The female slaves, most with naked breasts, often had rows of dots tattooed around their nipples that in turn were stained varying shades of burgundy. Many of the male slaves were also naked and kept in a state of arousal, usually through a variety of drugs.
The room was jammed, some attendees standing around and drinking, others seated in several love seats. Many of the new slaves sat beside their owners, cut up and beaten, eyes glazed.
Reyes repressed the deep disgust that threatened to rise like bile up his throat. There would be time later to punish each and every slaver. For now, he needed to stay focused on doing all that he could to discover the man in charge and take him down.
Scorpion had kept his identity secret from the time Starlin came into existence. Once Reyes found out who the man was, he could begin the process of working his way into his inner circle. Beyond Scorpion’s identity, he needed the documents that detailed every aspect of how the organization worked. After that, he’d know exactly how to destroy Starlin from within, step by step.
As he moved through the room, attention became increasingly focused on Angelica.
When he’d told her earlier that he hated the idea of other men looking at her, he meant it. Some caveman part of him had already laid claim to her, so to have other men openly lusting after her scraped at his nerves.
Angelica’s voice pierced his thoughts. Calm down. I can feel your agitation like it’s rubbing against my skin.
It shows?
Well, that fist you’re making is at least one clue.
He relaxed his hand and stretched out his fingers.
That’s better.
For the next hour, he greeted most of the members by name, essentially working the room. What wasn’t lost to him was the goodwill that flowed in his direction. He realized that a lot of slavers here liked what he’d done by winning the bid, beating out Engles.
By the time he’d made a circuit of the large, ballroom-like space, Engles waited once more back at the top of the stairs. He gestured for Reyes to join him.
Engles wants us.
Got it.
Once Reyes was standing beside Engles—with Angelica on his other side, though as always slightly behind him—Engles caught Reyes’s hand.
Lifting it high, Engles called out, “Our winning bidder for our most sought-after slave.”
Heavy applause and a few whistles and shouts sounded through the room.
When the audience settled down, Engles turned to him. “And now, my friends, I have a surprise for my guest of honor.” He pivoted toward Reyes. “A theatrical performance from the owner of The Ruby Cave. The famous Eve said she knows you well and agreed to bring one of her troupes here, to perform for you tonight. Now follow me.”
Turning to his right, Engles led the way down the sloping path of the theater, settling them in a front-row love seat. The stage was situated just a few yards away, raised up only a foot, so that all the action would be at eye level.
More than one of the couples in the audience had already gotten busy, slaves on their knees. You need to prepare yourself. This whole thing might erupt into an orgy.
He heard her sigh. Great. Will I be expected to join in?
It’s standard courtesy that slaves be shared with other members of the club. But I won’t let that happen tonight.
Won’t they suspect you if you don’t participate?
We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.
He didn’t glance around but he knew damn well everyone in the theater would be watching him, and his slave, throughout the performance.
The lights dimmed, and at the same time the stage spots lit up the area to the left. Eve appeared, wearing red leather from head to toe. She was a tall woman with long blond hair that ranged past her knees. Tonight she wore it pulled on top of her head to cascade behind in a ponytail. But even that rope of hair landed mid-buttocks.
Eve owned The Ruby Cave and had been one of the leading performers of The Erotic Passage for a long time. She had a melodious, carrying voice. “Hello, my lovelies, and welcome to a performance by the Ruby Theater Players. Knowing that my good friend Reyes would be here, I designed a show just for him and for his lovely date.”
Eve was a major star in The Erotic Passage, otherwise known as The Passage. She was heavily into BDSM, but played the game by her own rules. He knew her well: she didn’t approve of slavery, but she had a no-judgment rule about everyone. Of course, it hadn’t failed to reach his notice that she often bought slaves, putting them to work in her club for a period of time, then eventually setting them free. By his count, she’d saved thousands.
He trusted her—so much so that she was one of only two people who knew of his mission. The other was the owner of The Passage, a short Italian vampire named Rumy. Both could keep a secret, and each had promised to help if he ever found a way to bring Starlin down.
On a more personal level, Eve had been trying to get him on her table, chained down, for a long time. She’d told him repeatedly that after everything he’d been through, a good dominance session would work wonders for him, give him the kind of release he’d been needing for a few decades now.
He’d never do it, of course. He’d made himself a promise that never again would a woman chain him down.
#
Angelica crossed her legs, grateful that at least for now, her body for the most part wasn’t on display. She relaxed against the soft cushion of what looked and felt like a regular old love seat. To her right another slave from the auction house was already bending her head down into the lap of her lord-and-master, and the show hadn’t even gotten started.
She drew her hair close to her face to block as much of that image as she could.
She was also grateful that Reyes had pulled her close so that she was pressed up against him. The cave wasn’t freezing, but without even a decent shirt or pants on, she was cold.
The woman, Eve, had an exotic appearance. She wore stiletto boots that rose past her knees, snug red leather pants, and a tight red leather bustier that supported large breasts.
She carried a long black whip. Swinging it once over her head, she cracked it at the end of the stage.
