Still, he shocks me as he smiles and shakes his head. "She's perfect for you, brother. She was brave and wouldn't leave your side. I told her you'd have my ass for letting her into the fray like that, but she said she'd take her chances."
I can't help but chuckle at that, trying to picture the showdown between my Ava and this man everyone else is scared of. He laughs with me before sobering up. When he speaks again, it's in a low, urgent tone.
"Among other points of interest, Eric gave up the location of a compound where I think her sister might be. I did some digging and found that he and associate of his recruited several girls from Punch to come to Europe with him. He convinced the girls that this was official casino business, and they had no reason to question their boss. At least five girls left with him that we know of.”
I nod, hoping this means we can go and rescue Maya sooner rather than later. "Okay, so where is this compound?"
Chapter 25 - Ava
My first experience on a private plane is less exciting than it should be, mainly because I can't stop fidgeting and worrying the entire flight.
After I awoke in the uncomfortable chair at Maxim's hospital bedside, I learned that Luka was planning to fly out to the suspected location of some compound to try and recover my sister from a potential sex slavery ring, which makes my stomach turn to think about. Maxim wanted me to stay behind, but Luka was able to convince him that my presence would be instrumental in getting Maya out of there. Maxim wasn’t happy about it, but I think he knew better than to argue too much with me on this.
So here we are, two days after the warehouse showdown, hopefully on the way to finding Maya or at least getting some closure about what happened to her. I try not to think too much as we make our way over the ocean, but I can't help it.
"Zvezda moya, what are you thinking?" Maxim asks, drawing my attention away from the window.
I give him a brief, forced smile and take a deep breath as I consider how to respond. His left shoulder is in a sling, but he pulls me to him with his right hand and holds me tight against his strong body. Before I can answer his question, he kisses the top of my head and whispers so only I can hear him. "Sweetheart, she will be okay. Okay?"
I nod and discreetly try to brush away my tears. If he notices, he doesn't say anything, and I'm thankful for that.
"Luka has a whole team waiting for us on standby just in case we need backup. He doesn't think the girls have been harmed, at least that's what his intel would suggest."
"I don't think I would have even gotten this far if I had never met you. It's strange to think about," I tell him, and he's shaking his head before the words even finish leaving my mouth.
"You would have, my love, I know you would have stopped at nothing to find her. But, I have to admit," he says, letting a small sly smile peek through, "I am beyond happy that fate decided to bring us together. Ava, I love you so much."
My heart does several backflips when he says things like that. Which is pretty much constantly since he woke up in the hospital. He told me his biggest regret as he thought he was dying was that he had been too scared to tell me he loved me beforehand.
I reach up to caress his face, enjoying the feel of the stubble he's growing out because he can't really shave with his non-dominant hand. I love the way it rasps against my palm, all scratchy and somehow still a little soft and sexy.
"I like this," I whisper, still in awe at how he can transform my moods from anxious and worried to horny in an instant. It's not like I've forgotten about Maya, but rather that I feel more equipped to manage those worries when he's around. I feel equipped to handle everything when he's around.
"I'm glad you like it, baby, because you're going to be feeling it between your thighs soon enough," he says on a low growl.
"Promise?"
He pulls me closer and nips my ear. "Can't wait." Maxim glances around the plane cabin, spotting Luka reading over something on his iPad, plus Bruce the bodyguard and a few other guys I don't recognize playing a video game in a lounge area. This plane is seriously ridiculous and over the top.
"I have an idea," Maxim says, before hopping to his feet and motioning for me to join him. He leads me past Luka and the guys into one of two rooms in the very back of the plane.
Once we're inside the room, I realize that it's a bedroom with a massive king-sized bed in it. I look down at the sheets, skeptical.
He reads my mind, chuckling and shaking his head. "The sheets get changed before every flight," he says, plopping down on the bed and testing its comfort. "Besides, this is strictly my room, although I have never actually used it. I've certainly never brought anyone here to... well, to do anything." I join him on the bed, reveling in its plush buoyancy.
"What did you have in mind?" I ask him, glancing at him from under my lashes. He groans and settles back on the bed against the headboard, motioning me to climb up to him.
"My love, I've been aching," he whispers, and even in the low light of the bedroom, I can already make out the delicious bulge of his dick straining against his slacks.
He was only released from the hospital yesterday, and we were both so exhausted from the events of the previous days that we just passed out immediately upon arriving back at his house. Which means it's been over two days since we've been intimate and I know exactly the kind of ache he's feeling because it matches my own.
I look up from his bulge and notice him smiling at me. "What?"
He shakes his head and pulls me close to him with his good arm. "We don't have to do anything in here, if you're not—"
"Oh, shut up, please," I say, with an eye roll for good measure.
"I am being serious. We could cuddle. I'd be just as happy to hold you."
"Mmhmm, I know, baby," I say, as I make quick work of undoing his pants and freeing his enormous dick. "But I would be much happier if you held me while you were inside me, so less chit-chatting and more fucking."
