A Beautiful Prison (5 page)

“You must be quiet or we will both be in trouble.” The young woman had a thick accent, maybe from South America. She ran the brush through her hair once more. Ruby looked at the table where make-up and brushes were laid out. Before she could say anything else to the woman, plead with her female-to-female, she was hauled out of the chair and pushed out of the room with everyone else. Ruby’s heart pounded hard and fast, and beads of perspiration started to dot her forehead. They had bound her hands once more after her shower, and the rope dug into her flesh. She was led toward a different door at the end of a long hallway, and when it was opened she saw that it was dark outside. A cool breeze whistled by, moving the tendrils of her hair from her shoulder, and sending chills through her body.

A dark limo sat a few feet away, and a wave of déja vu slammed into her. Was the man that bought her the same one that she had seen on the bus and then watched get into the limo back in Fort Hampton? That didn’t seem very likely since he could have just taken her without having to go through all of this trouble.

An older man climbed out of the driver’s side and walked around to open the back passenger door. He didn’t speak, didn’t even look at her. She was led forward again, but she was scared beyond belief at what was inside the dark confines of that vehicle. She couldn’t see anything aside from a pair of legs encased in what looked like a suit, and black, shiny dress shoes. Ruby’s tongue was so thick she thought she would choke on it. And every step she took felt like she was meeting an executioner. She started struggling once more, and although she knew it wouldn’t make any difference now, and that she still had the fogginess of the drugs in her system, she couldn’t do this willingly.

“Please, God,
please
let me go.” She tugged and pulled at the two men holding onto her arms, heard their grunts as they struggled with her, and although there was no way she could overpower them, she tried. But everything inside of her stilled when a hand slowly emerged from the interior of the car, palm up, and fingers curling inward like he was trying to coax her forward. That small moment of stunned fear at seeing that masculine hand with those long, strong-looking fingers seeming to reach for her, was enough of a gateway for her captors to pull her all the way forward and push her into the limo. The door slammed shut behind her and she scrambled off the ground and onto the seat. Pushing herself against the side of the car, she heard the locks engage and stared with horror at the man seated right across from her.

He wore a dark, expensive three-piece suit. The small part of the shirt underneath was a stark white and the tie a light blue—the same color as his cold, bottomless eyes. He was tall and very muscular, and that strength wasn’t hidden behind the material of his clothing. With his long, muscular limbs, Ruby had no doubt he could crush her with little thought. Suddenly she couldn’t breathe as the air inside of the vehicle grew warmer, and the scent of his spicy, intoxicating cologne filled her head.

“Breathe.” She snapped her eyes up to his face when he spoke. His voice was a deep timbre, and that one word held a lot of power. She sucked in lungful after lungful of oxygen, and a sardonic smile covered his face, as if he was pleased that she had listened with no fight. “Tell me your name.” She shook her head, her throat closed, and she started to shake uncontrollably. “Relax, darling.” He smiled, and she was sure he had used that on countless people to make them do his bidding, but to her he just looked like a predator. She didn’t want to show this reaction in front of him, but she couldn’t help it. Maybe she was in shock? Yes, that had to be it, because if this didn’t throw someone into a state of shock she didn’t know what would. Instead, she tried to gain control of herself. Licking her lips only had him looking down at her mouth and watching the act.

“Where are you taking me?” The car started to move and Ruby brought her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them.

“To your new home.” A chill froze her as she heard those words leave his perfect mouth. The devil took on a very beautiful form, but underneath he was still a horrible, evil creature. He watched her silently after that, with the corner of his mouth slightly turned up. No doubt he enjoyed her discomfort and fear.

His dark hair was short and perfectly styled. There wasn’t a hair out of place, or a stitch of his perfectly tailored suit disheveled. This was a man in control, and one that held a lot of power. She didn’t want to look at him, didn’t want to see that the monster that had bought her was a beautiful demon. Her shitty life back with her mother in that rundown trailer didn’t look so bad right now, even though wealth surrounded her, and the man that “owned” her was stunningly handsome. She looked away, buried her face against her knees, and prayed to whoever might be listening that she would wake up and this would all be one horrifying, screwed-up nightmare.