Angelica jumped.
At the same time, a sound track started up that had a deep thumping rhythmic bass, a strong guitar, and a beat that spoke of sex and not much else.
Angelica put a hand to her stomach. She didn’t want to be affected by what she was about to see, but Reyes’s warm body, her never-ending desire for him, and the sexual nature of the music rippled through her. She felt things she didn’t want to feel, more so because she knew Reyes had tensed up the moment Eve had said this performance was meant for him.
Even his thighs flexed and released.
At first, she thought it was a sexual reaction; then she realized it had to be something else because sex was not the sensation she got from him right now. If she had to define it, she’d call it fear. But what did Reyes have to be afraid of in a theater like this?
From the back of the stage, two men in loincloths rolled a massive wall to angle toward the audience, locking it in place on the floor. Chains with manacles, meant for wrists and ankles, hung from the wall, similar to the ones Reyes had put her in earlier.
Another woman, also carrying a whip, entered the stage completely nude.
The two loincloth men returned, dragging a third man in a black tux. The spotlight focused on him as the first two chained him up.
The completely nude woman, a very athletic vampire, used her whip. The first crack caught the man’s coat in a deep tear.
He winced, and the audience knew the whip had stung.
Soft groans moved around the theater, but Reyes’s tension level ramped up. The female repeated the process in quick succession, her arm and eye trained to strip the man of his clothes while leaving very few significant cuts behind.
The male servants tore the strips between strikes so that more and more of his well-muscled body appeared.
The music continued to beat the erotic rhythm and the whip kept time so that even Angelica could see the exquisitely orchestrated artistry of the performance.
But what surprised her the most was that once the servants pulled the torn pants away, the man was fully erect behind a pair of snug briefs. He clearly enjoyed the experience, the fear, the pain.
She was pretty sure the entire audience held its breath as the female, on the beat, and in two quick successions, cut to either side of the man’s groin and sent his briefs falling to the floor. The two men gathered up his torn-up clothes and left the stage.
Angelica covered her mouth with her hand. Despite the fact that the man was clearly enjoying the performance, she couldn’t get past the public nature of the spectacle.
The woman moved forward and, no surprise, began fondling his arousal.
#
The whip, the chains, the seductive female, drew Reyes into the past, his years as a slave. He’d belonged exclusively to Sweet Dove to use as she saw fit, to share him when it pleased her.
She had places of punishment and of pleasure, so that over time his body became confused. What hurt him often dealt out reams of exquisite sensation, and what should have been pleasurable caused him a terrible agony of his mind and his vampire soul.
Sitting in front of a show, beside a woman he’d desired intensely for months now, had his body in an uproar. The whole time, guilt and shame tightened his chest.
The sight of the woman now caressing the slave’s thighs and groin, her lips surrounding his erection, sent shock waves through his body. He wanted to look away but couldn’t.
Eve walked around the performers, cracking her whip to the beat of the music. The tempo increased, and the woman rose from her knees.
On cue the two servants returned and lifted her, poising her split legs over his cock. The man struggled in the chains, thrashing his head back and forth, feigning his unwillingness.
She mounted him and the man grew still, his eyes rolling in his head.
How many times had Reyes known this moment with Sweet Dove, trying to restrain his desire only to have all the physical sensations, both brutal and sensual, coalesce in an erotic wave of pleasure.
She wrapped her legs around his waist. Once she was secured with her hands on his shoulders, the servants drifted back into the shadows.
She rode the slave hard, using her vampire strength to work his body. She shoved his head to the side and he in turn shouted his pleasure as the woman bit into his vein and started to drink. No playacting, either. This was the real deal.
But at the moment that the play should have climaxed, the wall began to tremble and the slave’s arms flexed. The woman cried out, a long lingering groan that turned to a scream as the slave broke free of his chains.
The audience gasped, crying out in shared ecstasy as well.
The slave, now free of his manacles, whirled the woman in his arms and with his hips pistoning hard drove relentlessly into his owner.
This time, he bit into her neck, returning the favor, grunting as he pushed inside her in heavy, powerful thrusts.
The woman’s face looked pained at first; then her arms wrapped around him and she began to moan, then utter cries of ecstasy.
Finally, the man lifted off her neck and pounded into her so that her whimpers turned to screams as she came and as he shouted his release.
Reyes watched unblinking as both pairs of hips settled down, the music subsided, and the lights grew dim. The couple on stage breathed hard.
Reyes gripped his thighs, his fingers digging in deep.
A single spotlight followed Eve to the front of the stage. She met and held Reyes’s gaze. “May you know the pleasure one day of release through domination. And may you break free of your bonds.”
The lights went out and the audience applauded wildly.
Reyes could have adjusted his vampire vision, but he didn’t want to; in fact, he couldn’t. He sat, unable to calm his erection, his body trembling.
Angelica’s voice once more slid through his mind. You’re shaking.
He couldn’t speak, not even telepathically, as though the nature of the show had scrambled his neurons.
