Horny men would have stolen Vena from the auction block if it hadn't been for her guardian. Of all the men she'd seen on New Haven Station, Master Haden was the biggest and the meanest. He was also the sexiest male she'd ever seen.
He showed no one mercy. His men and women were held to the highest standards. He asked top dollar for his slaves and to get that, he trained them to the exact specifications of the masters who wanted them.
Except Vena. He'd tried to train her. When his Handlers hadn't succeeded, he'd tried himself. That evening had been the headiest time of Vena's life. Experiences like that one time with Master Haden were why she'd left her father's home in the first place.
She winced. As much as she wanted her father to find her before she was sold to a Fedorian Scavenger -- and he would, she had no doubt -- she didn't want to face his wrath. It didn't matter though. Running away had been the biggest mistake of her life. And not because of her current predicament.
Master Haden.
She fidgeted against the wall she was chained to. "Hold still!" Master Haden hissed. "I'll never sell you if you're don't at least look submissive."
She ground her teeth. "Like I'm going to just stand her meekly and hope you get a good price for me. I just want to get out of here and go home."
He turned to face her then. "That's right. Run home to daddy. He'll fix everything." He looked furious. He always looked furious when he spoke of how she'd run away from her wealthy father, only to end up with him. It was if her very existence... disappointed him somehow. He thought her a wilting violet, but she'd proven herself to be made of sterner stuff. And $never had she used the threat of her father to get what she wanted. Still, he simply couldn't give her a chance.
Not that she wanted one. At least not with anyone but him.
He was the perfect man physically, and he had a good heart. Yes, he dealt in pleasure slaves, but most of the men and women he dealt with were born and bred to that class. They never expected to do anything other than be a slave. Even when dealing with her, he'd been careful.
This, however, was puzzling. He was even overseeing her sale himself. And the looks he gave potential biers almost guaranteed no one would dare buy her.
"I won't have to run. He'll find me. Yes, I'm in more trouble than I care to imagine, but at least I'll be back in civilization where I have a little privacy."
"You're in more trouble than you'd care to imagine if I sell to you someone like that Maylarian." He pointed to a vicious looking, muscled man with pointy ears and equally pointy teeth.
His pasty pale skin made him look eerie enough, but when he opened his eyes to look straight at Vena, his eyes faintly glowed red. He gave Vena the creeps. She shivered, and Master Haden sneered at her. "That man would make a meal out of you. Look at him. He'd take you here if I'd let him. Would you like that, daddy's girl?"
"Before you get rid of me, I wish you'd finally realize I'm not a 'daddy's girl.'" She raised her chin to look up at him. "I'm my own woman. I left my father because he refused to see that. I'd hoped when you were man enough to capture me the way you did you'd be man enough to take me on the ride of my life. Instead --" she shrugged, making the chains at her wrists rattle. "-- you quit. Gave up. You're one of the most feared traders in the sector and you didn't even try to tame me." He stared at her, the anger growing on his face by the second. It sent a huge sexual shiver down spine and she knew her nipples tightened. Her greatest sexual fantasy since meeting Master Haden was to have him so out of control he took her like an animal. "What a waste," she finished sadly.
"Bitch!" he hissed. "You have no idea who you're dealing with."
She looked him full in the face, pulling at her chains to lean closer to him. "Then why don't you show me, big boy?"