Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 81810 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 409(@200wpm)___ 327(@250wpm)___ 273(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81810 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 409(@200wpm)___ 327(@250wpm)___ 273(@300wpm)
Chapter Eight
I SHOULDN’T HAVE FED her the elixir.
Especially the upgraded version.
Normally, my goddesses didn’t receive a dose until the night of their first client. I might expect their servitude and offered no sway in following my strict rules, but I wasn’t above humanity—if it suited my purpose.
I wasn’t such a monster that I didn’t offer a small rehabilitation period. A settling in time, as it were. By now, the girl I’d purchased would have heard my terms, realised I wasn’t such a bad guy after all, understood that as far as bastards went to be sold to, I was the best they could’ve ended up with, and agreed to behave.
They were escorted to their villa.
They were left alone to acclimatise.
They were free…or as free as an owned possession could be.
But no.
This fucking girl had to intrigue me.
She had to stand up against me even though I’d treated her with respect and decorum. She’d turned a simple conversation into a war, and that was something you should never do with me.
I didn’t lose.
To anyone.
And now…fuck, she’d pay the price.
I didn’t let the thought linger that I might’ve broken her by making her drink. I didn’t worry that such a prime, highly sellable product might not make it to the shelf. All I’d cared about was she’d defied me, and the price for that was great.
It was time to ruin that aggravating pride, smudge out that bold elegance, and destroy that goddamn grace by any means necessary—before it became a problem and ruined the obedience upon my island.
She scrambled away, ripping her chin from my knuckles. “What do you mean…I don’t have much time?”
Standing, I smirked at her clueless on the floor. “You probably have about ten minutes…fifteen tops.”
She crawled to her feet, pushing unsteadily upright to face me. Nervousness painted her beautiful features. “What will happen in ten minutes?”
“You’ll find out.” Turning my back on her, I returned to my desk, collected my pen, and began the meeting all over again. This time, the girl drifted to stand demurely in front of me. No fire burned in her gaze. No hate tainted the air. She’d turned inward, assessing her reactions, doing her best to guess what her system would do and racking her brain on how to save herself.
There was no saving her.
She would be in a personal hell for quite a few hours.
Swallowing any remaining animosity, she balled her hands. “Is there an antidote?”
I laughed a single bark before I could stop myself.
An antidote?
Ha!
There was an antidote…of a kind.
But she wouldn’t be getting it from me.
No matter how much she begged. And, oh, she’d beg. She’d offer me her soul in perpetuity in about nine and a half minutes.
“Normally, I take my time explaining what your future holds. But…seeing as I lost my temper and have done something rather unfortunate, I will have to rush, to ensure you hear what I say before….” I looked her up and down, eyeing her closely for signs that she could no longer coherently follow my voice.
She still stood quietly. Still focused on me.
Her tongue licked her bottom lip just once, her eyes flaring at the sensation. Her chest rose as she inhaled, a lightning shiver shooting down her spine.
Shit, that stuff was strong.
Wrenching out a contract, I slapped it onto the desk, the fine-print facing her.
She shivered again as she moved forward, her clothing rubbing on skin that was steadily turning into overly sensitive sandpaper. “What’s that?”
“That is binding and already signed by me.” Scooting my limited-edition Mont Blanc to her, I added, “Sign it and it’s done.”
“I won’t sign anything that I haven’t read—”
“Just like you won’t take drugs you don’t know or agree to something you haven’t analysed to the point of suicide. Yes, I’m beginning to understand that about you.”
I already understood more than that.
I’d already deduced that this girl…she wouldn’t be allowed near me unsupervised after today. I wasn’t so cocky to think there wasn’t something about her that tempted me beyond realms that should never be crossed.
If I was honest, I’d been waiting for a purchase to affect me worse than the others.
I’d been dealing in sex for so long now, I secretly wondered if I’d ruined any chance of suffering true lust again. I hadn’t expected someone as young as her to entice me, but then again, I’d been a fucking idiot to list all the feminine attributes that I found attractive—not just my clients—for my next goddess.
I should’ve known I’d custom-designed a mail-order fuck slave that I’d have trouble resisting.
After all, I had strong inclinations toward brunettes. And she was most definitely a brunette with her dark, bitter chocolate hair. I liked tall girls with strength in their limbs and a willowy grace that belied feminine power. I liked clear skin and light eyes.
I should never have let her on my fucking shores.