He laughs as I straddle him, taking extra care to not bump his shoulder or accidentally injure him further. Once I settle on his lap, with his dick pressed up against my panty-covered slit, I glance up to find him staring intently at me.
"This okay? Tell me if I'm hurting you," I say.
"No, you feel perfect. So perfect."
That's all the permission I need as I reach down to pull my panties to the side and slide down onto him, savoring the pleasure-pain of having his massive dick stretch my tight walls.
We groan in unison once he's all the way in, as he's hitting that magical spot inside me I would have never found on my own. He steadies me with his free hand, banding his arm as far as he can around my waist and slamming me down onto his dick.
"Play with your clit for daddy, sweet girl, I need to feel you explode all over my cock before I give you that come you love so much," he whispers, and I immediately comply, loving when he plays this game with me. I never would have thought I'd be here, getting fucked by a massive Russian dude who indulges my recently discovered daddy kink and, what's more, seems to encourage it and even share the kink himself. It feels too good to be true. But dammit, I'll try to hold onto this feeling as long as I can.
I feel him swell inside me and I know he's close to coming over the edge with me. I slip my fingers in his mouth, growing impossibly wetter from his groan of pleasure when he tastes me. I let him wet my fingers before attacking my clit with a renewed ferocity, desperate to get there with him.
"That's right, sweet girl, you ready for me? You ready to come with daddy?" My response is just a nod and a whimper as I shatter to pieces all around him. He shouts, not bothering to regulate his volume, as he explodes inside me, shooting stream after stream of his hot come into my cunt. Once we're done, he carefully settles us against the bed, and I take extra care to make sure I'm not crushing his bad shoulder before laying my head against his chest.
"You're perfect," he whispers, mostly against my hair.
I know I'm not, but I also know that I'm done fighting him on that point.
"I love you," I tell him. He responds in kind, against my hair, and pulls me close.
After our arrival in Paris, we try to settle into our luxurious suite, killing time for a few hours before the event, but I’m completely on edge. Even more so once I get more info about the plan that will require me showing up as Luka’s date before potentially putting my body up for sale. Still, I know I will do anything to rescue Maya, no matter how dangerous it might seem.
And so, Maxim, Luka, and I find ourselves driving in a chauffeured car along some winding French roads, until we reach a literal castle. If the situation weren't so grim, I'd be impressed. Instead, I'm just exhausted and ready to get this over with.
It didn't make sense for Maxim to walk in with me as his date, considering he's Luka's sentinel and not the head of the organization. So I have to pretend to be with Luka tonight, which has my stomach churning for reasons that have nothing to do with Maya or the auction. Even though I know it's fake, and even though I know Maxim is secure enough to understand why we have to do it this way, I still hate being on someone else's arm. Unwillingly, I start to imagine how it would feel if the situation was reversed. If Maxim had to pretend to date someone while I stood by acting like he wasn't mine, I'd probably be more enraged than I'd like to admit.
I push the thoughts out of my mind as we make our way up the entrance steps. Luka holds his arm out for me to hold, and I glance up at Maxim, not quite sure if I'm seeking permission or anger or jealousy. Instead, he gives me one of his small secret smiles and nods once. He makes a pretense of leaning in to speak to Luka, but he actually leans closer and speaks low in my ear.
"Zvezda moya, do not worry about me. I know you are mine. I am not concerned."
The physical heat of his words against my skin, plus his sureness what we have cause a shiver to ripple through my body. He pulls back and quirks an eyebrow, knowing good and well what he's doing to me. This is absolutely the wrong time for me to be thinking about anything beyond my sister. And it probably makes me a bad person but good god, I can't imagine a world in which I could resist this man.
Luka clears his throat pointedly, and Maxim and I break eye contact. I whisper an apology to Luka. His response is a small chuckle and something muttered under his breath. I can't quite make it out, but it sounds a lot like, "can't believe you slayed the giant."
We make our way through the opulent castle, smiling and chatting politely with all these rich and sophisticated people who have gathered here for a very primitive and amoral event. Maxim trails behind us, close enough to be in striking distance should someone try anything, but still far enough that nobody would suspect anything untoward.
After about half an hour of niceties, a handsome man, probably in his late 20s, claps his hands at the front of the room in order to get our attention. The man looks like he could be a GQ model, but there's something in his eyes that gives him away, even from where I stand in the back of the crowd. He is impeccably dressed and when he speaks, it's in a lilting European accent—perhaps German or Romanian, his voice seductively low and enticing. I don't know who he is, but I could see how certain people could easily fall under his spell.
"That's Sebastian Andrei,” Luka whispers to me and Maxim.
Luka waits, perhaps waiting to see if I recognize the name. I don't.
"We believe that is the man your sister went on a trip with," he explains, and suddenly it all comes back to me. Before she left, Maya mentioned to me that the guy she was traveling with was indecently handsome and sexy. In our early talks, she only ever called him something else though.
Luka intrudes into my thoughts. "She may have referred to him by a nickname."
"She always called him Bash," I admit, only just now realizing that Bash was obviously not his real name. Luka listens and nods, communicating with Maxim wordlessly.
