For fun.
I traded in lives for cash, and I reveled in it. Watching men and women fall for the first strip of human flesh. What I did made me sick. To many, I was probably the worst kind of person to ever live, but I didn’t care.
Life was a game, and I loved to play it.
All I’d ever demanded was truth, loyalty, and the knowledge that when the time came for me to take a woman, she’d be untouched.
Ashley was that woman.
No man had even had the pleasure of kissing those full, plump lips.
I couldn’t wait to tutor her. To have her kissing me. The idea of training her to accept my touch, to learn to fuck me exactly how I liked, well, it certainly made my dick rock-hard.
Sipping at my drink, I saw her glance at her own glass but refuse to actually take it.
Stubborn woman.
The position I was offering her was something most women would jump at. I’d had many women who worked for me beg to service me. They craved to be at my mercy. Of course, they’d experienced many a fat cock in their body, and I didn’t have an interest in sharing.
I was a selfish, greedy bastard. A hypocrite. I was far from a virgin myself. All in the form of entertainment, I’d done some degrading stuff just to amuse myself with how far I could push a woman.
When it came to Ashley, she would never know a man’s touch. Never feel another’s cock inside her body. Every single part of her would belong to me. She would be my ultimate possession.
Mine.
“This is a joke.” She stood up and swayed a little.
The clothing she wore wasn’t designed to take this level of heat. I reached for her, but she swatted my hand away.
“Don’t touch me.”
I gripped her shoulders. No one told me what to do. I forced her to take a seat and snapped my fingers at the woman holding a tray of fruit. After taking some pieces off the platter, I pressed them to Ashley’s mouth.
“Open, or I force you to eat. Either way, I’m not having you die on my fucking watch. I’ve got too much shit to do, Ashley.” The Monsters would cause me a great deal of problems if they found out Ashley had died. I had no interest in killing her.
She glared at me.
So sexy. So defiant. I loved it.
The last thing I wanted was a woman who was scared of me, practically shaking in the corner like a terrified little puppy. I needed the fire. The passion. Ashley was seething with it, and I relished it.
Give it to me.
She opened her lips, and I slid a piece of papaya into her mouth. The fruit was succulent, juicy. I only had the best. Her eyes closed and a little moan escaped. Another part of her I adored was her love of food. I’d watched her at supermarkets, farmer’s markets, the way she appreciated good things.
We were more equally matched than she could realize.
After she’d eaten several pieces of fruit, I instructed one of my men to order her breakfast with my cook.
Once I snapped my fingers, they were gone, leaving me alone with her.
She wiped at her brow.
“Remove your clothes.”
Her hands went to her neck.
“No.”
“You’re hot, tired, and hungry. We’re not going to a cold climate for some considerable time. Remove your clothes.”
She shook her head.
I pulled a blade from the back of my pants and flicked it open, the tip glinting in the sunlight. “Either you take them off, or I do.”
She stood up, and her hands shook as she wriggled out of her pants. The items the restaurant had her wearing were pitiful. They did nothing for the curves she possessed. Full hips, a curved stomach, and juicy thighs that were meant to circle a man’s waist. Her skin was pale from the lack of sun, and in a moment, she stood before me in her gray underwear, her hands trying to cover herself.
Her cheeks were a nice shade of red, and she kept chancing looks at the men who had turned their backs.
I noticed one of the women who stood waiting to serve us giving her the stink eye. I snapped my fingers and signaled it was time for her to leave. If she could not show respect to my woman, then she didn’t have a right to be on my yacht. There were plenty of other jobs waiting for her, far less pleasurable.
“Sit.”
Ashley did as she was told, and I couldn’t help but feel a hum of pleasure rush through me at knowing she could take instructions.
It was good.
All I want to do was touch her, to feel her body next to mine, but instead, I sat back and watched her.
She was trying to hide her body.
“Sit back.”
“Don’t tell me what to do.”
“You think there won’t be a reward for your good behavior?”
“I’m not a child. Don’t treat me like one.”
“Believe me, I don’t see you as a child.”
Seconds passed, and the heat in her cheeks built up. I loved that she was nervous about being naked in front of me.
Good.
I liked her virginal response.
She wiped at her brow.
Finally, the guard brought out a tray of food. Without waiting for my instruction, he set it up and placed it in front of Ashley without looking her way.
“Thank you,” Ashley said as the man left.
No response.
Her shoulders drooped slightly.
“No one here will help you. No one will come to your aid. They work for me. I pay them.”
“So they’re used to you taking women without their consent.”
I merely smiled at her. She had no idea.
She lifted up her fork and began to play with the food on her plate, wrinkling her nose.
“The food is not to your liking.”
“I can’t eat runny eggs.” She picked up a piece of toast and nibbled on it.
I got up, tried the eggs, and found they were exactly to my liking. “They’re good.”
“I like overcooked scrambled eggs. It’s fine. I enjoy toast.” She took the second slice, leaning back and eating it.
This shouldn’t bother me. She was eating, which was a good sign, but I didn’t like the fact she didn’t like the food I provided for her. It pissed me off.
Still, I sat back down and looked at her.
She finished off the second slice and went back to trying to cover up her body. “What if I don’t agree?”
“There’s no room for negotiation.”
“You can’t kill anyone important to me. My mom’s dead. The Monsters took care of that.”
I tutted. “Oh, Ashley. You think your mother is the only person in the world you care about?”
“Emily is protected by the Monsters.”
“True, but, I’ve been an ally to them for many years. I know their strengths and I know their weaknesses. Emily is theirs, and you see, weak people make mistakes. She’s not protected.”
I saw tears fill her eyes, and she turned away, trying to avoid looking at me.
“Emily doesn’t deserve this. Leave her out of it.”
“Then agree, Ashley.”
She laughed. “You want me to agree. This is ridiculous. You kidnap me, tell me what you want, and you think I’m going to comply. This is my body. Mine. Not yours. Not her goddamn father’s. Mine. I get to do whatever the hell I damn well chose with it.” She got up and without even covering herself, she stormed away.
I didn’t follow her.