I lie in my bed after showering all of my makeup off. I’ve slipped into a pair of sleep shorts and a tank, curling between the sheets in hopes of falling asleep for a nap. My hopes are completely dashed. My mind is too fucking spun up.

All I can think about is Aidan and Timofei, about their meeting. I want to know what is going on. Does Aidan really want me? To keep me? My heart races at the possibility. Stupidly, I imagine what it would be like to live in his home with him, to be a stepmother to his children.

I’ve never allowed myself to think of children before. However, even if it seems silly, it also seems almost attainable—motherhood. I don’t imagine he’d want anymore, but to be a mother to his children, it would be enough for me, enough of a dream come true that I think I could feel complete.

I let out a breath, rolling onto my back. The hope is fruitless, and I should stop dreaming of impossible dreams. Madam Carmella always taught me to be aware of what was reality. Do not let your head lift to the clouds, do not dream things that will only leave you crushed and devastated. I’ve done all of that when it comes to Aidan. A million mistakes wrapped up into a few short weeks. It’s so very stupid of me.

With a long exhale, I close my eyes. I need to get some sleep. I need to calm down and try to relax. I need to forget Aidan, forget all about him and what my imagination has been dreaming up about him—about us. Us. I snort, I’ve totally made up the fact that there is even an us. Sure, he claims he wants to keep me, but most men feel territorial about their toys.

A knock on the door has my heart racing as I sit up and look around. I don’t know where I am, it takes me a few moments to gain my bearings and I let out a sigh when I realize that I’m in my bed at the safe house. Without any warning, the door flies open, and I grab the sheet, pulling it up to my chest as I squeak in surprise.

When my eyes meet his, I let out a sigh of relief. “Aidan,” I breathe.

His eyes darken as they sweep through the room. “Say it again,” he orders.

“What?”

He smirks, closing the door behind him. “My name.”

“Aidan,” I exhale again, watching him as he begins to remove his suit.

He chuckles, dropping his pants and boxers to the floor before he steps out of them. I watch as he crawls up from the bottom of the bed, hovering over my body, forcing me to lie down.

“You’re going to say my name when you come on my cock again, aren’t you? You’re going to say the name of the man who bought you, who now owns you, aren’t you, A rùnsearc?”

A shiver breaks out over my entire body from his words. The man who bought me. I’m too shocked to ask him exactly what that means, what owning me means. Is it for a period of time with an expiration date, or for always? My heart begs for always, but my brain knows that everything, every single fucking thing in this world has a shelf life and I am no different.

Aidan grabs a fistful of bedding and rips it away from my body. I watch as he wraps both of his hands around my sleep tank and rips it completely in half, leaving it open and my chest completely exposed. He does the same with my shorts until they’re nothing but tatters of material laying on the bed.

“No more clothes, Giovanna. You’ll always be free of makeup and clothes,” he mutters, nuzzling my neck.

I pinch my eyes closed, his earlier meanings now completely clear. He purchased me, only to hide me away some more. I’m reminded of my mother and a wave of dread fills me. I’ve never wanted to be her, and yet, here I am, destined to be exactly like her.

His mouth touches mine, and I allow his tongue to slip inside of me. Letting my eyelids flutter closed, I try to ignore the sadness that attempts to overwhelm and consume me. Instead, I allow Aidan to consume me.

I spread my thighs, feeling his hips settle between them, and I moan when I feel his hard length press against my center. I’m still tender from earlier today, but that doesn’t take away the ache of needing more of him. His hips shift and his cock slides through my center, hitting my clit and forcing me to rip away from his kiss with a moan.

“A rùnsearc,” he groans, shifting his hips again. Then when he does it a third time, he actually slides inside of me.

I lift my legs, tucking my shins against his ribcage. He places his hands on either side of my head, his blue eyes completely focused on me and without a word, he fucks me. It isn’t as hard as earlier, but there’s no mistaking he’s using his power and strength as he thrusts into my waiting body.

