We turned in unison to face Jess again, catching her off guard.
“So, who’s buying my kidney?” she said, a very nervous smileon her face. She had no idea how close she was to the truth. But it wasn’t random organs we were interested in.
It was the whole package.
19
Jessica
“You’re serious? You want me to pay you by…what…having sex with you?”
The completely serious expressions I received in response told me I’d gotten it right. We were seated in their kitchen at a round wooden table with mismatched chairs. Glasses of cold water were placed between us. They’d left the back and front doors propped open, allowing the dogs to wander in and out while a blessedly cool breeze swept through the house.
Vincent had joined us, or rather, we’d joined him. He’d already been at the table when we came in, groggily consuming a bowl of Fruity Pebbles cereal.
He looked significantly more awake once I asked my question.
“It’s notallabout sex,” Manson said. He was looking at me with single-minded focus, as if no one else in the room existed. “It’s about submitting. No more running, no more teasing, no more bullshit. You give us what we want, we give you what you need. You’re ours until your debt is paid, simple as that.”
I shook my head in disbelief. “I’myours? Please. This sounds like the plot for a bad porno. Which one of you is playing my stepbrother and where’s a washing machine I can get stuck in?”
“You can call me big bro,” Vincent said, winking at me as Jason rolled his eyes. Jason was sitting closest to me, and in myperipheral vision, I could see him watching me, bright blue eyes unnervingly focused.
What was he looking for when he stared like that? Weakness, fear, excitement? He was too observant, and it made me feel like I was under a microscope.
“We’re not made of money, Miss Martin,” Lucas said. He was sprawled in his chair, one arm slung over the back. His body language said “boredom”, but his expression was far too hard for that to be true. “Frankly, it’s pretty damn generous of us to offer this. These special funds of yours can’t pay the rent.”
“Obviously there will be boundaries.” Manson was having none of the banter. He was all business, elbows on the table as he leaned toward me, my outrageous invoice sitting in front of him. But there was a gleam in his eyes, tension in his stance. He was thoroughly enjoying this. “Your safeword ends anything and everything. If you agree to the deal, we can start working on the car. We have to wait for parts to come in, shipping an engine takes time. I’d say we’ll have it fixed in five, maybe six weeks. In the meantime, you’ll be paying off your debt.”
“By doing what exactly?” I said. “Being your on-call Fleshlight?”
“If that’s how you would prefer to think of it.” Manson wasn’t giving an inch and I hated it. This calm, perfectly controlled side of him made me irrationally frustrated.
“You’ll be doing whatever pops into our sick heads,” Jason said. “We can’t give you a schedule ahead of time, princess. We’re busy, you know. But if you’re walking around town and one of us happens to snatch you up, you’d better be ready for it.”
“Free use,” Lucas said. “Whenever and wherever we want.”
My insides tightened, squeezing like there was a band low in my belly. It was a scenario that sounded good in fantasy — so damn good. But actually following through with it? Submitting myself to them, using sex as payment? Letting them fuck mewhenever and wherever they wanted? That wasn’t exactly subtle. It wasn’t easy to hide.
If I’d thought one night as Manson’s slave was wild, then I couldn’t even imagine what something like this would mean for me.
My palms were sweating. My mouth was too dry, and I paused to take a long drink of the water. It seared a cold trail down my throat, and I shivered as I set the glass down.
“It’s your choice, Jess,” Manson said. “You have options here.”
Yeah. He kept reminding me of that, dangling it in front of my face like hehopedI’d choose something else. But I knew better than that. Manson wanted me to agree just as much as the rest of them, but he wanted me tochoose. He didn’t want me to relent out of desperation.
He wanted me to acknowledge that I wanted it too, even if I didn’t fully understand why.
I could go somewhere else. Another shop, another mechanic. I could ask my parents for money and they’d give it — but I also didn’t want to deal with my mom holding it over my head, and I knew she would.
In a few months, I didn’t plan on being in Wickeston anymore. I planned to have a career, to move somewhere better than this. Somewhere nobody knew me, where there were no expectations and no grudges. Somewhere I could start over.
Until then, maybe…maybe I could indulge myself.
“Fine,” I said. I folded my arms, smiling smugly when they all looked at me in surprise. “What? Did you think I’d chicken out?”
“I knew you’d agree,” Jason said. “You never could back down from a challenge.”