Free 24690 by Alaska Angelini, A. A. Dark

Pick a game, no matter where it is, and you and I will make a week of it.”
    “You’re joking.”
    “I’m not. I need a break from here. Can you find someone to cover your shifts?”
    His head shook. “I’m not supposed to leave.”
    “Bram won’t mind. Let me take care of it.”
    And I would. I had a feeling my friend was dying to get rid of me. Just as he was tonight. Let him grovel in his heartbrokenness. I wasn’t going to be at the brunt of his anger. I’d stay away as much as I could until the auction. And when I returned, Everleigh would be mine. 

Chapter 10
    24690
     
    Every step, every pull of my muscles, my body was screaming through the soreness. Bram had stayed true to his word, retrieving me the first night and the next morning. He was insatiable, continuously returning at odd times throughout the day. It wasn’t that I had to care about my roommate anymore. She was removed shortly after his first nightly visit, but it was the guards I worried about. They were looking at me differently. I didn’t like it.
    “Faster, slave.”
    I clasped my hands as I picked up the pace behind Bram. It had been five days since our first sexual encounter and even now, I couldn’t process what was happening. What did I feel for him? There was something. There always had been. Sure, he scared me, but I couldn’t dismiss the times I’d seen his tenderness. He’d helped me more than once over the years. Even now, I prayed he was saving me from some disaster only he knew was coming.
    “Slave.”
    The growled threat had me practically running to stay close. I didn’t like these constant visits. There were eyes everywhere. Every door we passed housed Masters. Every entrance into a new hall presented a guard. I had to say something … but what? Sorry, Mr. Whitlock, I can’t see you anymore? I couldn’t do that. He wouldn’t listen even if I did. And did I want to stop seeing him?
    No.
    Bram’s quarters came within view and I kept my head down as we neared the entrance. The moment he had the lock undone, he swept me inside and pulled me up to straddle him. The hunger that met my lips, my tongue, was one I couldn’t help but return. Damn this situation and the bastard he portrayed himself to be. In these moments, I saw the real him. The one he tried so hard to hide away.
    “Did they do as I instructed?”
    “You know they did,” I said, between kissing him. “I know you watched. I know you smell it on me.”
    “Of course I watched . Do you think I trust those bastards in the shower room with you?”
    Fingers wove through my hair, pulling my head back as Bram bit and sucked against the side of my neck. My back arched and I blindly pulled, loosening his tie. He let go and I dove back for his mouth. I barely got to taste him before I broke away gasping. Two fingers slid in deep, nearly taking my breath away. A moan poured from me as I went back to slide my tongue against his.
    The grip around my waist tightened while he thrust in a slow pace. In all the times my old master had my body, it had never been like this. Not even close. There was no passion or lust. I knew my duty and I tried to make him happy by doing it. Here … Bram was introducing me to a world of sensations I’d never experienced before.
    “I knew the scent would be a good match for your skin. I could already smell you all over my bed … on me. Now I’m going to smell this new you in its place. It’s stronger and will last longer. You’ll be here even when you’re not. And the same will go for you. From now on, you wear this. Every day. Even if you aren’t expecting me. This is me on you—with you. You’ll never be alone.”
    I drew back, seeing his brow crease. Whatever he was thinking he wouldn’t say.
    “Just wear it,” he said, angrily.
    A smile wanted to come at the withdraw of his tenderness, but I knew better than to make it obvious. He was trying to fight what he felt so hard.
    “I’ll wear it every day.”
    The fingers that