“You’re mine,” he grunts. “Say it.”

My eyes widen at the angry tone he’s using with me, his thrusts beginning to speak volumes. “I’m yours, Caro.”

I whisper the words, but they feel like a lie. I know them to be true, but I’m not just his, I’m whoever’s I need to be, whoever’s I’m instructed to be.

I don’t have the ability to choose who I want to be with, or when, or even how. If I could, it would always be Aidan. So, my words, they’re true, but they aren’t a complete truth, and I hate it.

I fuck Giovanna, claiming her for the first time as my own. She’s mine. One hundred percent. Nobody can take her from me now. Money was wire transferred to Timofei less than an hour ago. Once the confirmation landed in his inbox, I got the fuck out of his office with the address to where my new acquisition was being held.

Now, balls deep inside of Giovanna’s cunt, I’m in fucking heaven. I press my lips to hers as I continue to fuck her pussy, feeling the way it flutters around me as she draws near her climax. Christ, I’ve never had sweeter pussy than hers, and now that she’s mine, it’s even better.

I grind my hips on each down stroke and groan when her cunt squeezes me, and she gasps with her release. Only then do I fuck her in earnest, letting all of my aggression from the last few days pour out of me. I come on a growl, filling her pussy up again.

I’m going to keep this cunt full from now on. I’m sure if I said the words aloud I would sound like a giant fucking asshole, but her pussy is mine to do with as I wish, and I’m going to keep it achy and full—always.

Slipping out of her body, I roll off of the bed and stand up. I don’t want to be in this safe house a minute longer than I have to be.

“Pack your stuff and let’s go,” I state as I walk over to my suit and start to put it back on.

I hear rustling behind me, and I assume Giovanna is packing her things. Reaching into my pocket, I send Shaughan a text and ask if her place will be ready for her tonight. Then I turn around. She’s standing with a small bag at her feet, completely naked.

“I’m ready,” she says, her voice sounding almost deflated.

My brows lift and I smirk. “You can wear clothes outside, A rùnsearc,” I chuckle. I expect her to crack a smile, but she doesn’t.

With a frown, I watch as she quickly dresses. She slips on a pair of jeans and a loose-fitting gray t-shirt. On her feet, she slides into a pair of sandals. Closing the distance between us, I cup her cheek in my palm.

“You’re upset,” I point out. I keep my eyes focused on her as she closes her own and shakes her head. She is upset, and she’s trying to hide it, but she’s doing a shitty fucking job. “Tell me,” I urge.

She shakes her head again, almost violently, and I let my hand fall. I’m not going to push her. I have a lifetime to figure her out, and I fucking plan on it. She’s mine now. My bank account is a fuck of a lot lighter because of it, but I don’t care, she was worth every goddamn penny.

Leaning down, I pick up her bag and make my way toward the door. I can feel her shuffle behind me, so I don’t bother looking back as I make my way through the house. The two giant Russians are sitting at the card table in the dining room when we pass. The blond one lifts his chin, and I follow suit.

“Bye, Giovanna,” he calls out.

“Goodbye,” she says, but she sounds fucking sad. I hate that shit.

I want to demand she tell me everything that’s going through her mind. However, I don’t want to be a bastard, just because I technically bought her doesn’t mean she’s truly a piece of property, no matter what bullshit I think or say.

Truth is, she’s a woman, a beautiful woman, and I’m proud to have her at my side. I want her to want to be at my side and to willingly tell me her thoughts and dreams. It will happen, too, but I can’t force it.

Shaughan replies to my text just as I’m placing Giovanna’s bag in my trunk. She’s already sitting in the passenger seat, so I dig out my phone to check the message.

I cringe, thinking about asking Giovanna to sleep on a blowup mattress, even for one night.

Christ.

