Stain (King's Harlots MC Book 2) (33 page)

“The next time Asher sees you, he’ll see the marks on your body,” Charles licked the side of my face, his hot breath scorching my skin. “He won’t want you when another man touched your innocence.”

“I’m not innocent,” I mumbled, licking my cracked lips.

“Oh, but you are,” he pushed his hips between my legs. “You’re a good girl, Meeka Cline. I could get a lot of money for you.”

Tears no longer threatened to escape. All I could do was lie there. Numb and broken. Charles didn’t violate my body but he sure as hell molested my mind. It was worse. I could get over the physical pain but with him towering over me, close and unwanted, I could feel the power pouring from his black soul. No. He would have to be human to have a soul.

I stared up at him, shutting off that part of myself that held true feelings. He couldn’t hurt me. He couldn’t damage me the way he tried to. It wasn’t about rape. I learned that quickly when Charles had the power to do so. But instead, he knelt between my legs, holding me captive beneath him. He spewed off lie after lie. That was his way. That was how he broke a person. The other girls, he touched and tortured but with me, for whatever reason he didn’t.

“Just sell me then. Get it over with.” My voice had been strong when really, the ice cold trepidation of fear threatened to consume me.

“It doesn’t work like that. You were supposed to be trained. Asher came in convincing me he was one of the best Masters out there. He paid a lot of money to get into the compound when really, he was trying to shut me down.” Charles narrowed his eyes. “I will not be fucked over again.”

“How did you find out?”

“How do you think? I know people on the inside. It’s always like that, isn’t it? You should watch more movies. Maybe you would learn something.”

“We’ve been watching you for weeks. Asher has been watching you for a lot longer. Why now? Why didn’t you reveal that you knew sooner?”

“Because it wasn’t time.” Charles stared at me, the small muscle in his strong jaw twitching. “When Asher came here, everything in me told me not to trust him, but when he started waving cash around, money talked.” He laughed. “It’s always that way, isn’t it? Sex and money.”

“Let me see him.”

“No.” Charles pulled a syringe out of the inside pocket of his jacket. “But he will see you.”

My eyes widened, my heart racing and I started struggling beneath him.

“Don’t fucking move, whore!” he bellowed, slamming his fist against my jaw. “Now look what you made me do. We’ll just have to get that covered up with makeup.”

My head rang, spots danced in my vision at the new onslaught of pain erupting in my face. “Please.”

“I love it when a toy begs.” Lowering the needle to my neck, he grabbed my hands so I wouldn’t slap him away. “I will get good money for you.”

A sharp sting poked me in the side of my neck, followed by a wave of darkness. As much as I tried to fight it, I allowed the darkness to take over, swallowing me in a blanket of terror.

HANDS TOUCHED
me. They groped and prodded. Spread me open. Massaged and kneaded. My brain told them to stop, that my body wasn’t meant for them. Only Asher. But I couldn’t. Nothing could escape my lips.

Whatever drug Charles injected me with wouldn’t allow me to move my body. I tried. I tried so hard to fight back, to move even just a toe but the exhaustion settled in and I gave up.

“Shhh … stop fighting it,” a gentle voice told me. “The faster you submit, the easier it will be for you.”

But I didn’t want to submit. Not to them. Not to Charles. Not to anyone. I wanted my control back. Asher had been the only person ever to take that control and throw it back on me in blankets of pleasure and ecstasy.

“We have to prepare you,” another voice said.

My eyes finally opened, scared as to what I would see but when they landed on two women, tears welled.

Why?

“We have no choice,” the one woman said, reading the question in my gaze. Her eyes softened. She was beautiful, no more than twenty-five I guessed. Her long blonde hair had been pulled up into a curly messy bun. A white sheer dressed hugged her curves.

I shook my head, or tried to. I wasn’t sure anymore. It didn’t make sense. They looked healthy. The other woman was younger, dressed in the same attire but her hair was brown. Her eyes weren’t so soft though.

“I’m Jessa,” the older of the two said. “And this is Sara.” Her gaze slid back to mine. “I understand this is rough, but it will get easier. I promise.”

How could she be so sure? Asher. God, I prayed with everything in me that he would come to my rescue. I didn’t want to be prepared. I didn’t want to be sold.
Sold
. My heart started racing. No. It wouldn’t happen. It couldn’t.

“Master said that you’re pure,” Sara said. “We have to make sure you’re clean.”

“We need to explain to her what that means, Sara,” Jessa scolded. “She won’t understand.”

“Sorry, Mistress,” Sara looked down at her feet. “May I try again?”

“Go ahead.” Jessa smiled softly.

“Master wants to put your innocence on display,” Sara explained. “He said that you being pure can get him a lot of money. If that happens, it means extra treats for us.”

My heart jumped. Was she fucking for real?

“Sara is in deep,” Jessa explained, talking like Sara wasn’t even in the same room. “They broke her, and she’ll never be the same. If you listen to me, you won’t get hurt.”

But I wanted out. I didn’t want to be here. I needed Asher. I needed my freedom.

“I know you have so many questions and you’re probably thinking how you can escape,” Jessa sighed. “But I’m sorry, Meeka. You’re no longer in control of your life. Charles owns you. That man you were with? You can forget about him. Once he sees you on display, he won’t want you anymore.”

No. That wasn’t true. He would always want me. It was inevitable. Licking my dry lips, I took several shall breaths before I responded. “Please,” I muttered, thankful that my voice started working. But the rest of me? No matter how much I tried, nothing would move. My fingers. My toes. I was frozen, in place. Whatever drug Charles injected me with forced me immobile.

