Suddenly, Kalie vaulted over the edge, her hands clinging to Erik’s strong forearms as he kept her riding the wave of ecstasy.

When it finally subsided, she slumped against his solid chest, cozy in the shelter of his arms, catching her breath.

“King.”

Another man, tall and handsome, sat down beside Erik.

“Good to see you here again.” The man stared at Kalie. “This is quite a delightful slave you have with you. Are you willing to trade for the night? Two for one.” He gestured to two women standing behind him, their gazes lowered.

“Not this time, Nelson. We just got here and I have my own plans for her.”

“Of course. So maybe later in the week?”

“Maybe,” Erik said.

The man and his two leashed pets walked away.

Erik stood up, tugging her to her feet with him.

“I’m hungry,” he said.

She followed behind him like the other women did, hoping this meant they were going back to the beach house now, but instead he lead her to an outdoor buffet. He attached her leash to a table with hooks fitted for the purpose, then walked to the buffet. He returned several moments later with a plate of food.

She watched as he ate, realizing that she was really quite hungry, too. But he offered her nothing.

Finally, he stopped eating, leaving about a third of the food on the plate, then he pushed it in front of her.

But when she went to reach for some, he grasped her hands and pulled them behind her back, then wound the leash around her wrists.

She gazed at him questioningly.

“Go ahead and eat,” he said. “And do it quickly. It’s the last food you’ll see today.”

Uncertainly, she stared at the food on her plate, her mouth watering. Then she remembered the woman she’d seen earlier drinking water from a bowl. She drew in a breath, then leaned forward and began to eat from the plate. She was able to manage eating small, bite sized pieces of chicken, and nibbling on cold cuts and some cheese. The sticks of celery were too difficult to manage so she pushed them aside with her nose.

When she lifted her head for a break, Erik held a glass of water to her lips and she took a sip. Then she went back to eating. She wasn’t quite finished as much as she’d like when Erik unwound the chain from her wrists.

“We’re leaving now,” he said.

She scooped up one more mouthful, before he urged her to her feet.

He guided her to a lounge chair by the pool, shaded by an umbrella, and they sat down. People were swimming in the glistening water and she wondered if Erik might suggest they go in. She wouldn’t mind a swim.

At a piercing scream, she lurched forward in the chair. A woman appeared from the bushes, running.

“Please help me!” she yelled. She slowed to a stop and glanced around at bystanders, anguish filling her large, brown eyes. “I don’t want to be here. He kidnapped me and forced me to come here.”

She glanced over her shoulder as a man raced from the bushes

“There he is.” She started to run again. “Please someone help me.”

Kalie’s heart pounded and she glanced at Erik. He hadn’t even opened his eyes, just continued relaxing on the lounge chair.

“Erik, won’t you help her?” Kalie watched in horror as the other woman disappeared into the bushes on the other side of the pool, the man closing in on her.

“No,” Erik answered.

Adrenaline raced through her and she knew she couldn’t ignore what was happening. If no one else would help, then she would have to. Her leash was still wound around Erik’s hand, so she reached for the hook where it attached to the collar and pulled it free, then lurched to her feet. She ran in the direction the woman had gone.

She pushed past the bushes and thought she saw a movement on the right, glancing around just in time to see the man disappear again. Kalie raced after him, then pushed through some denser bushes. She heard a woman’s squeals ahead.

Kalie forced herself to keep going, knowing she had to do whatever she could to help the woman. When she got past the bushes, she entered a woods. She saw a man in a small clearing ahead and...

The woman was there, too, but now Kalie realized there were several men. She stopped in her tracks. Two men were manhandling the woman and she was whimpering. Kalie’s heart pounded. She didn’t know what to do. She couldn’t stop all these men from hurting the woman.

“What have we here? A beautiful naked woman alone in the woods.”

She turned to see a broad-shouldered, heavily tattooed man with a ragged beard and muscular torso approaching her with a grin. He grabbed her arm and dragged her to the others.

Terror washed through her as she found herself in the midst of six men. Two were preoccupied with the other woman, but the other four closed in around her.

One wrapped his hand around her neck and pushed her against a tree. As she gazed up at him in panic, she realized it was the man who had been chasing the woman.

He stepped closer, his almost naked body inches from her own. His feral eyes raked over her and she felt a cold shiver race down her spine.

“No,” she protested, struggling against him.

Her skin crawled as he pulled her tight to his body. He wore shorts, but she could feel his bulge hard against her belly.

“No,” she cried again, flattening her hands on his chest, trying to push him back.

He just laughed.

“Paul, she’s mine. Get your hands off her.”