Obediently following behind him, Maddy’s body shook as he led her toward the bathroom in the corridor. When they entered the room, Aaron immediately pulled a brush and a hairdryer from the cabinets below the sink. Placing them on the counter, he plugged the hairdryer into an outlet before turning to her. Her breath caught when she noticed it was panic etched across his face and not rage.
“Dry your hair and comb it. Your toothbrush is in the drawer.”
“May I speak, Master?” She didn’t know why the scent of fear rolled off Aaron and intermixed with his cold anger, but she did not want to falter and find out first hand.
Dark green, muddied eyes looked back at her, a lethal red edge surrounded the rims of the color. Pain flickered across his expression as he swiftly approached her and reached up to run his thumb across her bottom lip. Maddy saw the pink stain on his thumb from the blood he’d wiped away. Just as swift, his concern was gone, replaced with a blank mask much like the one he wore the night he’d unwrapped her. Not looking at her but at his thumb, he answered, “You may.”
“Does it matter if I’m beautiful? I am nothing more than a slave.”
The slice of steel through his heart, a quick death had it been made by a blade rather than by her words. This woman, one who was far better than any person within The Estate, was so much more than she could ever know; this woman was reducing herself to garbage, to an object not worthy of care or concern; and he was forced to allow it. His voice was controlled and so dangerously low as he responded, “Any person within The Estate would know that if I were to fuck a woman … a slave, she would be kept in pristine condition to ensure that the sight of her would serve to make me hard. That is your purpose, Madeleine. Now do as I ordered and fulfill your role.”
Aaron took a sentinel position at the other end of the room as Maddy dried and combed out her hair. When she’d finished with her hair, she retrieved the toothbrush as commanded, just as Xander entered the room to pass something to Aaron. Once her teeth were clean, she watched in the mirror as Aaron approached her.
“Tell me why you love music, Madeleine; how it affects you.” Aaron already knew the answer to this question, had discovered it when he’d seen her on stage, and again when she played in his music room.
“I can hide within it, surrounded in beauty, rather than a witness to the cruelty of the world.” A quick response, one that took no thought before being said.
Unrolling the blindfold, he watched as the lights in the room bounced off the small metal beads that were pulled over leather cording to make up the front. Those same cords were tied at the sides to secure the beads and were left long enough to be used to tie the mask to the face. “I’m going to blindfold you, Mouse, allow you your hiding place. It won’t be the same as the music, you’ll still be able to hear the nightmare that goes on around you, but you can at least pretend that you’re shielded and outside of view.”
Aaron walked up behind her, reached over her head to pull the mask across her face, securing the cords in a knot at the back of her head. Through the mirror, he looked at the vision of her body, her silken hair as it cascaded in waves down the front, only partially obscuring the swell of her breasts. He hated to admit it, but the addition of the mask made her even more appealing, a mystery veiled in leather and metal.
Finishing up his inspection, he straightened his spine, pulled his shoulders back and placed a mask of indifference over his face. There was nothing else that could be done; no additional time with which to prepare her. “Xander will lead you behind me, slave. When I’m at rest he will place you where you need to kneel. People may approach you, may touch you and I will allow it. If I hand you off to another person, you are to go with whomever I say. Do not hesitate for a moment in your obedience, Madeleine. If you do, there’s a good chance you will not be returning to my quarters.”
Chapter Twenty-One
The weighted sounds of their boots echoed through the halls of the building as Aaron and Xander led Maddy to her presentation. Maddy couldn’t see anything. Although shielded by the mask Aaron had given her, she could still feel the energy as it rolled off of the men, her other senses awakened in response to her lack of sight. Their pace was hurried yet steady, her legs faltering every so often from her fear. Not knowing what to expect had her terrified, her insides knotted in dread. She was thankful she’d not eaten much that morning, afraid that her nerves would cause her to get sick, to fail in her presentation.
