Kissed by the Baddest Bidder Recreated - Book 1 - Olivia and Eisuke

by Cassakane

I use kbtbb as the *springboard* for this story. Events and some characters (especially Baba and Ota) will vary greatly from the original work. I intend to write a story for each of the bidders. Olivia and Eisuke: chapters 1-9: You know, right? Sakiko and Soryu: chapters 10-?: Sakiko is happy to join Eisuke's underground organization. Will she be able to seduce Soryu?

4. Comfort

I pulled the bodice of my dress up and held it in front of my breasts. My body was still hot, sweaty, wet and aching with desire, but the chill air of the room was rapidly cooling my skin, making me shiver. I wrenched my eyes from the stairs. Eisuke would not be coming back immediately. I did not know whether I wanted him to come back, to say that he had made a mistake or had just gone to grab a condom, or if I wanted him to stay away so that I would never have to see him again. In truth, I wanted both things, and neither of them would happen. He would be back later, with his icy eyes and cold smirk. He would look at me like I was an animal in an experiment, searching my eyes to read all of my secrets.

The thought was sickening, and it sent me to my feet. I hurried through the bedroom and closed myself into the bathroom. The room was starting to feel like my sanctuary, and for some reason this made me despise it. I did not want my refuge to be a bathroom, a hard room surrounded by cold tile and icy mirrors. I wanted warmth and comfort. I wanted to feel safe.

I stepped under the spray of the shower, the perfect place to cry, but tears would not come. I was a twist of frozen thoughts and feelings. Nothing would flow, I could not feel or process anything that had happened. I washed and dried myself and blew my hair dry, my movements like an automaton.

Afterwards, I stood motionless on the cold floor, staring at the bathroom door. I'd hurried into the room without grabbing my pajamas. My new robe was down in my salon. I didn't want to put the white dress back on in order to go back into the bedroom. I never wanted to touch that dress again.

Taking a deep breath, I slowly opened the door and peeked out. The bedroom was empty. A familiar stack of clothes sat a few yards away on top of a dresser. I darted out, grabbed the bundle and scurried back into the bathroom, closing the door with a sigh of relief. This time the pajamas were yellow with little white bunnies on them. I drew on the clothes quickly. They were warm and soft, providing a hint of the comfort that I needed.

I went back out to the bedroom and set my futon up at the end of Eisuke's bed, but when I was finished I just stared down at the soft folds of plush bedding. I could not get into bed now. The frozen feelings inside of me were beginning to grow icy shards that stabbed into me, filling me with pain. I needed to escape the torment that threatened to burst inside of me.

I hurried out of the bedroom and downstairs, noting that Eisuke was not in the upper living room as I crossed to the stairs. Soryu was in the first floor living room, just as he always was. Just as I'd needed him to be. He sat on a couch, papers spread before him on a coffee table, focused on something that he was writing.

He didn't look up as I approached, his hand never pausing as he continued to write, but he said, "Just a moment, Olivia," when I came to a stop nearby.

When he looked up, his gray eyes meeting mine and one of his eyebrows raised in inquiry, I felt the frozen glaciers inside of me begin to move, scraping painfully against each other. "Soyru, I feel like I'm going to fall apart," I said, my voice threatening to break. "I need someone to talk to."

His eyes searched mine for a moment before his hands moved to gather up the papers on the table and place them quickly into a folder. He stood up and said, "Let's go back to your room. We're too likely to be interrupted in here."

I suddenly remembered Mamoru's habit of lounging quietly over by a window. My eyes shot over to see if he was there, and I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw that he wasn't. I didn't want any additional people to be witness to my weakness.

I followed Soryu down the hallway to my salon and sat down on one end of the couch, watching him grab a couple of bottles of water out of the mini fridge and hand one over before taking a seat on the end opposite me. He shifted around for a bit, obviously trying to find a more casual posture than he was used to sitting in. It was so awkward and cute that if I hadn't been feeling so devastated, I would have been laughing.

He finally settled on sitting at an angle in the corner of the couch, facing me with his arm stretched along the back. I pulled my feet up onto the couch and sat facing him, hugging my knees against my chest.

