Page 30 of Auctioned to the Convicts
“Fuck! Sersie wouldn’t be in this position—wewouldn’t be in this position—if she hadn’t dragged him into this unit.”
“It’s done. Learn to live with it.”
“Why are you so forgiving all of a sudden?” Ren asked, not sure what it was about this woman that seemed to inspire such loyalty that Ky’Li would kill for her and Vaughn readily accepted being in a unit. The man hated the concept as much as Ren did.
“What do you want me to say, Ren? That I’m weak because I want her? Fine, I’m weak. I want her.”
“Then take her. Fuck her senseless. No one’s stopping you.” God, he really was a warped son-of-a-bitch. He’d lived among these animals too long, forgotten how civilized people behaved. . . thought.
He’d forgottenhowto care.
“No one will stop me? How’s that throat of yours feeling, Ren? Having a lot of pain right now? That’s a sign you’re still alive. I’m guessing Ky’Li went easy on you compared to what he could have done. Excuse me, would have done had she not intervened. You better figure out a different approach if you want her. Ky’Li won’t let anyone near her.”
Ren had wanted her from the moment he’d seen her on that dais, holding her head high even though she was clearly scared to death of being auctioned off. She hadn’t fallen apart. What’s more, she’d had the guts to challenge Griggs. And just now she’d saved Ren from Ky’Li. Shit, he didn’t deserve someone like her, but he wanted her.
“He’ll never let you—any of us—near her. You’re fooling yourself if you think otherwise,” Ren added.
Vaughn flashed a devious smile. “I know how to get around Ky’Li.”
Ren rubbed his neck again as he replayed everything in his mind. “We own her now. . . Weownher. . .” Own? People didn’townpeople.
“Once you accept the idea of being in this unit, I think you’ll be able to see her for who she is.”
“You don’t want to be in a unit any more than I do. You’re only giving in because you want her.”
Vaughn stared at Sersie laying on his bed, legs hanging over the side. “What’s so wrong with wanting her? What else do I have to look forward to here? Unlike you, I’m stuck here. If watching over Sersie and helping him make quota is the price I have to pay, then so be it.” Vaughn headed to the front door. “This can be something good, or at least better than what we had before.”
“Tell that to Sersie when he’s puking his guts out tomorrow and then battling a headache for the week after.”
“Give her a chance. She didn’t have a choice in the matter, no more than you did.”
“She had a choice. Four of them.”
“Just watch Sersie while I’m gone.” Vaughn shut the door behind him and disappeared into the night.
Ren dragged himself to the third bedroom, formerly his storage room, and sank down on the bottom bed. Through the thin walls, he listened to her sniffling, to the murmur of soft voices, to a closeness she shared with Ky’Li. He wanted that, and he had no clue how to get it. He only knew he’d fucked up tonight. He’d showed a side of himself he hadn’t known existed. . . And what’s worse, he’d scared her, losing any chance of ever getting to know her.
* * *
KY’LI
Ky’Li sat on the floor, with his back against the door. No one would enter. Thatkrikingengineer wouldn’t go near her. Ever.
“I need to speak with him,” Hannah said, wringing her hand as she knelt in front of him, trying to convince him that the engineer wouldn’t have harmed her.
“He assaulted you.”
“Renzel did no such thing,” she said even as she wiped her tears. “Not exactly.”
Ky’Li wanted to reach out and wipe her tears, but he wasn’t leaving this door. Not until all movement in the rest of the house ceased. He could hear Vaughn and that fucking engineer talking, though they’d lowered their voices. Sersie’s voice was louder, but his words were slurred. Perhaps the younger man was injured.
“He would use you. No better than Griggs.”
“This shouldn’t be this difficult,” she said as she sat down on the floor beside him.
He liked having her warm body pressed against his. It was a sign of trust that she sat so close. He rested his hand on her thigh. She didn’t shy away from him, like at the med-center. She’d let him touch her, and her body had wrapped around his cock. If only there hadn’t been a bedsheet between them, he would have taken her then and there, to complete his claim.
“Nothing about this situation is difficult. If he touches you, he’s dead. Simple.”
