Page 37 of Auctioned Surrender

He places it on the counter and twirls another small forkful of pasta and brings it to my mouth slowly, watching me intently as he does. I tentatively take a bite, savoring the deliciously combined flavors of tomato, garlic, and Cajun spices.

Damian waits until I’ve swallowed before selecting a shrimp, and brings it to my lips. I place the tip of it in my mouth, tasting the delicacy and delighting in the way his eyes have begun to smolder. He alternates offering me a bite, giving me a sip of wine, and taking one for himself until the plate he’s prepared for the two of us is entirely gone.

He takes the dishes to the sink, opening the dishwasher beside him. “Can I do anything to help?” I ask, still relatively uncertain of what he wants, except clearly to have me half-naked in his kitchen.

Damian turns to me, and his eyes sparkle with delight. “You can go and sit on the couch and take a look at the documents on the coffee table. I’m interested in your thoughts, and of course, watching you while you do as I ask,” he says, as my cheeks heat with embarrassment.

“You want me to go read documents half-dressed?”

“I do, it would please me very much,” Damian says, and that deep voice sends tingles down my center and straight to my toes.

I nod and stand to do as he’s asked, trying not to look at the floor as I walk to the couch in the adjoining living room. The embers of the fire are still going, and the warmth has heated the soft leather of the couch. I settle onto it, feeling completely exposed and on display as the growing sense of anticipation spreads.

“Just take a look at the pictures on the table, and let me know if there are any other places you frequented or that mean something to you that I’ve missed.” The documents are all laid out and categorized. I gaze at each of them, one by one. Our family home, Aunt Jenny’s rental house, my school, and then pictures of me. After a while, I sense the heat of his gaze, and turn to find him watching me, his eyes smoldering with unhidden desire.

Damian walks toward me, sits on the couch, pulls me onto his lap, and wraps me with a blanket before reaching for another folder. “These aren’t going to be as nice to see, but I need to make sure we have as much information as possible,” he says, opening the folder to the first picture. It is of one of my captors, and I read the description of his last arrest record while Damian pulls me closer and adjusts the blanket around my shoulders.

“Anything you need me to know about him or any of the others in these pictures?” Damian asks, stroking my cheek.

While they may not have touched me, a protected virgin, I saw the way they looked at me and heard the stories from the other girls who weren’t so fortunate, and my stomach tightens with the memory.

“They’re evil, Damian. The way they looked at me, the way they hit and grabbed the other girls, in plain sight. They would have done that to me too, if I weren’t being labeled for the sale.”

Damian’s eyebrows raise. “Labeled.”

“You know, a virgin, so everyone knew that they couldn’t touch me. Layla said the boss was marketing me as a V-card baby, so no one touches or soils the product in any way. She told me I just had to hang out until the auction. The other girls didn’t seem to care too much for me, except for a few, but she was really nice. She sort of took me under her wing the first couple of days, and then she had me move in with her. I really should call her and let her know I’m okay.”

His eyes go dark, and I can almost feel the blood beating in his chest as his arm wraps around me, and he pulls me closer. “Nothing like that will ever happen to you again. You have my word, Bryanna, and you can call your friend when it’s safe to do that,” Damian says, kissing me on my forehead before pulling back to look me directly in the eyes.

“I was one of the lucky ones. They didn’t do the things to me that the other girls had to endure, but I was still so scared.” I don’t tell Damian, but the thought that my brother is one of those people, someone who wanted to sell me, is more than my tender heart can take. The tears I usually try to hide, but lately seem to have a mind of their own, begin to slide down my cheeks faster than I can blink them back or wipe them away.

“Let your tears fall, Bryanna,” Damian instructs, brushing his lips across my own as he continues to wipe the tears I miss, caressing my back until they begin to subside.

“I’m really sorry,” I sniff. “I must seem like a complete mess to you.”

He wipes the remaining remnants of tears from my cheeks and kisses my lips as I inhale his scent and nuzzle into his chest. “It’s completely natural after what you’ve been through. I’d be worried about you if you weren’t letting it out in some way.”

I nod, because I feel so much better after a little cry, just a way to vent and release some of the pent-up fear I’ve felt for the past few weeks, but now a new emotion is forming, an even stronger one. The brother who grew up with me, was raised side by side with me, and who I loved with all my heart is responsible for everything that I’ve gone through, and the anger toward him is building fierce and hot.

“You’re not in this alone anymore, Bryanna,” Damian says, bringing my attention back to him. “Don’t hide your emotions from me. You’ll share them with me so I can help you through it, understand?” he asks, tilting my chin up slightly.

Damian’s had this entire time to tell me about my brother, but hasn’t said a word. He plans to deal with my brother without me, but Damian doesn’t know who the person is who wanted to buy me and was planning to pay millions to take my virginity. If my brother is involved with that network, it may not be just me the next time. It may be my little niece, or even my nephew, if the price is right. My family will never be safe until he is out of the picture, leaving me no choice but to look him in the eye and lie straight to his face. “I understand, Damian.”

Chapter 27

Damian

I smile down at Bryanna, so beautiful and peaceful. She’s already starting to drift after her much-needed emotional release. I pick her up gently and carry her to my bed, place her on the mattress and cover her with a quilt. Her eyes open briefly, but then just as quickly as they opened they re-close as she begins to drift. All the emotions of the day are bound to be playing havoc with her, and I have no doubt she’ll sleep right through the night.

I lean down and kiss Bryanna’s lips, still salty from her tears. I inhale the fresh honey scent of her skin, and watch as her breathing becomes more regulated with sleep before I tear myself away from her to deal with the men in the pictures. The fuckers that even looked at her during her captivity have already been saved to memory. Just thinking about her situation makes my blood pound, and now we have the added complications of her brother to deal with.

I scoop the documents off the coffee table and head to the spare room, which will have to serve as an office of sorts for a couple days. I close the door before connecting with Murphy, who’s been running point on the intel team. “I couldn’t talk long earlier. What do you have on Bryanna’s brother and each of the men from the club?” He rattles off an in-depth explanation to goalong with the string of drug and extortion charges for each of the men.

I listen as Murphy runs through the details of those men and then flips over to a summary of Bryanna’s brother’s latest activities and whereabouts. As soon as he tells me that he’s working for one of the most notorious bike associations in the southwest, my antennae go up, because that particular gang, while well known for their product, is also rumored to draw the line at human trafficking. I do a quick search and cross-reference it with a couple of files Murphy has uploaded in the system, and settle on a recent image of Bryanna’s brother.

“You ready for more?” Murphy asks.

“What else you got?”

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