Broken Read online

  Table of Contents

  Broken

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Books by Melody Anne

  Prelude

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Epilogue

  Excerpt from The Billionaire Wins the Game

  Broken

  Book Two in the Forbidden Series

  by Melody Anne

  Copyright

  © 2014 Melody Anne

  All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the author.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Printed and published in the United States of America.

  Published by Gossamer Publishing Company

  Editing by Alison

  Dedication

  This book is dedicated to Krisi. You make me laugh and inspire me to be a better writer by showing me your real-life romance and how amazing it is. I am so grateful I’m able to know you and have you in my life.

  Books by Melody Anne

  BILLIONAIRE BACHELORS

  *The Billionaire Wins the Game - Amazon

  *The Billionaire’s Dance - Amazon

  *The Billionaire Falls - Amazon

  *The Billionaire’s Marriage Proposal - Amazon

  *Blackmailing the Billionaire - Amazon

  *Runaway Heiress - Amazon

  *The Billionaire’s Final Stand - Amazon

  *Unexpected Treasure - Amazon

  *Hidden Treasure - Amazon

  *Holiday Treasure - Amazon

  BABY FOR THE BILLIONAIRE

  +The Tycoon’s Revenge - Amazon

  +The Tycoon’s Vacation - Amazon

  +The Tycoon’s Proposal - Amazon

  +The Tycoon’s Secret - Amazon

  +The Lost Tycoon - Amazon

  RISE OF THE DARK ANGEL

  -Midnight Fire – Rise of the Dark Angel – Book One - Amazon

  -Midnight Moon – Rise of the Dark Angel – Book Two - Amazon

  -Midnight Storm – Rise of the Dark Angel – Book Three - Amazon

  -Midnight Eclipse – Rise of the Dark Angel – Book Four – Coming Soon

  SURRENDER

  =Surrender – Book One - Amazon

  =Submit – Book Two - Amazon

  =Seduced – Book Three - Amazon

  =Scorched – Book Four - Amazon

  FORBIDDEN SERIES

  +Bound – Book One - Amazon

  +Broken – Book Two - Amazon

  + Betrayed - Book Three - Amazon

  + Bound - Book Four - Amazon

  HEROES SERIES

  -Safe in his arms – Novella – Baby it’s Cold Outside Anthology – Amazon -

  -Her Unexpected Hero – Book One – Amazon - Releases Feb 28th 2015

  -Who I am with you – Novella – Amazon Coming soon

  -Her Hometown Hero – Book Two – Releases June 2015

  Prelude

  I’m going to peel your clothes away, piece by piece, slowly and completely, and then I’m going to take you hard and fast, leaving you begging me to please you over and over again.”

  “Why are you doing this to me? Why here?”

  “Because I can.”

  The air weighed down on her lungs, and her entire body pulsed with need. The power, the loss of control, the pure lust shining from his eyes should disgust her, should fill her with fear. But, no matter what she tried, she couldn’t resist this man.

  When he pinned her against the solid mahogany shelves filled with ancient texts, all she could do was reach for him, desire him, crave him.

  Chapter One

  It’s time, Jewell.”

  Slowly turning her head, no color left in her face, Jewell stood with as much grace as possible. The joke of a dress barely covered any of her skin, and it was so tight that what it did hide was hardly hidden at all. But that didn’t even matter, did it? All the men sitting out there, waiting, lusting, wanting, preferred it that way.

  She was for sale to the highest bidder. And they would do whatever they chose with her. But so what? She was now just an empty shell; all real emotion had been sucked from her. Or at least she hoped it had been.

  “You look good. I have no doubt you’ll bring in the highest price of the night,” Ms. Beaumont told her.

  Jewell ignored the woman and stepped in front of the mirror to look at her own image. What she saw was a stranger looking back at her. Her long dark hair had been stripped of its natural color; shimmering platinum tresses now cascaded down her back. Expertly applied makeup concealed the circles beneath her eyes, and bright red lipstick matched her low-cut dress to perfection.

  Her legs were on full display. Ms. Beaumont said they were most definitely her best feature — okay, her legs and her back, which was also exposed in all its glory. Jewell refused to meet her employer’s gaze in the mirror. If she made eye contact with a single person, she was afraid she would melt down.

  Three months she’d been back at Relinquish Control. Three long months. She had lost the case for her brother, and now she was fighting just to get back visitation rights. Even if it wasn’t her fault, she’d broken a promise she’d made to her brother. She’d told him she’d be there every weekend, and it had been months since she’d been able to talk to him. He had to believe that she’d abandoned him.

  Never.

  She was doing all of this for him. If she could save enough money, she’d be able to get him somehow, and the two of them would run away together. The only thing in her life that mattered was little Justin.

