“Peggy!” I gasped, feeling my face burn as she just laughed, choking on her cigarette smoke.
I was immediately regretting telling her about the two handsome cowboys from the day before. And she was wrong, anyways. It’s not like I’d been waiting around for some movie Prince to ride up to the farm and sweep me away. I mean hell, I had had urges and all that, it’s just that there’d never been an opportunity. None of the boys in school had ever even remotely interested me, and it’s not like Jim and Mary had the money to hire ranch hands like Peggy’s folks — as if I would ever have done what she had. If the Nathanson’s only kid had been a boy instead of Peggy, well, yeah — I’d have probably seen what all the fuss was about a long time ago.
The fact was, I’d just never been given the option or the opportunity.
“I think I should go.”
“Aww, c’mon, Jo. Don’t be a prude about it.”
“I’m not,” I said primly. “I just have chores that need doing and things to do before I leave.”
“Fine, whatever.” Peggy shrugged. “But hey, when you go to this new job at that guy’s ranch with the two hotties you saw yesterday?”
I paused on the ladder, glancing back at her.
“Do yourself a favor. Find one of ‘em, stop being such a prude, and take him for a ride. You can thank me later.”
I huffed and rolled my eyes, my face getting red all over again as I stomped the rest of the way down the ladder.
Chapter 5
Johanna
“Time to get up, little missy.”
I squinted, rolling over on the small cot I was lying on and opening my eyes.
I froze.
Grinning down at me was Mr. Pike.
I sat up, quickly waking up as the events of the night before came trickling into my head. The two men who’d come to collect me at my aunt and uncle’s farm were not the two handsome cowboys from the first visit. These two had been swarthy and scowling — scary-looking, and not in a sexy way, in a legitimately mean way. They’d had me ride in the back of their pickup truck, along with the one suitcase I’d packed, for the entire drive out to Mr. Pike’s ranch. At one point, one of them had given me something for “car sickness,” even when I’d told him I was fine.
“It gets bumpy later,” he’d said, pushing the pill into my hand. “Take it.”
It hadn’t seemed much like a request at that point, so I had.
I didn’t remember now if it had been bumpy, I just remembered how damn sleepy I’d gotten — probably the anxiety of the new job finally catching up with me. But in any case, when we’d arrived, I’d been so tired after the long drive that the two men had basically carried me into this place.
The room had a small cot and a window that looked out at the hills, but it was bare besides that. Just a few bits of straw on the ground, as if this had been used more as a barn than a guest room.
For some reason, I felt like I remembered the sound of a lock being clicked after they’d laid me on this small bed, but I knew that had to be something from a dream.
“Time to get up,” Mr. Pike said with that same cold, uncomfortable smile from before. “Your first day is important here.”
I blinked, suddenly remembering the whole point of me being here.
“My goodness, I’m so sorry! Of course!”
God, my first day and I was sleeping in.
I started to throw back the blankets and stand when I gasped and let out a small shriek.
“My clothes!”
I gasped as I yanked the blankets tight to my chin, my whole body going rigid and my cheeks burning. I was completely naked underneath it.
Mr. Pike chuckled.
“Yup, must have forgot to mention that. You were pretty zonked out last night, so I had some of the staff strip you down.”
My jaw dropped, but Mr. Pike just smiled at me, as if it wasn’t insane that he’d had someone take my damn clothes off while I was sleeping!
“Besides, we’ve got a — well,” he chuckled. “A uniform for you while you’re here.”
I nodded and shivered, feeling so exposed with only a blanket between me and this frightening man.
Mr. Pike seemed to grin at my uncomfortableness though, and suddenly tossed a small parcel.
“I want you to put that on and follow me. We need to get you checked out before you begin.”
I frowned. “Checked out?”
“Examined. Now put it on.”
I paused, still feeling strange about having woken up naked in what was clearly an old hay stall. “I— I’m not sure about this.”
“Now you listen to me, missy!” Mr. Pike’s voice suddenly went darker. “I offered your family a fair price for your services. Now you can get on home right now if you want, but it’ll mean giving that money back, understand? And I’m pretty sure your uncle was clear about that meaning you all lose your damn farm. You want that on you? Your family, all those little cousins of yours, without a home ‘cause you didn’t want to do a little work?”
I blushed crimson as he chastised me. “N-no, sir. I’ll work. Of course. I’m great with cows and livestock, I can operate most field machinery, and—”
Mr. Pike started laughing, as if at a joke I wasn’t quite getting.
“Well that’s just swell, but that ain’t why you’re here.”
I swallowed. “It’s not?”
Mr. Pike only smiled. “Put that on.” He nodded again at the parcel.
Slowly, I nodded. I started to open the small box, pulling the little ribbon away and taking the top off, when suddenly my whole face went hot and I felt a chill shiver down my back as I froze.
“Something the matter?” he said, his voice dripping in sarcasm.
A lump formed in my throat as I looked down at the black, lacy contents of the box.
This had to be a mistake. Or a joke they played on new hires, or… or… something.
My scary new boss hadn’t really just given me a box of sexy lingerie, right?