When their steps slowed, Maddy heard a loud click and the distinct creak of doors being opened. Stopping suddenly, the sounds of laughter rolled out from in front of where they stood; unruly male voices, excited and loud. Maddy wasn’t sure whether she should kneel because they’d stopped moving. Just as she started to bend down, they moved again, stepping forward into what she believed was the ballroom where she’d been gifted to Aaron. The rowdy behavior of the men calmed almost instantly when they entered the room. A few more steps forward, and she felt how Xander pushed against her, indicating to her where she should kneel down. Doing so, her skin was struck by the chill of the stone floor, her knees feeling bruised from the amount of time she’d spent on them that day. Her body trembled and shook, her mind racing with images of what the men looked like around her. Terror overtook her when she finally heard the voice of the man who’d abducted her.
“So good to see you, Aaron. I’m sure you have questions as to why I ordered the presentation of your slave so soon.” His accent was familiar, an air of entitlement and refined taste dripping from each syllable that he spoke.
Aaron bathed himself in apathy and boredom, effectively containing the boiling rage within his mind and body. With his body held straight and strong, his green eyes met the steel grey of his father’s, the corruption a wild thing running rampant in the stare of the man who’d raised him. “It is of no concern, father. If you wish to admire my slave sooner rather than later, I bear no ill feelings toward your request.”
A dark chuckle, evil pouring out of each sound that was produced. “I’m so sure, Aaron. I’ll enlighten you then. There have been some strange rumors running rampant through The Estate. Men have whispered that you allow your slave to be clothed, that you treat her as more than an object for your use.” Standing up from the large, throne-like chair placed in the front of the room, his father moved about with a feline swagger, a strut that had been practiced and cultivated over his many years. “I sent my men to you, Aaron, in an attempt to squelch the ridiculousness of those rumors.” Stopping suddenly as he stood by Emory and Vincent, he smiled. “They reported to me that you gave your slave pleasure instead of taking your own.” A weighty silence. “It concerned me, to say the least.”
“Do you question my methods?” Aaron asked.
A throat clearing, a hushed murmur amongst the men that sat within the room; his father looked between Emory and Vincent before returning his attention to Aaron. “I do. Explain why these reports are circulating; reveal to me the method to your madness.”
“The whispers of clothing are a fabricated rumor. Your men can attest that when they arrived at my quarters, the whore was not only naked, but also bound in shackles to the bed, her body soaked from the ways I had used her. When I forced pleasure from her body, it was in the presence of three other men, it was a means to embarrass her, to shame her, to make her get off on the torment of her Master.” Aaron paused, his mind reeling at having to speak about Maddy in such a way, his rage a blazing inferno that she’d been present to hear those words. “While I appreciated Emory’s excitement to see my ass and cock, I do not fuck in public, that is my choice and my right in the position I hold within The Estate.”
His father’s shoulders shook with silent laughter, having been amused by Aaron’s insinuation regarding Emory. Behind him, Emory’s face took on a vengeful scowl, the scar along his cheek reddening from his anger. “Very well, Aaron; put in those terms I can understand why you demonstrated her to my men in such a manner. However, I would like to inspect the whore
myself, see how well you’ve trained your slave.”
His steps echoed through the hushed silence of the room, the click against the wooden floor as it approached a jarring sound to Madeleine’s ears. She remained motionless, her head facing down, her hands wanting to wring over themselves as she forced them to remain still. The fast beat of her heart conflicted with the slow beat of the father’s steps; the sound of blood rushing through her head, the only thing muting the terrifying sound of his approach. When she felt Aaron move aside, panic coursed through her veins, her skin cooling from the sheen of her perspiration, while the intense heat of fear threatened to burn her to ash inside.
“Remove the blindfold.”
Hands quickly moved to her head, loosening the strings knotted at the back immediately upon the father’s command. When she felt the cool metal pulled from her face, she didn’t want to open her eyes, didn’t want to witness the monster who stood before her. Forcing them open, she kept her eyes trained to the floor, the order not having been given that she look up into the face of depravity and contempt.