*     *     *

Gavin watched her
look around the foyer of his home—of
her
new home. The limo ride from where the auction had been held had been a long three-hour ride. Then they had taken his private jet to his European estate in the countryside. It was isolated, with the nearest town hours away. It was the perfect place to keep his new purchase, especially since he knew she would be trying to run.

“You like your new home?” He stayed by the door and watched her. Her feet were bare, and she still wore that God-awful shift, but he’d remedy that soon enough. She looked over at him but didn’t respond. In fact, she hadn’t said one word since she had asked where they were going. Her fear was understandable, and he didn’t expect her to bend to his will instantly, but she would sooner or later. Gavin might be a patient man in some respects, but when it concerned this brunette, his property, he had many deliciously twisted things he wanted to do to her, and he wouldn’t wait forever to experience them.

She wrapped her arms around her middle and turned to face him completely. “This isn’t my home.” He smiled, but he was grappling for control right now. The fact that she hadn’t uttered more than a few words to him on this very long journey to his estate in Europe, not even when he had tried to get her to open up to him on their plane ride, had annoyed him as much as it tempted the monster inside of him to make her tell him everything about herself.

Of course he wasn’t talking about a literal monster inside of him, but there were many days when he felt as though the evil and darkness that he tried to control were stronger than he was. Purchasing her had been a very good idea, but also a very bad idea. He regretted nothing, though, and his actions were always calculated.

“Princess, this is the only home you will ever know from this point forward.” He heard her swallow, saw her throat move up and down from the act, and saw the slight tremble in her body.

“Do you plan on hurting me? Will you rape me?” She started crying, and his dick punched forward. He was a sick, sadistic bastard for deriving pleasure from her clear pain, but he’d teach her that with pain came pleasure. The end result would be a coupling to rival all others, and one that could never be broken. Because for him, this female was his in any way he wanted.

He didn’t move, didn’t try to hide his arousal from her, and when he saw her look at his crotch and her eyes widen, he was satisfied that she was clearly frightened by the sight. He was a big man…all over.

“Please.”

His heart pounded faster at that one word, and in his mind he could picture her on her knees, her tears falling fast as she looked up at him and begged him to stop, but then would plead for him to continue.

“Say it again.” His words came out as a low and harsh, and she took a step back.

“W-What?”

He took a step forward. “Say that word again.”

The pulse at the base of her neck beat frantically, and she swallowed again. “
Please
.”

It took a lot of self-control on his part not to go to her, rip off her clothes, and fuck her right there on the stairs, but there would be plenty of time for that. He might be a bastard, but he wasn’t a savage. She needed to bathe and eat, and he was sure she was exhausted. Of course she would have a slew of questions, and he had answers, whether she liked them or not.

*     *     *

This man, whose
name she didn’t even know, had led her up the spiraling staircase, down a short ornate hallway, and gestured for her to enter a room. Ruby had never been this frightened in her life, not even when one of her mother’s boyfriends had come into her room late one night and tried to touch her. After a swift kick to his balls she had vowed to never be a victim again. But clearly she had broken her own promise to herself at the first major disaster in her life. She shouldn’t have left, and should have just lived the life she had been dealt. Maybe she was being punished? She had never been an overly religious person, but she liked to believe in heaven and hell, and thought that with evil there was always good. Had she done something wrong? She had stolen some nail polish from a convenience store when she was thirteen because her mom refused to buy it for her. Maybe this was karma making its way around all these years later? Although she certainly wouldn’t have considered that a life-changing sin, maybe that was all it took for someone to learn their lesson.

