AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I clear my throat, returning to the steak. “What were you doing with that guy, anyway? Now that we’re talking like two rational people, I have to say the question’s been on my mind from the beginning.”
She goes silent, her chest rising and falling in time with her quickened breath. She still hasn’t answered by the time I offer another bite of steak, which she accepts greedily. I’m surprised she doesn’t bite the tines off the fork.
Finally, after swallowing, she’s ready to speak. “Sometimes enough bad things happen in your life that all you want is a way out. Somebody makes it seem like they’re going to protect you and keep you safe, and you jump on that opportunity like it’s your lifeline.”
“I can’t believe he ever made you feel safe. No offense, but he doesn’t seem the type.”
“He made me feel worthwhile in the beginning. And he did protect me in his way. He told me…” She sighs, staring straight ahead, past me. I might as well not be here. “He told me I’d never have to do that kind of work again. Not as long as he was around. And I believed him.” Her voice is flat. Lifeless.
I feed her more potato, which she chews slowly while I assess her story. Why is she so fascinating? Is it because she doesn’t break down weeping? Or because she seems too intelligent to fall for some loser’s promises? Why do I get the feeling she’s not telling the entire story? “What got you into that life in the first place?”
She eyes me, smirking. “Why don’t you tell me what got you into this life? As if you had a choice, right?”
“Fair, but not the same.”
“I had nothing. No money. No education. No family to fall back on. But I had my body, which I guess is the only thing anybody was ever interested in, anyway. I had to live.”
“Did you come from a broken home?”
“What is this?” she snaps. “A sociology final? Yes, I did. What about your home? What turned you into a pimp, among other careers?”
“I’m the one asking the questions,” I reply. “I also have a knife in my hand, and you’re helpless, so maybe cut it with the attitude. I can only be a gentleman for so long.”
“Yeah, I’m sure.” She’s sullen, but she accepts more asparagus. Even now, when I can’t decide whether to strangle her or slit her open to repay her smartass comments, the sight of her lips parting tightens my throat.
“So life dealt you a shit hand. I’m sorry to hear that.”
“Not sorry enough to let me go,” she retorts.
“Like I said. A debt is a debt. I have to make my money somehow, right?” I lift the fork, offering steak, but she’s too busy staring at me incredulously to care. “What?”
“It’s just that I didn’t understand until now. You honestly believe what you’re saying, don’t you? You think you’re doing what needs to be done.”
“I am.”
“You’re doing what you want to do. You could choose to forgive his debt, or find some other way for him to pay you back. You could let me work for you in some other way. I offered, didn’t I?”
“I’m not interested in that.”
“You’re only interested in your money.”
“Correct.”
She scoffs. “How do you do it? You sit here and listen to me tell you I never had a chance, and you know I didn’t do anything to deserve this. But you’ll insist it has to be this way.”
“It’s business.”
“It’s lunacy,” she counters. “And to hell with the knife. You can use it on me for all I care. What’s the alternative? Being locked away for the rest of my life?” Her voice trembles with emotion, though I can’t tell whether it’s fear or anger driving her. The flush of color on her cheeks and the brightness of her eyes only get me stirred up again.
“Who says it’ll be for the rest of your life?”
“Oh, please. You think I’m naïve?”
“You fell for that slimy greaseball’s lies.” She recoils—and when I offer more steak, she tightens her mouth into a thin line. “Well? You did. It’s not the steak’s fault.”
She opens her mouth wide enough to accept the meat. “Stop changing the subject,” she insists while chewing. “You know this is a life sentence. So do I. I’ll have to spend the rest of my life letting one slimy greaseball after another put their hands on me and their dicks in me. And I’ll have to pretend to like it.”
The images her words conjure aren’t pleasant. In fact, they set my teeth on edge. I have a difficult enough time imagining that disgusting slob fucking her. Now that she’s described what lies ahead, I can’t help but resent the many men who’ll take pleasure in the luscious body now tied up in front of me.