A hand reached below her, a finger pulling her face up to so that she could look into the cold grey eyes of a man far older than she. The angle in which he held her face caused pain in her neck and spine, and her hair to cascade down her back until it reached the upper swell of her behind. A sardonic grin, the corners of his mouth turning up until the lewd expression of his face made her want to retch from her disgust. Turning her face back and forth to examine her features, his smile grew brighter when he saw the red mark across her cheek and the swollen and broken skin of her lip.
“So, you’ve been a violent Master to your slave. She’s marked all over her pretty face.” A deep chuckle saturated in the filth of his amusement. “Why am I not surprised the executioner favors drawing blood when spilling his seed?” The father’s hands moved down her body, causing her skin to crawl from his touch. Cupping her breast he pinched the nipple so hard, she had to bite her tongue to keep from crying out in pain. He grinned again when he saw the bite mark left by Aaron the previous day.
“What full breasts this one has. Not used and spent like the other whores of the house.” His hand released her breast, crept slowly south along her torso stopping as his fingers explored the flesh between her thighs. Bile rose into Maddy’s throat from his touch, the effect not near the same as when it had been Aaron’s hand caressing her skin. Every muscle in her tensed when he slipped a finger inside her, circled it around to test the strength of the muscles of her core. Forced to keep her eyes trained downward, she watched as that disgusting finger pushed farther inside, the delicate flesh burning from her lack of arousal.
“My, my, Aaron, I do believe I outdid myself on my gift to you.” He pulled his hand away before using his other hand to pull her face back to his, to make her watch as he licked her clean of his fingers. “I do believe I want to ride her myself. Unlike you, I have no qualms about fucking in public.”
Maddy’s body clenched, her gaze returning to the floor once the father had released her. Tears threatened her eyes, but she wouldn’t let them fall, wouldn’t disappoint Aaron. She wondered if he would allow this to happen, then realized it was a certainty based on what he’d said to her before they left his quarters.
“String her up, I want her shackled to the table, her ass bared to me to take what I want.” Several sets of hands grabbed around her arms as she was pulled up into a standing position; her knees almost giving out from the weight of her fright. Led to a wooden table, Maddy was pushed forward into a kneeling position atop the rough surface of the wood. Splinters dug into her skin as she was forced down onto her elbows, her hands shackled in metal rings set into the table. The intimate parts to her body were completely exposed to the view of the room as she felt the sting of steel wrapped and then locked around her ankles. The position was painful, her muscles not used to holding her up in such a manner. Shame enveloped her as the men behind her hooted and hollered at the sight of her. The rhythmic click of the father’s shoes approached her from behind, her body flinching when she felt his finger run down the crease of her flesh, stopping just against the entry to her ass. “Maybe I’ll take you here, it would be a sweeter sting to the skin of my cock.”
The distinct sound of a belt being unbuckled and loosened followed by that of a zipper being unzipped. Violent trimmers tore through her system and she couldn’t stop the tears that escaped her eyes, her agony a suffocating blanket that covered her.
“Have your fill, father. It is of no consequence to me. Just know that if you shove your filth inside her, I won’t touch her again. You might as well throw her to your dogs so they can lick off the taste of your dick.” Aaron’s voice boomed throughout the room, the tone emotionless and without concern.
Hushed silence followed Aaron’s words, each man’s breath held to see what would happen in this exchange between father and son. Within seconds, she heard the deep laugh as it rumbled out of the chest of the man positioned behind her. His laughter growing in volume and intensity until finally joined by the laughter of the group. Once the merriment had calmed, she heard him zip up his pants and rebuckle his belt, before the sounds of his feet could be heard walking away.
“Now, we can’t have that. I so enjoy the fact that you appreciated my gift. I’m in a bit of a bind, however. I would love to hear the sounds of lust roared from your slave’s mouth, her screams as someone takes her to the peak of her orgasm. Emory and Vincent reported to me that it was like music to their ears. However, since you will not fuck in front of an audience, and if I may not touch her without your resultant rejection, whatever shall I do to finally have the demonstration that I seek?”
