Page 24 of Kristoff

“You want her tonight?” I ask, trying to sound merely curious. He doesn’t usually get involved until the women are ready for auction. No patience for unpolished toys, and he can’t afford to mark the product before it goes on the auction block.

“Yes.” He nods and rolls his wrist. “It’s been awhile since I worked with a new toy.”

I step toward him but catch myself before I lose myself. I’ve done too much to move forward to let him piss me off and shove me back.

“Don’t worry. Dr. Morrow told me - her ass is off limits for a bit longer. I won’t touch her there.” His promise knocks the breath from me, but I recover quickly. He’s been talking to the doctor. He knows what happened, what condition her body is in.

“What time is the dinner?” I ask, changing the topic. Even if I find a way out of going to the meeting, I can’t deny him access to her. To do so would make things worse for her, because Andrei doesn’t need an excuse to take things to the next level. And any sort of resistance on my end would push him in that direction.

“Seven-thirty. It’s in London so you’ll need to leave soon. I’ll have a car ready for you.” His smile doesn’t reach his eyes. But any sort of decent life had flickered out of them years ago. Nothing but a shell of a human remained. The parts that desired power and money and didn’t give a fuck on how he got either.

But was I so different?

“Fine. I’ll get ready.”

“I’ve had the girl brought to my room already,” he tells me when I’ve opened the door. I grit my teeth and give a curt nod.

I won’t have a chance to warn her, to beg her to behave. She’s going to have to get through this on her own.

Heading up to my room, I have to hold onto the hope that she’s learned something in the past few days. That maybe she will heed my warnings.

Holding onto hope. Sounds more like her thing than mine. Maybe I’m learning a few things from her, too.

12

Astrangling stench wakes me. Burning fills my lungs and I gasp for air while coughing out the fumes tinging my insides. An attempt to lift my hands fail.

Frantically, I yank and pull, but my wrists are bound in front of me. When I open my eyes, I’m still shrouded in darkness. My feet are as useless as my hands. Where am I?

Reminding myself to keep calm doesn’t help much, but I force my memory to search for the truth. What the fuck happened?

I had been standing near the windows in Kristoff’s room. Not bothering with the idea of escaping through them anymore once I had seen the distance to the ground below. The door to his room had burst open, startling me, and men charged me.

Yanking harder on the binds on my wrists, I survey my position. I’m bent over, knees on cushioned planks and my hands bound below my chest. A spanking bench? I’ve been in this particular contraption before, though my legs are spread much wider than I remember. My ass is propped up with a pillow, or a leather wedge. I can’t fucking tell because there’s a damn blindfold over my eyes.

“Ah, good. You are finally awake.” Andrei’s thick accent sends a sharp shiver down my spine. The room’s cold, but his presence chills me further. Where is Kristoff?

“What do you want?” I demand, turning in the direction I think he’s standing. There’s a slight echo after I speak. I don't think I’m in the comfort of Kristoff’s apartment anymore. At the realization, the dampness of the room settles into my skin. I’m back in the lower levels of the house - where the cells are.

He laughs. “I already have what I want.”

Being obtuse isn’t helping my level of anxiety. I’m naked, bound, and in prime position for things I’ve read about in news articles and police reports. I yank harder, pull with more force on my ankles. His laughter bounces off the walls and I hear more shuffling.

“Where’s Kristoff?” I ask, simmering down. There are more people here now, I can feel them. I sense their fucking erections.

“My son is busy.” His tone sours with his statement. There’s more between Andrei and Kristoff than just being father and son. And as curious as I am about that, right now I need to figure out how to get the fuck off the spanking bench and back into Kristoff’s room.

“Then—”

He scoffs and slaps me hard across my face, snapping my head to the side. “You talk too much,” he reprimands me and grabs my hair, pulling my head back. I would probably be looking right into those dark beady little eyes of his, except he’s taken away my sight with the damn blindfold.

“You’re here as a gift. My men have been working hard and they deserve a little fun. My son has been too soft with you.”

“Soft?” A little laugh comes out of me. Probably from the fear penetrating my body. I’m slowly piecing together what Andrei’s words mean.

“I don’t really care if you accept your position or if you don’t. Most men I work with prefer you fight them. Same goes for tonight. However, I don’t want my men’s cocks bitten off, so you’ll need to be restrained a bit more. Matvei? Come, put the ring in, then you and the other men may begin.”

My hair’s released, and I whip my head to one side then the other, I have to get away, I have to. There’s no fucking way I’m letting anyone touch me.

---