Excitement buzzed in the air, mingling with her terror and that of the other girls up for auction tonight.
More young girls like her, their futures stripped away from them the moment they’d been snatched off the streets. There was no future here, at least none that was worth living.
Eventually, the numbers stopped, although she was too terrified to find out in the end how much she was worth. Someone guided her off stage, and she was taken to a large room, kind of like a garage. In it were dog crates lined up against the wall. Some were empty, some already occupied. She was shoved into one, the sound of it being locked behind her seemed to echo through her head.
There wasn't enough space to stand up inside it, not enough to stretch out properly either. So she just huddled there, curled in on herself, clutching her naked body tightly as though physically holding herself together.
She had no idea how long she lay there, but eventually men filed into the room, grabbing the crates one by one and loading them onto trolleys, then rolling them out to the driveway. Her crate was loaded into a black van, sealing her in darkness when the doors closed.
Then they were moving.
Her fate was already sealed, even if she didn't know what that meant.
They seemed to drive for hours, but she wasn't really sure. When they finally stopped, more men were there, unloading her crate, wheeling it on a trolley through a fancy-looking mansion.
Eventually, they stopped in a pretty room, so much nicer than the basement cell she’d been expecting. This room almost looked fit for a princess, and for a second, Maya allowed herself to hope that things weren't going to be as bad as she’d feared.
One of the men transporting her unlocked her crate, then reached inside, grabbed hold of her, and hauled her out. When he stood her up and placed her in the center of the room, she knew enough to stand where she’d been put, that moving without permission would result in punishment.
Although maybe if this pretty room was going to be hers, the man who had bought her wasn't into punishments. Maybe she’d just have to pleasure him sometimes, and the rest of the time he’d spoil her.
Men.
Turned out to be men, three of them to be exact.
They prowled into the room, still in their tuxedos, even though early morning light was beginning to shine through thewindow. They circled her, and she shivered at the way they seemed to devour her with their gazes.
Since she was already naked, they didn't have to undress her, and she watched, her fear growing by the second as they stripped out of their clothes. They were huge walls of muscle, surrounding her, caging her in, and she knew that she had zero hope of escaping their clutches.
Already their erections were big and hard, straining toward her as though drawn to her virgin body. Since she was nothing more than a toy, none of them bothered to prepare her in any way for what was going to happen.
Hands grabbed at her.
Pain tore through her body as she was impaled on not one but two penises simultaneously. Her cries of agony were cut short when a third penis was shoved between her lips, choking her as she sobbed, her innocence torn away from her in a single brutal act that would haunt her for the rest of her days.
Chapter
Thirteen
March 4th
3:17 A.M.
The most pitiful whimpers roused him from sleep.
Thunder blinked to clear his eyes, unaware he’d even dozed off while still sitting on the floor outside Maya’s art studio. Usually, he wouldn't have gone to sleep while watching over his girl, but when Maya’s eyes finally drifted closed, still sitting in her chair, and her paintbrush slipped from her grasp, he knew she was out, and his exhausted body must have followed her into dreamland.
Now, as she continued to whimper, he realized that her dreamland was full of nothing but nightmares, while his had been filled with sweet moments with this beautiful, brave woman.
Shoving to his feet, Thunder entered her studio. Once he’d realized how upset she was and that she intended to ignore him, block him out, and pretend he wasn't there, he’d respected her space by remaining in the hall. But if she was having nightmares, then respecting her space had to take a backseat.
No way was he going to allow her to remain trapped in her dreams.
“Maya,” he called softly as he approached her. The last thing he wanted was to scare her further. While it had been a long time since he’d had nightmares, he used to have them frequently as a child, and then again after he and his team had been experimented on. He knew exactly what it was like to wake up unsure of where you were, unsure what reality was.
Another whimper tumbled from Maya’s lips, and her fingers clawed at her body as though she was trying to get something off her.
Unfortunately, since he knew what she’d lived through, he could imagine what.