The crowd had already started moving around. Someone stood in front of him speaking his name, but he couldn’t make it out, couldn’t focus, couldn’t think.
He lifted his gaze slowly and in the recess of his mind recognized that Engles now stared at him.
“Reyes?” His name sounded as if spoken underwater, only with long echoes.
The performance had taken him back at least a century in time, to the middle part of his captivity when despair had made him contemplate chewing off his own hands, halting the healing process, and welcoming death.
He felt a hand slip around his elbow and squeeze, a tender touch that startled him blinking.
Reyes, come back. You’ve got to come back. Engles looks suspicious. I don’t know what you’ve got planned, but you’re about to blow this whole thing.
He turned slowly to stare at her, horror-stricken. Why are you touching me?
He couldn’t believe anyone would want to touch him. He was a filthy slave, used so many times by Sweet Dove and her friends that he was unworthy of ever being touched again. But then Angelica didn’t know the complete truth of who he was, how many times he’d orgasmed on command for Sweet Dove, or how many men he’d fucked during his captivity in hell.
And with that his mind shut down completely.
Chapter Six
Angelica watched Reyes turn away from her to stare blankly at the now empty stage. Something had happened to force his mind inward. Maybe the performance had been too much.
She glanced around and saw that all eyes had turned to them, waiting expectantly.
She used telepathy again. Reyes, come back to me. You have to do something.
When he didn’t respond, panic set in—not just that his plans might be disrupted but for her own safety as well. If Engles attacked right now, Reyes wouldn’t be able to defend himself, and she knew enough about the bastard to know that Engles would take command of her if he could.
She made a quick decision and aloud, said, “Yes, master, I’ve heard your command within my mind and I’ll do as you say. I’ll obey you in everything.”
With all eyes in the theater now on her, she felt nauseated as she rose up slightly, trembling, and moved in front of him. She lowered herself to her knees as so many other slaves had already done that evening.
She spread his legs, moving between to undo his pants. Not surprising, he was firm and ready for her. Without allowing herself to think about the horror of the moment, she focused on Reyes, knowing that if he didn’t get with it, he’d lose his standing with Engles and the rest of the Starlin members and she’d be caught in a madman’s power.
She slid her mouth over his cock, shutting out the movement and increased groans all around her, even the nearby approving comments.
Reyes, you feel so good in my mouth. You’re a big man and hard as a rock. She reached between his legs and fondled his balls as she sucked, then stroked the length of his stalk.
I’ve wanted you from the first moment I set eyes on you. I’ve hungered for you, craved your cock. She tongued his crown, sliding over the ridge, teasing the most sensitive parts.
She kept her ministrations tender, hoping that the feel of her tongue would bring him out of his mentally locked-up state. Maybe then they’d both survive.
She also blocked everything else out of her mind. She recalled her fantasies of having his body beneath her hands and let herself go there again, pretending she was alone with him.
You have a beautiful cock, thick and long. She took as much of him in her mouth as she could, working him with her hand at the same time, slow upward pulls.
Reyes, I’ve wanted to do this for months now. How many times I’ve longed for your body moving over mine, your cock buried deep, your hips thrusting harder and harder. I could come like this. I’d only need the
pressure of your hand pressed between my legs and I’d be screaming with pleasure.
She moved faster, her head bobbing up and down.
He started to respond, his hips rocking slowly.
Yes, that’s it. You like what I’m doing. Come back to me, Reyes. Let me know I’m pleasing you.
#
Reyes began the long journey back because pleasure rode his thighs, his abdomen, and his cock. A warm, wet mouth worked him.
With his eyes closed, he heard a voice in his head, a woman’s voice. With a start he recognized Angelica, but what was she saying? His mind felt muddy and strange. She talked about loving his cock, wanting to come like this.
Like what?
He strove to make sense of what was happening. Mostly, he felt like he was waking up very slowly from a sex dream.
Angelica?
I’m here. Just enjoy what I’m doing. That’s it. You’re so hard. I can feel you’re close to release.
Her mouth sucked a little harder, but her hand worked him faster at just the right pressure. He slid his palm to the back of her head and flexed his hips, pushing as she sucked.
He loved that she was sucking him.
Other images intruded, of Eve and her red leather, of the dominance show, of the theater in Engles’s home.
Tension flowed through him, not in a good way, as reality returned. Angelica, what the hell is happening?
But she didn’t pause in her movements. Just go with it, Reyes. I’ve got this. Engles is watching and you need to come for me.
This isn’t right.
With her free hand, she dug her nails into his abdomen, drawing his attention low.
He opened his eyes as her voice once more penetrated his mind. She met his gaze, staring up at him. I’ve wanted you like this. Did you know that? I’ve wanted all of you in my mouth from the time I first saw you. I’ve pleasured myself repeatedly with thoughts of having your cock right here, my tongue swirling over you.
Reyes finally returned to reality and in a brief flash realized all that Angelica was doing for him in this moment, the sacrifice she was making. As a slave, he’d been in this position, having to perform against his will, against his morality. But she’d chosen to do this for him.