He shook his head. “No, not at all.”
She looked him up and down. “You’re big enough. You look like you could take anyone down, which means the real question on my mind right now is why you’re so intent on breaking up the sex-slavery operations in your world? Why are you so determined to destroy Starlin? Why do you even care?”
She got right to the heart of the matter, he’d give her that, but just how much he should tell her, he wasn’t sure.
On the other hand, he suspected that to hold back now, to not tell her the truth, would be the last straw for her. And because he was so close to really getting inside Starlin, he decided to risk it all. He’d tell her what he’d never told another living soul, vampire or otherwise.
He drew a deep breath and held her gaze steadily. “I was a sex slave once, held by my captor for over a century. I know what it is to endure abduction and sale on the block. Everything you would have suffered as a slave, had another man won the bid and brought you to a room like this, I experienced at the hands of my captor. But worse.” She opened her mouth to speak, but he held up a hand. “I’m not willing to talk about what happened to me, except that it was bad, as bad as it gets. That I survived is nothing short of miraculous, but every day I promised myself that if I ever escaped, I’d tear this depraved part of our world down, if I had to do it with my own bare hands.”
#
Angelica wondered if she’d ever be able to blink again. She still sat on the table, her hands clasped tightly together, staring at Reyes, and trying with all her might to process so many revelations: his mission, his reason for buying her, and the fact that he’d suffered as a sex slave himself.
She looked away from him, letting this new tsunami of information sweep over her. That feeling of having been tackled hard and slammed to earth struck her again.
She met his gaze once more. “So if I’ve truly understood you and if I can believe you, then you saved my life by buying me at auction.”
“More than you know. Damien Engles, the man I referred to earlier, had made it clear to me before the auction began that he intended to purchase you and that I was not to interfere. But I already knew his reputation. Human slaves don’t live longer than a week in his house. He savors the killing element as part of sexual gratification. The worst kind of monster.”
“And he was intent on having me.”
“Absolutely. He liked your fighting spirit, your defiance.”
Reyes turned suddenly, crossing to a nearby shelf and picking up what looked like a small leather bag. When he returned to her, he pulled out a weird-looking glove, then slipped it on. “I want you to take a good look at this.”
Her gaze moved slowly down to his hand—and what she saw forced all the air from her lungs. Each fingertip held a sharp steel claw. She tried to breathe, but couldn’t. Every part of her body felt frozen, immobile. Nothing she’d been exposed to in this world had truly sunk in, not even his comments about sadism and torture, until she stared down at the leather device. The middle finger had two claws, about a quarter inch apart. “And this group uses this thing?”
“Some do. Engles, most certainly.”
She shook her head, staring at him. He tucked the glove back into the bag and in a quick flick of his wrist tossed it back on the shelf.
She pulled the lapels of her robe tight together once more. Her voice came out on a whisper. “You didn’t just save my life, you saved me from a kind of torture I can’t even begin to imagine. My God.”
For a long moment, she covered her face with both hands. She didn’t think she’d ever be able to get the image of that glove out of her mind. But maybe that was a good thing, given her present circumstances.
She’d thought Reyes an absolute monster when he’d put a hand to her throat, giving her a warning about what he could do to her if he wanted to. But he hadn’t actually hurt her. Of course, he’d definitely caused her pain on the runway, but now she understood why he’d felt compelled to do so: to show he could command his newly bought slave. He was playing his role, supporting his cover.
“Angelica, I need to be honest with you. I hadn’t intended to buy you like I did, especially since my plans depended on Engles having his way. I acted on impulse when I started bidding for you, because I knew that not only would you be tortured, but you’d be dead within a few days and I couldn’t have lived with myself. But dammit, Engles is the key to my mission.” He shook his head several times in a row. “Now, however…”
“This could already be a shitfest for you.”
“To put it succinctly. I bid against the most powerful man in the organization, short of Scorpion himself.”
She frowned as she met his gaze again. “You’re asking for my help, aren’t you? That’s why you’ve told me all this.”
“Yes, but there’s something else you should know before you make a decision. These people, Angelica, they’re evil personified. If they question who I am and what I’m doing, I’ll be dead and you’ll be auctioned again. So you’ll need to think about that.”
He ran a hand through his hair and glanced at the place he’d chained her up, shaking his head. “Shit, I should have been up front with you from the beginning. I should have asked you straight out for your help, the moment I brought you back to my home. I should have laid it all out as soon as I removed the shackles in the guest room.”
At that, she slid from the table and punched him in the shoulder, a thump that caused his brows to lift as he stared down at her. “Yes, you should have, and why didn’t you? Did you think I would refuse, especially knowing that you saved me from a true sadist like Engles? I would have forgiven what you did. Now I don’t know what to do.”
“I thought I had a better shot at pulling the whole thing off if I forced your submission. If you’re not willing to cooperate, or you can’t pull it off, though, all the work I’ve done is for nothing.”
“Can’t you just go to the party without me?”