I think about his words, and he’s right. His woman would murder him, and my other brothers’ other wives would kill them, too, if they asked. If I take her to a hotel, I’m not sure how she would react to that. I saw the sadness in her eyes, there is something working behind them, and I’m sure sending her to a hotel room, alone, will only make whatever it is, worse.

I could take her to Timofei, but no way in fuck am I handing her back over to a Russian. She needs to be in my care, either with me or my men. I also don’t have all night to worry about it, me and my brothers are questioning the security guard’s women in an hour and I need to be there for that.

Sliding into the driver’s seat, I slam the door behind me and push the button to start the engine. “Your new place isn’t ready yet. I didn’t really have anything prepared for you. You can start shopping tomorrow, but until you have proper security on the house, you’ll have to stay in a hotel,” I announce as I speed toward the closest hotel to my house.

I cringe when I pull up to the hotel. It isn’t that great, but it’s close. I doubt there is even room service. Leaving Giovanna in the car, I go inside and ask for a week’s stay for one and their most expensive suite. It only takes me a few minutes to fill out the paperwork, using one of my fake IDs and then I have the key in my hand.

“Do you have room service?” I chance asking the clerk.

She pops her gum and glances up at me. “Until ten,” she states. Lifting my chin, I turn away from her.

Hurrying back to the car, I pull around to the back and park. Without so much as a single word, Giovanna slips out of the car and walks over to the door to wait for me. Grabbing her bag from the trunk, I make my way toward her and swipe the keycard to let her into the back door.

Giovanna’s room is on the second floor, but I hate elevators, so I find the staircase and jog up the couple flights of stairs with her behind me. Once we’re on the second floor, I find her room number and swipe the card again. Opening the door, I wait for her to walk inside before I let it close behind me.

“I have some work to do, so I won’t be back this evening. The front desk assured me that they had room service. You can charge it to the room for dinner,” I explain.

“Okay,” she whispers.

My brows snap together, and I look at her. She looks so fucking sad, and I don’t know why. Then it hits me. “You expected to come to my house,” I announce.

She jerks her head back and shakes it from side to side, but I’m right, I know that I am. She won’t ever admit it, but it’s what she had expected. I feel like an asshole, but she can’t live with me. I have four children, and there is no way I can just bring a woman into my house, into their home.

“The place you’ll be living isn’t too far away from my home, A rùnsearc. I think you’ll enjoy it, and like I said you can decorate it anyway you wish, it’s yours.”

She nods slowly but doesn’t speak. Her silence, it’s fucking killing me, and I wish I could spend the time to find out exactly what is going through her gorgeous head, but I don’t have that kind of time tonight. Leaning down, I brush my lips over hers.

“I’ll be back as soon as I can,” I rasp.

Turning away from her, I wish I could call this shit off, but I can’t. I need my product back. My brothers and I pooled together as much cash as we could between each other to give to the Russians for tribute without dipping into our offshore accounts.

Plus, I just spent a million dollars on the initial payment of Giovanna with a promise to pay another two million over the next two years. I need my product that fucking security guard stole from me—and I need it right fucking now.

I watch him walk out of the door. I didn’t speak to him, too afraid to say anything, afraid that tears would well up in my eyes. Once again, dreaming has done nothing but hurt me. How I imagined he would bring me to his house and introduce me as a future stepmother to his children, I don’t know.

It’s as if I’ve forgotten exactly what I am—a whore, nothing but a whore.

You don’t bring women like me around your children. You hide them in a house and visit them late at night and when you have a break during the day. You use us for sex and nothing else. That is what you do with women like me, women you have to fucking buy from a pimp.

I’ve never felt more like a whore than I do right now. Sitting alone in this hotel room with nothing but a small bag full of nothing that is truly mine. I’m a woman that owns nothing, that is nothing.

A woman who has no true value other than what her body is capable of offering for pleasure. Nothing more, nothing less.

A vessel for a man’s pleasure. I hate it.

For the first time since the night my virginity was sold to the highest bidder, I feel ashamed and dirty.