“I— um—”
“Is there a problem here, Johanna?”
I glanced up, chewing at my lip. “I’m sorry, you want me to—”
“To put that the fuck on, and follow me. Yes.”
“I can’t,” I shook my head quickly. “Mr. Pike, I—”
I gasped as he suddenly strode over to me, and I shrieked as he yanked the blanket from my hands, grabbed me by the arm, and yanked me up so I that I was standing naked in front of him.
His lips curled into a mean, wicked smile, his meaty hand holding me firmly as I tried to pull away. His cold eyes leered down at me, roaming my naked body in a way that made me shiver before he narrowed them on my face.
“Let’s get one thing very straight, right now.” His eyes blazed. “I fucking own you now, okay? You’re not here to fuckin’ milk cows, or pile hay, or whatever hillbilly farm bullshit you mistakenly thought you were going to be doing here. I’m not after ranch hands, I’m after girls.”
A coldness started to creep through me.
“You ain’t here for a visit, you’re here until I sell you.”
I froze, my jaw dropping.
“What?”
“I’m going to sell you,” he hissed with a chilling smile. “But first, I’m gonna train you, so put on the fucking uniform, and follow me, or I will get mean. Do we understand each other?”
My head felt stuffy, like it was filled with cotton, and the room felt like it was spinning. Words like “sold” and “train you” flashed through my head as I blinked and tried to process what he’d just said.
“I said—”
I gasped as his hand gripped my arm tightly.
“Do we understand each other?”
I nodded.
I didn’t know what else to do, I just nodded.
“Good. Now put them on, and let’s go.”
Chapter 6
Johanna
“Now stand right there.”
It wasn’t just my face that was burning hot
anymore, it was my whole body — a chilling flush that crept through all of me.
I stood in the center of a cold, dimly lit room, my hands clasped and twisting in front of me as I looked at the floor. I could feel eyes on me, but I couldn’t bring myself to look up. When we’d walked — or rather, when Mr. Pike had pulled me in — there’d been two other mean-looking men in the room, with the shadowy shapes of two others in the far corner.
And I could feel all of them looking at me.
The lingerie was black, and lacy, and completely see through. It felt expensive — definitely more expensive than anything else that I’d ever worn. The black, low-dipping bra cupped my breasts, but I knew my pink nipples were completely visible through it. And the panties — my God. They were definitely like nothing I’d ever worn. I mean, I wore underwear — plain, white, occasionally grey, utilitarian underwear.
That is not what I was wearing in that room.
A thong. I knew what it was called because of Peggy, of course, but I’d never ever worn one. Peggy had showed me some of hers before, but I couldn’t imagine wearing something that didn’t even cover your butt like that. And yet, here I was, wearing one.
…In a room full of strange men.
“So what do we think?” Mr. Pike chuckled. “Looks like I picked up a pretty sweet deal on this one, huh fellas?”
The two other mean-looking men laughed, sending a chill through my body.
“Shit, I’ll say, boss,” one muttered in a gravelly voice. I could feel the voice move towards me, and I flinched.
He laughed.
“Squirrelly little thing, ain’t she?”
Mr. Pike chuckled. “Sure is, sure is. This one’s going to break real nice. I’ve already made some calls to some of the, ahem, new buyers, and they’re chomping at the bit for this one.”
I squeezed my eyes shut, clutching my hands tightly, and hoping I could somehow force myself into tight little ball and just roll away into the shadows.
But I knew that wasn’t happening. I was here — and wherever here was, it was like a nightmare that I was trapped in now.
“So what do you say? Think you two are up for breakin’ this one—”
“We got this one, boss.”
The new voice sounded different. It sounded strong, and supremely confident.
And it sounded nice.
I glanced up, and my eyes went wide.
The voice belonged to the blond cowboy from the farm the other day, and right next to him stood his darker-haired friend. The two of them had their eyes locked on me, but where the eyes of the other men in the room felt like daggers pricking my skin, these two felt like soothing balm.
A comfort.
I still blushed of course, trembling as I felt their eyes dip down over me. I felt embarrassed at them seeing me like this — dressed like this like some sort of awkward stripper standing in the middle of that room. And yet, while part of me was mortified at them seeing me like this, the other part of me glowed a little bit. They were strangers, and I’d never even spoken to them, but somehow them being here was a comfort right then.
Even if I didn’t know them at all, there was something good in those eyes.
And I had to hang on to what was good in a place like that.
“You two, huh?”
Mr. Pike and the two other guys chuckled.
“Well well, suddenly deciding to step up and be big boys with a big boy job?” one of the guys muttered.
“You ain’t never taken on a training before, fellas,” the other one growled, scratching his chin.
The two cowboys nodded, the darker-haired one shrugging casually and confidently. “First time for everything.” He smiled as he turned his eyes back to me. “Plus it seems a waste to pass up a chance to break this one in,” he added with a dark chuckle.
I froze, my throat closing up as Mr. Pike and his two buddies chuckled. But the dark-haired cowboy suddenly met my eye, and winked. It wasn’t a creepy wink either, it was somehow comforting.
