Unfold Me (13 page)

Maybe that could benefit Isaac and me. Because if Miranda doesn’t know that some of the slaves are here against their will, then maybe she’d be horrified if she found out, and she’d turn against Archer. Still, I don’t know if that’s the case. If I had stayed with Archer a bit longer, maybe I would’ve had the same look...

“Do you see that girl?” Archer asks. He’s holding me in his arms, his suit tickling my bare skin. We’re sitting on a couch in front of a one-way glass, and through it, I can see a woman tied up to a big X-frame in the middle of the room and a man dressed in black latex pants. He’s holding a riding crop, and he gently taps it against the woman’s butt a few times, then brings it down harder, and she lets out a loud moan.

“Do you like this?” Archer caresses my hair.

“No, sir,” I say.

“Are you sure?” He buries his hand between my legs, making me gasp.

“Yes, sir.” I lean into him as he roughly parts my folds and slips a finger inside me.

“Don’t lie to me when your pussy shows the truth.”

“I’m not lying.” I look at him, despite knowing that will only piss him off, but instead of hitting me or yelling at me, he just raises an eyebrow.

“Oh?”

“It’s you, sir. You’re touching me and I...” I lick my suddenly dry lips and lower my gaze. I don’t want to admit to him what we both already know. Something in me just responds to him, and only to him.

His lips part for a moment, but his eyes sparkle with joy. He brings his mouth to mine into a bruising kiss, and I bury myself into his embrace.

A loud thwack brings me back from my thoughts, and I see the slave is tied to the bench and moaning as Archer brings the wooden paddle hard onto her ass. She bursts into tears and Archer presses his lips together in disapproval.

“Such a shame.” He turns toward Miranda. “That was only what? Twelve smacks? I thought you trained her better.”

“Me too,” Miranda says, her smile now gone. Archer starts to untie the girl. I guess tonight’s “performance” goes on as long as the slave doesn’t start crying. Shit. I can’t imagine Isaac ever giving anyone the satisfaction of seeing him cry.

“I like her more when she cries,” a dark-haired man says, one hand wrapped around his penis, and everyone laughs.

I study Archer’s guests as best as I can while more slaves come and are strapped to the bench in a similar way. Soon, many of the guests are either touching themselves or looking very close to doing it, but some of them just watch with calculating expressions on their faces. A few cheers, dirty comments, and even boos come up. The only good thing is that I’ve gotten almost all of their names by now. I block out most of what Archer’s doing, until the room suddenly goes quiet for a moment.

“Always defiant,” Archer says, and I look up and see Isaac walking in. His head is raised, his shoulders straight. His eyes scan the room and then he glares at Archer. “It’ll be my pleasure to break this one,” Archer says, and everyone laughs.

“I don’t think we need this thing, do we?” Archer pushes the bench aside. “Put your hands on the wall.”

Isaac just stands there, then turns around to look at me. He doesn’t give me any sign that he wants me to stop this, just keeps looking at me.

Archer taps his foot impatiently, turning toward me. “I guess your slave takes orders only from you.” There’s bitterness in his voice. Everyone’s eyes are on me, and I give Isaac a little nod, unsure what else to do. Isaac turns his back to us and supports himself against the wall, spreading his legs. A wicked smile appears on Archer’s lips as he unbuckles his belt and pulls it out of the loops.

“This one used to be mine once upon a time,” Archer says, doubling over the belt. “I know what he likes.”

Isaac’s shoulders tense as the first strike comes hard across his ass, and I flinch at the sound the leather makes against his skin. Archer glances at me, and I know I mustn’t look away or Archer will read my true feelings about this on my face, so I focus on Isaac’s hands on the wall, waiting in case he signals me that he wants this to stop.

Archer swings his arm, bringing the belt down again and again, and soon Isaac’s fingers start to twitch, his body shaking with the force of the blows. I sit at the edge of my seat, my heart thudding in my chest. I want to stop this. I want to rip the belt out of Archer’s hands. Isaac doesn’t make a sound, and Archer’s face looks strained, his lips pressed tightly together.

