The Devil’s Pawn

The Devil’s Pawn

Elizabeth Finn

Published 2012

ISBN: 978-1-59578-974-7

Published by Liquid Silver Books, imprint of Atlantic Bridge Publishing, 10509 Sedgegrass Dr, Indianapolis, Indiana 46235. Copyright © 2012, Elizabeth Finn. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the author.

Manufactured in the United States of America

Liquid Silver Books

http://LSbooks.com

This is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents and dialogues in this book are of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is completely coincidental.

Blurb

When Ashton is left orphaned after her parents are murdered, her life becomes a hell she could never have imagined. Left to fend for herself, and responsible for a debt she doesn’t owe, she is swept into a life as a gentleman’s escort at a private men’s gaming hall. Her new manager makes it abundantly clear he doesn’t appreciate her inexperience, innocence, and shyness. On the contrary, he despises everything about her.

Derek can be “difficult,” she’s been told. And however dark and handsome he may be, he terrifies her in a way that chills her to the bone, but leaves her begging to understand him. As they are pulled along together, more secrets and threats than either one could ever conceive are revealed, and a common enemy emerges. This enemy will stop at nothing to bring Derek to his knees while using Ashton as the greatest pawn in his torturous game.

Will Derek be able to let down his shield of cold, harsh emotion before it’s too late? Will he be able to sacrifice himself to save Ashton, or will they both be destroyed by the secrets of their pasts?

Dedication

To Georgia, thank you for being my very first fan and taking a gamble on this story. LSB has been a joy to work with. What an awesome experience.

Chapter 1

The dark-eyed man looks me over slowly from top to toe. I’m too terrified to look at him, but as he finishes his tour of my naked body, I can feel his eyes penetrating mine. His gaze is unrelenting, and as the other two men who just entered the room with him look me over and then ignore me, he continues to keep his eyes trained on me. My own, however, are glued to his shoulder, where I can see him watching me, but safely avoid the hatred that seethes from his face.

Mr. Grayson, the man who brought me to this interview room ten minutes ago before ordering me to strip, then follows the three men in and closes the door behind them. He finally asks me to sit. I turn to find my seat, and my head moves back around to the waiting group as I lower myself to the chair. I make the mistake of meeting the dark-eyed man’s gaze. As my eyes lock on his, it is the last semblance of control I have over them for the entirety of our meeting. I’m caught in his view, unable to look away but not wanting to hold his eyes. He’s terrifyingly beautiful, but harsh. His eyes are dark and piercing. His expression is hateful. He does not like me, and he is making it well understood he is no friend of mine.

When he breaks my gaze, it is only long enough to glare at Mr. Grayson, but I take the opportunity to suck in a deep breath of relaxing air, hoping desperately to regain my bearings. The other men are blessedly ignoring me. Why on earth will he not do the same? I pray quickly that I won’t end up working for this man. The fear would be paralyzing. Why should I assume so much about this man that I don’t even know? The expression in his eyes is harsh and demanding. He doesn’t like me, of that I’m certain, and as his eyes return to mine, I realize quickly my assumptions were correct.

“This must be a fucking joke.” His eyes hold mine as he insults me to my face with no regard for my dignity whatsoever.

Mr. Grayson laughs easily before he responds, “On the contrary. It is no joke. She is our newest employee, and one of you will need to make room for her on your floor.”

Dark-eyed man snorts derisively as my gaze flits away from his quickly, managing to find a moment’s reprieve from his glare.

But Mr. Grayson isn’t done speaking. “Oh… and another treat.” He’s being sarcastic. “She’s a virgin.” His smile says, “eat shit,” to the dark-eyed man.

I can see Mr. Grayson is enjoying dark-eyed man’s resentment at my presence. And while I can’t possibly understand the dynamic of this group, it would seem Mr. Grayson’s taunting hatred is being saved solely for the dark-eyed man. The other two men are calm and, for all intents and purposes, bored.