"Please feel free to say whatever you need to say," he encouraged.

I rubbed my hands over my face. This wasn't easy. I needed a girlfriend, someone who was used to talking about tragedies and drama and feelings, not a man in a business suit who seemed to feel most comfortable communicating with looks and nods.

"I… There's so much," I started, my voice slightly apologetic. "Eisuke stole everything when he bought me from the auction. My entire life. My job, my home, my friends. I lost everything and it's so painful, especially… Especially since the same thing happened when my mom died. I know that I can get through it, I've done it before. So, I'm trying my best to stay strong, but it is just so hard."

"The same thing happened when your mother died?" Soryu asked, his voice soft.

"Yeah." Tears had begun slipping from my eyes. "When she died, I didn't have enough money to manage anymore. I had to drop out of university and I lost our apartment. I was even homeless for awhile. I keep trying not to think about it, but going through this just really brings back how awful it was to lose my mom."

Soryu passed me a box of tissues that had been sitting near him and nodded for me to continue.

"I can't help but going over things again and again. What if Ota hadn't had sex with that girl at the party? What if Baba hadn't been on the same floor as me? What if the person in the room that I delivered to had spent ten seconds saying thank you to me? What if none of this had happened and Eisuke hadn't bought me and I was safe and sound and happy in my dorm room right now?"

"You know that all of the 'what ifs' are a waste of time, Olivia," Soryu gently pointed out. "There is also something that I want you to understand. It isn't really my habit to talk about Eisuke's intentions, but I'm going to make an exception this time. He bought you to save you, Olivia. We don't sell people in the Auction. The moment he heard that a woman had been put on the block, he went directly to purchase you. You must realize that things could have turned out much worse than this."

"I do. I do..." I murmured as what he had said sank in. He saved me. He bought me to save me. My eyes flicked around the salon. A room that had been remodeled just to provide a place for people to comb my hair and do my makeup. A place to store a profusion of expensive clothes. I ran my fingers over the yellow pajamas. Every night there's a new set of pajamas waiting, and when he walked in on me almost naked, a robe appeared.

"You guys are taking really good care of me and being very generous. And I know that I'm safe, but… Eisuke scares me. I can't figure him out. I just don't understand him. It leaves me feeling nervous and afraid. And tonight..." I couldn't finish. If he'd been a woman, I could have talked about it, but I couldn't tell Soryu what Eisuke had done. What we had done.

"Eisuke is different from most people. Perhaps all people. He sees and understands things on a deeper level than anyone else. Add that to how much wealth and power he has, and yeah, he can be scary. He's used to doing things as he pleases and he won't allow anyone to obstruct his goals," Soryu explained. "The best advice that I can give you is not to be the one standing in his way. Do as he tells you to do, Olivia, and you should be fine."

His words reminded me of something that I had said to Carolina. 'Eisuke has to be in control of absolutely everything...and he nevertakesno for an answer.' Even though it was supposed to be a lie, it rang very close to the truth. Eisuke carried himself like a god. Like someone who expected his every command to be followed to the letter.

I closed my eyes for a moment, adding up all the factors. "I'm here and I'm safe. I could be somewhere much worse. I could be dead," I said slowly to Soryu. "Eisuke isn't going to let me go any time soon. He wouldn't have had this room remodeled if he was planning on setting me free. I just need to do what he tells me to do. I should be able to get used to that. And if that means having sex with him, then… There really isn't anything that I can do to stop that."

I stared down at my knee where the tip of my finger was tracing over a little white bunny again and again. I could feel Soryu's eyes on my face, trying to read my expression, but I couldn't look up and meet his gaze.

"I've never known him to hurt a woman like that," Soryu said quietly. "I don't think he would force himself on you."

I remembered what Eisuke had told me about Soryu's personal values. "I'm really sorry, Soryu, about telling Carolina that you have a rape fetish. I didn't think. I just wanted to help you." I shook my head in defeated frustration. "And, I don't want you to think that Eisuke is forcing me to do anything. It's just complicated."

