Page 15 of Paved in Venom

“Looks like we might set a new record, gentlemen. Let me remind you again that payment must be made before you can exit the box and all sales are final.”

When it gets close to three million, everyone else has bowed out except for me and one other bidder. I’m not worried. We can do this all fucking day. I wasn’t lying when I said my funds were unlimited. Besides, I’m just going to steal back all my money when we take these fuckers down.

At 3.5 million, the other bidder finally quits and I’m declared the winner. The woman I’ve just purchased walks off the stage, and I wish I could tell her that everything’s going to be okay, that she’s safe and I’ll never hurt her, but I can’t. She can’t know the truth, not yet anyway.

When the stage goes black again, the light brightens in my room, and I quickly transfer the money I owe. Right on cue, the man who lead me up here opens the door and gives me a big smile.

“Congratulations, Mr. Melnikov. You’ve set a record here today, and I have no doubt that you’ll find her worth every penny.”

I stand as he opens the door and ushers me out.

“As the highest bidder, you’re allowed to collect your winnings first.”

I follow him out without a word. We walk past the men still standing watch outside the other doors and back into the elevator. This time, we go to the bottom level and step out into another long hallway. He brings me to a room where a man is already waiting, tattoo equipment out and ready.

“How do you want her marked?” the man who lead me here asks. “She can take the black viper ouroboros tattoo around the left wrist, or you can have it branded onto her. The choice is yours.”

“Tattoo,” I say, speaking my first word to him while trying to hide my disgust at the idea of making a woman endure the pain of having her skin branded.

“Wonderful,” he says and then points to the man with the tattoo gun. “This is Ernst. He’ll be giving the tattoo.”

I nod at him while he eyes the tattoos on my hands and neck. I’m clearly no stranger to the process. Before Ernst can start asking questions about all my ink, the door opens and the girl I just bought is lead in. When she stumbles, the bastard grips her arm tighter and shoves her the rest of the way.

“Take your fucking hands off her,” I growl at him.

The air in the room changes. It becomes tense and dangerous, and I have to struggle to keep myself under control. I step closer, using my height and build to intimidate the little fucker.

“I just paid over three million dollars for the woman that you’re dragging in here like a piece of fucking trash.” I take a step closer. “She’s mine to touch, not yours, so get your fucking hands off her.”

“Sorry, sir,” he mumbles, letting her arm go and taking a step back.

I look over at her, meeting her eyes for the first time, and the dark blue of them pulls me in just like they had in the photo. She looks terrified, and all I want to do is pull her against me and tell her that everything is okay and that she’s safe, but I can’t do that. Instead, I grab her wrist and take out the knife that’s in my pocket.

“Mr. Melnikov, this is not how we do things,” the man who lead me in here says, but I ignore him and cut through her zip tie. I see the bruises on her skin and feel a very strong urge to turn around and put my knife inside the fucker who’s apparently my escort for the entire goddamn night. I brush my thumb along her inner wrist, and I see her eyes widen in surprise at the intimate touch.

“Do I own her or not?”

“Well, yes, but—”

“Then I can cut her free if I want to.” I turn to the man and give a soft laugh. “Trust me, there’s no way in fuck she’s going to overpower me.”

He relaxes a little bit and then motions to Ernst. “He can go ahead with the tattoo when you’re ready.”

She sees Ernst preparing the tattoo gun and goes pale at the sight. Without thinking, I take off my suit jacket and put it around her and then sit down, pulling her into my lap. Her whole body tenses, and I curse my own stupidity. She darts her eyes to the gun I have holstered under my left arm. She’s scared to death of me, and now I’ve just put her in my lap, a place she clearly has no desire to be.

I know she came from Eastern Europe, so I speak to her in Russian, hoping that she understands it, or at least enough to catch what I’m trying to say.

“It’s okay.” I grab her left forearm and hold it out to Ernst. “We can leave as soon as it’s over.”

Ernst pulls up the sleeve of my jacket, exposing her bare skin. I get the distinct impression that he does speak Russian, so I don’t say anything else. The woman in my lap doesn’t relax, but she doesn’t try to fight what’s going on. We both watch as the black viper slowly takes shape. I hate that she has to get marked, but I tell myself we can have it removed when all this is done. For now, there’s no getting around it.

Her right hand sits in her lap, hidden from everyone else, and I watch as she makes the same sort of tapping motions that she’d done when she’d been on stage. The more I watch, the more it becomes obvious that this isn’t some random, nervous fidgeting. It’s like she’s playing an instrument. Her fingers move like she’s playing a piano, and her body relaxes even more the longer she does it. I can’t take my eyes off her delicate, slender fingers, and when I run my thumb over the back of her hand, she stills and sucks in a quick breath.

I pull my hand away, but she doesn’t start playing again, just grips her thigh and keeps her eyes on the tattoo that’s quickly taking shape. Ernst may be one ugly motherfucker with his nose that’s bent from not healing properly after a break and the eyes that are too small and way too close together, but he’s got some skills with a tattoo gun. Once the ouroboros is finished and he’s pulled away, I lift her arm up so I can get a better look at it. Her skin is red, and I know it hurts her, but she doesn’t say a word. I take off the ridiculous red rubber band and toss it on the table.

When he reaches for a needle and then tries to grab her arm again, I pull her out of his reach. “What the fuck is that?”

“Tracker,” he says.

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