“You two, huh?” Mr. Pike stepped cleared his throat and beckoned them forward. “Really. And why the change of heart? You two dipshits always seemed get all squeamish about trainin’ girls before.”
“Maybe she’s just our type.” The blonde cowboy grinned, licking his lips.
The other three laughed loudly.
“Well, well. Okay then.” Mr. Pike glanced back at me, his eyes oozing over me and making me shiver.
“Colt, Roman.” He glanced at the blond guy first, making him Colt, and then Roman, the dark-haired one.
Colt and Roman — those were their names. They suited them, as weird a thought as that was for the moment.
“You’re on this one, then,” Mr. Pike said coldly. “You understand the rules?”
The two cowboys nodded.
“Good. Don’t disappoint me on this one. Understand?”
Mr. Pike turned back to me, his lips pulling back in a wicked smile as he grinned at me.
“Oh, get ready, little filly, These two boys?” He chuckled as he jerked a thumb back at the rough looking, fierce-eyed cowboys.
“These two are going break you in. And when they’re done with you?” He grinned. “You’ll be a good little whore for me to sell, understand?”
A single tear started to fall down my cheeks as he turned to Colt and Roman. “Take her away, boys.”
Chapter 7
Colt
I’d almost killed him back there. Debt or not, stakes be damned, I’d almost choked the life out of him myself for putting his hands on her. Watching Jeb Pike talk to her like that, and touch her like that?
Shit, I’d almost lost it all.
And now we were walking her back to her new room, and she looked freaked the fuck out.
I mean, she should have been, given what the fuck had just happened to her.
Just the same, it was taking every damn ounce of my willpower to keep my eyes from drinking her in, dressed like that in the lingerie he’d stuck her in. Yeah, I hated that Jeb had made her put it on, but damn did she look good enough to fucking eat in that getup. Her full tits, with those dusky pink nipples that I could fucking see through that lacy bra, curves to die for, legs for days, that dark little patch of hair I could see between her legs through the panties, that tight little ass split by the thong.
Hell, I wanted to pin her to the wall, crush my lips to hers, run my hands and tongue over every fucking inch of her before I plunged my cock balls deep in that tight little body.
But I held back. I swallowed that down. This girl was freaked out, and I sure as fuck wasn’t going to be the creepy asshole freaking her out even more. That ain’t what she needed then, even if the bare skin of her arm under my fingers felt like fucking temptation personified.
“What’s your name?” I said hoarsely, swallowing the lust in my throat.
“Why am I here?”
“Because you got turned into a bargaining chip,” Roman muttered.
“What?”
“You got sold, darlin,” I growled.
She trembled, goosebumps breaking out on her skin. “Sold?”
“You know what this place is?”
She shook her head. “Mr. Pike said it something about training and…” she trailed off, shivering again.
“This here’s a school, for girls who’ll be owned.”
She balked.
“Rich, old guys, who’ve got the money to pay for some cute little thing like yourself on their arm when they walk into their yacht parties or fundraising galas. Most of the girls are here willingly, because the money’s good, but…” I trailed off, shaking my head and scowling.
“What’s the training?”
I glanced at Roman. We knew what it was, we’d been here long enough. We’d never been a part of that training, of course. We just did odd jobs here at the ranch, but we’d volunteered this time. This time, the thought of someone else “training” a girl like this was too much to bear.
The “training” was g
etting the girls knowing what was good — teaching them how to move, how to bat their eyes, how be perfect cock suckers. How to spread those legs, how to bend over submissively and offer up their ass with “please sir” on their lips.
That was the training he wanted us to start with her. And God help me, I was hard as steel in my jeans just thinking of it, no matter how fucked up it was.
I mean, the idea of teaching all those things to a girl like this? A girl as fucking sweet as original sin and pure as the driven snow? I knew it was wrong, and I knew she was there against her will, ready to be sold. But I was only a man, and a girl with a body like that, lips like those, and that innocence surrounding her does things to a red-blooded man.
“What’s your name, honey?” Roman said, softer this time as we led her up the stairs to the room that’d be hers for the short time she was here.
“Johanna,” she said quietly. “Or Jo. That’s what my uncle calls me.”
She looked like she was in shock.
“What do you want to be called?”
“Johanna,” she said softly
She didn’t look up was we stepped into her new room. The place was spacious, and elegant, I’ll say that. The barn rooms were where the girls first got put, but after Jeb passed them along for training, they stayed in rooms like these — rooms built for fucking princesses. The place was all whites and silvers, a huge king-size bed dominating one wall, and gorgeous views of the hills through giant windows along another — barred, of course.
We stopped in the middle of the room, and I glanced at Roman again.
This was going to be the shitty part.
“We need you to strip.”
The words seemed to catch her off guard, and her head suddenly whipped around, her eyes wide.
“What?”
“Take your clothes off, Johanna.”
She swallowed, her face pale and her eyes blinking quickly. It’s not like she was unaware that she was basically already naked in front of us, with the outfit she had on. But I think it was the sudden swing of power, and the way I was suddenly wielding that power.