He snorted. “There’d be no point. I’m on thin ice as it is. If I didn’t show up with you, the whole thing would be over.”
“So it’s all on me.”
“I don’t want you to think of it that way. That’s unfair to you—you never asked for any of this. If you can’t continue, I’ll walk away. I’ll figure out a new strategy and rebuild. It’ll mean a shift in direction, no question. But this current plan will be dead, that much is true, and right now I’m okay with that. No one deserves to be ripped from their lives and I promise you that if you decide to return immediately to your old life, I’ll see to it that you’re safe from Starlin.”
She nodded several times, processing, running the numbers, thinking through everything he’d told her. Reyes needed her to play the role of a woman bought at auction to sustain his mission. And if everything he’d said was true, on some level she owed him. But she’d have to be subservient to him, willing to do anything in public to prove her submission.
“How long have you been building this cover?”
“Decades.”
“Seriously? It took you decades to be able to join this freak show?”
He nodded. “They’re extremely protective of their organization. I’ve done things I’m not proud of to prove that I’ve embraced the lifestyle.”
“Jesus.” She rubbed her forehead with her fist. “And you’d give this all up if I said the word, if I said I wanted nothing to do with it, if I couldn’t play this role, if I just wanted to go home and be done with it all?”
He nodded solemnly, and she believed him.
Angelica searched his eyes, seeing once again the man she’d been so attracted to back at the Ocean Club, for all those months. She hadn’t been wrong about him after all, even if he was a different species and his cover meant that he did things she knew she wouldn’t approve of.
But could she really do this? Could she step into the role of sex slave and perform well enough to secure his reputation? Could she keep her opinions to herself, her eyes lowered, her voice su
bmissive as she spoke? Or worse, if the situation called for it, could she engage in certain activities publicly in order to sustain his cover? Or would she end up jeopardizing his mission by saying or doing the wrong thing at the wrong time?
Beyond what her role would entail, however, was the prospect of returning home. He’d just told her that she could go back to her life if that was what she wanted.
She was an accountant who worked long hours in her firm, but wasn’t that crazy about her occupation. Mostly she worked the kind of overtime she did to help support her mother, who’d been ill for years. Her aunt was with her now, so Angelica wouldn’t truly be missed for another week or more, but all of those essentials reminded her why she’d gone to the Ocean Club in the first place.
Her life had become a rut.
If she went back now, nothing would be materially different. Of course, she had no idea if her job would be waiting for her when she returned, but she could always look for another accounting job. It was more than that, though.
As she stared into Reyes’s eyes, she understood his purpose, why he felt called to stop others from being abused as they had been. “How long do you think you’d need me in this role?”
His eyes lit up. “Just for tonight. After that I could fake your death, which would go a long way with Starlin. I just need to parade you at the party for a few hours. It won’t be pleasant, however. That much you really do need to understand.”
“But it would only be for tonight.”
“Exactly.”
She thought about the other women who’d been auctioned off tonight, and somehow she came to her decision. The least she could do was give Reyes’s plan a chance.
“Okay, then. I could do this for one night. I know I could, and I think I owe you that. It’s clear to me that you saved my life and that if you hadn’t bid against Engles, well, I don’t want to think about what I’d be going through right now.” She glanced briefly at the leather pouch on the shelf and repressed a shudder.
“Angelica, I don’t know what to say, except that I’m grateful and I’m equally sorry that I put you through all that earlier.”
“You were doing what you felt needed to be done.” She clapped her hands together. “Okay, so, what happens next? Although to be honest I wouldn’t turn down a meal. I’m starved.” This was the first time in the past week she’d actually had an appetite.
“I’ll have my housekeeper send up some homemade soup. How does that sound?”
“Perfect.”
He moved past her, heading in the direction of the door. “Your measurements were taken while you were imprisoned. Starlin always provides an initial wardrobe for the auctioned women, including makeup and all kinds of lotions and hair care products. By now my servants will have unpacked everything for you.”
He led her to his bathroom, which proved large enough to roller-skate in. White marble covered the floors, walls, ceiling, and a long vanity area. Two sinks had gold fixtures. Given all that she saw, she had no reason to doubt the gold was real.
She followed him as he moved into what proved to be a large closet with a dressing area and a full-length mirror. Most of the space was empty except for a row of barely-there garments that made use of leather and sequins, feathers and chains, and a variety of sheer fabrics.
Reyes went through them, sliding the hangers along the rod in quick swipes, his expression as grim as ever.
He chose the red costume that seemed to have the most fabric, and that wasn’t saying much. From a row of shoes, he picked up a pair of matching red sequined pumps with five-inch stilettos. “These will have to do. I’ll apologize now, but the truth is I’m going to hate everyone staring at you.”
She glanced at him and realized there was a hint of jealousy in his tone, but she didn’t say anything. As at the auction, once again, most of her body would be on display no matter which outfit he chose.
He took the costume and hung it back up, putting the shoes back on the rack. “While Mathilde prepares a tray for you, why don’t you have a bath?”
