Page 253 of Bad for Me

“What kind of treat?” I ask as I settle in. I roll my shoulders to ease some of the tension. Shit, I should be pretending to be cowed. That’s what he wants, right?

Except I’m not sure it is. He picked me out of that line-up of potential slaves. He could have had his pick of barely-legal or underage, naive, frightened boys, and instead he went for the thirty-something, rough man.

“Misha,” he admonishes me. “It’s going to be a surprise. You need to learn to trust your master and know that I’ll do the best I can by you… as long as you cooperate. That isn’t so much to ask, is it?”

It’s a whole lot to ask and we both know it.

“I’m the picture of cooperation,” I answer as I settle in with my head against his chest. I’m not sure I’ll be able to get much sleep like this, but on the other hand, the warmth is a very nice change from the cold cell I’d been in for the past few days.

“Hardly,” Raul says with a snort. But he’s gentle as he strokes my hair. For a long time, he’s quiet, and I think I might fall asleep. Before I can, though, he murmurs, “Yes. I did let them go. Don’t talk about it.”

I remain silent for a while, trying to absorb that information. I don’t know what to say. My stomach is fluttering with something I don’t want to examine, all because this human trafficker apparently let a few kids go.

“That was a good thing you did,” I finally answer quietly. “Thanks.”

“I didn’t do it for you,” he says tersely. But the way he brushes his fingers through my hair, the way his grasp tightens around me… that tells me something different.

Maybe he isn’t as bad as he pretends to be, after all.

5

RAUL

I was startingto think I was never going to hear the end of it from my father and Danilo. I’d let four children go — four, out of so many of ourproduct— and they were acting like I’d freed the entire lot.

Maybe I should have.

It wasn’t like I regretted it, backlash or not. Misha’s quiet thanks had helped with that, along with the way he’d softened toward me after I’d admitted it to him. More than that, though, I’d been able to fuckingsleepthat night without nightmares of children crying to their parents.

Jesus.

I turn away from my father, who’s in mid-sentence, and gesture in a vague dismissal. “Yes, yes, I understand,” I say even though I have no idea what I supposedly understand.

Ignoring his sputtering, annoyed response, I stalk off, heading toward the slave quarters to find Misha. I need to get my mind off of all of this before I explode from the pressure.

For all that he’s still isolated in his cell, I’d given him a pillow and a blanket to go along with the thin mattress on the floor. I’d still kept the temperature cold so he’d be properly grateful for the gesture, but even so.

“Misha,” I call out as I open the door. “Are you awake?”

Misha groans and sits up, clutching the blanket as best he can while his wrists are still bound together. “What else would I be? Can’t really fucking sleep.”

“If you’re good, maybe I’ll let you sleep in my bed tonight,” I say on a whim. “You like my bed, don’t you?”

Misha gives me one of those looks, more calculating than one would expect from a high school dropout coasting from paycheck to paycheck. “Yeah,” he agrees. “I like your bed.”

I study him for a moment, trying to read his expression, but it goes back to something neutral before I can really identify much more about it. “Good. Let’s go.” I go to him and help him up, pulling him close to my body and wrapping an arm around his waist. “Kiss me, and maybe I’ll unbind you while we walk.”

For a split second, the corner of Misha’s lip twitches. I wonder what expression he’s trying to suppress. Disgust, most likely.

But Misha ducks his head and nods. “Yes, Master.” He leans in and presses his lips to mine, barely any effort in the gesture at all.

I cluck my tongue as I pull back. “That’s all?” I ask in disapproval. “You obviously don’t want to walk of your own volition.” I shake my head. “Maybe later you’ll actually try. Come along, then.”

I hook the leash to Misha’s collar and begin leading him up to my bedroom. Unlike most of the new slaves we get, he doesn’t seem all that bothered by being paraded nude through the house.

It makes me wonder if he’s done something like this before, in a more consensual capacity. It makes me wonder, too, if he’d have come to me willingly if things were different.

Once we’re in my room, I close the door behind us and turn to face him. “Another kiss,” I dare him. “Earn me removing your bonds this time, slut.”

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