"I can understand that," he replied with a smile that was kind and encouraging. "There are very few things about Eisuke that are simple."

I gave a dark little laugh. "Yeah, I barely know him or anything about him, and I can tell that you are right."

He stood up and looked down at me. "If you're feeling a little better, I think you need a hug. And maybe a late night snack."

"Both of those things sound great," I said, standing up to receive the hug that he was offering. He was stiff and the hug was pretty awkward, but it was nice anyway. I needed comfort and I needed a friend and it seemed like Soryu was ready to take on that position. "Thank you so much for talking to me."

"You're welcome," he replied with a reassuring smile. "I'll always be here if you need someone to talk to."

I followed him out to the living room where Baba and Mamoru were just coming through the front door. Soryu stepped out of the room and the rest of us moved over to the seating area.

"Ah, Kitten, what an adorable sight," Baba said with a smile. "What are those, bunnies?"

"Yeah," I said with a little laugh. "Bunnies."

"I always knew that Eisuke must be hiding some weird fetishes," he joked and dropped down onto a couch. "I prefer something in silk or lace myself. What about you, Mamoru?"

"I usually sleep in my boxers," Mamoru replied, popping a cigarette into his mouth and lighting it. "Sometimes I sleep in the buff."

I laughed as a curled up into a chair. This was exactly what I needed, normal, pointless conversation.

Baba pulled a face. "I should have known that you wouldn't have an opinion on what a woman wears to bed, Mamo. Have you ever even been in a bedroom with a woman?"

"All the time back when I worked in homicide," Mamoru said with a yawn. "I'd say the bedroom is the number one place that women are killed. That and kitchens."

"What in the hell are you guys talking about?" Soryu asked angrily, coming back into the room. "Olivia doesn't need to hear about women being murdered."

"Pajamas," I answered, not bothering to hold back my laughter. "We're talking about pajamas."

While Soryu shot a glare at Mamoru, Baba looked over at me and changed the topic. "A little birdie told me that Carolina Bucci's private jet is fueling up and will be departing Japan in three hours."

"Oh? She's leaving so quickly?" I asked excitedly. "What a relief!"

"Yeah, I heard that she's going to Austria. There's a new boy band there that she's interested in," Baba explained.

"A boy band? Somehow that is even more disturbing than Mamoru's homicide facts," I said with a moan. "Those poor boys. They'll have agents and handlers to protect them, right?"

"Ah, my dear innocent wearer of bunny pajamas, the agents and handlers will feed those boys right to Carolina just to stay on Bucci's good side," Baba said regretfully, taking out his phone and swiping his thumbs over it. "Here, this is their first video."

The doorbell rang as Baba held up his phone so that I could see the video. I watched in horror as five young men danced in sync on a stage. The video began showing closeup shots of the boys and my heart sank.

"They're just babies!" I cried, unconsciously holding my arm where Carolina had grabbed me. "Is she really going to be allowed to...to just do whatever she wants with them?"

Soryu walked over to us carrying a pizza. His eyes were dark as he set the box on the table.

"I thought I made it clear that you guys aren't supposed to be upsetting Olivia," he said.

"Hey, sorry," Baba said with a little chuckle, pocketing his cellphone. "It's just the way of the world, eat or be eaten."

"Ah, this is perfect, Soryu," I said with a smile, deliberately trying to move on from the conversation. "Thank you. There's nothing like late night pizza."

"Well, here's to Ota," Baba said, raising a slice into the air as if he were making a toast. "I saw the bastard leaving the party with two women tonight."

"Jeez," I said. "Do things like that really happen? Was one of them Yumi?"

"Yes, my bunny-covered Kitten, things like that really do happen. To fucking Ota, never to me" Baba complained. "And one of them was not Yumi, I think she passed out hours ago. This is why men like me have trouble finding a woman and men like Mamo never even have a chance. The Ota's of the world take more than their fair share."

I laughed and shook my head. "Rich people be crazy."

"Isn't that right," Mamoru said. "I live my life surrounded by rich people and criminals. It's no wonder I'm so disillusioned."