Mr. Grayson continues with a glint in his eye directed toward dark-eyed man. “So what do you say? Who wants her?”

Mr. Grayson eyes the dark-eyed man, challenging him to respond, and dark-eyed man wastes no time. “Not a chance. I’m not interested in raping virgins.”

“No one forced her to be here.” Then, turning his eyes to me, Mr. Grayson asks, “Are you here of your own accord, dear?”

I nod, letting my eyes drop to my lap quickly. The dark-eyed man snorts, and as my eyes dart to him, I regret it instantly as he pins me to my chair with his searing stare once again.

For the first time, the dark-eyed man speaks directly to me, and I instantly wish I could disappear. “You’re here to pay a debt, I assume?” I nod, and he continues. “Is this debt your own?” I shake my head, and he continues again. “Whose debt do you carry?”

“My father’s,” I whisper at a nearly inaudible level, but the men sitting in front of me hear me just fine.

They all continue to look at me steadily while the dark-eyed man holds my eyes, refusing to let go of my gaze. “And your dear father, where is he now? Prison, abandoned you perhaps?”

I continue to look into the bottomless pits of his eyes, powerless to look away, but my voice is stuck in my throat, refusing to come out. This man is dangerously close to my secret, and I’m not sure I could deny him the truth if he asked for it.

After long seconds of waiting for my response, he snaps, and I jump. “Speak!”

“Dead…” My eyes finally drop from his, unable to hold his stare any longer.

But I can feel his eyes still on me as I gulp deep breaths of air, begging my body not to turn into a quivering leaf in front of these men. My skin prickles in goose bumps at his intrusive stare, but I’m frozen in place, unable to move, much less look at him. Mr. Grayson offers a less than sincere apology as I nod imperceptibly.

The dark-eyed man finally pulls his eyes from me and speaks to Mr. Grayson, blessedly leaving me alone for the time being. “No one is here of their own choosing, least of all her. And in case you haven’t noticed, she doesn’t belong here.”

My eyes flit up to him before I can stop them, just to see that he’s returned his gaze to me and has abandoned his comment to Mr. Grayson.

But Mr. Grayson hasn’t given up the conversation, and his next statement stops any further argument on the matter. “Well, Derek, I’m so sorry you feel that way.” The feigned sympathy is an obvious insult without a shred of authenticity. “I don’t really feel like juggling women around between the floors, and as the only man here with an opening on his floor, she’s going to be your responsibility whether you like it or not. Do us all a favor and try not to take your disappointment at my decision out on the poor girl.”

Mr. Grayson eyes the dark-eyed man, Derek, coolly; he’s enjoying his torment. As I watch the dark-eyed Derek return a glare filled with hatred and loathing of this man, it becomes quite obvious these two men are not friends. Derek continues to eye Mr. Grayson with a venomous glare for many long and uncomfortable moments, saying nothing at all.

Finally, Mr. Grayson gives one final order. “You’ll have six weeks to get her ready for the floor, and I expect you to do just that. Fuck her, train her, break her in. I expect her working and making money in a month and a half.”

Dark-eyed Derek will indeed be my boss; my worst nightmare has just come true. The other men return their eyes to Derek, who is now seething with hatred not only for me, but Mr. Grayson as well. I stare at his shoulder, unable to look up at his eyes, which have now returned to me.

Mr. Grayson stands and approaches me, leaning down to my ear, and as he turns his head to meet Derek’s eyes, he speaks in my ear. “Now let’s see that pretty little pussy of yours. Scoot your bottom to the edge of the seat and lean back in the chair.”

Terror sets in as I slowly fight my willpower and force my body into position. I have no idea what Mr. Grayson has in mind, but I’m already utterly naked and exposed, and I can’t imagine how much more terrifying this situation can get. I find out soon enough it can get a whole lot worse.

