think of himself so differently these days. “She’s on to love and
devotion already. She has her reign of the house, and I have taken
her out with me a couple of times.” He sat down and waited for Liam
to say something.
“I didn’t really follow the stages strictly.” Will let out a breath.
“I mean, I started with the fear and respect thing, and I think she’s
got that down good now. But I couldn’t take seeing her cry so much.
So it was like fear, respect, and comfort all rolled in one.” He
continued. “I’m trying to move from fear to comfort and protection,
but I’m just worried she doesn’t really feel the way she acts towards
me.” He paused and ran his hand through his hair. “Like she’s only
pretending to care for me, because she doesn’t want me to hurt her
anymore. But I have to say, I don’t like hurting her anyway. I mean I
did briefly, but not anymore, it isn’t fun.” He shook his head. “But
sometimes I get so angry I can’t control it. She acts like she knows
me, or she tries to be too familiar with me, something I’m not
comfortable with from anyone. She has a smart mouth sometimes,
and she’s brave. She’ll say something, or not say something, and I
can see the look on her face. She is trying to see if she can get away
with it. Sometimes I snap, and before I know it, she’s crying, and I
feel like shit.” He turned back to face Will. “She wanted to go on this
trip with me, and I really wanted to bring her. But I don’t know if I
can trust her or not. I mean, what if we get to the airport and she
runs away screaming that I kidnapped her! I can’t have that.”
“Do you think she would do that?” Will asked. Liam shook his
head.
“I don’t know that’s the point. I told her this could be an easy
relationship, or a hard one, the choice was hers. She made it hard on
herself at first. But now she is taking the easy way. I just don’t know
if this is the way she really feels or if she’s just playing along.” Will
walked over to Liam and put his hand on his shoulder.
“Well that is the nature of this business. You’re not going to
know, until you know. It sounds to me like you don’t even know how
you feel about her. You wanted to hurt her, but couldn’t stand to see
her cry, you want her to be nice and behave, but like that she tests
you. Do you like her? Have you fucked her yet?” Will took another
sip of his coffee. The comment pissed Liam off. It wasn’t any of his
business if he had fucked her or not. “She’s a little hottie, Liam. Take
a sample of the merchandise, my friend. It will help you determine if
you want this to work or not.” Liam stepped to Will.
“Don’t talk about her like that, you got me! You don’t get to
think of her as anything. She’s mine!” Will held up his hands.
“I think you have your answer, my friend” he said.
Mine? Where did that come from? That was all Liam could
think about on the way to the airport. He felt irate when Will talked
about her like a piece of meat. He was infuriated when he suggested
‘sampling the merchandise’. He wanted to call the house from the
car and apologize but thought he would look weak.
His first night in Houston he couldn’t stop himself though. He
arrived at his room around 8pm. He was tired from being in meetings
all day. He had just attended a long business dinner, and had to get
up at 6am for early golf with Jeff Stackhouse the CEO of Stackhouse
Industries, a company Liam was trying to buy. But he didn’t care, he
needed to hear her voice. It was 2am in London, but he didn’t care
about that either. He took off his shirt and tie while he dialed the
number. Gerald answered and assured him that Norah had been fine
since his departure. He heard Norah gasp as Gerald shook her
awake.
“It’s Master Liam on the phone for you, Miss.” Liam smiled
thinking how shocked she must be to wake up seeing Gerald in her
room. He heard her clear her throat. “Hello?” she sounded unsure of
herself. “I hope I didn’t wake you,” he smiled knowing he had done
exactly that. She pulled her knees to her chest and looked over at
the alarm clock. “Its 2:08 in the morning, I think you know perfectly
well you woke me,” he could tell she was smiling.
“I’m glad to hear you’re in a good mood, and still have that
smart little mouth of yours. I didn’t like leaving you sad, when there
was nothing I could do about it.” That didn’t make sense. Did he
mean he liked leaving her upset when he was the cause?
“How are the meetings going?” she asked. Liam sat on his
hotel bed and took off his shoes.
“It’s going good. I just got in from a boring business dinner
with four other couples. The CEO of the company I am trying to buy,
his wife, their CFO and his wife, and two of their lawyers and their
wives. Meanwhile on the other side of the table, I’m sitting next to
Steve.”
“Well I wish I could have been with you,” she trailed off not
wanting to push her luck.
“I know,” he said. “But I don’t know if having you on my arm
would have charmed him or not.”
“Oh, I can be very charming,” she laughed.
“I know you can.” It was silent. “Well I should let you go back
to sleep.” He wanted to tell her he was sorry. He wanted to say he
missed her, and wished she was here with him so he could hold her
all night. He wanted to say her voice was the best thing he had heard
all day. But since these were feelings he wasn’t used to having
instead he just said, “I’ll be home in two days. Good night, Norah.”
Just before he hung up, he heard her say, “Good night, sir.” It
was like a needle in his eye. He had told her she couldn’t use his
name, and she was showing him she wouldn’t. He liked it when his
subs called him sir, but now knowing Norah knew his name, he didn’t
want her to call him sir, or maybe he did. It was like the kneeling. It
was something he liked for his subs to do, but not her. He wasn’t
even completely comfortable with her cowering stance, of her
lowered head and grasping her hands in front of her. It was like she
was kneeling for him, while she stood. He didn’t know why it got
under his skin; it just did. It was like a slap in the face to him. If
you’re going to be an asshole to me, I will do exactly what you want,
but you’ll eat your words. He was eating his words about his name
now, and he knew…that she knew it.
