Page 19 of Maxim

“Ready?” I ask gruffly.

Olena looks up at me with those big blue eyes and nods.

“Ready, Master,” she says, making my dick twitch.

Nik is going to kill me. Plain and simple.

I clear my throat. “None of that, okay? You don’t need to call me Master, all right?”

“But Teacher said…”

I shake my head before she can even finish her sentence. “I don’t care what your teacher said. You want to please me, right?”

She gives me a jerky nod.

“Okay then, call me Maxim, or Max, but not Master.”

“If you’re sure…”

“I am.”

“Okay then, Maxim,” she says, testing my name out.

As fucked up as it is, I like the way it rolls off her tongue.

“All right, let’s go home, and then we can go from there. How does that sound?” I ask as I lead her to the door.

“Good. It sounds good.”

“Are you hungry?”

She wavers for a second before nodding. “I could eat.”

“What sounds good to you?” I ask as we leave the room.

Her eyes dart around the hall as she speaks softly. “Whatever sounds good to you, Mas-Maxim.”

“Good job catching yourself, Olena,” I praise her.

I don’t miss the small smile or the blush that covers her cheeks before she ducks her head, and for some reason the action makes me smile.

My eyes drop to her rapidly rising chest and see that the blush isn’t only on her face. For some fucked-up reason, my dick twitches.

Hell. I’m going to hell for thinking of her like this.

Iam trying to keep it together, but all I can think about is Alek and Daryna. What are they going to do without me? Alek is already too involved in Father’s business. With me gone, will he be able to keep his head on straight? Then there’s Daryna. Who will step in when Father becomes angry? Will he sell her like he’s sold me? I have no doubt that he has no morals. If she causes issues, he will get rid of her. He has no need for her after all. Women mean nothing to him.

“Hey, calm down,” I hear from the driver’s seat.

Looking over, I see the man who has bought me. My master, even if he refuses to let me call him that. It makes me distrustful of him. Why would he buy me if he was a good man? He has some sort of ulterior motive. It doesn’t matter. I need to get back to my siblings. Whatever he wants from me, I will give him until he lets his guard down. Anything for them.

“You’re panicking or something. It’s going to be okay. I won’t hurt you. Breathe.”

I take a deep breath as he asks and realize I was breathing heavily. The thought of my siblings being in trouble had me worked up.

“We are almost home. I will protect you.”

Sweet words from a monster. Is this how they all are? Do they hide behind the sugary sweet facade and attack when you least expect it? At least my father is upfront about his cruelty. I always know what to expect with him.