“Very good.” She smiles, bending at the waist. “I will return in two hours, then, to take you to Kaito-san.”
Two hours.I stand there, my mind clumsily trying to make sense of it all, as the woman leaves and I hear the door lock again. Two hours to decide how I’m going to respond when I’m taken to this Kaito, who must surely be a man, who is likely the one Harry intended me for.
I’d gone to the bar to offer myself up in payment for the debts, but I’d never imagined this. I realize, in a sickening rush, how naïve I’d truly been. I thought it would be enough to offer to entertain Harry’s guests, even Harry himself, but instead, I’d been sold. Trafficked. Drugged and shipped halfway across the world, for the pleasure of some Japanese billionaire.
I’m never going to see Georgie again.
5
NOELLE
Ibite my lip hard. I can’t think about that—if I do, I’ll go insane.When I meet this Kaito, I’ll plead my case to him.I know I have no reason to think he’ll care, but I have to cling to some semblance of hope.
Instead of thinking about the worst possible scenario, I focus on what I need to do now, which is bathe. I take the toiletries and line them up carefully on the edge of the wooden bath before I step up to the edge and slip into the clear, steaming water.
I let out a small gasp as the heat sinks into my skin, loosening my muscles and soothing me as I submerge myself to my neck. It smells fresh and herbal, and I notice a few sprigs of some kind of herb floating on the water, something I don’t recognize. It feels incredible, and a sense of guilt floods me that I could enjoy this even a little, when I’m so far from home.
I tried to fix things, and now Georgie is alone and likely terrified, wondering what happened to me. I close my eyes briefly, praying that he doesn’t do anything so heedless as go looking for the debtors to demand what’s happened to me. I did this to make him safe, and if Harry keeps his word, it should achieve that at least. I might be gone, but no one will hurt him if Harry considers the debt paid.
It’s a long shot, putting trust in a man who stripped me, drugged me, and shipped me halfway across the world, but it’s all I have. If I can’t believe that this was worth something, I’ll fall apart—especially when I know that whatever is about to happen to me has barely begun.
I stay in the bath as long as I can, washing with the woodsy-smelling soap and the citrus-scented shampoo. It’s all more luxurious than anything I could ever have imagined experiencing, from the open-air bath on a balcony overlooking a palatial view to the silky-feeling soaps and oils. I swim to the edge of the tub, peering over into the courtyard below. The peacocks are strutting around the gardens in the center of it, and I catch a glimpse of what looks like a fish pond. I see those black-suited figures everywhere—probably security, but I don’t pay too much attention to them. There’s no chance of my escape, I know that, and I’m not foolish enough to try, at least not yet. I need to know who this Kaito is, what he wants from me, and what he intends to do with me before I can even begin to come up with something close to a plan.
When I feel like it might be getting close to the time that the woman will be coming back for me, I finally slip out of the bath, reaching for the huge fluffy towel to dry off. I take the bottle of velvety lotion and spread it over every inch of my skin, unable to resist the temptation. A part of me wishes I’d been obstinate, shown up to meet Kaito unbathed and unscented in direct defiance of this horrifying tableau I’ve been shoved into. Still, deep down, I know there’s no point. Angering him won’t help my case, even if I still feel that stab of guilt for allowing myself any luxury here. I can’t deny that I feel like a new person after the luxurious hot bath and the expensive products that I’ve never experienced before. I tell myself that after what I’ve just endured, I deserve some small pleasure.
This isn’t your fault,I tell myself firmly.You couldn’t have known he’d do this.I can’t help feeling that I shouldn’t have gone stumbling headlong into the bar in an effort to fix it all, but at the same time, what choice did I have? They would have come for me eventually when they couldn’t wring any more blood out of Georgie without it turning into money.
I run a comb through my wet hair, shrugging on the silk robe and belting it. It comes down to my mid-thigh, shorter than I’d have liked considering that I have nothing on underneath it, but at least I’m finally covered.
And just in time. The door opens a few moments after I belt the robe, and the same woman steps inside, a hint of relief in her eyes that I’m bathed and dressed. It once again makes me wonder who else has been in this room, if they refused to cooperate, and what happened to them. A shiver runs down my spine at the thought, and I’m suddenly glad that I played along for now, even if it’s not the bravest choice.
“Come with me, please,” is all the woman says as she gestures to the door, and I follow her, the wooden floor cold against my bare soles as my heart trips over itself in my chest.
I’m led through what can only be described as a mansion, although I’m too unsettled and afraid to notice much about it. I try to take deep breaths, forcing down the panic that keeps threatening to creep up, but as the woman pushes open a set of mahogany and gilded doors, as if we’re walking into a throne room, I feel my hands starting to shake.
And then, as I step inside after her, I freeze in place at the scene in front of me, struggling to take it all in.
The room is tiled with gold-veined marble, and the walls hung with ornately patterned wallpaper and tapestries. The back of the room is a forest of potted plants and trees, framing a huge velvet chaise edged in gold, with a long marble and gold table in front of it holding a slate tray of various bite-sized foods, painted ceramic cups, and pitchers of what I’d guess are some kind of alcohol. A handful of women are milling around the room, all pale, dark-haired, slim, and beautiful, dressed in nothing but an assortment of gold chains draped over them. In the center of it all is the most stunningly gorgeous man I’ve ever seen, spread out languorously on the chaise. He’s wearing a long black silk robe opened halfway down his chest with gold designs embossed on it, an assortment of gold and black leather necklaces draped over his smooth skin, a few of them with gold and jade pendants attached. His long blonde hair drapes over his shoulders, and as I stare in shock, I realize that the two women kneeling next to the chaise, with gold chains strung through their pierced nipples, are playing with his long, hard, exposed cock.
And that’s not even the most shocking thing.
At the side of the room, lounging next to an assortment of plants like a housecat in the sunshine, is a fuckingtiger.
I can’t move, torn between terror at the giant cat, astonishment at the opulence of the room, and shock at the sight of the two beautiful women servicing this stunning man. To my everlasting shame, I feel a slight throb between my legs at the decadent display, a traitorous picture of myself joining them. Every single one of the women is pale, slim, and black-haired, just like me, and I’m suddenly very certain that this man is the one I’ve been sold to.
“Fuck, that’s so fucking good—” he groans, throwing his head back as his hips arch up, thrusting into the mouth of one of the women. His hand clutches at the side of the chaise. “Slow down,akachan. I don’t want to come yet—”
One of his eyes pops open suddenly, as if he’s registered the sound of us coming into the room, and his mouth twists. “What are you doing here?” he snaps, the words turning to a fresh groan as one of the women leaning over him starts to lap at the tip of his cock.
“Forgive me, Kaito-san,” the woman standing in front of me says quickly, bowing hurriedly at the waist. “You asked me to bring the new one here, so you could see her.”
The new one. I’d been right that there were others who had gone through what I had today. The women milling about this room probably did, every one of them, and my stomach clenches with apprehension at the thought of joining them, of serving this beautiful and unsettling man wearing nothing but chains.
“Ah, yes.” He sits up suddenly, dislodging the women, his cock still out as he spreads his legs. “Don’t stop,” he orders them, his hands fisting carelessly in their hair as he pulls them back towards his straining erection. “Don’t fucking stop until I tell you to.”
My stomach clenches again at the sound of his sharp, commanding tone, but not with arousal. This man is a thousand times more attractive than anyone in Harry’s gambling den, his mansion a thousand times more luxurious, and yet I feel more afraid here. I’d looked down on the men back there, seen them as beneath me, but I know this man could crush me as easily as a bug if I displeased him. Easier, even.
What if he just wants to feed me to the tiger?