The Bid Read Online Free PDF Page A

feeling after what was, no doubt, a long ordeal. I was promised you were not abused, and I hope that is the truth.”
    “This entire atrocity has been an abuse, lady,” he snapped irritably.
    “‘My Lady,’” she corrected him gently. “I know there is much for you to adjust to in the coming days, but it is important that you address me with respect. A slave can be put to death if he is observed being disrespectful of nobility, and whatever you may be feeling now, you do not strike me as the sort of man who would relish a death of that type of shame.”
    Vejhon had been ready to shoot back one of his best barracks retorts, but now he hesitated. There was logic to her request. Logic that centered on the benefit to his life and safety, rather than her desire to have him kowtow to her. He narrowed his eyes on her, wondering if he was being artfully played.
    “I am no slave,” he gritted out between tight teeth.
    “Your present circumstances say otherwise,” she noted. “But I realize that you were slave to no one before you were brought to this part of the galaxy. You were, no doubt, a powerful and independent man where you come from.” She took a single step closer to him, bringing her close enough to elicit a sharply indrawn breath from her guardian. “However, on a planet full of people who look exactly like me, you will be known as nothing but a slave. You will stand out in every crowd, you will be coveted, and you will no doubt be captured or killed if you try to travel this world without the protection of the House that owns you.”
    “No one owns me,” he hissed, outrage making him jerk at his manacles. To her credit, the serene beauty did not even flinch.
    “Perhaps not your spirit,” she acquiesced softly, “but so long as you are on this world, I own you. Your body is my property and your fate is mine for the choosing. Believe me when I tell you, your circumstances could have been far more horrific than even your worst imaginings, and very almost were. One day, you will realize you owe Najir a great debt of thanks.”
    Vejhon looked back at the big blond male when she nodded toward him and mentioned his name. Najir. He looked back to his “owner” and abruptly wondered if she had a name or if she would insist on “my Lady” and nothing else.
    She took a couple of steps back, her movement an effortless glide over the smooth stone. Now she began to assess and contemplate him as a whole, her blue-black eyes making it easy to follow where she was studying him from one moment to the next. Vejhon was overcome by a mixture of confusing emotions as her gaze moved liked a warm, physical touch over his skin. Impotent fury, total bafflement, and now an unexpected response of pride and stimulation as he watched the contented pleasure that altered her expression. She was vastly satisfied with his body, according to that look, and for some reason he was glad of it. So much so that, as her eyes stroked toward his groin, his cock began to respond to her inspection. Vejhon cursed himself for the hot-blooded reaction, not understanding how he could betray himself by growing hard before someone who had bought him. He most certainly was not going to perform for this woman like the good little slave boy behind her. Gods only knew what all of Najir’s duties entailed. He probably fucked her pretty brains out twice daily, getting hard on command just as he had been trained to do.
    Like a pet. Sit. Stay. Fuck.
    His disgust and anger at the thought helped him get his body back under his control. For the moment. She was looking dead into his eyes again now and he knew she was fully aware of his momentary response. After all, he was chained naked to the damn wall; it was pretty hard to hide. What he didn’t understand is why she didn’t gloat or take obvious pleasure in the small victory over him. This was a war. They were going to be battling one another for some time to come, didn’t she see that?
    “Very well,”