Page 5 of Poison

"Vic," he corrected.

"Vic. Sorry. A very classy name."

We chatted for a long time while we sipped our drinks. The entire time, I was having issues figuring him out. Perhaps it was my drunk brain, but I had a hard time finding any red flags. He seemed to be genuinely kind. Not once did he hint that he wanted me to go home with him, which was what nearly every man wanted from me. It was refreshing, and to be honest, I couldn't get enough of it. I was so tired of men looking at me like I was nothing more than a piece of meat. There was nothing in his eyes that suggested he wanted to bend me over and eat my ass like an ice cream sandwich, only genuine friendliness.

When my straw made a loud slurping noise, I picked up the glass and sighed at the empty bottom. I could use another, but I was fresh out of sinders. I didn't want to ask this guy, either; I didn't need to owe him any more than I already did. Owing people in Sin City could lead to a lot of trouble.

Standing, I wobbled a bit but steadied myself by gripping the ends of the table. With a giggle, I forced myself to remain upright. "Well, Mr. Vic, it's been a pleasure, but I have to head back, sweetness."

He held out a hand, and I shook it. "Do you need me to walk home with you?"

"No. I'll be fine. I know my way home, and it's just better if you don't."

He bit his lip but said nothing.

The truth was, I wanted him to walk me home. I wanted to take his hand and bring him up to my apartment, but I couldn't. Hobbs would have a fit. Hobbs was perfectly fine with selling me off, but he wasn't ok with sharing me for free.

"I'll see you again. I frequent Hell's Gate."

Vic nodded and escorted me to the door. When we got to the sidewalk, we said our goodbyes and went our separate ways.

Chapter 4

When I staggered through the door, I fell flat on the bed. Sleep took me almost instantly, and I could have slept the entire day had there not been an obnoxious banging on the door. With a groan, I slid from the comfortable mattress. I was still dressed in the same outfit from the previous night, and drool had dried all over the bottom half of my face. Wiping my mouth in vain, I opened the door and froze. A very displeased Hobbs was standing on the other side.

Lifting his nose, he glared at me before his gaze criticized my body. "I thought I said no to a wild night."

Crossing my arms defensively, I retorted, "It wasn't that wild."

"You still smell like alcohol." With a scowl, Hobbs grabbed my arm and dragged me into the apartment. After pulling open the top drawer of the dresser, he yanked out a pair of neon orange shackles... with the chain intact. "Do I need to make you wear these so that you will behave?"

"I don't need those. Really, Trevor, I'll be fine. I'll be your good boy. I won't fuck up."

With a smile, he tossed the shackles back into the drawer and ran his hand along my jawline to pull me in for a quick kiss. "You are such a good boy." His hands brushed along my shoulder. "So perfect in every way." I tried to look away, but he gripped my jaw, forcing me to meet his eyes. "You know you did this to yourself. If you weren't a criminal, you wouldn't be in this situation. I am only making sure you pay your debt to society. This is far better than the way they did it in the time before. Back then, they locked people up like animals for their crimes. At least with me, I still allow you to have fun." His lips pressed against mine. "And when your debt is paid, this will all stop. When your debt is paid, I will treat you like the prince you are. My beautiful, shining star." He kissed me again, running a hand down the back of my pants and squeezing an ass cheek. "Get cleaned up, and don't worry about any special outfit. I have one that will be waiting for you. When you're ready, come down to studio three." His expression became stern, unyielding. "And don't be late."

My body remained stiff and rigid as he left, blowing me a kiss before he closed the door. I shuddered, hugging myself tightly in revulsion. I didn't want to do this. I wanted to go back to the juice café where I was treated like a human being. I wanted to be with Vic, not with some random man who was just going to use and most likely abuse me. Sure, I didn't know Vic from a hole in the ground, but he treated me like a person, and that was the most amazing feeling ever.

I shuffled into the bathroom, where I dumped my clothes unceremoniously on the ground. As I washed my body, my fingers drew a line across the tiny scars on my wrists. I had only been trapped in servitude for three months but had had enough at that point. In a desperate act, I went into the shower to do the unthinkable. I broke a razer apart and dug the blade into my skin. I was too afraid to do it the right way—the way that would allow me to bleed out quicker. When I started getting woozy, I panicked and ran to Hobbs. He had me patched up but added the cost of the doctor's visit to my debt. If only I had a blade at my disposal, I would get it right this time, but Hobbs never allowed me to have any sharp objects since that day.

When the water began to chill, I stepped out of the shower and worked on brushing my teeth and fixing my hair. As a final touch, I put on some eyeliner. The outfit for the day was nothing fancy, just a black T-shirt with black sweats.

Hobbs owned four floors of the twenty-story building I was forced to call home. One floor housed his servants' apartments, two were staged studios for filming pornos, and the last was his own personal living quarters. When I exited the elevator, Hobbswas waiting forme in front of studio three.

With no preamble, he gripped my shoulder and escorted me inside. The scene made my stomach twist. Chains dangled from the ceiling, a table was covered with all sorts of BDSM toys, and more sexual equipment hung on the wall. I sighed.Great. The client has a BDSM kink.

When we entered the adjoining dressing room, Hobbs handed me some clothing, if you could call a black studded thong "clothes." After I donned the uncomfortable contraption, Hobbs fitted me with a leather straight jacket. It was made of straps, allowing most of my skin to be on display, but I couldn't move my arms. When he was sure I couldn't escape it, I was escorted to the center of the room and instructed toget on my knees. A black collar with a heart-shaped loop was cinched around my neck, and Hobbs attached a matching chain, hooking it onto a small metal ring fastened to the floor.

He gripped my jaw and pressed a small pill to my lips. When I tried to pull back, his grip got tighter. "This will help you stay calm. The man you will be entertaining is a bit of a sadist. He paid a lot of money for you, so I expect you to be a good boy and entertain him properly. I don't want togive him a refund, but if he becomes too much, shout your safe word, and the room helper will pick up on it and send me an alarm. I will be here ina matter ofminutes to shut it down."

I opened my mouth, sucked in the pill, and swallowed it. Hobbs smiled and patted my shoulder before leaving me alone in the studio. My anxiety rose as I waited for the door to open again. I hated not knowing what I was in for. I didn't mind shooting porn with BDSM kinks; that was always a controlled environment. But client sessions could be anything.To ease my tension, Irepeated my safe word quietly so thatthe room helper wouldn't hear."Unicorn."

When the door opened, I feared the word had triggered the room helper. But my breath caught as a large man stepped into the room. He stood maybe five feet ten at most, his stomach hanging out as if he were pregnant with twins. Blond hair was swooped to the side in a comb-over, and his pudgy face was twisted into a lecherous smile.

He waddled toward me, shrugging off his clothes until he stood in nothing more than a hot pink thong. I had to force myself not to cringe. "I brought a little something of my own to play withpet," he snickered, pulling something from his pile of clothing.

The pill was starting to kick in, so I found it difficult for my eyes to follow his movements. It was almost as if the drugs made everything move in slow motion.

"Open your mouth."

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