Savage Chains: Captured (#1) (11 page)

Aloud, he said, “On your knees, slave.”

She immediately obeyed and gave a decent performance, crying out as she crumpled at his feet.

While keeping one hand on Angelica’s head, he met Engles’s surprised stare. “The thing is, I’ve already laid out a plan for this slave. And if I don’t hold back, she’ll be dead before I’ve even started. I may not have the same punching style as the rest of your bidders, but I like my meat seasoned over a period of time, then chewed slowly in my mouth for about as long. I take no pleasure from a quick slice-and-drain. I want the woman’s pain to serve me for months.” He lowered his voice. “More important, I want to get her to a second auction at the six-month mark. I intend to set a new record and recoup my investment.”

Engles’s eyes widened as his gaze fell to Angelica. He actually seemed impressed as he licked his lips. If Reyes had been at all serious, Engles would no doubt have been the first in line to bid for Angelica at her six-month transition.

Engles tugged at his chin. “All right, then. I look forward to what the future holds.”

“As do I.” He pulled on the leash and Angelica slowly rose to her feet, wiping away tears. He gave her a shove, setting her in motion as together they moved into the foyer.

You okay?
Oh, God, had he hurt her?

How’d I do?

So you are okay.

He swore he heard her snort inside his head.
Did the bastard buy it?

Yeah, he bought it.

He glanced at her, meeting her gaze for a fleeting moment.
You’re doing great.

An odd blush covered her cheeks. He wished like hell circumstances had been different, because he really liked this woman.

But this thought stopped him up short. What circumstances? Angelica was human, and—except for the extremely rare mating between the species, involving love, marriage, and offspring—vampires didn’t date humans.

Beyond that, his background made him about the worst sort of man she should ever get tangled up with.

Moving Angelica into the house proper, he heard her swift intake of breath and watched her eyes skate to the tall ceiling. Massive crystal chandeliers illuminated the space, more for effect than necessity. Vampires could easily see in the dark.

Too bad this was all built on slave blood because it’s a beautiful home.

Yes it is and you’re right, Angelica. This dwelling is a travesty.

As he led her to the top of a large descending staircase, applause began to build through the gathered partygoers below.

Is this because of the auction?

Of course. Again, you’re the star.

I think I’m going to be sick.

Just keep your eyes lowered and stay one step behind me.

No problem.

Reyes knew how to square his shoulders and give a show. His captor, Sweet Dove, had trained him well in a number of different ways, and one of them was the importance of holding an attitude. Most of the women watched him, lusting, as did some of the men.

All around the audience, the slaves were apparent in their usual revealing garb, like Angelica’s, sporting sheer fabrics, chains, and leather. Lots of sequins. A few feathers.

The female slaves, most with naked breasts, often had rows of dots tattooed around their nipples that in turn were stained varying shades of burgundy. Many of the male slaves were also naked and kept in a state of arousal, usually through a variety of drugs.

The room was jammed, some attendees standing around and drinking, others seated in several love seats. Many of the new slaves sat beside their owners, cut up and beaten, eyes glazed.

Reyes repressed the deep disgust that threatened to rise like bile up his throat. There would be time later to punish each and every slaver. For now, he needed to stay focused on doing all that he could to discover the man in charge and take him down.

Scorpion had kept his identity secret from the time Starlin came into existence. Once Reyes found out who the man was, he could begin the process of working his way into his inner circle. Beyond Scorpion’s identity, he needed the documents that detailed every aspect of how the organization worked. After that, he’d know exactly how to destroy Starlin from within, step by step.

As he moved through the room, attention became increasingly focused on Angelica.

When he’d told her earlier that he hated the idea of other men looking at her, he meant it. Some caveman part of him had already laid claim to her, so to have other men openly lusting after her scraped at his nerves.

Angelica’s voice pierced his thoughts.
Calm down. I can feel your agitation like it’s rubbing against my skin.

It shows?

Well, that fist you’re making is at least one clue.

He relaxed his hand and stretched out his fingers.

That’s better.

For the next hour, he greeted most of the members by name, essentially working the room. What wasn’t lost to him was the goodwill that flowed in his direction. He realized that a lot of slavers here liked what he’d done by winning the bid, beating out Engles.

By the time he’d made a circuit of the large, ballroom-like space, Engles waited once more back at the top of the stairs. He gestured for Reyes to join him.

Engles wants us.

Got it.

Once Reyes was standing beside Engles—with Angelica on his other side, though as always slightly behind him—Engles caught Reyes’s hand.

Lifting it high, Engles called out, “Our winning bidder for our most sought-after slave.”

Heavy applause and a few whistles and shouts sounded through the room.

When the audience settled down, Engles turned to him. “And now, my friends, I have a surprise for my guest of honor.” He pivoted toward Reyes. “A theatrical performance from the owner of The Ruby Cave. The famous Eve said she knows you well and agreed to bring one of her troupes here, to perform for you tonight. Now follow me.”

Turning to his right, Engles led the way down the sloping path of the theater, settling them in a front-row love seat. The stage was situated just a few yards away, raised up only a foot, so that all the action would be at eye level.

More than one of the couples in the audience had already gotten busy, slaves on their knees.
You need to prepare yourself. This whole thing might erupt into an orgy.

He heard her sigh.
Great. Will I be expected to join in?

It’s standard courtesy that slaves be shared with other members of the club. But I won’t let that happen tonight.

Won’t they suspect you if you don’t participate?

We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.

He didn’t glance around but he knew damn well everyone in the theater would be watching him, and his slave, throughout the performance.

The lights dimmed, and at the same time the stage spots lit up the area to the left. Eve appeared, wearing red leather from head to toe. She was a tall woman with long blond hair that ranged past her knees. Tonight she wore it pulled on top of her head to cascade behind in a ponytail. But even that rope of hair landed mid-buttocks.

