Page 17 of Sold to Her Enemy

I try to think of something that will calm my burning desires down, but the longer I wait, the more anticipation blazes a needy trail through me.

My body is craving his touch with an intensity that scares me.

He comes back and holds out a bristle brush and a bar of soap.

“I’ll be waiting in my bedroom, Mckenna, at the end of the hall. When you are done, walk into the room and stand before me with your hands at your sides. Make sure every part of you is clean, or I’ll have to wash you myself. Trust me, you and I both would rather not,” he plucks the panties out of my mouth. “Be quick.”

“Yes Sir.” makes him smile. He pats me on the head. I want to growl at him and beg him for more, but he leaves the room before I can choose, leaving me no choice but to complete the task he set for me.

I set the soap and brush down, open the massive glass shower door, and step in. The palatial shower is as luxurious as the rest of the place.

I take a moment to set the water temperature just right and can’t help but do a slow circle so the warm spray gets every part of me, easing my muscles. Not that I have much tension, because Adrian’s treatment of me has made my body completely mush.

I exhale a long, shuddering, cover my mouth with my hand, and scream.

The absolute unfairness of all of this hits me.

I might have enjoyed being sold at the auction if it was in play, a fun thing to do with a girls’ night out, or because the auction idea in itself is objectifying, and I dig that.

But the fact that I did it out of necessity because I needed the money is one thing, but to be sold to my enemy and be at his mercy for this entire weekend is another, and I want to run and jump out the window.

I blink back tears, then I start scrubbing my body, noticing the razors that are in a holder on a shelf.

I had shaved before Club Lust, so I am bare in all the intimate parts.

The soap is textured. It reminds me of the oat and honey bar I used to buy in the Farmers’ Market. It smells pleasant, even if it feels coarse.

My stomach is in knots with what’s going to happen. Adrian calls it an inspection.

I have to do my best to get through this weekend, and I am going to do that by detaching from each moment the best I can.

But recalling the heat and lust in his eyes, I don’t think that’s possible.

The first time I noticed Adrian noticing me was right after my eighteenth birthday.

Unfortunately, that was the first time Ava noticed, too, and when Adrian left his parent’s dining room, giving me a playful salute after he declared me the winner of our debate on the risk of environmental pollution in nanotechnology, she marched over and glared at me.

“You will stay away from my brother, or I will ruin you.”

Everyone was scared of Ava, including her parents. I had just survived four years of Ava bullying me out of sight of our parents. After years of her trying to sabotage my riding competitions, I didn’t want to fight with her over her brother.

I close my eyes, blocking out the memory of when we were about twelve that rises to the surface of my consciousness. For whatever reason, Ava was staying over at our house. Our parents often tried to push Ava and me to spend time together. It’s the middle of the night. I opened my eyes because I felt a weight on me.

I screamed. A hand pressed against my mouth. My bedside light flickered on. Ava was on top of me with my trophy. I had just won it, coming in first place.

“Lots of people can ride stupid horses, but I’m a once-in-a-lifetime prodigy. Got it?” She climbed off of me, then left, but tossed something over her shoulder.

It landed with a heavy thud, echoing in the room.

I cried, seeing the broken head of the horse. I didn’t mention it to my parents because I knew by then they’d wave it off.

But I brought it to Grace.

“Oh, honey. You know the trophy doesn’t take away the accomplishment.” She hugged me, and though I knew she treated every rider the same, she was extra vigilant around Ava.

So whenever Adrian asked me out, I said no and tried to be friends.

He was a good friend to me, always there when I needed him. But I didn’t miss the way he looked at me.

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