Owned (Office Intrigue Book 8) Nicole Edwards (classic english novels TXT) 📖

I could see in her eyes she didn’t know the answer to that. She was curious, yes. And she probably considered herself well-versed in the world of Domination and submission because her brother was a self-proclaimed Sadist who didn’t bother to keep his sexual proclivities a secret. But what she didn’t understand was her brother’s desires really were tame in comparison to many out there, including someone’s preference for owning another person, to have them readily available to use in any manner they saw fit. Or conversely, for someone to want to be the object that was being used.

“Let me show you around first. I’ll ask for your thoughts on it after.” Without waiting for her to respond, I turned and headed back down the hallway.

“Hey, boss?” Zion called out as I passed. “You got a sec?”

I detoured to his doorway, saw Zion sitting at his desk, his laptop open in front of him. From where I stood, he looked like a regular Joe Office hard at work.

Zion motioned me in with a crook of his finger then pointed to his laptop.

I entered, walking around his desk to see what was so urgent, not even thinking about Braelyn following me.

“Oh, my God,” she breathed.

Zion looked up, chuckled. “Micah, let’s press pause for a moment.”

Micah’s eyes opened, his hand pausing on his hard, ridiculously thick cock.

“Don’t mind him,” Zion told Braelyn. “He’s following my instructions. I find I relax more when he’s around.”

Braelyn was still staring at the naked man affixed to the wall. Micah’s arms were free, but his thighs and torso were bracketed with steel braces that were attached to the wall, his heels precariously perched on shallow metal steps protruding out of the wall, to counterbalance gravity, of course. His balls were hanging lower than normal thanks to the weights dangling between his legs, but his cock was iron hard, held firmly in his fist.

“I didn’t mean to intrude,” Braelyn said, her eyes snapping back to Zion’s face as though she was embarrassed to have witnessed a naked man jacking off.

“No need to apologize. Micah goes where I go,” Zion said, as though that would reassure her. “And I use him at my leisure.”

That he did. And since Micah had been Zion’s possession for nearly five years, I figured it worked for the two of them.

“Zion is one of Owned’s very first clients,” I explained to Braelyn. “It took him some time, but he finally found Micah.”

“After several attempts, mind you,” Zion said, his rough, raspy voice sounding strained although it was not. The man’s vocal cords had been severely injured thanks to a bullet that, according to all the doctors and surgeons, should’ve killed him. I was grateful it had not. I considered Zion my most valued employee, as well as my closest friend.

Braelyn glanced from Zion to me then back again. “That’s what you do? You … what? Sell humans?”

I laughed. “Not exactly. However, I do cater to those who want to own and to be owned. I simply provide an unparalleled service for them to get acquainted.”

I was not surprised when her jaw fell open and she was speechless.

I got that a lot, actually.

EIGHTEEN

Braelyn

Try as I might, it was difficult not to let my gaze stray back to the naked man strapped to the wall.

For one, he was a naked man. Strapped to a wall.

Seriously.

However, I wouldn’t go so far as to say it was disturbing. No, there was something extremely provocative about the scene. Zion sitting at his desk, working away while his … possession … stroked himself.

How in the world did anyone get any work done like that? I mean, Micah was a fine-looking man. His body was a complex mix of hard angles and chiseled muscles. And yes, I was the sort of woman who could appreciate such a thing.

But there was a time and place for everything, right? And to have your play toy jacking off in the office… Seemed a bit distracting to me.

“Miss Bishop?” Zion said, his raspy voice low.

I glanced back at him, hating that I’d been watching Micah.

“Shall I have him return to what he was doing?” Zion asked, a teasing note in his harshly rasped words.

I swallowed, forced a smile. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to stare.”

“He’s quite impressive, no?”

“Yes,” I admitted, refusing to look over at Micah again.

“Micah, resume.”

Yep, my head swung around once more as Micah began stroking his massive erection. The instant his actions registered, I pivoted toward Talon, urging him with my eyes to take me elsewhere.

Clearly he read my silent plea, because, after exchanging a few words with Zion regarding whatever was on the computer screen, he led the way out of Zion’s office, back through the rest of the space. It was a nice layout, I had to admit. Everything one would expect in an office setting. Naked men strapped to walls notwithstanding.

By the time we reached the stairs, my head was spinning.

And here I thought nothing would shock me. Considering I’d heard plenty of stories from Ransom regarding the ins and outs of BDSM, the fascinating tales about the clubs catering to those in the lifestyle, as well as some glazed-over details of his exploits, I figured I’d heard it all.

Nope.

Talon was right. Tame by comparison.

Ransom had failed to mention there were people who strapped their human toys to walls and had them jack off while they worked.

Sure, I knew what a submissive was, and there’d been mention of sexual slaves a time or two, but I’d always thought those were in reference to playtime. Those intimate sexual encounters where one pretends to be under the Dominant’s spell. Not some twenty-four-seven ordeal.

And no, I wasn’t a prude, didn’t think sex was resigned to the bedroom, but this seemed a bit extreme.

I managed to hold my tongue while we headed back up to the main floor, escaping the inner sanctum of Owned, Incorporated. But my silence didn’t last once we were out of earshot