Soryu scoffed. "Is disillusioned a fancy new word for lazy?"

"You're handsome enough, Mamoru," I said, trying to be helpful. "I can't talk to my friends in the hotel anymore, I guess. So, I can't set you up. But maybe I could suggest someone that you might want to casually run into and strike up a conversation."

"Ah, that sounds perfect," Baba said. "I love a woman in a uniform. I'll take one of those girls that wear the pink dresses with the little white apron – are they waitresses at the ice cream parlor? And one of those girls from the casino – the vests really define their assets."

"I wasn't talking to you, Baba," I said. "You stay away from those girls."

Baba sighed. "It's against Eisuke's rules anyway. No fraternizing with Tres Spades employees. But I can still dream."

"Sorry about that, Mamoru. I guess I can't help you," I said.

"That's alright, Olivia," he replied. "I appreciate the fact that you offered, but women really are too much effort. I'm happy the way that I am."

"Ah, this is pathetic!" Baba stood up and threw a half-eaten slice of pizza back into the box. "I'm going up to the sky lounge. There are still women out there and I'm not going to give up. Soryu, you joining me?"

"Not tonight," Soryu answered. "Tomorrow morning is the IVC golf scramble. I'll be getting up early for that, so I'm going to bed soon."

"Fine then. You snooze, you lose. More girlies for me," Baba declared before turning to Mamoru. "Mamo?"

"Yeah, I could use one more drink before I head home. Thanks for the pizza, Soryu and goodnight, Olivia," Mamoru said and followed Baba out of the penthouse.

"What's a golf scramble?" I asked Soryu, finishing my last bite of pizza.

"A way to play golf, it involves teams," Soryu explained. "You aren't expected to go to that. You can sleep in tomorrow. I scheduled your team to come in at eleven to get you ready for lunch."

"Ah, sleeping in does sound great." I said goodnight to Soryu and headed upstairs, suddenly in a hurry to go to bed. If Soryu had to be up early for the golf scramble, then Eisuke would certainly be doing the same thing. That meant Eisuke would probably want to go to bed soon. I wanted to be asleep by the time he came back. I did not want to have to face him until it was absolutely necessary.

I came awake abruptly, my heart nearly stopping. Someone was picking me up. I blinked into the dim light of the bedroom, not knowing what to do. Should I scream? I was afraid to turn my head and look at whoever held me. It had to be Eisuke. Who else could it have been? My suspicions were confirmed when he stepped over and lay me down on his bed. I closed my eyes, not wanting him to know that I was awake. At that point, maybe my heart really did stop for a moment.

What's he doing? Is he going to have sex with me now? Why wouldn't he have just woken me up? Thoughts raced through my mind as he drew the covers up over me and then turned away. I opened my eyes a little and peaked at him. I could see his back as he walked to the end of the bed. His back and his ass. He was naked! At this point my heart woke back up and nearly jumped out of my chest. What in the world is going on?

I watched as he bent and picked up my futon and bedding, crossed the room and tossed them out the bedroom door. Quickly closing my eyes before he turned back to the bed, I listened as his footsteps approached and then the other side of the bed sank as he lowered himself down onto it. Dear God. Dear God. Dear God. What is happening?

Nothing.

I lay paralyzed for what seemed like an eternity, but nothing happened. Finally, I gathered the courage to open my eyes and look over at him. I'd been worried that he would be lying there, staring at me, waiting for me to open my eyes. Instead, his back was towards me. I stared at his silhouette for awhile, wondering what was going on.

Finally, I grew tired. Eisuke wasn't trying to have sex with me. He wasn't coming near me. He wasn't touching me at all. He'd thrown the futon out. He must just want me on the bed.

It was weird, but I could deal with it. I went to sleep.

The next morning I slept late and then wandered downstairs. The penthouse felt strange and empty. Eisuke wasn't in the upper living room typing away at his laptop and Soryu wasn't downstairs. Hungry for breakfast, I peeked into the dining room, but the table was empty.