Just as I think I can no longer watch this, Archer stops, panting. “Well, this one is definitely not a disappointment.” He laughs. “I could keep this up forever, but unfortunately I drew blood. I don’t think Katherine would like to see her property damaged.” He smiles at me. “Kat, I know you’re not really into this, so thank you for allowing us to enjoy this tonight. But I have something for you too... I’m going to fulfill one of your fantasies.”

I stop breathing. What the hell is he talking about?

“You’re going to love this. Oh, and your slave will too.” Archer laughs, then reaches between Isaac’s legs. Isaac’s whole body jerks, but Archer places his hand on Isaac’s red and bruised bottom, keeping him in place. “Don’t move.”

My throat constricts and I stare at Isaac’s hands, willing him to give me a sign, to do anything, just so I know he wants me stop this. I don’t care if Archer won’t believe my intentions if I do that. I can’t... I don’t want his hands on Isaac a minute longer.

“We’ve all been waiting for this for a long time,” Archer says, unzipping his pants.
Come on, Isaac, just give me a sign!
But he doesn’t. What if he can’t? What if he forgot? What if all the pain has left him in a state of shock and he isn’t able to react? What if he wants this?

“Archer...” I start to say, wanting to tell him that it’s enough and that he’s wrong about everything.

“Don’t worry. I’m not going to hurt him,” Archer cuts me off, going for the chest on the floor. “I promise you he’ll enjoy this. Just like old times.”

I know which fantasy of mine he’s talking about. Two years ago, I told him I’d like to see him fuck another man. But not like this. Never like this. I start to get up while Archer is still digging for something in the chest, but Isaac glances over his shoulder at me and just shakes his head a little, his eyes determined. He doesn’t want me to stop Archer, but why? I reluctantly sit back, feeling lightheaded. It’s as if were stuck in a nightmare where horrors are happening right in front of my eyes, but I can’t move, run, or scream for help.

When Archer positions himself behind Isaac, placing his hands on Isaac’s hips, I close my eyes. Clutching my hands tightly in my lap, I curse the moment Isaac and I decided to come here. I shouldn’t have let him do this. Any of it.

It feels like a century until the sounds of flesh hitting flesh stop, and Archer groans in pleasure. I finally open my eyes.

“See? I knew you’d enjoy this,” Archer says, giving Isaac’s cock a few tugs. “Go clean yourself up.” He smacks Isaac on the ass.

I’m on my feet in an instant, going toward Isaac, but he just pushes himself off the wall and strides off into the hallway without a single look at me or at anyone. I want to follow him, but Archer gets in my way.

“Whoa, that was...” He looks at me up and down. “I must admit, you surprised me tonight. The old Katherine would’ve never let anyone use another person for her own pleasure.” A smile tugs at his lips. “Ever since I saw you, I knew you were different, and I knew you had to be mine. My true companion. My other half.”

“Archer... I...” I don’t have time to listen to his babbling. I need to make sure Isaac is fine. “Where is...?”

“You want to make sure I didn’t damage him? No, I didn’t, but you can go check.” He winks at me. “Door to the left, then down at the end of the hallway. You’ll find your boy toy there.”

Damage my property. That’s all he thinks about. What the hell is wrong with him? As I rush away without another word to him, I’m sure of only one thing. If I ever thought there could be something real between Archer and me... that he could change or even understand me... I was wrong. He doesn’t understand the first thing about me and he never will. As I stride down the hallway, something inside of me shatters.

I knock on the door and give it a gentle push, trying to fight back tears. “Isaac?” I say as I enter what turns out to be a shower room. Isaac is leaning his arm against the wall under one of the shower heads.

“Isaac?” I repeat, unsure if he wants to see me right now, but he doesn’t seem to hear me. His head is lowered, the water trickling freely down his body, and his hand is wrapped around his cock so tightly that his knuckles are white.

“Hey.” I ignore the fact that I’m stepping into water, but he doesn’t acknowledge my presence. “Isaac.” I place my hand on his arm, and his head jerks up. “Let go,” I say. “You’re hurting yourself.” I lower my hand down his arm, then cover his fingers, gently prying them off one by one.

