After picking up her panties, Heath handed them to Lila, along with her robe, and once she'd covered herself, he bent and picked up the leash handle. Shaking his head in disgust he led her from the room, telling her quietly as they left that she'd have to follow behind him at a respectable distance with her head bowed, in order to keep up the appearance of an obedient sub with her Dom.
Now they
really
were being forced to play the part of a Dom with his sub. And it fucking sucked.
Once they'd gotten to the room, after what he'd just done to her, whipping her with a bull whip for cripe's sake, Heath's hands were shaking so badly he could barely unfasten her collar. Finally Lila covered her hands with his, and made him stop to look at her. "Heath, it's okay, I understand, and it's not your fault. I realize you're just trying to keep me from being given to Lars. I know why you had to go all Dom on me and make me wear a collar. I was right there, I heard every word The Den Keeper said, remember?"
Rolling his eyes at what she'd said, finally his fingers seemed to work, and Heath managed to get the collar off her slender neck, and when he did, he hurled it against the wall with all his might. Then he turned on her. "Do you even hear what you're saying, Lila? In what kind of a world are people bought and sold, especially to be used as sex slaves. Last time I checked slavery had been abolished pretty well around the world, and yet you're standing here saying you understand why I had to put a collar on you, and treat you like a fucking dog, walking you around on a leash in order to protect you from being claimed by that twisted prick Lars? We both know that none of this is normal. The way this club is run is not even legal. The real BDSM community preaches that everything practiced should be safe, sane and consensual, and that's sure as hell not how it works in here. Everyone in here is supposed to have consented to what's being done to them, and that's sure as fuck's not true. And I swear it's going to stop tonight." The muscle in his jaw ticking, he pointed a finger at her. "You are going to get dressed and I am taking you home. You can't stay here with me anymore. It's just not safe in here for you."
Lila carefully approached him and placed her hand over his, doing her best to calm him down, she said quietly, "I know, you're right. But I just can't go yet, Heath, not until the weeks over."
Heath looked at her confused. "You think I give a shit about the bid I won. Can't you see that none of that matters? I don't care what I paid or how long you were meant to stay with me. I'll help you get out of here, and if anyone asks, I'll just say you had a change of heart, and that you realized you're not into the lifestyle and you wanted out - and that I agreed to let you go."
Lila knew she couldn't tell him the truth, the consequences would be too great, but she also knew there was no way she could leave until the week was up. So she said the only thing she could think of, "But what if I said I want to stay?"
His eyes shot open. "And risk winding up with Lars?" Heath took her by the shoulders. "Baby, if that guy ever got his hands on you, he'd fuckin' eat you alive. This has gone far enough. I don't know what you're really doing here. But you are not staying here another night. So get dressed and I'll make sure you get out of here, and get home safe."
Letting out a breath, Lila finally looked in his eyes and said, "I can't go, Heath, not yet, not till the weeks up, no matter if I want to or not."
Studying her face, Heath asked, "Why not? I told you that I don't care about the auction, or the damn money."
Sinking onto the bed, turning her gaze up to his, she said, "Okay, you want to tell me why
you're
really here, then?"
Dropping down beside her, he swiped a hand over his face, trying to decide if he should just tell her the truth, and hoped his instincts were right, and that she wasn't
one of them
. Finally he looked over at her and told her, "I think my kid sister died in here."
Lila's eyes widened as she let out a gasp. "Oh, Heath, that's awful. I'm so sorry." Reaching out she covered his hand with hers. "How did she die, what happened to her?"
Although he hated to say it, he told her the truth. "The authorities think it might have been a drug overdose. But I believe she was sold at an auction and the person who bought her might have had a hand in her death."
Lila stared at him stunned, finally asking, "And do you have any idea who might have bought her?"
Heath nodded and forced himself to say the bastard's name. "Lars." He didn't want to tell her too much, but he thought she needed to know exactly how dangerous the asshole really was.
Her hands twisting in her lap, she shivered. No wonder Lars seemed so terrifying. Looking at him again, she asked, "How did you find out it was him?"
No way did he want to get her tangled up in his investigation, especially since he suspected she had her own demons involving this place, so he said, "It doesn't matter. But I know he was the one who won the bid on her, and he bought her for five grand for a week. And I know according to the people she hung out with, that she was heavily into drugs by then, so there's no way she could have given her consent or probably even understood what was happening to her when he paid for her."
"How old was she?"
Heath was studying the floor, as he said, "Just nineteen. Karen left home a few months before, when she was still only eighteen, right after she finished high school with some clown she thought she was in love with. And from what I've learned the little shit got her hooked on drugs and then took advantage of her, and finally brought her in here to be sold to the highest bidder - probably just for drug money." Then he looked over at her and shook his head. "Just like what happened to you, isn't it? You were put on the auction block, too. Now you want to tell me what you're really doing in here? And please don't try and tell me you were just curious about the lifestyle, because we both know that's a lie."
