“Disappointing.”
“You don’t like her?” Raul’s voice was abrupt.
I tensed at his tone. Oh, God, no Kai. What was he doing? Raul would have me beaten if I didn’t please Kai.
“On the contrary. She is remarkable; however, I’m disappointed she’s not wet.”
Raul laughed, slapping his knee. “You demand too much. Slaves who get wet are difficult.”
Kai’s finger didn’t go inside me. Instead, he merely cupped me.
“Do you like me touching you?” Kai said, this time it wasn’t a whisper and I knew Raul heard.
I’d been trained to give the right answer even if it was a lie. “Yes, master.”
I heard him swear beneath his breath and his body stiffened. His breath wafted across my ear as he whispered so low that I barely heard the words. “Fuck, London.”
I sharply inhaled at the sound of my name. It had been months since I’d been called that. I was Raven now, but my real name passing his lips was like he’d given me a piece of home.
Tears welled and this time, I couldn’t stop one from slipping down my cheek. I quickly tilted my chin down further so Raul wouldn’t see it. I saw it drop onto Kai’s arm, soaking into his white dress shirt and leaving a round wet mark.
Kai withdrew his hand from me then reached for his drink. I had the urge to grab it from him and chug back the cool liquid, but his arm around my waist jerked as if in warning, like he knew exactly what I’d been considering.
I drew my eyes away from the frosted glass, but I heard him swallow the liquid and then he put it in front of my mouth. I parted my lips and he tipped the glass and the cold gin and tonic hit my parched mouth. It was like being handed heaven and it didn’t matter if I hated tonic and its bitterness. It was the best thing I’d ever tasted.
He causally set it back down on the patio table. “How did you acquire this one, Raul?”
“I was paid a great deal of money to take her, have her trained and advised to get rid of her as quickly as possible.”
“It’s been two months.”
“She’s been difficult.”
Kai chuckled and I felt the gin come back up. I quickly swallowed several times. “But they are usually worth the most.”
Raul laughed. “True. But I have potential trouble with my son and his slave. I prefer neat and tidy.”
“And yet you kidnap a high-profile girl.”
“I was paid four times her worth or any other slave’s in order to take her.”
“And you don’t find that peculiar, Raul. Paid to kidnap a girl?”
Raul chuckled. “Money keeps me safe and my business thriving. And we both know that whoever wanted her to disappear could’ve had her killed, but they paid a great deal of money to keep her alive. They wanted her to suffer.”
“And you heard I was looking to acquire a slave and thought I could be appeased.” I stiffened. Kai had been looking for a slave? No, that didn’t make sense. Kai would never be with a woman who was forced.
“Yes.”
“Let’s be honest here, Raul. You used her as a lure to get me to your fight.”
“You have many friends, Kai.”
“I wouldn’t call them friends,” Kai replied.
Raul laughed. “You are a fascinating man. Perhaps you would consider staying a few days?”
“No. I am a very busy man.” He gently urged me off his lap and I knelt on the unforgiving cement at his feet.
“A shame. Perhaps another time.”
Kai stroked my hair. “Mmm, yes. A shame.” There was something about the way he spoke that made me think he was angry. No, not angry. Furious. But Kai was an enigma and even after spending several nights with him, I didn’t know his true emotions except perhaps when he desired me. His hand stilled on my head. “This girl… Raven, who paid you to take her?”
Smoke drifted into my face as Raul held his cigar between his fingers on his lap. “Anonymous. But nothing to be concerned about as the transaction was clean. No ties. The girl belongs to me. You will have a taste of her tonight after the fight.”
“I do not taste, Raul. I fuck and I fuck girls who belong to me and I don’t do it publicly.”
Raul laughed and slammed his hand down on the table. I jumped at the clash of his glass as it tipped over.
“Then she belongs to you now. And I hope this will strengthen our relationship and perhaps we can do business in the future.”
Kai’s voice grated out, “I don’t believe our businesses have the same interests. But of course, I appreciate the gift and it will not be forgotten.”
I barely listened as I watched the cool liquid slip over the edge of the table and drip to the patio stones. I thought about licking it off the cement where it puddled in front of me. I even took the chance of shifting slightly forward on my knees until Kai’s foot slid out in front of me blocking my path. He rested his heel in the puddle and I dared a glance up at him.