Page 3 of The Bartered Soul

“Is everything all right?” I glance around the plush hallways for an explanation. The hall is silent except for the moans of pleasure and occasional slap of flesh coming from the neighboring rooms.

My reflection peers back at me in one of the mercury glass mirrors opposite my doorway, and I am ashamed to see a hint of fear in my eyes at the unusual visit. I can only assume one of the other girls is sick or injured for Celeste to leave her post entertaining the customers in the salon.

“Come with me, Andromeda,” Celeste commands and turns on her heel, knowing I have no choice but to obey.

I stand straighter as I pull my door shut behind me to follow, padding down the carpeted hallway toward Celeste’s office. Jacob has been pulled from his post downstairs and waits at the end of the hallway next to the gilded door that separates our rooms from the Madame’s private domain.

I glance up at Jacob in question, but his face is unreadable as he holds the door for us and then steps inside behind me. I’m sure the same cannot be said for my own expression when I stop dead in the center of the doorway staring at the man seated behind Celeste’s desk. His boots rest on the top, crushing the papers that litter the surface.

Casually sipping whiskey in the soft leather chair is Captain Lennox.

Chapter 2

My heart skips a beat — two — as I stare at the man in front of me. Since he began visiting the brothel years ago, I have avoided this beast’s proximity and now he sits only a few feet away from me. His eyes roam my body, matching the wicked grin on his face as if he can read my emotions through my carefully schooled mask. My chin tips towards the moon as I force my legs to propel me into the room after Celeste, who hasn’t noticed my hesitation.

“This is who you were requesting, correct, Captain?” Celeste asks, resting her hip against the front of the carved desk. She gives the Captain a sideways glance as she speaks, and her lips purse in irritation at his choice of seat. If I wasn’t so concerned with why this man is summoning me I would be surprised at the crack in her pleasant facade.

I stand on display in the center of the room, wishing I could sink beneath the thick rug. My jaw clenches, refusing to show any emotion when the Captain smiles again, flashing his surprisingly straight, white teeth glinting in the lamplight.

Celeste, ever the gracious hostess, never allows anything but her customer’s happiness to run the evening. Her hand waves into the air towards me as she encourages him to inspect the goods.

The Captain pushes back from the desk, dropping his feet to the floor. His footsteps slap a loud staccato rhythm in my ears as he prowls toward me, that smile never departing his lips. I grip the edges of my short skirt, wishing it were the hilt of my dagger hidden so far away in my room instead. His steps circle me — fingers grazing my loose hair, rubbing the pad of his thumb across my lower lip. He even has the audacity to casually flip the back of my skirt up to view my bare backside.

Despite willing myself to remain calm, my breaths become uneven at his boldness. I feel like a mare at auction — which, to him, I am — and I’m surprised when he stops short of inspecting my teeth. If he had, it would have taken every ounce of strength in me not to snap them at him. Hopefully, my tremble of rage is mistaken for desire, otherwise, he will know I would love nothing more than to claw his dark emerald eyes from his face.

“Oh, yes,” the Captain finally speaks. “This is the one, Madame. I’ve been admiring this beauty for a while.” His voice is deep and melodious, and, dare I say, pleasant. Something I wouldn’t associate with the shark circling me like I’m blood in the water.

“She’s a bit…older...and significantly more… experienced, than your usual preferences, Captain,” Celeste delicately states in her soft, breathy voice. “Are you certain she’s the one you would like after closer inspection?”

My gaze drops from the ornate gilded lantern above me to meet her eyes instead, unclear whether she is insulting me or trying to deter what’s coming next.

“Oh. I’m very certain, Madame.”

The Captain gives me another glance, his lip quirking up on one side as he looks into my eyes, before walking to the desk and dropping a heavy leather pouch on the carved surface. The familiar clink of coins draws my attention and I jerk my eyes from Celeste’s to the pouch and back. She has a catlike smile plastered on her face and won’t meet my stare.

“Then it’s agreed,” Celeste replies.

“What is this?” I finally ask, breaking my silence for the first time, looking between the two.

“The Captain has generously offered to purchase your company for entertainment on his next voyage, Andromeda. You should be honored at the opportunity to get away from these walls for a bit,” Celeste sharply states, as if I have no say in the matter.

I choke on a bitter laugh.

“Honored….honored? To be bought by a madman to do with as he pleases? Celeste! You know what happens to the women he buys for entertainment. I will not go! I’m not a slave.”

“Andromeda,” my name rolls off his tongue as the Captain chuckles to himself. “How fitting. A beautiful princess waiting for a sea monster to gobble her up.”

His words unleash my anger. All of my carefully cultivated restraint deserts me as I launch myself toward him, but I’m abruptly caught around the waist by Jacob, who pins me gently to his chest with his massive forearm across my chest.

The Captain seems genuinely amused by my outburst, and he approaches me with a smug smile, running a rough finger down my cheek while my arms are trapped at my sides. He then bites his thumb and continues to smile while he observes me, a few gold rings glinting in the lantern light on his long fingers.

“Oh yes, Celeste. She’s a proper she-wolf, indeed. She is exactly what I want. I believe the deposit is what we arranged for her… and the younger one.” He looks over my bare legs and arms, skirt hiked up around my hips from being restrained. “Of course, she will need more appropriate clothing for the voyage. I will send a trunk of things for her and the girl within the week, on top of the fee arranged.”

Knowing I won’t be released until I am more composed, I take a few deep breaths, anger still seething through me. As I will myself to calm down, my eyes drift over the Captain.

Up close he radiates authority and control, right down to his simple, finely constructed coat. This man has clearly amassed great wealth through his life of piracy. But unlike some of the other pirate captains who visit the House of Starlight, he isn’t ostentatious or a peacock. My eyes slide over the man the same way he has inspected me, before finally returning to meet his stare. A spark of something burns in his dark green gaze. I involuntarily swallow and shrink further into Jacob’s chest as Lennox steps closer to me.

“We set sail soon, Andromeda.” He bends at the waist and I feel warm, rough hands on my wrist as he focuses on some task. Bound by Jacob’s large arms, I cannot see what he is doing — even as cold metal wraps around my skin and I squirm to get a better view. The Captain fiddles about for several moments before he stands and pockets a small metallic object. He then winks at me and bows to Celeste before exiting the room.

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