Page 49 of Stolen

“Anything else?”

She paused for a moment as she thought to herself, my question almost entirely unfair, but still, I wondered what her little mind would cook up just to try to please me.

“What more could you possibly need?” she finally asked.

I couldn’t stop the evil sneer that curved my lips as a dark anticipation filled my chest. Gripping the buckle in my palm, I folded the belt in half.

“Allow me to show you.”

Winding back, I whipped the belt across her lower back, the sound creating a wonderful crack as it made contact with her skin. But instead of a scream, the only thing Jaden released was a loud pained groan.

“Almost, but not quite,” I commented and whipped the belt against the back of her thigh much harder this time.

“Fuck!” she cried out, her voice emitting that higher pitch that made my blood race.

“There it is,” I praised as I struck another lash across the left side of her ass. “Your screams, little slave. That’s what else I have. And from your actions today, you owe me quite a lot of them.”

For the next several minutes, I took my time painting Jaden’s back, ass, and legs with beautiful red lashes that contrasted so perfectly with her porcelain skin. And with each scream that filled the air, I felt myself getting closer and closer to the edge of something I couldn’t turn away from. An indescribable feeling that could not be explained, but I fucking loved it.

When I was finished and Jaden was nearly gasping for breath, I traded my belt for the camera sitting on the table. Adjusting the focus, I began to direct my own photo shoot, intent on capturing every angle of Jaden’s beautiful agony into a permanent image for my eyes alone.

“What the hell are you doing?” she groaned, her eyes seeking mine as her head hung low.

“Savoring,” I answered, capturing another shot.

“Stop…please.” Her words were barely above a whisper, but the desperation between them couldn’t be any louder.

“Mmm, I love hearing you beg,” I replied as I snapped another photo. “Keep going.”

I doubted she would. I was rock hard at this point, barely holding my restraint together as it was, and if she continued to beg, there’d be no hope left for her. Luckily, she was a smart girl and kept her mouth shut until I was satisfied with my new little art project.

Taking out my phone, I deactivated the cuffs holding Jaden up and watched her body fall to the bed, her face grimacing from the impact. Forwarding the photos to my private server and deleting them from the camera’s memory, I set the camera down and put my belt back on before making my way to where Jaden lay.

“I expect that from this day forward, there will be no more wasted food on your end.”

Besides her shallow breaths, Jaden remained still, her eyes glazing over as she stared off in the distance before responding softly. “Yeah.”

Leaning down, I made sure she could see nothing else but me. “And I suggest you get used to the idea of being molested by strangers. Soon it’ll be the only thing keeping you alive. Now do us both a favor and learn to become invisible because if you draw my attentionone more fucking time, you will not be the only one who suffers.”

With that, I rose from my position and left her there on the bed to consider her latest lesson. If she had learned anything today, it would be to make herself as insignificant as possible, obscure, forgettable, but I doubted she’d be able to achieve it now this late in the game. And wasn’t that just my fucking luck.

15

Provocation

* * *

I’d done all that I could to block out the last day and a half. I couldn’t stand thinking about everything he’d done and the fucking pictures he took. My rage was palpable from recalling the sound of the damn camera clicking as he snapped one photo after another. It absolutely haunted me like some kind of OCD tick and I was horrified at the possibilities of what he could do with those photos.

Probably getting himself off to them.

I told Kayla what had happened, minus the intimate details, and she was just as confused and nervous as I was. Maybe he was right. Perhaps I should learn how to become invisible. But that idea had me just as terrified. I didn’t want to become a ghost. I didn’t want to disappear.

But I could try to lay low until the day of my eventual sale. I just hoped I could remain strong enough to find myself again when the time was finally right. But as the impending auction loomed over us, I tried to hold on to what little light I could. At this point, I just wanted to get the damn thing over with.

In an attempt at distraction, I started humming one of my favorite classic songs quietly to myself—“Don’t Stop Believing” by Journey. I loved this song. It reminded me of my dad back when he was still in his prime. We used to sing it together when we cruised downtown in his old bright red 1977 Trans Am convertible. My dad loved the 80s, and consequently, so did I.

Eventually, humming turned into words, and I found myself singing quietly to pass the time. I was no Kelly Clarkson, but I wasn’t exactly tone deaf either. It wasn’t long before the contagious tune found its way to Kayla as she picked the song up, quietly singing along with me, smiling the entire time about a singer in a smoky room.

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