BLYSS (Blyss Trilogy #1) (17 page)

“We wouldn’t want that, would we?” I say facetiously.

Jared leans forward over his knees, resting on his elbows. “The men that buy from us…they seek a lifelong partner; they want beautiful princesses. These drugs are also designed to cause the female to crave erotic pleasure, and with proper nutrition and exercise, it all makes for a perfectly-harmonious combination. My studies have also shown they actually improve brain function.” He’s gone way off track again. “There is a strong link between optimal brain function, sexual vitality, and good general health.”

I feel bile rising from my gut just thinking about being an Investment, something these people are altering and fixing up to sell, like a house being flipped. I’m starting to zone out as Jared rambles on, entertaining himself with his own knowledge. I’m fairly certain I’ve heard enough. The bottom line is these men are seriously messed-up in the head.
 

Travis decides to play with my hair, twirling it around his finger, and it sends butterflies to my stomach. Damn their drug; it’s starting to affect me. His tender ministrations are affectionate and sweet, melting me even though I want to hate him so badly. I’m pulled from my thoughts of Travis when I hear Jared’s voice pipe up in excitement.

“…but the real surprising thing,” he says in wonder, “is all of these women we treat here,” he waves his hand around in the air, “every single one of them is seriously content, and they can’t imagine how they’ve lived so long without this lifestyle and this drug. They literally thrive.”

“No, they’re brainwashed; they’re fucked—literally and figuratively!” I yell in a heated breath. “You want to know what really blows my mind? The fact you all act as if you have our best interests at heart!” I feel Travis tighten his grip on me again after my outburst. His heavy body lying on top of mine is starting to get to me; my left leg is beginning to prickle, going to sleep. I couldn’t kick the bastard right now if I tried. I wince at the growing tingling sensation.

He leans down, whispering into my ear, “What’s wrong?”

“Besides the fact I’m here against my will?” I breathe furiously. “My left leg has gone to sleep.”
 

Travis shifts his body weight, allowing blood to flow to my lower extremities—thank the Lord! Jared rises up off his chair, gets in my face, and glares at me with enmity radiating from behind his glasses. “Oh, make no mistake—I do care, but my biggest interest is in success, and the healthier and more compliant these women are, the more successful I am. You can’t even begin to imagine the name I will create for myself. You see, the market analysis still sees multi-billion dollar opportunities, and I am on that train, young lady. I have created the perfect drug, the perfect aphrodisiac—Blyss.”

“You know, it would be a whole lot cheaper if you came up with a drug to make men not desire sex. It would save the world a lot of money...and women a lot of heartache, which would be bliss enough. We’re not lab rats, you asshole!”

Jared walks away from me toward the counter, and then turns around. He leans his backside against the counter top, crossing his ankles. “What would be the fun in that, love? No,” he says, shaking his head, “men love the personal self-gratification they get from sex. Some men are so consumed with and addicted to sex they would sell their soul to the devil for one last romp in the hay. It’s too lucrative of a business, love. Oh, and Blyss is the name of the drug, spelled with a ‘y’,” he informs me.

“Ah, thanks for the correction. How very ‘80s of you, Jared. It sounds like you’re the devil himself, and the horny bastards would be so stupid to spend their last dollar in Hell, wouldn’t they?” I catch my breath and stare the devil down. “I want you to know, not if, but when I get out of here, I’m going to take your ass down. Then, I’m going to hire my own scientist and recruitments. I will have a drug created that will make a man go impotent for life from the first swallow, injection, or whatever method of delivery I choose to manufacture!” I feel Travis’ body begin to shake with laughter, but I ignore him. I’m so passionately-pissed and enraged that I want to believe I can make such a drug.

“My women will be spread worldwide, and like vampires in the night, we will hit the streets, stalking our prey. We will suck the testosterone right out of their baggy balls, rendering them useless creatures,” I threaten with conviction.
 