He turns off the shower and looks up at me, his blue eyes troubled. “What if he’s right? What if I really liked...? My...” His hands tremble slightly.

“Your body reacts even if you don’t want it to. It doesn’t mean anything. You can’t control that.” I open my arms. He steps into my embrace, and I wrap myself around him as if I were a blanket.

As he rests his head on my shoulder, he sighs. “What are you doing here? You should be out there gathering intel on everyone.”

“I had to come see you. I couldn’t... I couldn’t stay among those people for a second longer. Archer just...”

“Shit. I’m getting you all wet.” He pulls away, slicking back his hair.

“Doesn’t matter. I don’t care what anyone thinks.” I wave my hand. “We shouldn’t have done this. What Archer did to you... I shouldn’t have let it happen. I’m so sorry, Isaac.” A sob rocks my body. “I’m so sorry.”

“Hey, shh.” He takes my hand into his. “You didn’t do anything wrong. It was my decision, okay? People have fucked me more times than I can count. What’s one more time? It doesn’t make a difference to me.”

“But it does to me.” I look at him through the tears pooling in my eyes. “I don’t want Archer to ever lay a finger on you. I...”

“Stop.” He raises his finger to shush me. “This is our chance to make Archer pay for everything. It’ll be worth it, you’ll see, but you have to go out there and pretend to be one of them. Can you do that?”

I wipe away a tear that has slid down my cheek. “Yeah.”

“Good,” he says. “We’re not giving up. Everything’s going according to plan. Archer trusts you now.”

“I guess he does.”

“There’s no going back now. We don’t stop at anything to get what we want...” He tilts his head at me. “If you still want to take him down, that is.”

“I do. Whatever I felt for him... it’s gone. All this time I’ve been seeing him for what I thought he could be, but I know that won’t happen.”

“Then go out there.”

I nod, wiping at my dress, which is mostly damp. I’m glad it’s black, so any wet spots aren’t that visible.

When I return to the room, everyone goes quiet and turns toward me.

“That was totally awesome,” the Senator’s daughter says as she approaches me.

I plaster a wide smile on my face as more people come toward me, congratulating me.

“You absolutely beat all the competition.” A man with short dark hair and vivid hazel eyes extends his hand to me. “Congratulations.”

“Thank you,” I say, my stomach churning. People shouldn’t be congratulating me for anything, but I can’t let my anger show.

“My name is Theo,” he says, squeezing my hand. “I don’t think we’ve officially met.”

“No, I don’t think so. You can call me Kat.” I offer him my sweetest smile. There’s something in the way he’s looking at me, as if he really likes what he sees.

“Nice to meet you, Kat,” he says. “I believe I saw you once... at Gardner’s, with your family.”

I frown. “Yeah, I was probably there.”

“I knew it. It’s hard to forget a woman as beautiful as you. Would you like me to get you a drink?”

“Yeah, sure.” I watch him as he picks up one of the champagne glasses and hands it to me. “Thank you.” What bothers me is that I can’t remember where I’ve seen him before. “So... you mentioned Gardner’s. Do you go there a lot?”

“Yeah, actually, I’m one of the investors in the city’s biggest construction project. You might have heard of it. Many business dinners happen at that restaurant. I was supposed to work with your father too, but our ideas differed too much.”

“Right.” I take a sip of the champagne. This world is so freakin’ small. Way too small.

“Your slave,” he says, and my eyebrows shoot up, “when did you obtain him?”

“Oh, I bought him at an auction not long ago,” I say. “He was quite expensive, but he proved to be well worth it.”

“I suppose I can’t interest you in selling him to me? Or trading him for one of mine?” A smile tugs on the corners of his lips.

“No, I don’t think so. I quite like him.” I twirl a strand of my hair around my finger. “Wait, one of yours? You have more than one slave?”

“Yeah,” he says proudly. “Three, actually. Do you want me to show them to you? You saw one already, but the rest are in their cages at the back.”