Page 40 of Bought and Shared
“But I thought?—”
“When we’re in the bedroom you call me Master. When we’re just talking, I want you to call me Knox.”
A small smile plays across my lips as I absorb what he’s telling me. This, what we’ve just shared, is not only physical; t’s something more. Though I’m not sure if he, or I, know what that is yet.
“Yes, Knox,” I say, as he hugs me closer to his warm, hard body. “I can do that.”
CHAPTER 14
Aurora
There’s a knock at my suite door just as Colton is finishing up our tutoring session. Escorting him out, I see there’s a single package waiting for me on our front mat.
Reaching down, I pick up the package. It’s lightweight and wrapped in plain, brown paper. To my surprise, it’s addressed to me. Not knowing who would send me a package, I carry it inside, eager to see what the box contains.
Retrieving a knife from the kitchen cabinet, I begin to slice away the copious amounts of tape holding the edges together. Before I can get it all the way open, a ringing sound emanates from the box. Quickening my pace, I tear into the package and find an inexpensive cellular device nestled within.
My brow furrows as I hastily answer the cell before the person on the other line hangs up.
“Hello?” My voice is uncertain and high-pitched as I speak.
“Aurora,” a man’s voice replies, and it takes me a moment to recognize who it belongs to.
“Micah?”
Micah is the man my parents wanted me to marry before I’d been auctioned off to the Voltan. Both my mother and father are convinced he’s the man God has intended for my future husband, though I can’t think of one thing he and I have in common.
While I don’t profess to know about the inner workings of the divine, I never fully subscribed to this belief myself. After all, why would God want Micah, above all others, to be my husband? He’s thirty-two, nearly double my age, and hasn’t shown any interest in me up until recently. Even then, I’d thought the arrangement was more about my parents pressing the man on the matter than it was about his desire to be my husband.
“Yes, it’s Micah,” my former intended greets me. There’s an awkward pause, before he adds, “How are you?”
That is quite a loaded question. The answer is more than just a bit complicated and not one I feel comfortable discussing with Micah, of all people.
“I’m well,” I answer shortly, defaulting to the stereotypical response out of habit.
“That’s good. I’ve been worried about you. I know what you’re going through must be…” he pauses, reaching for the right thing to say, but landing on the ever-cliche term, “hard.”
“I’m managing,” I answer diplomatically, more interested in why he’s calling than small talk.
“I’m sorry,” Micah unexpectedly states then, real sadness leaking into his voice. “I failed you, Aurora. I really did.”
Suddenly needing to sit down, I lower myself onto the couch. “Sorry about what?”
“About not stopping the Voltan from taking you to that sinful military base of theirs. I should have defied the draft and seen us wed before they ever had a chance to kidnap you.”
While I can understand his regret over how things ended between us, Micah is by no means responsible for what has happened to me. Nobody can stand up to the Voltan. They are far too powerful to fight, and Micah, despite what he may think, is no exception.
We all have made concessions where this new world order is concerned. I might have fought it in the beginning, but I’m not so keen to do it now. My life has improved significantly since I was drafted. And, when this is all over, I finally have a real chance of doing what I’ve always wanted to do: leave my small community behind and travel to places I’ve only ever dreamt about. Something that would never have been possible without the Voltan’s interference.
“You don’t have anything to be sorry about, Micah. Nothing that has happened to me was your fault. You couldn’t fight the Voltan. None of us could,” I reply in earnest.
Micah is quiet for a few seconds before adding, “I could have married you when you turned sixteen like your parents wanted. Unfortunately, one of the village elders was against it and denied my request. If I had married you then, none of this would have happened and your future wouldn’t be ruined today.”
Icy cold fingers of dread skitter down my spine at his disgusting words. I’d come so close to being trapped in a loveless marriage at sixteen, and I’d never even known it. That fact terrifies me far more than the Voltan ever have.
And what was that part about my future being “ruined”? Did Micah think my only value lay between my legs? I’m oscillating between disgust and anger so aggressively now, I’m not even sure what to say.
“It’s all going to be okay though,” Micah responds when I don’t reply. “Despite what those aliens have done to you, I’ll still find it in my heart to forgive and love you.”
