Chapter 6
DORI
I lift the metal cuff and peek to see if my bracelet is still on. When I don't see it around my wrist, my heart sinks to the center of the earth. It’s gone. I have no way out of here.
“Now what?” I rest my head back against the cold brick wall.
“What do you mean?” the girl next to me asks.
“It’s nothing.” I take a minute to think.
The haze of the drugs is lifting, and now my nerves are firing off at odd times. One moment, I’m coherent and ready to take on my captors. The next, I’m stuck in a sea of quicksand that’s sure to take me under at any given moment.
I squeeze my eyes shut and try to focus on the survival techniques Aiden has taught me over the years.
Aiden. He only brings my attention to Jami.
I miss you so much. Feel my love for you. Feel our connection and find me.
I try to bring my hands to my face, but the heavy weight of the chains stops me.
Why would Hunter’s mom take me when I’m not involved with him anymore? None of this makes sense .
I force myself to hold in my tears. This is not a time to be weak. This is a time for all my strength.
I lean closer to the material wall where the girl next to me resides. “What’s your name?”
Her chains rattle. A moment later, she whispers, “Sasha.”
“Hi, Sasha. I’m Dori.”
“How old are you?”
“I’m twenty-six. My birthday is two months away.”
“You’re older than me.”
“How old are you?”
“Sixteen.”
Why the hell would these people want a sixteen-year-old girl, unless they want her for…?
The blood in my veins turns to ice. Reality hits me like a sharp knife slicing away at my soul. These guys are human traffickers.
Holy shit!
My heart pounds hard in my ribs, and my skin heats.
I need to get out of here.
I clamor to my feet and scan every inch of my confined space. My gaze comes to a hook bolted to the floor. The chains attached to the metal cuffs that bind my wrists connect to it. I rush over and tug, but I’m securely imprisoned by my restraints.
Heavy footsteps echo toward us. I back up against the wall. No one here is my advocate.
There’s a bit of movement in Sasha’s area.
“This is the best I could do,” a man says.
“Thank you.”
She’s talking to the guy whose accent changes. His footsteps come my way. The opening in the curtain flips, and he appears with something in his hands.
He steps closer. “It’s only a little water and some crackers, but it’s better than nothing. ”
I nod, fearing the worst. My eyes must give my suspicion away.
“Relax, Red. It’s not drugged. The water bottle is unopened, and so is the bag of crackers.” He places them at my feet.
I glance at them and then snap my gaze to his. “Why are you helping us?”
He grits his teeth. After a moment, he inches so close to me I can smell his woodsy cologne. “Like I said, Red. I’m not here to hurt you.”
“Then why are you here?”
His blue eyes penetrate mine. “Just trust me.”
“I will if you tell me your name.”
His shadowed gaze scrolls over my face. His eyes narrow in on me, analyzing me hard. A moment passes.
“Alexander.”
I shift to hide my tremble. “Alexander. That’s a nice name. Thanks.”
“Where are you from?”
“Denver.”
He needs to see I’ve given him some of my trust because he’s my only hope of getting out of here.
He side-eyes me. “Denver is far away. Why did they bring you here?”
“Where’s here?”
With that, he steps away. He shakes his head and begins to leave.
He looks over his shoulder at me. “I’ll be in the office with the guys for a while. You two should be safe for at least twenty minutes. Try to get some rest.”
He disappears through the dark-blue drapes that make up my walls. His heavy steps grow quieter the farther he gets from us. When the space is silent, Sasha tears into her bag.
She crunches on her crackers like she’s starving. Maybe she is .
I kick my package to her under the material that separates us. “You can have mine. The drugs they gave me are still making me sick.”
Her fingers come into view as she snatches them off the ground, and they disappear. “Thanks.”
“Of course.” I take the bottle of water and twist the lid off. “Thank the heavens above.”
I gulp it down in three swallows. My stomach cramps, and I pray I don’t vomit. I’m already dehydrated as it is.
I lie down on my back and stare at the ceiling while trying to figure out a way out of this situation. Jami must have everyone he can think of looking for me. I know him. He’s got to be going out of his mind not knowing where I am.
My thoughts twist in confusion. Why were Isabella and Hunter’s mom together? What do they want from me? Nothing about this makes sense.
I can only hope Aiden has put aside his grievances with Jami and me and is helping him figure out where I am.
