Page 26 of For a Price

“Yes, on the streets. You name it, I’ve slept there. Alleyways on tossed out mattresses I used to make a fort. Vacated buildings with mice. Bus terminals and train stations. At the park on a bench. Couch surfing, of course.”

He gives a grunt but says nothing else.

The bathwater has begun to lose its heat. He rises from where he’s perched on the edge of the clawfoot tub and then reaches for one of the many neatly folded bath towels.

“Here, devochka. Dry off.”

I forget shielding myself from him. Water sloshes around the tub as I stand up completely naked and reach for the towel he’s handing me.

His eyes rove appreciatively down my body as if taking inventory of every curve. Quickly wrapping the towel around myself, I clutch it tightly.

“Can you at least pretend you’re not leering at me? It might make me feel more comfortable about, you know, being naked.”

“That does not matter. You will be naked anyway when I want you to be. Come.”

“You know, if I had as many abs as I bet you do, I’d be happy to be naked too.”

“You should already be happy, devochka. Tvoye telo menya vozbuzhdayet. Ya ne mogu dozhdat’sya, chtoby okazat’sya vnutri tebya?*.”

He leads me back into the bedroom where I’ve been kept.

It’s the first time I take a second to observe my surroundings. The accommodations are great considering what I’m used to. After sleeping in a grimy alley beside cats and rats and aluminum trash cans, the bedroom I’m in feels like a five-star luxury hotel.

I’ve got a full-sized bed with plush pillows and comforter and a window that seems to look out at the Northam River. There’s a chest of drawers and a cushiony chair in the corner under a floor lamp.

All things considered, it’s a space someone on the streets would love.

Ishouldlove it too… if not for the fact that I’m here as a captive.

“Stay put, devochka,” Roman commands. “I will return with your clothes.”

The door drifts shut behind Roman and I breathe out a sigh of relief at finally having a moment alone. My feet move on their own, my legs taking me from one end of the room to the other. I pace back and forth and talk myself through my situation.

“Stay calm,” I whisper. “Just… just stay calm. Think clearly. Bide your time. Play along. Find an out.”

The hushed words leave me several times as I repeat them like a mantra, walking from wall to wall around the room. Thetowel’s firmly secured at my chest, clinging to my body like it’s a sleeveless dress. Much needed coverage after spending the last half hour butt-naked under the unblinking eye of a Russian mobster.

I sigh coming up on the window.

Judging by the golden tint to the sky, it’s early evening. Night will fall soon.

Who knows what Roman has planned for tonight? He seems to think we’ll have sex. He’ll get tohaveme.

Nerves ripple in my belly at the thought.

I might find him attractive, but that doesn’t mean I want to sleep with him.

Honestly, it’s been so long for me, I’ve learned to live without real human contact…

The bedroom door flies open and I spin around expecting the six-foot-something brute to come stalking inside.

Instead, I scream and jump back, clutching my towel tightly.

A shorter, balder, fatter man has walked in. He flashes a golden-toothed grin, his belly huge and round.

“Privet?*,” he says gruffly, shutting the door. “Ya nashel, gde on tebya derzhal. On dolzhen podelit’sya?*.”

* Pochemu ty takoy zastenchivyy -why are you so shy?

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