I realized then that the penthouse was huge and I'd only been in a handful of its rooms. Items appeared by magic and messes were cleaned up by fairies. I silently chided myself. In the blink of an eye, I'd become one of those rich people who didn't say thank you and took everything for granted. There were employees in this penthouse taking care of our needs. Just like in the hotel, they were hidden away from the public eye, quietly going about their lives without disturbing us. I was ashamed of the fact that I hadn't thought of them until now.

Exploring down the hallway near the dining room, I quickly found the kitchen. There were two women inside, and they both looked at me with smiling faces when I stepped into the room.

"Good morning, Miss," the older one said. "Are you ready for your breakfast?"

I could see the curiosity and excitement in their eyes. Was I like a fairy tale to them? A lucky servant who had crossed over into the land of the privileged? Or did they know that something strange was going on? Had they overheard things being said that would let them know that I wasn't there of my own free will? Did they know that my relationship with Eisuke was fake?

"Yes," I replied. "And thank you very much for making my breakfast for the last two mornings. I'm Olivia Graham."

"Olivia?" the woman said, testing out the foreign name. "It is nice to meet you. I am Chikako, the chef, and this is Nao, my assistant. What would you like to eat? If you want something quickly, I can make an egg roll. Or maybe some rice, egg and natto? Or some threadfish?"

"I think the egg roll sounds great," I said. "I guess it won't be too long until I have to go to lunch."

"Okay, I'll have that right out to you," Chikako said with a nod and I was...dismissed.

I turned and walked back to the dining room, feeling uncomfortable. I wasn't one of them anymore. I couldn't talk to them and tell them what was going on in my life, and they didn't even want that. They wanted me to stay on my side of the invisible wall. I wondered what would happen if I were able to talk to Sakiko and my other friends in the hotel again. Would there be a huge chasm between us?

After eating my breakfast, I looked around the penthouse a bit. There were more hallways with closed doors, but I didn't feel right opening them to look inside. I'd have to ask Soryu for a tour another time.

Looking out the french doors, I saw a swimming pool glimmering in the sun on the roof of the hotel. It looked irresistible. With a smile, I hurried to my salon and looked through the clothes until I found a bathing suit and changed into it.

Letting myself outside onto the roof, I looked around at the outdoor area. A tall privacy fence enclosed the area that surrounded the pool. There were seating arrangements, tables, lounge chairs and a large barbecue grill, all of it complimented by pretty decorations and potted palms. It looked perfect for a party.

I walked slowly down the stairs into the pool, allowing my skin to adjust to the cool water. I wasn't much of a swimmer, but I had fun splashing around in the pool for the next forty-five minutes, thoroughly enjoying the cool water and the hot sun.

Afterwards, I took a quick shower and waited for Mika, Rin and Diachi to arrive. It was nice to be surrounded by their cheerful chattering. I couldn't tell them too much about my life, or confide my problems to them, but being able to talk about everyday things was a calming distraction.

To my surprise, Daichi informed me that the plan for the afternoon was another trip to the zoo. The venue had been bought out for an IVC event. Today, only Tres Spades VIPs would be allowed in.

"I went on a shopping trip yesterday afternoon and bought every dress that I could find with half sleeves," Daichi said with a laugh. "It looks like it will take your arm awhile to heal and we need to be prepared!"

I laughed along with him and examined the two dresses that he held up for me to choose from.

"I'll go with the green one," I said. "I really like the muted pattern."

While Mika was working on my hair, Daichi wandered back over to me, his cellphone in his hand.

"Olivia, if you had to choose between these four colors, which would you choose: white, orange, black or gray?" he asked, looking down at me curiously.

"What is it for?" I asked. "A dress?"

"Oh, not for anything in particular," Daichi explained vaguely. "I'm just trying to get a general sense of your taste in colors."

"Oh, well..." I thought about the choices. After the events of the night before, I decided to stay away from the color white. Black, gray or orange? I decided to go with the happier color. "I guess I'd choose orange."

"Awesome," Daichi responded distractedly and wandered away tapping on his phone.

I watched him through the mirror as he settled onto the couch. He definitely seemed to be up to something. I wondered what was on the agenda for that evening. I really should ask Soryu to start giving me the itinerary ahead of time. It was pathetic that my team knew where I was going, but I didn't.

