But that did not mean I could go down the familiar path with her.
In fact, it meant I had to keep my distance. It meant as much as I wanted to march right back in there, blindfold her with my tie and bind her with her own panties before I felt those sweet lips slide down my cock—
I hissed as I slammed my fist against the hallway wall outside her room.
I heard her gasp inside.
Her being her meant I couldn’t do that. And if I knew what was good for me, I’d stop thinking it as well.
Before it was too late to stop myself.
I shook out my fist, my eyes narrowing at the locked door to her room, before I whirled and stormed away.
Chapter 9
Mia
I didn’t see anyone for the rest of the day. Around six — I had to trust the clock on the wall since there were no windows — though, there was a knock on the door.
I froze, steeling myself for another encounter, my muscles starting to coil as if preparing to fight again, even if I knew it was hopeless.
The knock came again, and I slipped from the bed. I pulled the robe tight, and then grabbed a blanket from the foot of the bed and wrapped that over my shoulders as well.
“Hello?”
The door unlocked with a click, and an older man stepped in, smiling and carrying a tray. His grey hair was thinned, and the lines in his face were deep, but he smiled in a kindly way as he stepped into the room.
“Evening, Ms. Thorne,” he spoke in a crisp, cultured voice. He nodded once at me, his eyes shining. I noticed that he shut the door firmly before he moved to the table in the far corner of the room and set the tray down. The lid came off with a flourish, and he nodded at the exquisite looking meal beneath it.
My stomach roared, and he smiled.
“Some sustenance for you, Miss.”
I bit my lip as my eyes searched his kind face. “Please,” I whispered. “Please, where—”
“Everything will be explained to you, Ms. Thorne.” He turned to leave, but I rushed to grab his arm.
“You don’t understand! I’m being kept here, against my—”
“Masters Holland, Blackwood, and Wilder have their reasons, miss,” he said quietly.
Masters Holland, Blackwood, and Wilder.
So, the other two had names now.
“Trust me when I say there are reasons for you being here — reasons that they will explain in due time.” He smiled again. “Believe me, you are quite safe here.”
He left as quickly as he’d come, leaving me alone with the food and my gurgling stomach.
Safe?
I wondered what was so bad out there that being here with them was a safe alternative.
After I ate, I found that the elegant bathroom off my windowless bedroom was fully stocked with a toothbrush and toothpaste, face scrub, towels, and soap. It felt good to scrub my face, brush my teeth, and even use the brush I found on the vanity to get the tangles out of my hair.
When I was done, I eyed the large, gorgeous, clawfoot bathtub along one white-tiled wall.
Screw it.
I shrugged off the robe and my underwear, and ran the water hot, before stepping in.
I groaned, letting the water soak out the tensions before I soaped up. I washed my hair, luxuriating in the heat of the water as I rinsed the soap out. There was a safety razor on the edge of the tub as well, and I even shaved my legs, for no other reason than to feel human again, despite my current position as prisoner.
After my shower, I opted for just the silk robe before I crawled under the covers.
My mind wandered again to Andrea, and my family, and I wondered if they were still looking for me. Looking for me without thinking in a million years that I’d be in some house outside the city, kept captive by three gorgeous, dark, and dangerous men in an elegant but windowless bedroom.
Eventually, somehow, I slept.
Chapter 10
Mia
I was just waking up the next morning when, the door unlocked sharply. I sat bolt upright, clutching the sheet to my chest as it swung open, and I swallowed thickly as I saw who walked in.
It was the other two men — the blonde one and the man with the piercing dark eyes and thick dark hair. Seeing as I’d met Oliver Blackwood the day before, that meant these two were Holland and Wilder.
“I trust you slept okay.”
I swallowed again, narrowing my eyes at the two of them as they stepped into the room and shut the door with a click.
I shivered.
They were more casually dressed this time — no jackets, but still in those crisp Oxford shirts and tailored pants.
“What do you want,” I hissed, narrowing my eyes at them.
A smile pulled at the corner of the blonde man’s lips. The dark-haired man just glared right back at me.
“Ms. Thorne, my name is Erik Holland, and this is Asher Wilder.”
I sneered. “And I suppose you want me to call you both sir as well, don’t yo—”
“Yes,” Ash growled lowly, his eyes burning right into me. “Yes, we do.”
I shivered under that gaze.
“And suppose I don’t feel like calling the men who bought me anything of the kind?”
That smug smile teased Erik’s lips again as he glanced at his friend, as if they were both amused by my fighting them.
“Then I suppose, Ms. Thorne,” Erik said quietly, turning back to me. “Then I suppose you will need convincing in that department.”
My mouth shut, eyes darting between them.
“You’ve never been a submissive, have you?”
I glanced at Ash, seeing his jaw tighten and his eyes dart over me.
“And you’ve never been trained, nor have you ever had a Dom in any way.”
“I don’t know what you’re even talking about.”
He shook his head. “You had no business being in the club that night, even less being in the Auction House.”
I glared at him. “Oh, right, because it was my choice to get dragged there by that asshole pal of yours Ryan, and then kidnapped and dragged to that disgusting place where you seem to think it’s okay to buy women.”
This time, the smile teased Ash’s mouth as well.
“Not our pal.”
“Excuse me?”
“Ryan Cunningham is not a friend,” Ash said quietly.
“You’re here because you need to be, Ms. Thorne,” Erik moved towards my bed, and my fists tightened on the sheets. “You’re here because it’s safe for you here. But while you are here, you will obey, and you will abide by the rules.”
I started to roll my eyes, when I gasped as he suddenly marched right up to the bed. “Do not roll your eyes at me,” he said sharply and quietly. And I thought about retorting, or throwing it back in his face, but there was something dark in those eyes of his that made me bite my tongue.
I nodded instead, and Erik smiled. “Good girl,” he purred.
I bit my lip.
“We’ll begin showing you those rules today. I’d like you to get out of bed, bathe, and get dressed.”
I nodded, and he raised a sharp eyebrow.
“What, now?”