“What are you doing?” I ask, my voice small and unsure.
“We’re going to play a game. I’m going to ask you some questions, and you’re going to answer them truthfully. Each time I think your lying, Lucca is going to take one item of clothing off your body. If you are naked by the end of the game, you lose, and you don’t want to be the loser in this game. Do you understand?”
I want to nod my head, but I’m frozen.
My whole body is petrified with fear. If I’m naked at the end, I lose. I’m too scared to ask what happens when I fail. Yes, when, because I already know I’m going to have to lie, and he is going to know when I do. It’s a test, the biggest one yet, and I’m about to fucking fail.
“I’m going to take that as a yes,” Markus says. He doesn’t even skip a beat and jumps right into things.
“First question. Did you know the guy with the camera?”
“No.” I shake my head. That much is true. I didn’t know that guy.
Markus inspects me for a moment, his eyes narrowing. I’m so afraid I shake.
“I believe you,” he finally says. “So you didn’t know him. Fine. Next question. Do you know who sent him?”
Shit. Shit. Shit.
“No.” I try to keep my voice even.
Markus shakes his head like he is disappointed in me. “Do you want to reconsider that answer?”
Pressing my lips together into a firm line, I say nothing and watch Markus look past me to his friend. They are both so much taller than me they can look right over my head. A moment later, I feel Lucca’s hands grabbing the hem of my shirt and pulling it up. I raise my arms automatically, letting him take off my shirt. There’s no point in fighting it.
He drops it on the floor next to us, leaving me in a pair of leggings and bra. Goosebumps spread across my upper body, and I’m reminded of the coldness I felt while in the basement. Tears prick at my eyes, but I force myself to hold them back. I will not cry in front of them.
“Next question. Do you have a boyfriend?”
“No.” I shake my head, relieved that he is asking something I can actually tell him.
“Were you really going to call your parents from my office?”
“Yes,” I lie again. This one falls from my lips a little easier since I’ve already told it a few times, but Markus still sees right through me.
Shaking his head again, he motions to Lucca, who quickly undoes my bra. He pushes the straps slowly off my arms and lets the bra fall to the floor carelessly. Cool air washes over my exposed breasts, and I’m glad Lucca is standing behind me and can’t see. Though, I have the feeling that if I lose this game, he is going to do more than see them.
“Were you sent to the auction by someone?”
“No.”
Another small shake of Markus’s head, and Lucca is pushing his fingers into the waistband of my leggings, pulling them down my legs, leaving me in nothing but my thin panties.
“Did someone send you to get to me?” Markus’s voice is nothing more than a growl now. He is angry. So fucking angry. Each word penetrates deep through my skin, and I know at any second I’m going to be on the receiving end of that fury.
“No.” I shake my head and squeeze my eyes shut.
Lucca dips his fingers into the sides of my panties, his touch burns me, and he pulls them down roughly, making me gasp. My knees are so weak, I think they might give out at any second. Every inch of my body is shaking at what’s to come, and all I can think about is how I wish I could tell him the truth. But I can’t. I can’t tell him. The risk outweighs the reward. Tears threaten to fall from my eyes, all the emotions inside me push to the surface at once.
“Get on your knees,” Markus orders, just as I hear him undoing his pants. I feel Lucca’s hands on my shoulders, pushing me down gently, but instead of obeying and getting down on my knees, I shrug away from Lucca’s hold and lunge myself at Markus. I have to try, try to get him to see that I don’t want this. That I don’t want to lie to him.
Wrapping my slender arms around his torso, I bury my face into his ironclad chest.
“I’m sorry. Please, don’t do this. I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” I repeat over and over again, hoping that he believes me. Hoping he doesn’t go through with whatever he has planned.
I’m certain he is going to push me away. Push me into his friend’s arms, but nothing happens. No one speaks or does anything. An eternity seems to pass before Markus wraps his arms around me, engulfing me completely while pulling me closer into his chest.