Faith (A Dark Romance Novel) (5 page)

His jaw clenched, anger simmering in his eyes. “What did you do to warrant being beaten with a belt?”

“I didn’t call him Master!” As soon as I said the words, my eyes widened in horror and I wished I could pull them back. I’d never been a sarcastic person, and this was hardly a time to start, but it seemed to spill from my lips before I could stop it.

He released me and straightened his head, cocking to the side as he regarded me. Suddenly a roar of laughter erupted from him. I remained frozen, my face impassive, staring up at him until he finished laughing. That certainly wasn’t the reaction I was expecting and I had no idea how to react to it.

“I hadn’t noticed the marks last night.” He flipped me back onto my stomach and his hand brushed my bottom and began tracing the lines of the several scars with his fingertips.

I started to turn around, then reconsidered; I’d rather be viewed from behind than him seeing me from the front. “What does it matter?”

Tanner’s jaw clenched and his eyes turned black – void of any emotion. “It doesn’t. Although it’s disappointing that I won’t be the only one you’ll have scars from.”

His words sent a shiver of apprehension through me. “But if you’re planning on selling me, what does it matter, Master?”

“You’re right. It doesn’t.”

I don’t know why that disappointed me, but it did. It might have been because I was already fucked up enough that I’d rather he kept me there and didn’t sell me off to some stranger, but mostly because, despite how scared I was of Tanner, at least I was getting a feel for the treatment I’d receive from him. I had no idea how someone who purchased me would be. And at least with Tanner I assumed I was somewhat close to my parents. There’d always be hope I’d see them again. If I was shipped overseas… I couldn’t allow myself to continue the train of thought.

“How long will it be before you sell me, Master?”

Rubbing his chin, he shook his head. “I don’t know.” A smile reformed on his lips. “You’re not enjoying your stay at
Chez
Tanner? Hoping for better arrangements?”

“A bathroom with a door would be nice,” I responded, testing my luck.

He clucked his tongue off the roof of his mouth. “Not going to happen. Anything else I can do for you?”

“Let me go.”

“Nope. Can’t do that either.”

“Something to drink?”

He nodded. “Because I’m a nice guy, I can do that for you. But if I have to remind you how to refer to me one more time…”

He didn’t have to finish his statement. I got his warning loud and clear.

Tanner turned his back and began to walk across the room toward the exit. A snort of derision escaped me. He spun back around and eyed me.

“Got something to say?”

I swallowed down the lump of fear forming in the pit of my stomach and shook my head. “Are you going to leave me without tying me up first, Master?”

Turning around fully, he crossed his arms over his chest and cocked a brow up at me. “Do I need to? You’re not going to try something stupid and try to off yourself by hanging yourself with the linen or something equally stupid, are you?”

Frowning, I sat up and curled my legs up tight to my chest and wrapped my arms around my legs, turning myself into a tight little ball. “Suicide is a sin, Sir.”

“Ahhhh. Yes. I must have forgotten that one. There’s so many – how do you people keep track?” When I opened my mouth up to respond he put his hand out, stopping me. “The question was rhetorical. I’m not in the mood for the religious bullshit speech right now. I’ll be back.”

Chapter 5

Tanner

Sitting back in my leather desk chair, I watched Emily on the computer monitors as she unfolded herself from the little ball she’d been positioned in, slid from the bed and began to explore her room.

My eyes shifted briefly to Victoria, who was sitting in the armchair in her room – the room next door to Emily’s – doing nothing but staring off into space, waiting for me to go to her with instructions. Victoria was beautifully broken and had been turned into the perfect obedient slave…and an absolute
bore.
I couldn’t wait to sell her off and not have to tend to her any longer. The training of slaves I enjoyed – the intensity, the challenge, the struggle – but what the training turned them into did nothing for me. It disgusted me. Some people would say that the reason they disgusted me was because I felt guilt over what I turned them into. Maybe, if it were possible for me to feel that emotion, but in my twenty-nine years on this Earth I had yet to feel guilt, or remorse, or any of those emotions that hold people back and make them miserable.

I looked back to the monitors of Emily, who’d wandered into the bathroom and wrapped a towel around herself, covering her body. A big no-no. That would have to be addressed. She wandered back into the main room and continued her exploring, but this time she was scrutinizing every nook and cranny. If she was looking for a way to escape, she was in for a big disappointment.

With a sigh, I got up and made my way through the house to the kitchen. I suspected Emily hadn’t eaten in nearly twenty-four hours, so I threw a hamburger patty into the skillet and began frying it up. While the burger cooked, I put together a small Caesar salad. Whether she liked either of the items I was preparing for her was irrelevant – she’d eat them or starve. I wasn’t running a bed and breakfast.