“The drugs will wear off soon,” Jessa smiled.

“Why are you doing this?” I asked, my voice cracking.

“We have no choice,” she explained. “They treat us well. They’ve given me a better life than I could have ever asked for.”

“What about you?” I asked Sara.

“I had no life before here,” she said, her voice firm and final.

I swallowed hard, not expecting that sort of answer.

Jessa patted my hand. Even though I couldn’t move, I could still feel everything that was being done to me. The girls were gentle, but they cleaned and prepared every single inch of me. I was grateful that they were female but it still made me feel violated.

“They won’t hurt you,” Jessa said, her voice soft. “As long as you do everything they tell you to do.”

“I want Asher.” I swallowed past the lump in my throat. “Please. Just let me go.” I refused to give up. Jay had been through hell when Vega blew his head off in front of her. I couldn’t handle that. She had been strong and that broke her. I couldn’t deal with it if something similar happened to me.

“Why does she want to leave?” Sara asked Jessa. “Doesn’t she want to stay? Master won’t be happy that she’s being ungrateful.”

“Do not worry, Sara.” Jessa squeezed her shoulder gently. “Meeka is new. She has a lot of training to go through before she can truly appreciate the way of our world.”

“I don’t want to appreciate your world,” I struggled against the drug induced paralysis. “Please. I won’t tell anyone what’s going on here. Just let me leave.”

“I’m sorry.” Jessa grabbed my hands, rubbing them between hers. “Can you move anything yet?”

A tingle formed in my toes. Looking down the length of my body, I saw my toes wiggle, followed by my feet twitching back and forth.

“Good girl.” Jessa continued to massage me, her hands moving to my wrists and then to my forearms and higher.

Sara worked on my legs, her gaze piercing into mine every so often. She didn’t like me. I knew that. I could feel it as her eyes burned into my soul.

“What happens after?” I needed to keep them talking. If I was being sold as they said, I wanted as much information as possible before I lost myself. It was the only way I could keep some control. I read books. I did research. I knew what could happen to the victims when their minds were stripped bare and their bodies destroyed.

“You are presented to the people of the organization. They will see every inch that isn’t covered by the dressing.”

“Dressing?”

Jessa held up what looked like gold chains attached to a golden triangle. “This will show off your pale skin and your dark hair.” She smiled. “Don’t worry. It will cover all your bits.”

“I don’t want to be on display.” I pushed onto shaky arms, my exhausted muscles causing my head to swim.

“It needs to happen. If it doesn’t, we will get in trouble. Master trusts us.” Sara pushed me onto my back. “Don’t fight it. Once you succumb to your destiny, it will all be worth it in the end.”

“How can you say that? You’re like puppets. Are there more of you?”

“Of course.” Sara narrowed her eyes, grabbing hold of my hands. “But I belong to Master.”

“You … belong to him?” My heart jumped.

Sara pulled me to a sitting position, holding my wrists while I gained composure. “Yes.”

“Sara has been here awhile.” Jessa massaged oil into my back. “As much as she wants to be Master’s only pet, it doesn’t work that way.”

“Why not?” I didn’t care, but curiosity got the better of me. The more information I had on Charles, the easier it would be to bring his organization down. Or so I hoped.

“Master, or Charles to you, doesn’t want just one pet.” She pointed at Sara. “She doesn’t know better anymore. Each of his pets think they are the only one.”

I looked at Sara, waiting for any hint of despair at Jessa’s words but her face remained impassive. “Doesn’t she understand what you’re saying, though?”

“I wish.” Jessa sighed. “She’s too far gone. All of them are.”

“What about you?” I met Jessa’s gaze. “What makes you so different from the rest?”

“I bite.” She laughed, remembering some past memory. “When they first brought me here, I bit one of the security guards. For whatever reason, Charles thought it would be a good idea to keep me in charge of the girls. Because I’m the oldest, they call me Mistress.”

“Why are you happy here? These people take girls from their homes. They murder them. They’re monsters.” There was no way they could be okay with this.

“Those girls were in the wrong. The Masters were trying to teach them.” Sara’s hand tightened on my wrist.

“That’s no reason to kill them,” I cried, shoving from her grip.

“You’ll understand eventually.” Jessa gripped my shoulders. “We all do. It’s a little much to take in at first, but don’t worry, they won’t let anything happen to you as long as you behave and do what you’re told.”

“No.” I shook my head. “Take me to Asher.” Pushing off the table, I landed hard on my feet. My knees wobbled, unable to support my weight, and forced me to the floor. The remainder of the drugs swam through my head.

“There’s no way out,” Sara said, her hot breath caressing my ear. “You’re stuck.” Her eyes twinkled. It was the only hint of emotion that truly belonged to her that I saw. The others were trained, engrained in her mind by the hands of the monsters who brought her here. Was it possible? Could a mind be manipulated into believing something completely different? Could they change me? What if I was saved and Asher didn’t want me anymore because I had become a different person?

“Please,” I begged, trying with everything in me to rise to my feet but the drugs weighed me down.

“It seems like the drugs are still in your system. Don’t worry,” Jessa said, her voice hopeful. “You’ll be able to walk on your own soon. Until then, let’s get you ready.” She hooked her hands under my armpits and brought me to my feet.

Once the blood stopped rushing through my head, I did a quick scan of the room I was being held in. Instead of the black like Charles’ room, this one was gold and red. The furniture was antique and instead of a bed, I had been placed on a table.