Page 40 of Sold at Auction

I forced a demure smile as I turned to look at him. “Just tired, sir. Monsieur was… demanding last night.”

I blinked as I thought I saw Marcus’ jaw tighten, just a little. Did I see a flicker of jealousy in his eyes as well? I swallowed hard, trying to keep the glow in my chest at bay.

Don’t be stupid, columba. I told myself. I pictured Malleus, but his face had turned into Marcus’. I felt myself frown deeply in confusion, and I turned away from Marcus to keep my expression concealed.

As we approached my bedroom, I began to formulate a plan. It would be risky, potentially catastrophic if I failed. But the alternative—allowing the Groupe Synergistique to close their deal and tighten their grip on power without even the knowledge of the Guard—seemed unthinkable.

“Rest well,” Marcus said as he opened my door and ushered me in. “I’ll see you later.”

But unlike every day for the past five days, Marcus didn’t return that evening. The dinner cart, which usually arrived in the late afternoon, so that I had finished eating before my miles led me to my owner’s bed, instead came at the time Marcus usually arrived.

With a growing sense of anxiety, I considered asking the guard—Jacques, one of the two whose names I’d learned—whether I should expect Marcus to come. I didn’t want to give Jacques an opportunity to comment on Monsieur’s pleasure with me, though, let alone raise his suspicions in some way.

Briseis. Observe. Then act.

I waited. Marcus didn’t come.

As the hours ticked by, my anxiety grew. Had something happened to Marcus? Had my own cover been blown? I paced my mildly gilded cage, the plush carpet muffling my footsteps as I tried to calm my whirling thoughts.

Wait, Malleus said in my head. Watch. And when the time comes, don’t let fear paralyze you.

Night fell, and moonlight filtered into my little window from a waning crescent. Doing everything in my power to keep my breathing calm and even, I activated my cybernetics to spoof the camera. Then I stood by the door, listening.

At least, I reflected, this time I didn’t have the horrid training harness on. I could move much more easily than the last time I had ventured out.

I heard, faintly, sounds I felt certain came from the first floor, re-echoed by the marble of the foyer and the stairs. Unoccupied with fucking me, I felt certain, Delacroix was out of the chateau, or perhaps working in his study. If I waited too long, he would pour his brandy and bring it upstairs to bed.

Taking a deep breath, I unlocked the door with the magnets in my hand. I cracked it open and peered into the dimly lit hallway. I caught a glimpse of one of Marcus’ guards down at the bottom of the stairway, but I knew myself to be completely invisible as I slipped along the corridor towards Delacroix’s bedroom.

My heart pounded in my chest as I touched the heavy oak door. Pressing my ear against it, I listened for any sound within. Nothing.

Slowly, carefully, I turned the ornate handle and eased the door open.

“Well, well. Sophia, my little whore, I was starting to think we wouldn’t see you tonight.”

I froze, ice flooding my veins. Delacroix’s cold voice had come from the shadows near his desk. As my eyes adjusted, I saw him lounging in an armchair, a crystal tumbler of amber liquid in his hand. Beside him stood Marcus, his face an inscrutable mask.

“I… I’m sorry, Monsieur,” I stammered, falling to my knees. “I… I thought… I mean, I was worried when no one came to bring me to you…”

It sounded idiotic, but I couldn’t imagine that anything would have seemed the slightest bit persuasive, given that I’d just made it very clear that I could break out of my bedroom whenever I wanted. The notion that one of the guards had carelessly left the door unlocked had—barely—worked the last time; I felt certain no such excuse would strike Delacroix’s ear as truthful tonight.

“You may as well shut up, whore,” Marcus said coldly. “Until we begin to apply the necessary pressure, I’m sure nothing you say will provide us with a single accurate fact.”

We. Us. The words seemed to slice through my soul. I knew Marcus had to use them. I knew he probably thought I came from some other international crime organization, and I had come to the chateau undercover to kill Delacroix or steal from him. But the stark indication that Marcus and I didn’t go together, that we didn’t represent one side of the fight Malleus had made so vivid for me… I had to stifle a sob that wanted to burst from my chest.

My heart raced as Delacroix rose from his chair, his eyes glittering with a cruel light. “I’m going to enjoy this, whore,” he purred, his voice dripping with malice. “I’ve known for days that you were more than just a pretty fuck toy. But I wanted to savor the anticipation of breaking you completely.”

He turned to Marcus. “Restrain her in the chair. Her face to the back and her arms around it. I want her spread wide and helpless, with her ass and her cunt fully available.”

I shied back as Marcus approached, and then I struggled when he grabbed me, but his strong hands gripped my arms firmly. As he pulled me towards the ornate armchair, I caught a fleeting glimpse of anguish in his eyes. It vanished so quickly, I wondered if I’d imagined it.

“Please,” I whimpered nonsensically as Marcus hoisted me easily off the ground and turned me around to set me on the seat cushion. “I can explain…”

Delacroix backhanded me hard across the face, making my head snap to the side. “I told you to shut up, whore. You’ll speak when I allow it, and not before.”

Marcus didn’t reply. He didn’t even tell me how to position myself on the chair: he just placed my limbs where he wanted them and restrained them with expertly tied rope that Delacroix handed him from the lacquered cabinet. Marcus bound my wrists around the back of the gorgeous antique chair; he tied my thighs to its heavy, carved, oaken arms, with my bare feet just off the back of the seat. Even with everything I had experienced from Malleus, from Delacroix, from him… I had never felt so vulnerable and exposed.

My owner turned to Marcus. “Get the solvent. It’s time we finally opened up this little cunt properly.”

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