Page 59 of The Boy I Loved
The girl had short, blonde hair, cut off at her shoulders. Her eyes were light brown, but they were as dull as any other girl’s who spent enough time here. She knew how to play the part—how to survive. I could appreciate that in anyone, even if it didn’t turn me on, I could respect it. She was dressed in a lilac nighty, transparent against her pale skin. Even through the thin material, I could spot a single mole positioned over her narrow hipbone.
“Did I call for you?” I asked, dropping my gaze to the glass between my fingers, swirling the liquid around so it created random, unfamiliar shapes.
The girl’s smile faltered, a chill sweeping through her, eliciting a series of delectable goosebumps. If Hazel hadn’t woven me in her cocoon so fiercely, I might have even called the nameless girl’s reaction delicious.
“N-no,” she stammered. “But?—”
I waved a dismissive hand in the air. “No buts,” I admonished. “You do not address me unless I call for you. Do I make myself clear?”
She stumbled back a step but dipped her chin in a show of acknowledgement, respect, submissiveness. It was hard to pinpoint which exactly, but I was in no mood to inflict cruelty. For now, I merely wanted to drown my demons out. If she tried me again, I’d have no choice—not with witnesses around. Mercy was for the weak, as Clay had put it, and he wouldn’t stand for it. This was her only warning.
The girl scurried away as quickly as she’d come, heading across the lounge to prey on some other sorry fuck who had nothing better to do. Some of the men liked it when the women came to them. I didn’t. If I was interested, they’d know.
Kent shook his head, amusement curling the corners of his mouth. “She’s one of our best girls, you know.”
I shrugged. “Is she?” I couldn’t give a fuck less. She could have the tightest, wettest pussy. She could give the best head, and she could be the best match on paper, and still … it wouldn’t matter. Hazel Montgomery was the only thing that mattered, and I ruined her.
“Yep. She makes us the most money right now, but Adrian here is runner up.” He motioned to the girl between his legs, shoving her head back down, forcing her to gargle around him. Her manicured fingernails curled into the palms of her hands, the skin around them turning paler in shade, but she didn’t fight, even when her oxygen waned.
I could see why he liked her so much. She’d been trained from the inside out and was his perfect match on paper. She could probably take a brutal pounding, too.
I blew out a breath, guilt swimming within me at the thought. Hazel was the only one I should be thinking about that way. She was the only one I wanted, and I never got to test her limits in the bedroom—there had never been enough time for it. I wasn’t sure what she was capable of or what her hard lines were. There werethings I still wanted to try with her. Like anal for example or eating her ass in general. Fuck…
My cock twitched within the confines of my jeans. She had an amazing ass, too.
Those weren’t the only things I was upset about. With Hazel, it was never just about sex. There was so much more to us. Hazel was the only girl who ever truly saw me. She never judged me, not once. But she always worried, and never for herself. She was empathetic in that way—too good for this world and for the people residing within it.
I brought the glass of whiskey to my lips and tilted it back. The smooth substance slid through my mouth with ease, falling down my throat, and eliciting a fire in my chest as it always did.
“How long has Adrian been here?” I asked, not truly curious, but wanting to talk aboutsomethingto take my mind off the girl I loved.
Kent grunted, pumping his hips against her mouth, his breathing growing more ragged. “Four months or so.” He panted, tightening his grip around her hair. “Sh-she has a buyer lined up…” His worlds trailed off with a guttural groan, his legs spasming as he emptied himself into her mouth. “That’s it, sexy, suck it all down,” he encouraged, watching her with admiration.
Kent might have been as fucked up as the rest of us, but he was much kinder to the girls than a lot of the others. He wasn’t cruel for the sake of being cruel, and he wasn’t a sadist, not like Vincent was. Tristan wasn’t much of a sadist either, not physically at least. He enjoyed pleasuring them, watching them unravel for him against their will. Mason was like that, too.
“You’ll miss her,” I commented. It was a statement. I could see it in the way he looked at her. He had grown attached, and if Clay found out, it wouldn’t be good.
Kent swallowed thickly and shook his head, but it was too late. I’d already seen the nervous way he glanced around the room likesomeone might have overheard. His secret was safe with me; I didn’t give a shit. In actuality, it was nice knowing there were more people here who had an ounce of humanity left in them.
“Don’t worry, Kent. I’m not Clay. Was just curious, is all.” I tipped my glass in his direction before bringing it to my mouth again and swallowing the rest of the contents down.
“It’s hard not to get attached when you’re around them for too long. I don’t know how you 34guys do it.” He shook his head.
I licked my lips, rolling my shoulders back as I thought of my next words. “There’s no other alternative,” I confessed. “We usually spend time in the basement. The girls are gone before we can even memorize their names or differentiate between them. It makes sense why it would be harder up here.”
The girls on this floor were long-termresidents. They’d passed their training and were able to work and provide. Some girls were here for years even, but once they lost their purpose, they were disposed of. If they were here that long, they were only getting older, and nobody had shown any interest in buying them. Sometimes, Clay would keep them around if they brought in a lot of money or if the guys had fun with them. But once they neared forty, they were of no use to him anymore.
He nodded slowly, tucking his dick back into his pants. “I suppose that makes sense. You don’t get much of a choice but to learn about ‘em up here.” He slapped Adrian’s ass once she stood, and she shot him a small, soft smile. Her eyes were as dull and lifeless as the other girl’s had been, but she seemed fond of Kent, too.
“Is there anything else I can do for you?” she asked him meekly, her voice void of any emotion, as if she’d been trained and programmed a specific way to keep out of trouble.
“That’s all, Doll. You did great.”
She nodded, and turned on her heels, stalking off toward the other girls who sat around in the corner of the lounge.
He could pretend all he wanted. I knew love when I saw it, andhe felt far more for her than he was letting on. It wasn’t my place, though. It was just … fascinating.
There was no room for romance in a place like this. Love would only tear you apart and spit you back out again. Nicholas was a good example of that. He’d fallen for Imogen, and like all twisted love stories, she was killed by his hand.