  “Jewell, it’s still not too late to back out of this,” Ms. Beaumont said, and her words nearly made Jewell fall apart.

  “You know this has to be done,” Jewell told her, still refusing to meet her eyes.

  “There are other ways,” Ms. Beaumont reminded her.

  “None of those ways have worked.”

  McKenzie turned away. It was strange, the friendship the two of them had begun to share.

  But Jewell couldn’t focus on any of that right now. If she focused on anything other than what was in store for her, then she would never get through this auction. She hadn’t been with any other men since Blake Knight had dumped her back on the doorsteps of Relinquish Control. She hadn’t wanted to be with any other men.

  She’d tried to block Blake from her mind, but that was an impossibility. Though she’d been with him for only six days, and she hadn’t seen him i
n three months, their relationship had been a perfect storm, constantly leaving her thrashing around in the wind. The fatal moment for her came when he had dropped her back off at the doors to Relinquish Control without even a thought of looking backward.

  As soon as she’d decided to work for an escort company, Jewell had known that her world would never be the same again, but she had suppressed her feelings. Someone mattered more than she did. She would still do anything and everything to get to be with her little brother. The poor boy had to be so frightened right now.

  And this was the reason she was now up for auction. Relinquish Control did this once a year, took the girls who were either ready for one last gig or who were up for something a bit more exciting, and paraded them in front of a room full of men, hungry men who were told there were no rules. The clients got to do whatever they wanted with the women they bid the highest price on. Instead of paying for a night or a week, their bid gave them a woman for a full thirty days.

  Ms. Beaumont was giving Jewell half of the proceeds from this night. Half! And from what the other women had said, the dollar amounts sometimes shot into the tens of thousands. Surely, if she had at least ten thousand dollars in her bank account, she’d have the power to get her brother back, no matter where he’d been placed.

  The money she had made from her first encounter with Blake Knight had all gone to an attorney who had done nothing for her and Justin. She knew better now, though, knew she couldn’t trust anyone.

  “If you won’t change your mind, then it’s time,” Ms. Beaumont said quietly.

  “Let’s go.” Jewell didn’t even recognize her own voice, it was so listless, so monotonic.

  Jewell turned from the mirror and followed Ms. Beaumont to the room they’d set up a theater for the event. The audience section was dimly lit, making it difficult for the escorts to see the faces of the men bidding on them, but the lights on the stage shone brightly, ensuring that the bidders didn’t miss a single inch of skin. After all, they were there to secure themselves a high-priced whore.

  A whore is what they would get.

  “Good evening, gentlemen. I am so pleased you have made your way here this evening. All of you have used our services before and know that we guarantee your satisfaction. These women are here for you, and they will love every minute of the time they spend in your…arms.” If McKenzie winced slightly when she said that, no one in the audience noticed. “Our…training program is intensive, as you know, and quite costly, and this evening’s proceedings allow us to give you only the best. For those who haven’t attended one of our auctions before, let me explain how tonight will work.”

  Ms. Beaumont paused and looked out across the room. The pause intensified the men’s anticipation, and they sat there like panting dogs. Jewell took in a deep breath. Some of the girls were actually excited, almost giggly about this event, though they had been trained to hide most of what they felt. Each woman was counting the big bucks she would earn. What did they have to lose? This one job could set them up for an entire year if they were careful with their money. Jewell only hoped the man who picked her wasn’t too sadistic.

  She would be sold tonight. And Jewell had endured some rough nights when she’d been on the streets of Seattle, so she could certainly brave a month with a stranger. She just had to keep reminding herself why she was doing it — it was all for Justin.

  “You will bid on the girls by holding up your sign. Each bid goes up by increments of five thousand dollars.”

  The room quieted down as the first girl was brought onstage and made to twist and turn, to show off her assets. She smiled as she tugged on the material of her dress, letting her nipples show. That didn’t count as a wardrobe malfunction in this venue. An appreciative murmur rose from the audience, and her price climbed.

  Jewell sat with the others off to the side of the stage, where they could see the proceedings, but where the audience couldn’t see them. Ms. Beaumont wanted to keep the men waiting, wondering, salivating.

  The parading and the bidding and the winning seemed to go on and on, and Jewell sat stone-still while she waited for her name to be called. She refused to cave in to the tears that were fighting to fall. This wasn’t the time or the place. When she had her brother with her, when she was free of this place, free of this life, that was when she could allow herself a few tears.

  And not a moment sooner.

  “Our next lady of the night is Jewell, and a real gem she is. She’s our newest member and has only been with one client to date. Her training is complete, and she is willing and able to make all of your deepest desires come true. Let the bidding begin at twenty thousand.”

