and across her breasts. “He lied to me. He said it was some kind of plan to drum up interest. That I wouldn’t really have to sleep with anyone. Only right before did he tell me the truth.”
Misery darkens her eyes. Hurt because he betrayed her? There’s a lot I’m willing to do for this woman. Comfort her while she cries over another man isn’t one of them. I run a hand along her shoulder and down her arm. I push aside the drape over her breast and expose her nipple. It hardens in the cool island air, and I pinch it gently between thumb and forefinger. “I should see what I’ve paid for, shouldn’t I? I should see what you’ve been giving Curtis.”
She shivers, and I pinch harder. I want her to know the danger she was in. The things those men and women would have done to her would have marked her—body and soul. I don’t blame her for trusting the man she meant to marry, but part of me wants to punish her for it. After all, she’s mine. I own her now. I get to punish her regardless of whether she’s done anything wrong.
I tug on the silk, and it unravels in a whisper of as
sent, sliding down her body.
Then she’s standing there naked, her breasts small and high, her waist narrow, her hips flaring, the perfect size for me to grasp and fuck hard. Between her legs she has a small patch of trimmed dark hair matching the curls on her head.
“Are you going to hurt me?” she whispers.
I stare into her luminous brown eyes. “That depends.”
“Depends on what?”
Depends on how much it hurts her to fuck a man she doesn’t love. To spread her legs while I kiss her and then to open her mouth while I press my cock inside. It depends on how she’ll feel back in Tanglewood, my newest and most prized possession. I’m not letting her go. I’m also not fooling myself. She didn’t love me in Detroit. It’s unlikely that buying her will change that.
I push two fingers into her mouth, feeling the slick of her teeth and the soft wet of her tongue. She’s obedient as she sucks my fingers. Once they’re nice and damp, I drag them down the median of her body, down to her pretty little cunt. Her legs are barely wide enough to fit my hand, but I force my way in. I made her lick my fingers so they’d be slick, but I shouldn’t have worried. She’s already soaked. I press between her legs hard, and she gasps, rising onto her toes. I’ll always take care of her, but that doesn’t mean I’ll go easy on her either. It won’t be easy for her to be my possession.
I use the curl of my fingers to drag her close, and her eyes roll back in pleasure. I catch her body with my other arm, lifting her to suck on her nipple. She’s so goddamn receptive to everything I do, it’s like she was made for me. “It depends on how much you fight me,” I whisper against her cheek, finally answering her question. “I’ll give you everything you want, anything you want. Travel, purses. I don’t give a fuck what you buy or what you do when I’m at work, but when we’re in the bedroom, you submit to me. Whatever I say goes.”
My thumb brushes her clit for good measure.
She squirms against me, her naked skin against my dress shirt and slacks. She’s completely naked while I’m still fully clothed. Well, she had better get used to that. It’s how we’ll spend much of our time together. Her lids are low but her eyes focused. “Cameron Kidwell. I’ve known you since you were twelve years old.”
And I’ve loved her as long as that. “Yes.”
“You aren’t only talking about tonight, are you?”
“You’ve been engaged once before, Briana.” I pump my fingers in and out of her, dragging her mercilessly to the edge. “You should recognize a marriage proposal when you hear one.”
EPILOGUE
Briana
As I stared at the text message from my husband and light reflected from my beautiful three-carat diamond wedding ring, a smile crept upon my lips.
For nearly nine months, I’d been Mrs. Briana Kidwell.
Not Mrs. Curtis Kidwell.
No, Curtis was back in Michigan, awaiting trial for illegal activity connected to his appliance empire. While I never asked my husband if he had a hand in Curtis’s fate, I suspected that he had. Cameron believed in justice. Curtis’s financial and ethical downfall was his repercussion for tricking me. Auctioning me was supposed to save his businesses. Instead, it was the cause of their demise. All of his stores were currently tied up in litigation.
Thankfully, I wasn’t married to him.
I was Mrs. Cameron Kidwell.
The twelve-year-old boy I’d once known did more than save me over a year ago on Malaking Kuta. He used, ravished, and broke me, only to rebuild me. The result of his both painful and pleasure-filled devotion was evident by the twisting of my core as well as the ridiculous smile upon my face brought on by a one-word text message.
“PREPARE.”
Doing what he did for Gabriel Miller sometimes took Cameron away from home. For three days and two nights I’d been on my own with only our house staff, to do as I pleased. That wasn’t completely accurate. I could lunch or dine with friends, shop to my heart’s content, read or watch TV. I could spend time working on any aspects of the boutique I was about to open in the town where we lived. It would be Tanglewood’s exclusive supplier of Sinful Threads accessories and apparel. There was one exception.
My husband was lenient and generous with most things.
He’d set the rules the night he’d bought me.
There was one place where everything was different.