A wave of heaviness hits me. I close my eyes and rest my arm over them to keep the light out. I drift away to a more desirable place.
Jami stands before me, naked and staring at me in wonder. We’re in his bathroom after I just helped him shower and clean his wound.
“Why are you looking at me that way?” I saunter over to him and cup his hard length in my hand. “I thought you were always about teaching me a lesson.”
He grabs me by the wrists and grips them tight in his palms. He steps to me as he wraps his arms around my waist, taking my arms behind my back.
“You always want to test me, Dori.”
I tilt my head and smile. “I thought you liked a challenge.”
He releases a sexy laugh deep from his chest. “Ah, my sweet temptress. What am I going to do with you?”
I shrug a shoulder to my ear. “I have a few ideas.”
He leans forward and nips at my lips. “Is that what you want? ”
“I don’t know what you mean.” I capture his bottom lip between my teeth and bite down.
Not enough to hurt him, just enough to let him know I, too, can be in charge.
His eyes flame with unbridled passion. He slowly pulls away and lets go of my arms. I release his lip, returning his control.
He backs up. “I’m at a loss with you. One minute, I think you know what this is all about. The next, I’m dumbfounded.”
“What is this about, stud?”
“That right there is exactly what I’m talking about.” He whirls me around and slaps my ass.
Before I can respond, he presses his hand against the center of my back and bends me over the bathroom counter. He thrusts into me unexpectedly.
“Jami.” I gasp. “Fuck.”
“That’s what I intend to do, temptress.” He grabs my hair into his fist and yanks my head back. “Take me like the good little girl you are.”
My insides wrench down, and wetness spills from between my legs. I grunt in satisfaction. I don’t care how rough he is with me. He would never hurt me, and I trust him with every cell in my body.
The skin on my neck strains with Jami’s tugs of my hair.
I moan, and my nipples steeple. “Just like that, stud.”
“You’re a naughty one. Aren’t you?” He smacks my ass again.
I laugh. “Yes. And you like me this way.”
He releases my hair and drives deep into me. Our gazes meet in the reflection of the mirror.
He bows over my back and whispers in my ear as he stares into my eyes, “I love you this way. Don’t think otherwise.”
“Then don’t stop. Give it to me harder.”
“Because I love you so much, I’ll give you exactly what you’re begging me for.” He stands upright and plows in and out of me.
Our eyes stay connected as passion and love mix. We belong together. Not only are we friends, but we’re intense lovers.
His hard cock slides against my walls, stretching me like no other. I tighten around his shaft. I know I can milk him dry if I hold my squeeze long enough. This is my secret weapon. I can pulse around him and take him out of this world.
“Fuck, temptress. You were tight before you took me in a mind-bending grip.” He groans and slams into me harder. “I don’t want to come yet. Let up, Dori.”
It sounds like he’s begging, so I give up a little tension. “Better?”
“Yes… No… Fuck, I’m coming.” With that, he folds over me as I squeeze his dick in rhythmic waves of pleasure.
His cum jets into me, and he groans. He takes a moment to come down from his high.
“Jesus Christ, Dori. I’m forever at your mercy.”
“I thought you were the one in charge?”
“Who am I kidding? I surrender. You own me.” He kisses between my shoulder blades. “You didn’t come, so we’re not done. I can stay hard.”
He rocks back and forth, invading my folds as he reaches around and rubs my clit. “I’ve never had a woman do this to me.”
“What’s that?” I breathe.
“Make me lose all my willpower.” He slides in and out at a slower speed.
“Why do you think that is?”
“I know why that is.” He bends over me and brings my back flush against him. “Kiss me.”
I turn my head and give him what he wants as he circles two of his fingers over my clit. Heat pools in my lower abdomen as currents of pleasure flow. He groans into my mouth, which pulls out a moan from me. I want him like this for the rest of my life.
After a few strokes, he breaks away from our kiss. “I love you, Dori. I will beyond the years I live.”
His declaration and another swipe of his fingers over my sensitive bud have me shaking and squeezing my eyes shut.
Tingling sensations burst down my legs and up my spine. “Oh god, Jami! I’m coming.”
He doesn’t slow his pace. He just waits for me to ride it out. When I can’t take any more, I remove his hand and quiver. That tells him I’m too sensitive.
I find his loving gaze in the mirror. “I’m forever yours, Jamison Stone.”
“And I’m forever yours.”
