Perfect Ruin (Unyielding #2)(35)
Raul chuckled. “Money keeps me safe and my business thriving. And we both know that whoever wanted her to disappear could’ve had her killed, but they paid a great deal of money to keep her alive. They wanted her to suffer.”
“And you heard I was looking to acquire a slave and thought I could be appeased.” I stiffened. Kai had been looking for a slave? No, that didn’t make sense. Kai would never be with a woman who was forced.
“Yes.”
“Let’s be honest here, Raul. You used her as a lure to get me to your fight.”
“You have many friends, Kai.”
“I wouldn’t call them friends,” Kai replied.
Raul laughed. “You are a fascinating man. Perhaps you would consider staying a few days?”
“No. I am a very busy man.” He gently urged me off his lap and I knelt on the unforgiving cement at his feet.
“A shame. Perhaps another time.”
Kai stroked my hair. “Mmm, yes. A shame.” There was something about the way he spoke that made me think he was angry. No, not angry. Furious. But Kai was an enigma and even after spending several nights with him, I didn’t know his true emotions except perhaps when he desired me. His hand stilled on my head. “This girl… Raven, who paid you to take her?”
Smoke drifted into my face as Raul held his cigar between his fingers on his lap. “Anonymous. But nothing to be concerned about as the transaction was clean. No ties. The girl belongs to me. You will have a taste of her tonight after the fight.”
“I do not taste, Raul. I f*ck and I f*ck girls who belong to me and I don’t do it publicly.”
Raul laughed and slammed his hand down on the table. I jumped at the clash of his glass as it tipped over.
“Then she belongs to you now. And I hope this will strengthen our relationship and perhaps we can do business in the future.”
Kai’s voice grated out, “I don’t believe our businesses have the same interests. But of course, I appreciate the gift and it will not be forgotten.”
I barely listened as I watched the cool liquid slip over the edge of the table and drip to the patio stones. I thought about licking it off the cement where it puddled in front of me. I even took the chance of shifting slightly forward on my knees until Kai’s foot slid out in front of me blocking my path. He rested his heel in the puddle and I dared a glance up at him.
He was already looking at me and his dark brows lowered over his narrowed eyes in warning. I cast my eyes down again, my shoulders slumping forward in defeat.
Kai’s chair abruptly pushed back and he stood. “I’ll leave directly after the fight. Have her ready.”
“No. No. You will come to the dinner party afterwards and meet Sculpt.” Raul’s tone hardened. “I insist. The girl will be brought to your table.”
“Fine,” Kai said and then walked away.
I WAS DRESSED in a sheer red bra with gold sparkles and thin, interlinked gold chains dangling from the underside. It didn’t cover my nipples and its purpose was solely to push my breasts up. I didn’t have much, but by wearing this it looked like I did. I had on matching panties minus the dangling chains. My discomfort sleeping without clothes had been obliterated the first month of my captivity. Or rather, my ability to be embarrassed had been obliterated. I was numb to everything.
Except Kai. He had awakened the hope that I’d escape this hell.
Alfonzo brought me to the dining hall an hour ago and I’d been kneeling on the floor beside a table before Kai strode into the room. Even with my eyes on the floor, I knew he walked toward me because, like always, when Kai entered a room, he owned it, even one filled with powerful criminals.
He sat in the chair beside me while he chatted with Jacob who had accompanied him. He had yet to touch me or acknowledge I was even there, and for a moment a wave of doubt flooded me. Maybe he wasn’t going to get me out of here. Maybe he’d changed his mind. Maybe I’d missed reading the signs he gave me this morning.
As if sensing my unease, his hand lowered onto the back of my neck and he gently squeezed before pulling away. I closed my eyes, shoulders sagging.
“Raven!”
I jerked as Jacob’s harsh voice shouted my name. Oh, God, I hadn’t been listening. I had no idea if he asked me to do something. Fear clamped down on me and I trembled, fingers digging into my thighs as I stayed frozen, uncertain what to do. I knew better. I’d been taught better. Always listen.
“Do what you’re told and please your new master.”
Kai’s hand pressed hard onto my shoulder, forcing me to stay in place. “As I told Raul, I do not publicly have sex. That includes having my cock in a girl’s mouth.”
There was a moment of silence before Jacob said, “She gives you trouble, let me know. We will exchange her for another. Enjoy your evening.” I caught a glimpse of Jacob’s white shoes as he turned and walked away.
I inhaled a deep breath of relief. Jacob told me the truth. He was my worst nightmare and there was no one I feared more. The man was psychotic and enjoyed watching pain and suffering.
Kai’s hand cupped my chin and he tilted my head so I met his eyes. They were soft and yet beneath there was swirling anger, but I knew it wasn’t directed at me. “Remember what I told you?”
My mind spun as I thought of our time together, before any of this. It seemed so long ago, almost as if it hadn’t happened. As if my life hadn’t happened before this place.