Eve owned The Ruby Cave and had been one of the leading performers of The Erotic Passage for a long time. She had a melodious, carrying voice. “Hello, my lovelies, and welcome to a performance by the Ruby Theater Players. Knowing that my good friend Reyes would be here, I designed a show just for him and for his lovely date.”

Eve was a major star in The Erotic Passage, otherwise known as The Passage. She was heavily into BDSM, but played the game by her own rules. He knew her well: she didn’t approve of slavery, but she had a no-judgment rule about everyone. Of course, it hadn’t failed to reach his notice that she often bought slaves, putting them to work in her club for a period of time, then eventually setting them free. By his count, she’d saved thousands.

He trusted her—so much so that she was one of only two people who knew of his mission. The other was the owner of The Passage, a short Italian vampire named Rumy. Both could keep a secret, and each had promised to help if he ever found a way to bring Starlin down.

On a more personal level, Eve had been trying to get him on her table, chained down, for a long time. She’d told him repeatedly that after everything he’d been through, a good dominance session would work wonders for him, give him the kind of release he’d been needing for a few decades now.

He’d never do it, of course. He’d made himself a promise that never again would a woman chain him down.

#

Angelica crossed her legs, grateful that at least for now, her body for the most part wasn’t on display. She relaxed against the soft cushion of what looked and felt like a regular old love seat. To her right another slave from the auction house was already bending her head down into the lap of her lord-and-master, and the show hadn’t even gotten started.

She drew her hair close to her face to block as much of that image as she could.

She was also grateful that Reyes had pulled her close so that she was pressed up against him. The cave wasn’t freezing, but without even a decent shirt or pants on, she was cold.

The woman, Eve, had an exotic appearance. She wore stiletto boots that rose past her knees, snug red leather pants, and a tight red leather bustier that supported large breasts.

She carried a long black whip. Swinging it once over her head, she cracked it at the end of the stage.

Angelica jumped.

At the same time, a sound track started up that had a deep thumping rhythmic bass, a strong guitar, and a beat that spoke of sex and not much else.

Angelica put a hand to her stomach. She didn’t want to be affected by what she was about to see, but Reyes’s warm body, her never-ending desire for him, and the sexual nature of the music rippled through her. She felt things she didn’t want to feel, more so because she knew Reyes had tensed up the moment Eve had said this performance was meant for him.

Even his thighs flexed and released.

At first, she thought it was a sexual reaction; then she realized it had to be something else because sex was not the sensation she got from him right now. If she had to define it, she’d call it fear. But what did Reyes have to be afraid of in a theater like this?

From the back of the stage, two men in loincloths rolled a massive wall to angle toward the audience, locking it in place on the floor. Chains with manacles, meant for wrists and ankles, hung from the wall, similar to the ones Reyes had put her in earlier.

Another woman, also carrying a whip, entered the stage completely nude.

The two loincloth men returned, dragging a third man in a black tux. The spotlight focused on him as the first two chained him up.

The completely nude woman, a very athletic vampire, used her whip. The first crack caught the man’s coat in a deep tear.

He winced, and the audience knew the whip had stung.

Soft groans moved around the theater, but Reyes’s tension level ramped up. The female repeated the process in quick succession, her arm and eye trained to strip the man of his clothes while leaving very few significant cuts behind.

The male servants tore the strips between strikes so that more and more of his well-muscled body appeared.

The music continued to beat the erotic rhythm and the whip kept time so that even Angelica could see the exquisitely orchestrated artistry of the performance.

But what surprised her the most was that once the servants pulled the torn pants away, the man was fully erect behind a pair of snug briefs. He clearly enjoyed the experience, the fear, the pain.

She was pretty sure the entire audience held its breath as the female, on the beat, and in two quick successions, cut to either side of the man’s groin and sent his briefs falling to the floor. The two men gathered up his torn-up clothes and left the stage.

Angelica covered her mouth with her hand. Despite the fact that the man was clearly enjoying the performance, she couldn’t get past the public nature of the spectacle.

The woman moved forward and, no surprise, began fondling his arousal.

#

The whip, the chains, the seductive female, drew Reyes into the past, his years as a slave. He’d belonged exclusively to Sweet Dove to use as she saw fit, to share him when it pleased her.

She had places of punishment and of pleasure, so that over time his body became confused. What hurt him often dealt out reams of exquisite sensation, and what should have been pleasurable caused him a terrible agony of his mind and his vampire soul.

Sitting in front of a show, beside a woman he’d desired intensely for months now, had his body in an uproar. The whole time, guilt and shame tightened his chest.

The sight of the woman now caressing the slave’s thighs and groin, her lips surrounding his erection, sent shock waves through his body. He wanted to look away but couldn’t.

Eve walked around the performers, cracking her whip to the beat of the music. The tempo increased, and the woman rose from her knees.

On cue the two servants returned and lifted her, poising her split legs over his cock. The man struggled in the chains, thrashing his head back and forth, feigning his unwillingness.

She mounted him and the man grew still, his eyes rolling in his head.

How many times had Reyes known this moment with Sweet Dove, trying to restrain his desire only to have all the physical sensations, both brutal and sensual, coalesce in an erotic wave of pleasure.

She wrapped her legs around his waist. Once she was secured with her hands on his shoulders, the servants drifted back into the shadows.

She rode the slave hard, using her vampire strength to work his body. She shoved his head to the side and he in turn shouted his pleasure as the woman bit into his vein and started to drink. No playacting, either. This was the real deal.

But at the moment that the play should have climaxed, the wall began to tremble and the slave’s arms flexed. The woman cried out, a long lingering groan that turned to a scream as the slave broke free of his chains.