Chapter 4
Raphael
My dick got hard signing the check. What the hell does that say about me?
Yep, I just signed a check and I am now the proud owner of...my best friend's daughter. Oh fuck.
Call it an impulse buy.
What the fuck is wrong with me? Lean operations and efficiency have always been my guiding principles. It's what made Silver Metal Brokers an industry leader. It's what made me a billionaire. But I just spent a million dollars for some pussy. That's not exactly a tax write-off.
And the worst part is, I am going to have to explain it to Brooks. I'm going to have to tell him that I purchased his daughter to make sure that none of those creeps at the auction did. I just hope to god that he believes me.
I look over at her, sitting there with my suit coat draped over that sparkly, crotchless bodysuit. What on earth was she thinking? Eva has always been a mischievous one. On several occasions her parents have called me in to talk to her about her poor decisions and their effects on the trajectory of her life. But this? This is just above and beyond irresponsible. Inexcusable.
So why do I want to fuck her straight into the next fiscal year? Just one look at her has my cock rising like the inflation rate.
She turns away from the window and our eyes lock in the dim cab of the town car. Our gazes hold for much longer than appropriate. Even through my irritation, I can't help the reaction in my gut. Evangeline Brooks is an exquisite, young woman. With her soft-looking lips, her gold-spun hair, those eyes, a mix of blues and greens that I’ve never quite seen before.
And I'm a man. I have my weaknesses.
The vulnerability in her stare stirs something depraved in me. God, I want to tear her apart. And on some level, I have every right to. I have the transaction record to prove it. But I'm not a predator. She fucked up and now she just needs someone to take care of her. I can do that.
"The jet will leave in the morning," I tell her. "You're going back home."
Her eyes go wide. "Home? I can't go home! My parents think I'm in Europe. I told them I'm shooting for Vogue Paris next week. I can't go home."
"Eva..." I say in warning.
"No no no no no. I'm not going home!"
"I won't just leave you out there on the loose to get into any more trouble. You obviously can't be trusted out there on your own."
She folds her arms across her chest and pouts. "Then I'm staying with you."
My insides tighten at her ludicrous suggestion. "You can't stay with me."
"Why not?"
"Because I have things to do. I have to work. I'm flying out to the Caribbean tomorrow evening for a meeting." And because I'm a dangerous man sitting here next to you while you're wearing that goddamned shimmery swath of polyester.
"So I'll go with you."
That is not an option. "Eva, this isn't a game. I have things to take care of."
"I won't get in your way. I promise." She pouts those perfect lips and I want to come all over them, watch my seed dripping off of them. I try to push the image away but now that I've thought it, it's branded on my brain.
I feel my resolve already beginning to waver. I hesitate to answer her.
She hisses at me. "Why did you buy me if you just plan on packing me up and shipping me off?"
What the hell does she mean by that? My cock aches at the idea that my new ‘sex slave’ may actually want me to put her to use. Maybe little Eva does want to get to work, fulfilling all of my darkest, dirtiest desires.
That’s a ridiculous thought. I didn’t do this to satisfy my unfulfilled cravings. I did this to save her, to free her from whatever trouble she was about to fall into.
"I bought you –" the words taste vile on my tongue "–so that none of those sick fuckers could." I had no other choice. I couldn't just sit by and watch those wealthy scumbags trade her around like any other commodity on the market.
This is Eva.
I remember talking her father out of grounding her when she stole his car keys at 15…And then she got in trouble for skipping a semester’s worth of Geography classes…And she went through that whole emo phase, wearing black lipstick and shredded jeans…I witnessed all of that.
So, I couldn't just sit by. I had to do something.
"How are you any different from them?" she challenges. "You were there at that auction too."
Something sour twists in my chest as she questions my integrity. I hate that she would doubt the kind of man that I am. "I was there to close a deal."
"What kind of deal?"
I snap. "Look Evangeline, this is not up for debate!"
Her lips go tight and her eyes begin to water despite the steely determination in them. She trains her gaze straight ahead.
"What were you doing at the auction?" I ask, my voice softening.
Lewiston was right about one thing. The women in that place are in trouble, desperately seeking a quick fix to their problems. That’s the only reason a woman as beautiful as Eva would participate in something like that. She’s running from something or someone. The look on her face when she was on that stage told me that she was terrified to be there. There has to be some good reason that she was at that auction. I have to keep my anger in check. I want her to feel safe opening up to me.
She lifts a shoulder and lets it fall. "I owe my modeling agency nearly one hundred thousand dollars. The owner was threatening to go to my parents since they co-signed my modeling contract with me. I couldn't let him do that. He suggested the auction as an alternative."
"What?!" I roar. My blood boils at this information. I hate knowing that some perverted asshole put Eva in this dangerous situation just to make some money.
She shrinks back at my outburst. "S–S–Sometimes, when models owe money to the agency, Simon sends them to the auction."
"I'm going find that fucking bastard and I'm going to end him!" My thunderous voice shakes the cab of the town car. The driver eyes me in the rearview mirror. My sharp gaze causes him to quickly look away.
"Mr. Silver, please. Don't do anything crazy,” Evangeline begs, “I'll pay him off and he'll go away."
"The hell you will! You're not giving that animal one dime!"
"But he'll sue my parents!" she shrieks. “Or worse.” She pushes her tears away with trembling fingers. "I won't let that happen! I can't!"
“You think he’s dangerous?”
She looks incredibly small when she brings her questioning eyes to me and lifts both shoulders in a shrug.
Oh Eva.
I heave a sigh. What a shit storm! "I'll take care of it," I promise softly, "Don't you worry."
A tear courses down her cheek and she turns toward the window, giving me her back. "I'm just glad you're the one who..." Her words trail off. "Thank you." She whispers quietly.
She's glad I'm the one who bought her. She’s glad to be my property. Holy fuck. What the hell have I gotten myself into?