With the food – plated on paper plates, since glass could be risky – and a plastic bottle of soda on a serving tray, I made my way back to Emily’s room. Balancing the tray on my hip, I pulled the keys from my pocket and unlocked the door. Opening the door slowly and cautiously, I peered into the room to ensure she wasn’t hiding, intent on attempting to escape. She wasn’t, and to my surprise she was sitting on the bed, in the exact position I’d left her in with her knees hiked up to her chest, and the towel was nowhere to be seen.

She must have removed it and placed it back in the bathroom when she heard me coming. I supposed I couldn’t fault her for the towel trick – she was as she was supposed to be in my presence. I’d let it go.

“I assumed you were hungry. Come get the tray from me.”

She hesitated, looking down at herself, no doubt still self-conscious. It would take time, especially with someone like her, to get over her shyness. But the fact she didn’t have a choice would speed things along.

“That wasn’t a request. If it helps for me to remind you, I’ve already seen your body.”

“Yes, Master.” Sliding from the bed, she stood, and her hands immediately went to cover herself, one hand over her mound and one attempting to cover her breasts.

“Do not cover yourself. EVER!” I snapped, a scowl forming on my lips.

Emily inhaled sharply and fear flashed in her eyes as her cheeks burned bright red. Her hands dropped from her body and fell to her sides. “I need time—”

“Unfortunately, you don’t have the luxury of time. You’re on my schedule, darlin’, not your own. Now come. Get. The. Tray.” There was no way in hell I was about to leave the doorway open to take the tray to her. She might get the bright idea of trying to run, and I’d have to hurt her in the process.

I didn’t hide my blatant examination of her body as she slowly walked toward me. I doubted she was aware of it, but her hips swayed enticingly and her breasts – which I would guess to be nice, firm C’s – bounced ever so slightly. The buyers would fall over themselves for her. I was grateful the men at the club hadn’t seen what I could under those God-awful church clothes she’d been wearing, or I might not have spotted her alone. I might not have had the chance to make her mine.

By the time she’d crossed the room and reached for the tray to take it from me, her entire body was trembling. As she accepted the tray it began to shake, but she managed to make her way back to the bed without spilling the contents.

As I sat in the chair I’d claimed earlier, she placed the tray on the bed and sat next to it, folding her legs under her as she surveyed the contents of the tray with suspicion.

“It’s not poisoned, if that’s what you’re thinking. If I wanted you dead there are much more efficient ways of killing you than lacing your food with poison.”

“I didn’t—” She glanced over at me and didn’t bother to finish her protest. “Thank you, Sir.”

I watched as she took a tentative bite out of the burger, followed by a not-so-dainty swig from the bottle of soda. Within a minute she was wolfing down the food, the idea that it might be poisoned now seeming to be the last thing on her mind. She seemed to forget I was sitting there watching her, and by the time she was finished eating a small smile began to form on her lips – until she glanced over and remembered I was in the room with her. The smile quickly faded.

“Thank you, Master.”

“You’re welcome.” I stood and pulled two syringes and a band from the pocket of my T-shirt – one empty and one filled. “But it’s coming with a price tag.”

She cringed and crab-walked backward until her back was flush against the wall. “What is that? I won’t do drugs, Sir. You can’t make me.” She shook her head violently, her dark hair falling into her face in the process, and she pushed it back with a shaking hand. 

“It’s not drugs. I promise. And for your information, I can make you, but would prefer we do this peacefully.”

Her eyes narrowed at me. “Why should I believe you?”

“I have no reason to lie.” I crossed the room to stand at the side of her bed. “One is to take a blood sample to make sure you’re healthy. The second is for birth control.”

“But you said you wouldn’t…” She swallowed hard, her face flushing again.

“I said I wouldn’t fuck you tonight. I never said I wouldn’t fuck you. And if you want the honest truth, I will be fucking you – a lot. Not only will I be fucking your cunt, but your mouth and ass and whatever other hole I have the urge to fill.”

Her eyes widened and her mouth dropped open.

“Now come here. Don’t make me cuff you, because if I have to cuff you then you’ll be sleeping in chains tonight. Personally, I enjoy it when you fight. Gets me off. So if I get too horny I might have to go back on the ‘no fucking you’ statement I made.”

Those seemed to be the magic words; she moved to the edge of the bed so quickly I wasn’t sure if I should be insulted or laugh. Chuckling, I pulled the top off the syringe containing the birth control. “So you find me that heinous, huh?”

She looked up at me, her gaze locked with mine. “Not when I first met you, Sir. But now that I know what you are…”

Fair enough. “I assume you’re not on any type of birth control.”

“No, Sir.”

“Fine. Hold still.” I jabbed her with the needle and quickly injected her. Once done, I recapped the syringe and stuffed it into my pocket. Tying the band around her upper arm, I tapped the inner side of her elbow until I found a vein that I felt was satisfactory.

Her brow creased. “Have you done this often, Sir?”

“My previous employers had an on-site doctor who normally did this. Since I’ve become a freelancer – of sorts – it has been up to me.”

“You’re not answering the question, Sir.”