  Signs bobbed in the air as Jewell stood up stiffly and moved onto the stage, turning as she’d been taught, bending down, her body nothing but a tool, an instrument of seduction for profit. The price rose higher and higher, and as no one voiced their bids, she had no clue what type of men were bidding on her, but the higher her price went, the more frightened she became, even though the more money that was spent for her, the more that went into her pocket.

  However, men with the kind of money to bid this much expected much more than plain-vanilla missionary-position sex. Her unshed tears now burned inside her, but she pushed them back, made her mind a blank, and turned off all feeling — especially fear. This was just a month — even if it was a very long month. She would get through it.

  “Two hundred fifty thousand dollars.”

  The audience’s gasp was loud and clear, and Jewell’s body froze. The man had more than tripled the last bid, and he wasn’t bothering with holding up a sign. He’d spoken aloud. She had no idea who he was, but would she be able to give what a man willing to pay that price would expect from her?

  After tonight she might be of no use to her brother, because the man could do whatever he wanted, and for that kind of money, she wasn’t sure she’d make it out alive.

  Chapter Two

  Sitting in his den with the lights turned low, a fire creating a pleasant crackling sound, and the perfect cognac warming his belly, Blake stared out his window, though he saw nothing but black. It was quite fitting, since blackness was all he’d felt for so long that seeing it was almost soothing.

  A smile turned his lips up the barest of millimeters, though, for tonight some of that blackness would fade. It wouldn’t disappear — it never would. But tonight he would have Jewell back. Hell, he’d own her outright.

  “Sir, I still think this is a very bad idea.”

  “You dare to argue with me?” Blake thundered.

  “You can save the tone for someone who might actually be intimidated by your bark.”

  The only reason Max Kane was still standing in Blake’s den instead of being thrown out onto the street was that the man had worked for him for the past ten years, and he had always been loyal and discreet. And Blake trusted him. That wasn’t something that could be said for very many people.

  “I’ll have her back and she will answer for her lies,” Blake said, when Max didn’t back down.

  “She told you the truth about her brother. You thought that was a lie,” Max pointed out.

  “So why didn’t she push the issue? And why would she be working as a call girl if she has a brother to care for?”

  “Maybe if you asked her the reasons, she would tell you.”

  “Or maybe she would just lie to me more. Lie by omission. And she owes me, dammit.”

  “Owes you for what?”

  “I paid for services that I didn’t receive,” Blake pointed out.

  “Seriously, Blake? You were the one who dumped her back at the agency before her time was up, so don’t try to get away with this crap. I’ve known you a very long time, and though the rest of the world thinks you’re a total asshole, I’ve been privileged enough to see another side of you. Right now, however, you’re proving the world right about you.” Max’s breath came out in an exasperated rush, and he began pacing.

  “Good. This is who I am. If yo
u don’t like it, you know where the door is,” Blake growled.

  “It would do you good if I walked out, but you know I won’t,” Max said before helping himself to a beer. “It’s a wonder I don’t drink a lot more working for you,” he added with a laugh before taking a long swallow.

  “When did it become okay for you to put down your boss?” Blake asked him.

  “Oh, I’m not putting you down, sir. I’m only speaking the truth,” Max retorted.

  Tension hung heavy in the room, and Blake’s heart was pounding, his every sense on high alert. The auction was over. Jewell was about to be delivered to her new apartment, and soon he would see her.

  She had no idea who had bid on her, no idea what was coming next. Good. That’s what he wanted, to keep her off-kilter. After their last night together, he could still taste the mint in the air, could still hear her gasps of pleasure, could still feel her body tightening around him. He’d tried, but he hadn’t been able to keep her from his thoughts.

  Finding out that she hadn’t been cheating on him, that she really did have a brother, had changed things for him. No, he wouldn’t accept that she was anything more to him than a very pleasurable lover, but he knew he needed more of her. He wasn’t ready to let her go — not yet, at least.

  “I can admit that she tried to tell me the truth, and I shut her down. But still, Jewell and I have unfinished business. When our business is done, we will both go our separate ways,” Blake said. “Does that sound more reasonable?”

  “I think you’re lying to yourself, and I think you’re being more than a little irrational. If you like this woman, then why not just ask her out on a proper date?”

  “I don’t want to date her. I want her lying beneath me — or on top. I’m an equal-opportunity kind of guy,” Blake said with a smirk.

  “You could have any woman you want lying in your bed. But it’s Jewell you want — that means something.”

  Blake knew he was being unreasonable, but he wouldn’t admit that out loud. He wanted Jewell with a passion that he couldn’t explain, and until he figured out what this hold she had on him was, he wasn’t going to let her go.