Page 70 of Auctioned to the Convicts
“You’re ours to protect, however we see fit. And you’re not a whore. No one here in this unit sees you like that.”
“I have to go back to—”
“We talked at length, Hannah, about how to keep you safe, mentally as well as physically. There are stressors here. As you know, I haven’t exactly done well handling them. Neither has Ren. I’m not sure what Vaughn does to stay sane, but life here is not easy. Especially with Dresden in charge. I swear Dresden feeds off of our misery, screwing us every chance he gets.”
She lifted her eyes to him, the anger replaced by something more. Hope.
“You’re worried about me, Sersie? I mean really worried?”
The hell with it. He was tired of waiting, and Ky’Li wasn’t here to threaten him. If he didn’t make his feelings known to her now, he might never do so.
Sersie kissed her. She opened for him but didn’t kiss him back. He tasted his Hannah, enjoying the sweetness, the decadence of her. Her hand went to his hair, lightly scraping his scalp as she drew him closer. Move for move, she met his tongue, darting and dashing, teasing him, playing with him. He could feel the passion in her, and yet she seemed to be holding back.
She broke the kiss too soon. Her hands cupped his cheeks as she stared into his eyes, searching.
“Are you sure, Sersie? About this, about us? After what happened between me and Vaughn, Ky’Li’s wound rather tight. I’m not sure how he’ll react.”
“Am I sure? Are you fucking kidding me? I don’t give a shit about Ky’Li. This is between you and me, and honestly, I’ve wanted you since the day I saw you on that dais. I never dreamed you’d pick me. Maybe that was all lust, the fuck if I know, but I really do care about you, Hannah. It’s why I’m so fucking worried about you walking out that fence every day.”
“You used Flight because of me.”
“I used Flight because of me, not you. Get that into your head right now.”
She lowered her eyes until he nudged her chin up again.
“I didn’t mean to snap. It’s a sensitive topic.”
She traced the side of his cheek, down to this shirt. “Rissa,” she said. Hannah had come to know him, perhaps too well. He wouldn’t let what Rissa had done to him come between them.
He caught Hannah’s hand, kissed her palm and eased it away only to remove his shirt and toss it behind him. Her hand sifted through the hairs of his chest, coming to rest above his heart. Damn, her touch felt so good. There was nothing like skin to skin contact.
“Your heart is racing,” she said, her eyes betraying her worry.
“I’m clean. Haven’t even thought of using since that first night.”
“I’m sorry. I. . .” Her lips parted as if she wanted to say more.
That expression on her face, the concern he saw there floored him. Hannah was worth more than a thousand Rissa’s, and she didn’t even know it.
“Rissa got me hooked,” he started to explain. Hannah should know what happened, so she’d understand that his getting hooked was ultimately his own failing. If he ever used again, if he ever got weak enough to give in to The Company, to Flight, he didn’t want her blaming herself.
“She wanted me to work for Sumpter Corp. I didn’t know that until after she got me hooked. When I refused to leave The Company, she threatened to turn me in, ruin my reputation. Said I’d never work again. I didn’t believe her. I should have. Maybe if I had, I could have avoided ending up here. She did everything she threatened.”
Hannah’s eyes, wide and expressive, reflected the horror he’d lived. Sersie cupped her cheek. So soft, so precious.
“You should have gone to Sumpter,” Hannah whispered. “You don’t belong here.”
“Saying yes to Rissa wouldn’t have made a difference.”
“Why?”
How could he explain his short-sightedness? “I. . . I owed The Company. They paid for my education.”
“I don’t understand,” she said, as her hands moved over his biceps.
“Doesn’t matter now,” he said, hoping to change the subject.
She said nothing, simply continued to explore his chest.
