I'm the Young Master's New Pet

, and the metallic tang of fear. It was a place where morality came to die, a

t on her neck feel like ice. Her wrists were bound by a silk cord-red, for the "virgin" category. It

sharp as a razor. "The daughter of a fallen house. High pedig

iamond watches and the glowing tips of their cigars. She was a ghost being sold to monsters. Her fa

a voice drawled

ked another

would never get back. She felt her knees tremble, her breath hitching in her chest.

his room, men didn't buy

shouted, his excitement mounti

y mil

e from a bidder in the front row. It came from the darkness of the VIP balcony, a deep, resona

mentarily failing. "Fifty... fifty million from t

mmed down lik

to her. They didn't even look at her. She was cargo. They moved her through a la

" one of th

he stood in the center of the room, her heart hammering against her ribs like a trapped bird. Minutes bled

he door

at cost more than her father's house. His hair was black as a raven's wing, and his features were carved

city whispered about in hushed, terrified tones. They called him the Ice

as a predator circling a wounded deer. He stopped behind her, so close she could feel the he

girl whose father is a coward," he said

h it was thin and brittle. "

ht her chin between his thumb and forefinger, forcing her to

er her face, lingering on her lips. "In the world outside, you are a Vance. In thi

r eyes flashing with a spark of th

ips-a predatory expression that sent a

nst the shell of her ear, his breath hot against her cold skin. "A pet is for pleas

ped back, looking at her with

ice I paid." He took a step toward the door, then paused, looking b

h, the dogs are hungry, and I have spent fa

step forward. "Why me? There were dozens of gir

nt rigid. For a second, the cold professionalism of his aur

me we've met, don't you?" he as

d racing. "I... I don'

st enough for her to see

Elara. And I never forg

t the handle, but it wouldn't budge. She was trapped. She looked around the room, desperate for a way

ng hands, sh

encrusted with small, brilliant diamonds. But as she lif

rty o

g her into total darkness. In the silence, she heard the fai

the dark, you have nothing but my voice to guide you. Put it on, Elara. Put on your coll

ragged gasps. She looked toward the door, then at the box. She cou

le began