Muse in Lingerie (Lingerie 1)

Then he pulled back onto the road and drove farther into the countryside, with only the light of his headlights to guide him. Out here in the middle of nowhere, there was only the light of the stars and the moon.

I didn’t know where Conway and I stood, but I couldn’t help but feel safe. After sleeping next to a dumpster and being hunted down by two groups of psychopaths, I was grateful to take advantage of the power that constantly hummed around Conway.

He gripped the steering wheel, his knuckles turning white. But he didn’t say anything.

I’d never hated his silence so much before.

I wanted to talk, but I knew speaking was prohibited. He’d just dropped a fortune on me, so I didn’t dare disobey him—not this time.

The radio was off, and he kept his eyes on the road, driving shirtless. Even when he was sitting, his stomach was straight as a board. He’d constantly complimented my body, but he was the one with the perfect physique. “How stupid are you?”

I thought he would ask if I was okay first. I thought he would hold my hand and kiss my knuckles. But he didn’t do any of that.

“You know what would have happened if I hadn’t bought you, right?”

Just the thought made my breath come out shaky.

“When I went by your hotel, the staff said you were gone. I came to bring you money and a phone, but you’d already taken off. You turned down an unbeatable offer and chose to get kidnapped by the Skull Kings.”

Knowing he tried to help me again made me feel worse.

“After all the shit you’ve been through, I thought you would understand how horrible this world is. I thought you would understand how cruel men can really be. But you have a false sense of reality and think you’re invincible. If I hadn’t bought you, you would be getting raped right this very—”

“Stop.”

“Did I say you could talk?” He turned his head my way, watching me in the passenger seat. “I hate women like you. You think you can take down any man who comes your way. And then when shit gets tough, you realize how weak you are. I’ve seen it time and time again…I tried to help you.”

“By asking for sex in return.”

“Like you don’t want to fuck me,” he snapped. “None of this makes any goddamn sense. Why did you take off, Sapphire? What did you think you were going to find out there? I’m not the best guy in the world, but I’ve proven that I’m decent.”

Now that he’d spent a fortune on me, he deserved my complete honesty. “Here’s the truth…”

He turned to me again, listening attentively.

“My brother took out seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars in loans so he could gamble with this crew in New York City. When he lost it all and couldn’t pay it back, their leader killed him. His name is Knuckles.”

Conway’s eyes narrowed, as if he recognized the name.

“Once my brother was dead, Knuckles said he would take me as compensation. He said I would be his sex slave…and he counted down the days until he finally took me. He’d slip me notes in my bags on the subway or on the couch I slept. He was toying with me, building up to a climax and slowly torturing me. He threatened to hurt me even more if I ran for it, but I couldn’t just let it happen. I couldn’t wait around for him to grab me by the hair and drag me back to his prison…so I ran.”

Conway kept driving, but his speed decreased noticeably. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I was too afraid. That’s why I didn’t want to give you my name either. But I became so famous from that fashion show, it led him right to me.”

“Why didn’t you tell me this when I offered you my deal the other day?”

“Because you wouldn’t have paid the kind of money Knuckles wanted, and I wouldn’t have wanted you to.”

“But a hundred million is okay?” he asked incredulously.

“I didn’t ask you to do that…”

“You were begging me with your eyes, Sapphire. Or am I wrong?”

No, he wasn’t wrong.

“If you had just told me what was going on, I could have helped you. But you didn’t. You didn’t trust me, despite everything I’ve done for you. I offered you the deal of a lifetime to pay back your debts—and you turned me down.”

“And I should be grateful for that?” I snapped. “You offered to clear my debt if I fucked you.”

“Five hundred and thirty thousand dollars of debt,” he snapped. “That’s not pocket change, even to someone like me. You don’t have a penny to your name, and you’re struggling to survive. Beggars can’t be choosers, and you chose wrong. That was a great deal, and you pissed it away.”