Travis’ body shakes harder, silently laughing, but Jared bursts out with a guffaw, folding forward to place his hands on his knees. “My God, I can see why Nick wants you,” he says, shaking his head. “Not only are you smart and beautiful, but you’re a spitfire, full of life, and have a fertile and vivid imagination to boot.”

“Who says I’m joking?” My face is full-on serious, and I’m breathing angrily. “I don’t see the funny. I wonder how you would feel if the situation was reversed.”

“Yeah, good luck with that one.” Jared grins, entertained as he leans back against the counter again, crossing his arms. “I’m sure many men have fantasized being taken by hot babes and forced into all the free and kinky sex they could stand.”

I scoff. “I guaran-damn-tee there are more women than not who would want nothing more than to render men’s dicks useless. Hell, I’d manufacture it and give it away for free!”

“Yeah? Let me know how that works out for you.”
 

“Oh, believe me, I will. In fact, you’ll be the first to know. I’ll use you the way you’re using me right now. You’ll be my first experimental guinea pig. I’ll have your nerdy, pompous ass chained to a wall.”

“Girl, you are one hell-raising wild cat, aren’t you?” He turns to Travis and says, “I truly see what you mean now, needing to up her dosages. She’s got her own set of balls.”

“Yes, I know. How much longer before this sedative takes effect?”
 

Jared looks at his watch and replies, “Another seven minutes, give or take. She’s still pretty wound-up, Travis. Are you sure you wouldn’t rather use the restraints?”

I whip my head around to stare Travis down in shocked confusion. He opted to stay on top of my body, to hump me, when he could’ve strapped me down. When it finally dawns on me, his look says everything I need to know. He gives me a sheepish grin, the smug bastard.
 

Before I have the opportunity to ream Travis out, Jared speaks up, getting down to business. “Are you taking any form of birth control?”
 

“That’s none of your damn business.”

 
“No matter,” Jared says, waving his hand and dismissing me, “we’re going to do the shot anyway.”

Shot?
“Um, excuse me? I don’t think so.” My body immediately tenses.

“You never know, you may like this one. I have figured a special dose of hormones into your daily medicine. Your system will bypass your monthly menses, allowing your body to have it only once every three months.”

“How generous of you, Jared. Wouldn’t want your willy to wither, not on account of some period blood anyway.” Travis chokes on his breath at my crude remark. “You’ve certainly thought of everything, haven’t you? Down to how often these men can get their dicks wet.”
 

The sedative is starting to work against me, but I can still feel my anger brewing. I want to throttle Jared’s neck, and I struggle valiantly against Travis. I feel woozy, as if my brain is beginning to separate from my body. I’m slowly losing the battle, and words seem to come out with less force than before. I don’t imagine they will entertain my disorderly conduct and smart mouth for much longer, so I throw one more log on the fire.

“You won’t get away with this!” I scream, using the last of my energy. “You sick, chauvinistic bastards, just wait ’til the police, the FBI, the government, the whoever finds out what you’re doing here. Then I’ll make damn sure your entire crime syndicate is blown to smithereens!”

Travis’ loud, mocking laugh takes me by surprise. He’s been mostly quiet the entire time, until now. “You’re pissing in the wind thinking that will ever happen, sweetheart. The government is a laughable entity, “ he says acidly. “They’re too busy being self-absorbed and living in a fantasy land of their own to give a damn about you. Sex trade is a mere problem that doesn’t exist to them; they would rather turn a blind eye. It would interfere with things that really matter...you know...like spending your hard-earned tax dollars on billion-dollar vacations and passing bills trying to slowly take away your constitutional rights.”
 

He scoffs at me again. “Those who “buy” women are rarely arrested. There are simply not enough resources to protect the victims. So you see the quandary you’re in now, darlin’? Most Americans assume this trade only happens in third-world countries, when in fact, we keep them right here, hidden in plain sight. From upscale strip clubs to dingy cantinas. It’s everywhere; not to mention, federal prosecution of trafficking literally takes years.”

“My father will find me, and he will take justice into his own hands,” I sneer.