Sebastian announces that our event will begin in a few minutes, and the men who brought items up for sale should escort them to the holding room down the hall.
Items, he said. Fucking items for sale. The fact that people are just going along with this almost makes me sick to my stomach. Like me, many of the women who came with male guests are dressed to impress, and it is jarring to see so many of them looking so relaxed as if this is something that happens every day. As we walk to the room, Luka leans over to speak quietly to me.
"For many of these girls, the deal they're about to get is likely better than anything they've ever had before. They will get to keep a percentage of their fees."
My face flushes hot with anger at his casual dismissal of how wrong this is. He corrects me before I get more upset.
"No, that is not what I meant. I just mean -—I don't know. Unfortunately, I have no doubt that the women Sebastian brought here—"
"—against their will," I point out.
"Yes, against their will. I believe those women are not so fortunate in the deals they are given. They won't see a dime of the fee men pay to have their innocence. These other women are willing participants—they are selling their bodies, with a patron, in order to gain some control over their situations. Most of them are professional escorts. But—"
"It's not the same as having a virgin," I say, naming the thing he refuses to speak.
His mouth goes tight and he stares straight ahead, nodding once. "My source tells me Sebastian plans to bring the women out first as a surprise. Drum up some interest, perhaps auction a few off, then auction some of the other girls before ending the night with one or two more virgins."
Christ, this really is a nightmare. I look around for Maxim and spot him not too far, leaning against a wall close enough that he can keep an eye on us as we all file into a massive room that has been converted a sort of theater for the night, with heavy chairs forming neat rows. At the front of the room, there's a stage with a podium and a little pedestal nearby. Gross.
Sebastian invites the women to join him backstage so he can place us in order, so I leave Luka's side to follow them. I feel Maxim's eyes on me, protecting me, caring for me, but I don't know what will happen when I'm backstage without him or Luka. Pretty soon, I don't have time to worry about that anymore, because as we get backstage, I spot Maya sitting stiffly on a chaise lounge.
Chapter 26 - Maxim
This night is absolute torture. I wasn't lying to Ava when I told her I was secure enough in our relationship to not get jealous of seeing her with Luka. It's true. For starters, Luka is my brother. Not to mention the fact that we're all aware of the reasons they need to pretend to be together. So no, that hasn't been the torturous part.
The torturous part has been being so close to her the whole night, but unable to touch or hold her the way I've become accustomed to. I crave the feel of her against me. I need her, desperately and unflinchingly. The torture only intensifies when she has to go backstage with the other girls. I don't have eyes on her and I'm crawling out of my skin with anxiety.
I close my eyes, trying to calm my breathing when I feel someone at my side. I open them to find Luka staring at me curiously.
"What?" I bark, not bothering to hide my annoyance.
"Easy, my friend, easy."
"Easy? You have no fucking idea what misery I am feeling right now. You do not know what it is like to worry about somebody in this way." I intend for my words to hurt, but I know better than to expect that.
Luka, despite having what seemed like an idyllic childhood to my little ruffian eyes, has a whole host of issues preventing him from getting close to women. Not that he would ever admit what those issues are, but I know he has never had a relationship and has no plans to get married. Hell, not even a week ago I would have felt the same way. I almost laugh at how impossible it all seems for me to be in this place right now.
"Are you finished?" he asks, his voice low and patient, as if I am a small child and not someone to be feared. This is how we are with each other though, and I know he's not actually upset with me.
"Do you have news?" I ask, deciding to ch
ange the subject. I glance over at the door Ava and the other women disappeared through about 20 minutes ago, staring at it like I could melt it down with just my eyes.
Luka shakes his head, inching closer so we can speak without being overheard. "According to one of Sebastian's men, they'll be starting off with a 'special treat' which I take to mean they will show off one or two of their acquisitions—"
"What? Acquisitions?"
Luka looks to me like he isn't sure if I'm making a joke. I'm definitely not. He sighs and rubs his beard, his tell for when something is making him uncomfortable.
"Look, the women who came here on the arms of men—they know what is about to happen. They're experienced workers who will receive some percentage of the money for their sale. But," he says, and my stomach sinks because I know where this is going, "There are women here who are not sex workers, who do not exactly have a choice whether they are put up for sale tonight."
"Virgins," I say, not bothering to phrase it as a question because it isn't one. Luka nods grimly. Shit. I'm not sure what I expected.
My phone buzzes with a text from Ava and we both look down at it.
AVA: she's here
AVA: she doesn't want to leave with me
AVA: i think they have her drugged. she doesn't seem to even recognize me.
AVA: could you help me drag her out?
Chapter 27 - Ava
In all of the versions of tonight playing out in my head, the one I didn't anticipate was that I'd find Maya and she would refuse to come with me. But that's exactly what's happening, and it's breaking my heart.
When I spotted her backstage, sitting alone and sad, I made a beeline for her and knelt down beside her, taking her hands in mine. She looked down at me like I was a stranger. Her eyes are lifeless and flat. She looks like she's lost 15-20 pounds, and there are dark circles under her eyes that I can see even through the makeup someone has caked on her. It's my sister, but it's also not.
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