The memory of his deep voice sounded in my mind, scattering goose bumps over my skin as it had nearly a year ago. “I’ll give you everything you want, anything you want. Travel, purses. I don’t give a fuck what you buy or what you do when I’m at work, but when we’re in the bedroom, you submit to me. Whatever I say goes.”
My sexual pleasure was to come only from him. I wasn’t allowed to spend our nights apart with the help of a vibrator or even my own touch. If I did, I’d be punished.
The idea of lying over his strong legs, his erection probing my tummy as he reddened my ass didn’t deter me. No, Cameron knew I enjoyed that too much. My punishment would be denying me sexual pleasure. I’d be denied his cock and orgasms. No amount of begging, no matter how demeaning, would change his mind.
The text message I’d just received meant he would be home soon.
With the smile still secured to my lips, I released the house staff for the night and hurried to our master suite.
Nearly forty minutes later I was prepared and anxiously awaiting his arrival.
My heartbeat kicked up a beat as the alarm system’s beep informed me that the time had come. My husband was home.
Would he look for me elsewhere or know I’d obeyed?
I was completely nude, wearing only my wedding ring. The bath I’d taken covered my skin in lavender oils as I meticulously prepared, washing, shaving, and trimming, exactly as he liked. My long dark hair was piled high on my head in a messy bun. And with each passing second, my nipples grew tauter.
It could appear that I was the one making all the concessions.
That would be wrong.
I was simply doing as I’d agreed the night I’d been purchased.
Submit.
Lowering myself to my knees with my toes bent, I sat back on my heels. With my back straight, I placed my arms over my legs, palms up, bowed my head, and waited. Even the opening of the bedroom door added to the growing wetness of my empty core.
My husband didn’t speak as he came closer. Only his Italian leather loafers and the cuffs of his designer suit pants came into view.
My breathing hitched as the pad of his finger traced my upper spine and the aroma of his spicy cologne took away the lavender scent. Step by step, he circled. As if they were lasers, I felt his eyes upon me, scanning every inch as I waited, fully exposed. There was no doubt he saw my arousal glistening on my upper thighs.
This predatory preamble was a game he enjoyed, and I did too. With each circle my anticipation built.
Finally, Cameron gently lifted my chin, bringing my gaze to his dark eyes. “You’re beautiful.”
Warmth filled my cheeks as I released a breath.
No one had ever adored me the way Cameron did. Somehow it wasn’t something I knew I had been missing. And now that I did, I couldn’t imagine living without him or it.
“Have you behaved, Mrs. Kidwell?”
I couldn’t lie, I wouldn’t. That didn’t mean I hadn’t considered pleasuring myself, but I hadn’t.
“Yes, sir. I’ve been waiting for you.”
“That’s my good girl.” Cameron’s smile brought warmth to my exposed skin as he offered me his hand. “It sounds like you deserve a reward. What is it that you want?”
“You, only you.”
As I stood, I took him in. Even after an afternoon of traveling, the man before me was incredibly handsome. His toned and muscular body was covered by designer suit pants and a striped starched shirt. While his jacket and tie were gone, Cameron was still completely clothed as his embrace pulled me to him and brought his lips to mine.
My lips bru
ised as our tongues tangled. My breasts flattened as I pressed closer to his hard, broad chest. Step by step, he directed me, not toward our massive bed, but to the arm of a sofa near the window.
“Bend over, Bri.”
Spinning from his arms, I did as he said, folding myself over the plush end of the sofa. With my ass in the air, he gently kicked my feet apart as the sounds of him undoing his belt and fly were barely heard over the thumping of my circulation.
One of his hands pressed upon the small of my back, trapping me.
I cried out as not one but two fingers from his other hand slipped inside my wet pussy.
“You’re always so wet. I fucking love your tight cunt.”
I didn’t need to crane my neck to know that Cameron was still mostly dressed. He enjoyed the inequality as much as I did.
“Please,” I managed to whisper as he teased my cunt with the tip of his cock.
My feet shuffled as I tried to back into him, but I couldn’t. His hand on my back was too strong.
His body heat covered my back as the fingers that were inside me gripped my hair, pulling my head back. His warm breath skirted my neck. “Tell me,” he growled, “who do you belong to.”
“You.”
“Whose cock do you want?”
“Yours, Cameron. Only yours.”
“Why?”
There were so many answers I could give him. I could tell him over and over that I loved him, that maybe in a way I always had. I have told him that and he’d told me the same. Seeing my wedding ring on my clenched fist as I waited for him to fill me, I could say that I wanted him because he was my husband and I his wife.
However, neither of those were the answer he wanted.
He liked reminding me of how we got where we were.
“Because you were the highest bidder...” My words changed to satisfied whimpers as my pussy contracted and Cameron filled me completely.
THE END
Tales of Darkness & Sin: An Anthology Page 3