As Derek continues to glare, Mr. Grayson continues speaking in my ear, “Now open your legs wide and spread your cunt lips for Derek. Let him see what he’ll be working with.”

I hesitate. Of course I hesitate! This is what I signed up for, but I can barely breathe, let alone touch myself the way he’s asking. Derek continues to stare at me with not so much as an inkling of interest in my body, but a small universe of hatred boiling behind his eyes. When I fail to heed Mr. Grayson’s request, Derek snorts a derisive snort at him before continuing to hate me with his eyes.

Mr. Grayson leans back down to my ear and speaks once more. “If I have to spread those lips myself, I will, and if I touch your cunt, there’s no guarantee I’ll stop there. Derek may own you now, but
I
own Derek, and you’ll do best to remember that. There is nothing to stop me from indulging in you, and unless you want me to do Derek’s job for him and take your virginity in front of these good gentlemen, which I’m more than happy to do, I suggest you do what I tell you.”

I don’t like Mr. Grayson. His words send a shiver through my body, and there is a cruelty to his behavior that is insidious and cold. Derek regards him with a tightly set jaw while the other men look on, waiting for me to respond. And I do. Perhaps Derek was right after all. This feels far less like a choice, and far more like forced humiliation.

I reach down with one hand, and using my middle and index fingers, I gently pull the skin surrounding my sex apart. Mr. Grayson whispers “good girl” in my ear before standing and moving away from me. Derek glances briefly at my exposed vagina before returning his eyes to mine with a now bored look on his face. He’s obviously not impressed. The two other men in the room have been sitting idly by watching the events unfold, but with little interest. It’s a glaring reminder that these types of interviews likely occur often here, and while this might be the most terrifying day of my life, it is just another bland day in their world.

Mr. Grayson looks at one of the men, a staunch and thick looking man, and speaks. “Aaron, why don’t you check her over for us, will you?”

Aaron stands and approaches me. He’s not at all handsome, and he’s terrifyingly big. He’s more ogre than man, and as he leans over me from the side of the chair, my heart hammers in my chest. He reaches a large, thick hand out to my waiting body. I inadvertently recoil for a moment before I remember I won’t win any points for being frigid. I need this job whether I want it or not. I force myself to hold still as Derek continues to watch me, and as the ugly man touches my exposed vagina, I freeze in fear and swallow hard over the lump in my throat.

He presses one very fat finger into my vagina as I gasp at the intrusion. My expression, if my emotions are reaching my face at all, must look absolutely disgusted. His finger fills my entry and distends the skin of my hole. It’s uncomfortable, and the sight of his finger in my body makes me want to vomit. He slides his finger in and out of my entry as the men regard the sight of me being finger-fucked by him, and as I look up, I catch Derek’s tongue pass quickly over his bottom lip as he focuses on my penetration. But whatever thought passed through his mind is gone in an instant as he catches me watching him, and the look of abject hatred firmly returns to his face.

The ugly man finally finishes with my body and thankfully moves away from me as I breathe a desperate sigh of relief. He looks at Derek and comments, “She’s tight as hell. Not sure what’s not to like about that cunt.”

Derek returns the comment, not taking his eyes off mine. “How about the fact that that
cunt
has never been fucked? I don’t have any interest in virgins, least of all those with small tits that look more like a boy than a woman.”

He watches me as humiliation floods my body. I can feel my cheeks flush, and the first twitches of impending tears hit my eyes as I try very hard to restrain the emotion that threatens to boil over and leave me sobbing in front of these men. I cannot allow that to happen.

Mr. Grayson dismisses Derek’s comments as he stands to leave, and as he reaches the door of the room, he turns back to me once more, still sitting with my legs spread wide and my fingers on my vagina. “It was good to meet you, Ashton Monroe. Can’t wait to get into that tight little pussy of yours. Once Derek’s broken you in, I think I’ll make him watch as I fuck you.” And with an evil wink, he exits the room.