We join in a meaningful kiss. Our tongues caress one another with a gentleness that only two people committed to each other for life and eternity can share. My heart blows up and encapsulates us, taking us into the heavens above.
Jamison Stone is the love of my life. More than that. He’s my eternal love.
Eternal.
It’s now I understand why Jami gave his son the name Aricin. His name actually means the son of the eternal king, but that’s not why Jami gave him that name.
It’s because he has an undying love for him. Eternal love. It’s something you don’t understand until you feel it in your soul. And I undoubtedly have that with Jami.
We’re eternally connected. I’m forever in love with him, and nothing can take that away from us. That realization is so profound that tears leak from my eyes.
“Your name is not Red.”
The stern tone rips me from my solace, and I jerk. My eyes pop open. Alexander is kneeling and peering at me.
I scoot back, pushing up as I do. “Why do you say that?”
“Because I just got out of a meeting. There are two women here waiting for your brother to give in to their demands. If he doesn’t, you’re being sold off tomorrow.”
“What?”
Alexander’s blue eyes grow dark. “If you want a sliver of a chance to get out of here and back with the ones you love, you best come clean with me.”
“Xander, what the fuck are you doing?” The guy from earlier with the light-brown hair stands in the split of the drapes at the front of my room .
Xander?
He rises to his feet, facing the man.
In his strange foreign accent that I can’t place, he says, “She needs to use the restroom. I was suspicious of her reason and told her she needed to be straight with me. If she pulls any funny business, she can kiss her loved ones goodbye.”
The lighter-haired guy peeks around Alex… Xander… It doesn’t matter. The fact remains, the man who seems to be running this place is glaring down at me.
He strides to the side of my bed and sinks into a crouching position. “So you think you’re smarter than anyone here. Is that the case…Dori?”
Chills scatter over my skin. They know who I am.
My brain scrambles for some control. “No. I don’t know why you think that.”
“Because I’ve been told you don’t respond well to orders.”
“Mort, back off. You need her well.” Alexander nudges his shoulder. “Let me take her to the restroom, and you can figure out what we need to do until tomorrow.”
This Mort guy turns his head up in Alexander’s direction as he rises. “Don’t tell me what to do.”
“I wasn’t. I just know we need her untouched and with no marks left on her. If you get started, there’s no saying what will happen. If her brother doesn’t come through, she’s all yours before the auction.”
Mort nods as he whistles through his teeth. “Here’s hoping her brother lets her down.”
“Exactly.” Xander holds his evil stare. “I won’t touch her. You have my word.”
Mort looks down at me with something sinister in his eyes. “And if things go well for us, I’ll even share her with you. Imagine her taking us both at the same time. She’ll squeal like a banshee gone mad.”
My stomach rolls. Aiden better not let me down. I don’t know what Hunter’s mom is asking for, but Aiden better give in to her demands. Otherwise, it sounds as if I’ll end up a stuffed pawn for Mort right before I get sold to the highest bidder.
The only thing I might have going for me is I’m older than most girls in a sex trafficking auction. At least I think I am.
Mort slaps Xander on the shoulder. “If things go my way, we’ll take her at the same time. It’ll be your final initiation. After that, you can meet the buyers and start running the auctions yourself. I told you the wait would be worth your while.”
Mort strolls out of the room.
Xander doesn’t move until Mort’s gone. Once he’s out of the area, Xander flicks his gaze to me.
“I’m taking you to the restroom.” He gets on his knees and sticks a key into the lock of my chains that’s bolted to the floor.
He picks them up and slips through the drapes, pulling my restraints and dragging me along.
I rush to his side. “Xander, you can’t let them sell me off.”
“I’m not in control here, and if you can’t be honest with me, you’re out of luck with any help I can be to you.” He veers off to the side and pushes a door.
It swings open to a bathroom with a toilet and an open shower. Mold and grime cover the room.
I visibly shudder. “What do you expect me to do in here?”
“Take a piss if you need, but while you’re at it, you need to tell me more about your FBI brother.”
I’ve been trained not to discuss Aiden’s position, so I deflect. “I can’t pee with you in here.”
“You best get over that.” Xander growls and steps toward me. “I can’t help you if you don’t talk.”
“And I can’t talk if you don’t help me.”
His face bunches up, and he shakes his head in confusion. “What the fuck does that mean?”
My heart rate speeds up. “It means I need my bracelet back.”