“Yes, well, even if he knew the general vicinity in which you are being held, there is no way he’d be able to get in. This facility doesn’t exist; it can’t even be found on the blueprints. There are only two ways to get in and out of here, and the high-tech building security and manpower are over the top.” Travis shakes his head. “There’s no way in hell he can find you, let alone rescue you. I don’t care if he has a battalion of men behind him; there is simply no way.”

His declaration sucks the wind from my sails, leaving me with an overwhelming sense of loneliness and despair. I refuse to believe my father can’t find a way in, and I also refuse to let Travis see my building panic.
 

“Why even bother trying to manipulate? Why not just take what you psychos want?” I start to feel my body tremble under Travis’ hold, and my lower lip begins to quiver. “It’s…it’s all just so backwards and sick. It’s all so wrong; you have no right to take the freedom of others.” I feel bile rising up from my stomach again, and I desperately try to tamp it back down.

“Don’t you know you can draw more bees with honey, sweets?” Jared chides. “These men who buy from us, they don’t get off on “broken” girls. Women who are unhealthy, unresponsive, and devoid of emotion do nothing for them.” He turns around and opens a cabinet above the counter, shifting things around. He speaks over his shoulder, “What these men want, they’re willing to pay an exorbitant fee for. They’re either looking for a loyal and submissive slave, or they want a steadfast and committed relationship. They want their women responsive, full of vigor, affectionate, and caring. Their masters hunger for an intense and animated passion that is reciprocal.”
 

“What the hell ever happened to consensual relationships? It’s pretty pathetic if a man needs to drug a woman to keep her,” I declare as my arms struggle against Travis’ hold. Without moving my head, my eyes shift to him, and I give him an evil glare. I’m sick of being pinned down.
 

“Yes, well, you’re probably too young to realize this simple fact, but women are difficult creatures to live with.” He chuckles as he finds what he’s looking for in the cabinet, laying items out on the counter. “They’re demanding, insatiable beings whose moods shift like the wind.”

I let out a fake laugh. “Dealing with beasts such as yourself, I can’t imagine why.”

“Men get tired of that shit, and if they’re married, the next likely phase winds up being divorce, the rate being well over fifty percent now,” Jared rambles, ignoring my comment. “These men are tired of the drama and tired of getting taken to the cleaners.”
 

“I can’t believe I’m hearing this,” I murmur and shake my head.

Jared turns around to fully face me and tilts his head. “I’m not talking about taking away your personality, Julianna. I’m talking about you achieving stable subservience, becoming a dutifully-subdued, unassertively-passive, and delightfully-submissive female. Think back to centuries ago, when a woman knew her place. She was made to serve man, but then the women’s rights movement came along and helped make a mess of things.”
 

“You arrogant asshole!” I shout as caustic anger oozes from my narrowed eyes. “Not everyone wants to live under men’s skewed, rigid rules or their distorted established order, especially if they have to be drugged in order for it to be enforced!”
 

Jared sniggers. “Case in point, women have forgotten their place, their role in life, and they’ve never been taught otherwise.” He lifts his eyebrow and points his index finger at me. “You’re one of the lucky ones, you know. These are not just your ordinary, everyday men. They are wealthy, and they’re looking to invest in a woman to obtain their ultimate dream, whatever that may be for them. But believe it or not, Julianna, these men spend over a million bucks to own their most prized possession.”
 

Jared turns back around, fiddling with his items on the counter. After a moment’s pause, he turns and speaks again, ticking off with his fingers, “It’s similar to owning a purebred racehorse. They’re expensive, the most sought after, they have majestic beauty, they’d give their last breath to their owner, and they exert every bit of energy into doing what it is their handler wants them to do. They give all their heart and soul with every last fiber of their being, and in return, they’re treated like royalty.”

“Yes, all under a horsewhip. Lucky me, indeed.” I scowl with a hiss. “What ever happened to moral standards? I’m not some animal to be…” my voice trails off. I think I’m going to puke. I swallow the acidic saliva pooling in the back of my throat.