She glanced at the soaking tub and nodded. “I’d really like that.”
“I’ll leave you alone, then.”
He left the room and she immediately turned on the waterfall-filling feature and poured in some bubble bath. As the tub filled she hunted through the drawers and found that he’d described things exactly right: she had more cosmetics, lotions, powders, oils, and hairstyling implements than she could use in a decade. After finding a brush she took her time getting rid of the tangles, then pinned her hair up off her neck.
The bubbles were a beautiful mound when she returned to the tub. She let her robe fall to the floor and climbed in.
For the first time in a week, her body relaxed. She sank to her neck, closed her eyes, and let out a deep, shuddering breath. For the moment, she was safe, and if all went well she’d be home by morning.
After she’d soaked for a few minutes, Reyes knocked and asked if he could come in: her meal was ready.
Relief once more rolled through her. She was no longer a slave, but had the simple right of granting or refusing permission for anyone to enter a bathroom. With bubbles covering her head-to-foot, she thought it could do no harm. “Come in.”
His brows rose as he saw her. “Better?”
“A little. Yes. Thank you.” She felt nervous suddenly. He’d already seen her completely naked, yet somehow this felt more intimate.
He held the tray cradled in one arm, and opened the door the rest of the way with his free hand. She watched him set the tray on a chair, then adjust a nearby rolling table to bathtub height. When he had the height to his satisfaction, and poised over her chest, he placed the tray on top.
The soup smelled heavenly, and her stomach growled. He’d provided a small glass of red wine as well. He said nothing as he left the room.
She scooted up to a better sitting position and pulled the table closer.
The soup proved to be a flavorful lentil, and each spoonful tasted like heaven. For the first time in a week, she ate without the fear of having one of her captors show up and start demanding things.
And by all appearances, Reyes intended to honor her basic boundaries.
Without warning, her mind slipped back to the moment when Reyes was drinking from her throat, the absolute bliss of it and the attending sexual need. Now that she understood him and his purpose, a powerful wave of desire swept through her once more, despite all that she’d been through.
After months of fantasizing about the man, how strange to think that he wasn’t a man at all—or at least not a human male. He was a vampire, from a secret world that most of the human population knew nothing about.
With her meal consumed, and her skin starting to wrinkle, she finally left the tub and started getting ready for the after-auction party. She went into the closet and found a clean robe to replace the one she’d worn earlier, this one a beautiful jade silk. She returned to the vanity area and the overstocked makeup drawer.
She sat on the cushy stool and debated how to do her makeup. In the end, for her own sanity, she chose to keep it simple. Despite the revealing nature of the costume, being able to select it herself gave her a sense of control.
Maybe she would have to parade around in a sequined outfit that barely covered her nipples and didn’t cover her ass at all, but she wouldn’t do up her eyes like they had for the auction, with false eyelashes that looked like a pair of small black fans.
Having wept off most of her makeup earlier, she added back a little gray eye shadow, a thin line of eyeliner, some mascara, and just a hint of blush.
As for her hair, she took some time with a curling iron, then arranged it all in soft layers the way she usually wore it. She finally worked herself into the minuscule, snug red costume, then stepped into the sequined stilettos and headed to the sitting room.
Time to start playing her new role.
#
Reyes sat in a brown leather chair, opposite the bedroom. He sipped
a different scotch this time, a Bowmore ‘64. He’d acquired the taste for fine whiskey during his captivity, Sweet Dove having been as generous as she was sadistic, a real fucking paradox.
He swirled the amber liquid, sipped, savored.
He still felt guilty that he hadn’t done a better job at warning Angelica away from the Ocean Club sooner, but he couldn’t change the past. He also knew he’d made the right decision by telling her about his mission.
He’d get her home as soon as he could, but she’d only truly be safe if he took the Starlin Group down. He heard the door to the bathroom open and the sound of her heels on the hardwood floors.
He leaned back in his chair. He really didn’t want to see Angelica in a fantasy outfit. He already lusted after her, so having her soft curves on display without much covering her up was going to make the situation something of a trial for him.
She appeared and time slowed to standstill as his gaze drifted over her body. The barely-there costume made use of a handkerchief’s worth of sheer red fabric, along with a few sequin-embellished triangles that covered her nipples, her peach, and little else. A few narrow straps held everything together.
She put her hands at the hem of the material that dipped just below her navel. She flipped it up and down a couple of times. “Feels a little breezy, otherwise it fits quite well.”
At that he smiled. This was the woman he knew, the one who had kissed him at the Ocean Club, who’d made him think that maybe his life could be more than he imagined.
Her legs went on about a mile, slender and shapely. Red-painted toenails peeked through the cutouts in the front of her sequined shoes.
He set his tumbler on the table at his elbow and stood up.
He wasn’t going to even bother concealing his arousal, though the coat helped.
Even so her gaze took him in, and her brows rose. “So does this mean you don’t find anything wrong with this getup at all?”
He shrugged. “Only that we have to leave this room. As I said before, I really hate the idea of other men seeing you like this.”