chapter 30
Oh, sweet God in heaven. Josh’s boiling anger shuddered off his body the moment Liv’s lips wrapped around him. Every molecule of thought descended into the wet clasp of her mouth. He swelled against her tongue in a violent surge of blood, his balls alive with electric shocks.
Nothing compared to the unfathomable suction of her lips, and he would’ve been lost in the pleasure if Traquero weren’t brutalizing her backside. It required a double-backboned power of will to stare into Traquero’s eyes of soulless black and regather his brain cells.
Maybe if he hadn’t lived such a sheltered life, he could’ve predicted this, would’ve been able to stop it. Now all he could do was trust that she’d made the best decision for her loved ones without destroying herself in the process. No matter what happened, he intended to be there to help her heal.
He squeezed his fists so tight the wires broke skin, grounding him in a way his prayers hadn’t.
Why didn’t she just let Traquero force him instead? Didn’t she know watching her suffer was a torture worse than experiencing it firsthand? Perhaps the same rang true for her. She’d promised to protect him, and he hadn’t realized what it would cost her.
What could he do? He didn’t have his arms, but if he stood, kicked high and hard in that vile face, he might— Might what? Buy them time to run? That wouldn’t save her family.
Her trembling fingers clutched at his waist, and he was thankful for the cage of chains and the command that held his eyes hostage. One downward look at the savage motion of hips, or worse, if he found a haunted expression on her face while she sucked him, his obedient slave routine would shatter.
“Come now.” Traquero’s voice was an abrasive rasp, bred by a hundred stolen thrusts.
She responded by accelerating the speed and intensity of her sucking, pumping her fist in sync with her mouth, urging him to comply. And he would. He would end this for her.
He kept his eyes on Traquero but didn’t see him, his mind chasing every beautiful and painful thing he loved about this girl. Her guarded brown eyes, her rare smile, the purity of her voice, the cut of her whip, her lips sliding over his length. The grip she held on his heart and her control over his body made him ache, sped his pulse, tightened his groin, gathering, reaching.
Traquero grunted. “Come.”
Only for her. He held it, let it coil, until she pinched his backside. His climax barreled through him, strangled his breath. He gave it to her, all of him, raw and willing, his release in her mouth so intimate, the room melted away. He was on her tongue, dripping down her throat, fusing with her body. Just the two of them. He was hers.
The horrors around him snapped back with Traquero’s gasp. “Unnngh.” The bastard’s body doubled over her arched spine, trapping her chest against Josh’s thigh. The wife wailed a pitiful moan, and he laughed. Then he stood, stuffed the used condom in his pocket, and tucked himself into his slacks. “Get up.” He jerked his bald head at Liv.
She replaced the scarf over her nose and mouth. Josh ached for her, and that ache erupted into a burning rage. He wanted her to remind Traquero she wasn’t a slave, even as he knew she wouldn’t be able to reason with a man whose evil bled from his skin to his bones.
She adjusted her skirt and rose with shoulders stiff, hands fisted, and eyes smoldering like embers of a dying fire. “Boy, go stand by the door.”
Dammit, Liv. He knew she was sending him out of harm’s way, but what about her safety? If he disobeyed, the deal would fall through and her family would suffer.
He fixed his gaze on the floor and crossed the room, sweat dripping down his back in his effort to obey. Every step away from her killed him.
“Give me the referral, and we have a deal.” She wielded her voice like a blade slashing the air, but there was a slight hitch in the inhale that followed. Pain from the brutality she’d endured? Fear of what might happen next?
Traquero paced a circuit around the room, gathering his suit jacket and straightening his tie. “I don’t like what I see.”
Her laugh was a cold shiver. “What, his cock’s too big for you? His face is too pretty? What the f*ck do you not like?”
“He comes for you, not me.”
The man just did unspeakable things to her and had the balls to sound petulant. Josh was a hairsbreadth from body slamming him. He locked his legs. To stand there and do absolutely nothing flung his nervous system into a havoc of messed-up signals. His muscles pumped to use physical force while his brain bellowed the consequences.
Despite what just happened, she’d dealt with predators like Traquero before. She was their best shot at getting out of this. So he kept his eyes down, his periphery rising no further than their waists.
“You wanted a straight boy. Of course, he’s going to come for me.” She leaned a shoulder against the wife’s suspended body as if she were a lamp post. Her fingers rested on her thigh, just inside the top of her boot.
Traquero’s pacing stopped behind a narrow counter. “Get away from her.” Liv straightened but didn’t step away. “After ten weeks of training, he will crawl to you on his belly, lick the cheese from your nut sac, and plead for your cock in his ass, all while quivering with anticipation to come on your command.”
The god-awful image boiled bile into Josh’s throat. He stood by the door, his distance from her a heavy frustration, his chains equally so. At least, the width of the room separated her from Traquero.
“There’s something else going on.” Traquero buttoned his jacket. “You’re protecting him.”
“I protect my assets, you delusional f*ck. Until you pay, he’s mine to keep undamaged and unused. If you’re not man enough to want him, another Master will be. Do we have a deal?” Her voice was ice, but beneath her taunting, Josh could hear a crack. If Traquero were listening past her words, he would’ve heard it, too.
“No,” Traquero said. “No deal.”
Silence, so stagnant it clotted Josh’s inhales and clung to his skin. His muscles contracted, preparing. What was she thinking? What would she do? Her temerity scared the ever-loving crap out of him.
“Go to the car, boy.”
She was out of her mind. He rooted his feet to the floor.
“You go.” Traquero shifted against the counter. “He stays.”
Josh snapped his head up as Traquero pulled a snubnosed revolver from beneath the counter and trained it on Liv. Blood thundered in his ears. He jerked forward and crashed to a halt when he saw the gun in her hand.
She shoved the barrel through the ring that held the wife’s mouth open. “Are you a good shot, Traquero? Maybe you’ll hit me at that distance. Maybe you won’t.” Her dark eyes blazed with ruthlessness, but flickering in the depths was a hint of desperation. “We both know I won’t miss.” Josh’s heart died in his throat. Liv was gambling on Traquero’s caliber of bullet, his accuracy from thirty feet, and his level of duress. If he didn’t hit her with the first shot, chances were he’d kill her with the second.
The room stood still, waiting for Traquero’s response.