27. Dax #2
Nyah turned away, though not before I caught a glimpse of the tears welling in her eyes.
I wanted to drown the old man in the pool.
He’d fucking touched her? Forced himself between her legs, under the guise of checking she was a virgin?
What the fuck kind of historic bullshit was that?
Clearly one he wasn’t medically trained in, since I knew for a fact Nyah was no virgin and wouldn’t have passed whatever test he’d inflicted on her if he had any real medical training.
He’d just wanted to prove he owned her. He was doing it again now, degrading her in front of everyone.
And there was nothing I could do about it. Carlos’s men surrounded us. Even though I couldn’t see the weapons, I knew they were there. Gunmetal glinting beneath suit jackets. Knives sharp in holders beneath suit pants.
I knew enough of this world to know I couldn’t trust a soul here, especially not the man in front of me.
“Good for you,” I choked out. It was all I could manage.
Carlos nodded, drawing Nyah close to him again. “Let’s get you a woman, shall we, Dax?”
“I—”
He didn’t wait for an answer. He spotted someone through the crowd and strode toward her.
Leaving me alone with Nyah for the briefest of moments.
Ones I wasn’t going to take for granted.
I dropped my voice to a whisper only she would hear. “I can’t stand the way he touches you.” I brushed my hand across the back of hers.
To my surprise though, she jerked away from me. Her pretty brown eyes focused on me. “He’s about to become my husband. He can touch me any way he wants.”
Anger rose in me so swiftly it took everything in my power not to grab her by the arms and demand she take every word back.
Maybe she was only saying for fear the gossipers around us would report back to Carlos.
“Your body is yours.”
She stared at me. “It’s his. I’m his. That’s all there is to this, Dax.”
She took a step away and plastered a smile on her face as Carlos returned with a woman on his arm.
She couldn’t have been more than twenty, fake tits so round there was no mistaking them for silicone, her dress so short that if she’d bent over, I would have known instantly if she was wearing underwear.
I would have put money on it that she wasn’t.
Like Carlos knew Nyah was trying to escape, he caught her arm with his free hand, keeping her there so she heard every word when he introduced the woman to me. “Sindy, this is my new fighter, Dax King.”
Nyah’s head snapped up in surprise at the news I was now Carlos’s property, just as much as she was.
A petty part of me hoped it hurt her as much as it hurt me to see her chained to him.
I forced my gaze onto Sindy and mumbled a greeting.
Carlos offered her hand to me. “I take care of my men. She’s yours for tonight, or for as long as you want her.”
I shook my head instantly, not taking the woman’s hand. “I don’t need a woman from you. All I want is my money.”
And Nyah. But I couldn’t say that.
Carlos frowned. “Do you not think her beautiful? Those tits...”
“Not a tit man.”
Which was the truth. Nyah’s half a handful had been perfect in my opinion.
Carlos nodded thoughtfully. “Name a woman here. She’s yours.”
I laughed, but it was completely uncomfortable. “I think some of these women are married.”
Carlos waved his hand around, dismissing the objection. “That doesn’t matter. If I tell them to sleep with you, they will. Their husbands will not object.”
Nyah stared down at the ground.
I choked out a cough. “Are you joking?”
Carlos only eyed me with unflinching conviction. “Do I look like a man who jokes, Dax? Name the woman you want. She’s yours.” He stroked Nyah’s dark hair. “Except for this one. Of course. I don’t share.”
“Of course,” I mumbled.
“Choose, Dax. Unless…” His eyes narrowed. “Unless you’re a faggot?”
I recoiled at the slur I hadn’t heard since I was a kid.
Carlos’s expression hardened further. “Is that the real reason you never fucked my fiancée, Dax? Because you like cock in your ass more than your dick in warm, wet pussy?”
Out of the corner of my eye, I caught sight of Luca. He gave me a very subtle shake of his head.
“No,” I said stiffly. “I like women.”
Carlos cocked his head. “I’m not sure I believe you, Dax. I think you might be one of those gays. I won’t have a gay working for me or in my house. It’s unnatural.”
Oh, this guy was a piece of work. But the men around him all stared at me, like they were waiting for my answer as well. And if I answered wrong, I wouldn’t be walking out of here, at least not as upright as I had on the way in.
I took Sindy’s hand and forced myself to face her. “It’s nice to meet you.”
Carlos gave a sharp nod, his tight expression smoothing out now I’d done what he’d wanted and given in.
“I think you’re going to become a tit man tonight, Dax.
There’s a room prepared for you upstairs.
I treat my fighters well. Sindy is just a small treat, and there’s more where that came from.
Enjoy. Fuck her well. Sleep. Tomorrow you’ll show us how you fight. ”
Sindy tugged me toward the house. “I know which room it is. Don’t worry.”
With one final look at Nyah, who wouldn’t meet my eye, I followed Sindy into the house, up the stairs, and into a darkened bedroom.