Norah
Gerald came in my room and laid a dress on the bed. He
walked to the closet and pulled out a pair of sandals then stood by
the door and gestured to the bed.
“When you’re done getting dressed, I’ll be waiting outside
the door,” he bowed his head and walked out. I looked at the dress
and shoes. It was light pink sun dress and white sandals. I put it on
and went to the bathroom to fix my makeup a little. I put on light
pink eye shadow that looked neutral on my dark skin, and light pink
lip gloss. I opened the door and Gerald told me to follow him. We
walked through the house and back to the where the basement door
was located. I cringed thinking I might be going back to the darkness.
Instead we past the door and he opened the back door to the
outside. We stood on the cement porch and I looked around at this
beautiful yard. His voice brought me out of my trance.
“I have lemonade over on the table. Enjoy yourself, Miss.” He
bowed again and walked back inside.
I walked to the edge of the porch and looked out. I stepped
down the few steps and out in the grass. I took off my sandals and
let my feet touch the grass. This was unexpected, but very much
appreciated. I laughed out loud and twirled in the sun.
“Well aren’t you a sight for sore eyes?” I stopped and saw
Liam walking to me. He had a bouquet of flowers in one hand and his
other in his pocket. He also had a big smile on his face. I couldn’t
help myself, I ran to him. I jumped in his arms and wrapped my legs
around him. He wrapped his arms around me and we didn’t say
anything. It had only been four days since I had seen him. I had spent
more time in solitary confinement in the basement. But I missed
him, and I wanted him to know. He loosened his grip and I jumped
down. He touched my chin forcing me to look at him.
“You’re so beautiful, you know that right?” I didn’t answer.
He kissed my nose and handed me the flowers.
“They’re beautiful, thank you.” I swayed back and forth. “I
missed you,” I whispered. I knew he heard me, but I was afraid he
wouldn’t want to hear it. “I know. I’m glad.” He smiled. “Come, I
have a picnic set up for us in the garden.” He took my hand and we
walked through the flowers and greenery. We came to small clearing
with a little fountain and a big tree. There was a blanket with a
basket under the tree. We walked over and he gestured for me to sit
down.
“You’re not worried about wrinkling what I’m sure is a very
expensive suit?” I asked. He was wearing a dark navy suit with a
golden tie. He always looked very sharp. I was sure he had his suits
made for him. He chuckled and took a seat. We talked about his trip
and how the CEO wouldn’t budge. We ate ham and turkey
sandwiches and drank lemonade. I laid down on the blanket and let
my body soak in the sun. Liam leaned against the tree and talked
briefly on his phone, then laid beside me. We didn’t touch, we just
looked in each other’s eyes. I kept licking my lips hoping he would
kiss me, but he didn’t. Finally he commented on it.
“Do you want me to kiss you, Norah?” I lowered my eyes
feeling ashamed for feeling this way. “Don’t be embarrassed. It’s
alight. I want to kiss you too.” He put his finger on my lips. “But I’m
not going to.” I was confused but didn’t dare argue.
“Did you know you have been with me for two months?” I
didn’t realize it had been that long. If I had been with him for two
months, that meant it was August. I should be returning from my trip
soon. We had sent out post cards, and several emails, so my family
didn’t suspect anything. But not coming home would be a red flag. I
wanted to say something about it, but decided not to push my luck. I
just shook my head no. “Yes, it was two months ago today that I
bought you from that awful auction.” Awful Auction? How was it
awful for him? He was doing the bidding. “Were you scared?” he
asked. I sat up and looked away. He sat up behind me and moved
closer.
“I was terrified,” I said. He touched my arm.
“Tell me how it happened? How did you end up there?” I
couldn’t believe he wanted to hear this. I certainly didn’t want to
relive it. But I didn’t want to make him mad.
“I had been in Paris about a week; I was sitting in a small café
drinking coffee and I saw this guy looking at me. He had been there
the previous morning as well, just watching me. I thought he was
French and just being overly obvious that he was interested. I
decided to be bold and ask him for directions. We talked for a few
minutes then he offered to take me where I wanted to go. We got in
the cab, and he offered me a bottle of water from his bag. It was hot
so I took it. When I woke up I was on an exam room table, legs
spread eagle, some guy between them with a light, and three guys
over me yelling at each other in a language I didn’t understand.”
I stopped. His hand squeezed my arm. I took it as a silent
request to continue. “I tried to move, to yell, but I was gagged and
strapped down.” I could feel the tears on my cheeks. I kept my back
to him. I knew he could hear me crying but I didn’t want him to see
me.
“One of men yelled something at me, but I didn’t understand
him. Another one left the room, and when he came back he had a
small woman with black hair with him. He screamed at her, and she
looked at me. She asked me if I had ever been with a man. I shook
my head no. One of the guys in the room got very mad and another
man took him out.” I took a deep breath. “The man between my legs
stopped looking and said something to the other men and left in the
room. I felt a needle in my arm and I was out again.”
“They were checking to see if you were a virgin.” His voice
was shaky. It was quiet for a moment then he spoke again. “What