She stepped into the opulent room, and was struck by the beauty of it right away. The shades were a soft silvery color and light blue. The rest of the room was made up of lace accents and dainty furniture. The trip to get to this massive home had been long, and she couldn’t deny that she was happy to finally be on solid ground. She had no clue where she was, but she had seen the vast ocean below them from the jet, and knew wherever she was, it was far away from where she’d started. But they hadn’t landed at an airport, and there hadn’t been any kind of security asking them for legal documentation to get into the country. In fact, the plane had landed in a hanger, and then a car had brought them to this place just a few minutes away. But Ruby had been on alert to her surroundings, and to her utter disappointment she had only seen miles and miles of land as far as she could see.

“You’ll clean up and dress for dinner.” She turned and looked at him, but fear closed off her throat and swelled her tongue. At that moment she couldn’t have responded even if he had asked her something directly. She didn’t know what he had planned, but it seemed she had the rest of her life to figure it out. Whatever this evil bastard was going to do to her would surely not be something that she would ever want. He was holding her prisoner, keeping her here to probably be his little sex slave. Why else would a man have to purchase a woman? But he was gorgeous in his own right. Why would he need to resort to buying someone that had been kidnapped? But all she had to do to feel the darkness in him was look in his blue eyes. They almost seemed void of life, and she had glimpsed another presence within him. She had a sickening realization that this was only the very beautiful surface of a monster.

She didn’t say anything, just stared at him. He had a very stoic expression but she wasn’t fooled into thinking his guard was down in the slightest. There he stood in his dark suit with his hands behind his back and his feet slightly parted. He looked very intimidating, controlled, and like he had everything planned out. But of course he did.

“There are clothes your size in the armoire and dresser, and the bathroom is over there.” He pointed at a closed door to his left. “You are old enough to clean and dress yourself, but I have two servants that are here at all times to tend to the house. If you need anything you have but to ask.” He slowly let his eyes move up and down her body, and she crossed her arms over her chest when she felt her nipples harden. She was far from aroused, but the sight of him was almost as powerful as if he was reaching out and actually touching her. “I’m sure you have a lot of questions, but those will be answered later. Right now you’re filthy, and I want you clean and looking presentable.” She swallowed at his words. “You are my property, Princess, and as such will obey any and everything I say. That is the first rule.” He took a step closer, and she moved one back. This dark look covered his face and he shook his head. “The second rule is that you never deny me.” He stopped in front of her, but she had nowhere to go anyway. The bed was behind her, and no way in hell was she going to get on that just to get away from him. He would probably take that as an invitation to use her body, and that was not going to happen.

“Do you plan on hurting me?” she asked again, since he hadn’t answered her the first time. Again, he didn’t respond right away, but instead lifted his hand. Ruby tensed and watched as he moved that hand closer to her.

He lifted a piece of her hair off her shoulder and looked at it, rubbing it between his fingers. He slowly moved his gaze away from her hair and looked at her face. “You are very pretty. Very beautiful, in fact.” He said the words low and deep as he looked in her eyes, but she wasn’t fooled by this seemingly gentle disposition. This man was a demon intent on hurting her.

“Will you hurt me?” Ruby asked again. She would continue to do so until he answered her.

He titled his head slightly to the side and seemed to study her. “Tell me your name.” She shook her head. She wouldn’t give any part of herself to him. Not one damn part. When she didn’t answer he moved the hand that held her hair to her throat. It was a loose hold, but the threat was there. He could have snapped her neck, or strangled her without so much as breaking a sweat. “Have you forgotten the rules already, Princess? Obey everything I say.” He lifted a dark eyebrow, but otherwise kept a very hard composure. “Now, I will only ask you once more, and if you disobey I promise you will not like my reaction.”

Ruby felt sweat bead her forward, knew her eyes were as big as saucers, and felt the strength she had wanted to hold onto crumble. She was weak, so frightened of what he would do, that she opened her mouth to give him what he wanted.

“Ruby Jacobson.” As soon as her name left her lips she felt like a failure. She had given him what he wanted so easily. What else would she give him without much of a fight? The corner of his mouth lifted, and a very pleased look crossed his face.