Quiet. Deadly silence a heavy weight throughout the room. Aaron’s voice, so dreadfully calm, Maddy’s skin prickled from its implied violence. “I see no solution to your conundrum. I will not touch her here, you do not want me to cast her aside, and no person within The Estate is allowed to touch her per the directive you gave on the night she was gifted.”
A dark laugh, delight in the game between father and son. “But that’s where you are wrong, Aaron. I never stated that no person would be allowed to touch her, I merely ordered that no man within The Estate would be allowed that privilege.” A pregnant pause as Maddy was unable to look up to see the expressions of the men bartering regarding the form of cruelty that would be used. “Bring me a slave.”
Murmurs erupted again amongst the members of The Estate.
Aaron’s shoulders rolled back as he tried to ease the tension from his spine. His skin inflamed by the fury that filled him, he remained outwardly calm and detached as the large doors opened for Vincent to go retrieve a slave as instructed. Ever loyal, Aaron knew Xander stood just behind him, ready to fight every man in this room if it was what Aaron determined should be done. A high pitched shriek sounded as Vincent dragged in a blonde slave, her body covered in welts and bruises, her skin hanging from her bones from lack of nutrition and care. Until Maddy, the slaves who’d been taken by The Estate had known the risk. Accepting drugs without the ability to pay, getting involved in other criminal acts with members of the units, but failing in their tasks. They’d been warned, had seen the other slaves kept chained throughout the large building, but had taken the risk regardless, so sure that they would not end up like the other spent hags that littered the interior of the building. Most were kept drugged to keep them quiet, the volume of their screams was a nuisance to the men who weren’t using them at that time. Aaron had little compassion for their plight, knew that it was by their own actions, they’d ended up the lowest members within the compound.
As Vincent dragged the slave to stand before the crowd, Aaron kept his eyes trained on his father. The game had been played well, a small slip of semantics and Aaron had been bested by a man who delighted in tempting men into evil, who excelled at leading people to their own self-destruction. The face of a debonair man of privilege, the mannerisms of someone who’d led a life of luxury and wealth,
his father was the ultimate deceiver, a poison so potent, that even the most intelligent of men succumbed and were eventually destroyed by his father’s games.
The evil in the steel grey eyes that stared back at him twinkled within the insanity of his gaze. His lips curling at the ends before he ordered, “Have the blonde work over Aaron’s slave, not stopping until her face and hands are drenched in the evidence of the other whore’s orgasm.”
A tremor ran through Aaron’s body, pure anger igniting within him by the fact that Madeleine would be touched in such a manner by someone other than him. He’d risked pretending his father’s threat of rape didn’t affect him. He’d been able to save Maddy from the shame that’d almost been inflicted, but there was nothing he could say to stop this assault. His father’s order fell within the established rules for Aaron’s slave, did not breach the decree that had been given the other night.
Vincent let go of the blonde woman’s hair, pushed her in the direction of Maddy as she remained bound to the table. Aaron’s eyes followed as she approached the table, wished he could look into Maddy’s eyes to let her know he was tormented alongside her.
When the blonde reached Maddy, a filthy snicker sounded from her body, almost as if the thought of tormenting another made her feel more powerful than the used up whore that she was. Her yellow stained fingers brushed up to Maddy’s head, pulled through the silken mahogany waves of her hair. The blonde leaned in as if to whisper, but spoke loud enough so the people in the room would be able to hear. “Don’t shake, beautiful girl, I’ll make sure you like it.” Reaching around she slapped her hand against Maddy’s ass so hard that just the sound of the slap made Aaron’s teeth clench. Forcing himself to remain still, Aaron watched as the blonde continued to torment Madeleine, images flooding his head of stepping forward and breaking the bitch’s neck for every action she committed against his slave.