The men looked just as frightening.
I reached the bottom of the staircase and came to his side, being obedient for the first time.
He smiled when he looked me up and down, appreciating what Francine had done with me. She started with nothing and made me into someone who wasn’t repulsive. He took my hand, and for the first time ever, he brought it to his lips and kissed my knuckles.
I still wanted to throw up.
“Let me introduce you to my friends.” He pulled out the chair next to his and helped me sit down.
I didn’t know he had such manners.
“This is Alfonso, Ricardo, Jermaine, and Simon.”
Each man bowed his head in recognition when he was introduced.
“You may address her as Slave.” Bones poured me a glass of wine. “Because that’s exactly what she is.”
My face blanched when I understood what he said. He introduced me as a slave, which meant these men knew exactly what I was. They didn’t care that I was kidnapped. They didn’t care that my life had been taken away from me. They didn’t even blink when they heard what Bones said.
Was this the kind of world I lived in?
“Slave just joined me a month ago,” Bones said. “She’s adjusted quite nicely. She’s fierce and combative. It’s the first time I’ve ever seen a slave with a backbone. That’s how I knew I had to have her.”
Alfonso sat across from me, and he took a long drink of his whiskey as he stared me down. He eye-fucked me just the way that man on the ship did—just before I broke his dick.
“She actually killed one of the men who captured her,” he said proudly. “Stole a gun then shot him in the stomach.”
Ricardo nodded, impressed. “She’s got a fight in her.”
There was a knife beside my plate. It wasn’t a steak knife, but it still had a serrated edge. I could stab one of them in the jugular and make him bleed out and die. Of course, Bones would be my first victim. But the other men were bound to have guns, and they would take me out instantly.
“She’s a beautiful gift,” Simon said. “We appreciate it.”
“That’s how we do business, boys.” Bones raised his glass in a salute then drank.
A beautiful gift? What the hell did that mean?
A waiter brought out our dishes and placed them in front of each of us. It was tender veal with rice and vegetables. I didn’t care for veal, but I didn’t have a choice but to eat it. If I didn’t, I’d get slapped.
I couldn’t stop thinking about what he said. I was a gift. Did he intend to share me for the night? The idea was even more repulsive than being with Bones alone. These men didn’t have limits. They could use me until I was barely functioning because they got to leave right afterward.
But would Bones buy me for three million dollars then share me?
“You’ll service them just the way you service me.” He pushed the glass of wine closer to me, demanding I take a drink.
Now it was confirmed. “If any of these men touch me, I’ll bite their body parts off.”
Bones didn’t take my threat seriously. In fact, he laughed. “That’s sweet. She doesn’t want to be with anyone else but me.”
All the men laughed together.
This was anything but funny.
“I’m serious,” I snapped. “Touch me and I’ll kill you.”
“Since you’re going to be hanging from the ceiling, I’d like to see you try,” Alfonso warned.
I stared at his deep brown eyes and felt sick to my stomach. It was the cargo ship all over again. I wasn’t just going to be raped by one man but four more. I turned back to Bones, hating him more than I already did. “You spent a lot of money on me just to loan me out. Not a very good investment.”
“My slaves only last for a few years.” He said it so simply, like we were discussing his upcoming vacation plans. “They usually die from internal injury or illness.”
My hand went for the knife at lightning speed. I didn’t care if I died tonight. I’d rather die from a gunshot to my head than a hernia.
Bones snatched my wrist like he’d been expecting me to do that. “What a shame. I thought you were learning.” He didn’t let go of my wrist. He kept it in his grasp, silently threatening me.
The anticipation was worse than the pain itself.
With brutality, he twisted it, causing my eyes to water from the pain. I leaned over the table, trying not to scream as he sprained my wrist with a flick of his own. “You’ll suck their cocks until your lips are red and puckered. You’ll be fucked in your ass as well as your cunt. And you’ll be beaten to within an inch of your life. So enjoy your dinner while you still can.” He released my wrist with a forceful shove, pushing me back into the chair.