My eyes stared down at hers. “You seem to be getting rather brazen with your comments, slave.” I was letting her get away with much more than I knew I should, but I was finding the banter and the fact she was gaining the balls to question me amusing.

“I’m sorry, Master, I just—”

“I’ve done this enough to know what I’m doing, but not enough to be very good at it. So it might take a few tries.”

Emily

Birth control was strictly against my father’s beliefs; why would I need it if I was waiting until marriage? Certainly made sense, although I’d secretly planned on seeing a doctor once I went to college. You never know and it doesn’t hurt to be prepared, right? Despite the dire situation I was in, I could see in my mind’s eye the disappointment in his eyes. Maybe it was a stupid thing to focus on, but silently obsessing over my father’s disapproval kept me distracted for a few minutes from the big picture and the fact that Tanner was playing nurse, painfully attempting to stick a vein.

I cringed as he missed the vein for a second time and the needle jerked in my arm as he withdrew it. He sucked at this, but I kept my mouth shut and endured. He jabbed me for a third time and I let out a breath of relief to see the vial slowly filling with blood. I had to bite my tongue to keep from making a snide remark.

“There, all done.” When I looked up at him, he smiled and gave me a curt nod of his head. There was a friendliness in his expression, like what I’d seen the previous night at the club. The man was like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. “Not so bad, now was it?”

“Another rhetorical question?” I couldn’t keep myself from asking, inwardly cringing at the snarky tone of my voice. The last thing I wanted was to feel his wrath when I was sensing he was done with me for the night, so I knew it was foolish to antagonize him. However, it had been an emotional rollercoaster sort of day and my verbal filter was wearing thin.

He removed the rubber band from my arm and placed that along with the syringe back into his pocket. “Well, haven’t you been developing quite the attitude?”

“What can I say? You bring out the best in me, Master.”

Our gazes locked, neither of us speaking. The air grew so tense it became nearly smothering. Suddenly, his hand shot out, his fingers threaded into my dark locks and he fisted them tightly, jerking my head back painfully. I yelped but didn’t fight him.

Tanner leaned down, his lips grazing the side of my neck until they reached my earlobe. A shiver of anticipation raced through me. What was wrong with me? He’d hurt me, humiliated me, taken me from those I loved, and I was reacting to his touch. I was disgusted with him, but more with myself.

His lips grazed my ear and warm breath taunted me. “Oh, Emily, my sweet slave, I WILL bring out the best in you. You’ll be my greatest accomplishment and I’ll display you with pride. I promise you that.” He held my hair fisted for a moment longer before releasing me and taking a step back.

I chanced a look up into his eyes and he smiled back at me then proceeded to grace me with a wink before turning on his heel and crossing the room toward the exit. He murmured, “Sweet dreams,” before leaving the room, closing and locking the door behind him.

Remaining seated on the bed, staring at the closed door, I didn’t know what to do next. I’d investigated every inch of the room while he’d left me and there was no possible way of escape. Nothing to do to entertain myself, and even if I wanted to kill myself – not that I would – there was nothing I could really use to do the job.

Looking up at the camera in the main room, I wondered if he was somewhere in the house, watching me. Was he recording me as well? Recording everything? If he ever did follow through with his threats and released footage of me naked, or worse having sex, my family would be humiliated. I didn’t care about myself; I’d get by somehow. But my family. The disgrace. The shame.

I’d get through this… I had to. God had a plan for me, I knew it. Somehow, for some reason, I’d been put here. Maybe to help the other girl? Maybe to stop him from doing this to anyone else? A life lesson? I didn’t know, but there was a lesson to be learned. I was a good Christian girl; God wouldn’t let this happen to me if he didn’t have a plan.

My thoughts drifted to the other woman. She’d been beaten and bruised, but what had been even more disturbing than that was the fact I’d seen nothingness in her eyes. There had been no hope, no fight, no nothing. Like she was a living zombie.

Was I going to end up like that?

You’ll be my greatest accomplishment and I’ll display you with pride…

His words echoed through my head. I couldn’t end up like her. I couldn’t. There was no way that was God’s plan for me. With a sigh, I slid from the bed and got onto my knees at the side. Placing my elbows onto the mattress, I steepled my fingers together, closed my eyes and pressed my forehead to my fingertips. He could take away my dignity, he could take my virginity and he could take me away from my family, but there was one thing he’d never be able to take from me…my faith. I might not be the most devoted of Christians, and sometimes I strayed, but I tried. That had to amount to something, right?

Tanner

Watching her from my office, on her knees praying for some sort of miracle from a God that didn’t exist, was actually rather erotic to me. Call me narcissistic but the closest thing to God she had right now was me. I’d trained religious women before, but none quite like her. Normally excessively religious women were tricky to train. Women who were so brainwashed to the concept of God didn’t break; they shattered, the pieces too many to properly be reassembled. It was as if the shock of their situation plus their realization that there was no God or afterlife or divine plan became too much for them to handle. Many times they became so insane that they ended up needing to be disposed of.