After I showed my team out of the penthouse, I slowly walked back up to the bathroom that was attached to the master bedroom. There had been an uncomfortable feeling in the pit of my stomach all morning, and it had only been growing worse as time wore on.

Once in the bathroom, I stood staring down at the small circle of gold lying on the counter. I'd been trying to avoid my feelings all morning, but the fact was that I didn't feel right because the ring that Eisuke had bought me the previous day was not on my finger. Wherever I'd gone in the apartment, whatever I'd done, a part of my mind had been very aware of the ring resting, alone, in the cold bathroom.

The day before I'd been struggling with my desire for Eisuke and my need to maintain my sense of self. Today, I just wanted to put on the ring. I wanted to belong to him. Was this all that it took, then? Some kisses and a few minutes at second base? Had I always been this easy? He treated me like a commodity. He'd gotten up the night before and walked away from me as if I were nothing, as if I didn't have feelings, as if I didn't matter.

I shouldn't want him, I should want to run from him. I shouldn't be replaying his words, 'You belong to me,' over and over again like a broken record. The words should not be resonating through me, echoing deeply, illuminated the sad truth that at my core I already felt like I belonged to him. A part of me might hate the feeling and hate myself for feeling that way, but there was no denying it.

I reached out and picked up the ring. Right or wrong, I would feel better if I had it on. It connected me to him. Maybe it represented the fact that I felt like I belonged to him, but no one else knew that. To everyone else it was just a ring. Only I would know what it meant.

And Eisuke. But he already knew everything anyway. He could see everything. He'd told me that I belong to him and I'd repeated the words like a vow. There was no hiding it from him. He knew it and I knew it.

"It's my ring, and I want to wear it," I said quietly to myself and slipped the ring on my finger, feeling instantly more at peace.

The first thing I saw when I stepped out of the bedroom was Eisuke walking up the stairs. He looked like an advertisement for golf apparel in dark pants and a subtly patterned polo shirt, fresh, crisp, cool and perfect. He walked past me and went into the bedroom with his usual smirk, not even acknowledging me. But he saw the ring on my finger, I watched his eyes fall on it, take it in for a moment and then flick away.

He'd been looking for it. He'd wanted me to wear it. The thought made me far to happy.

I grabbed a magazine out of my salon and sat reading it in the first floor living room, waiting for Eisuke and Soryu. After awhile, I looked up and around the room. My eyes caught on Mamoru, lounging in the chair over by the window. He was definitely asleep. I wondered how long he'd been there. Certainly I would have noticed him if he had been sitting in the chair earlier in the morning when I was exploring the penthouse. I decided that he must have come in recently, probably to take a nap during his lunch break.

Hearing a sound, I looked to the other side of the room to see Frappuccino Zoolander stalking down the stairs, wearing black jeans and a black t-shirt. The sort of t-shirt that probably cost hundreds of dollars and fit FrapZ perfectly.

"Stop staring," I ordered myself silently and forced my eyes to return to the magazine. While Eisuke dropped into a chair and pulled out his phone, I tried to fight off memories of his perfect mouth and hands on my body.

Feeling my cheeks flushing, I raised the magazine higher to create a shield. He would know exactly what I was thinking if he looked over at me. The thought only made me blush harder, and I realized that I was in a vicious circle of embarrassment.

"Good afternoon, Olivia," Soryu's voice rang out in the silent room. "How are you doing today?"

I put the magazine down and greeted Soryu, feeling as if he were rescuing me. "I'm great, Soryu. I really enjoyed sleeping in. Did your team win your golf scramble?" I asked, smiling and standing up to join him.

"Not this time," he said with a shake of his head. "One of the other teams had a pro golfer and we had Baba."

"Poor Baba. He doesn't seem to be having much luck lately."

"Yeah. We should have taken that into consideration and cut him from the team," Soryu said with exaggerated seriousness.

As I laughed at his joke, I felt a hand come to rest on my elbow.

"Let's go," Eisuke said, and turned me to face the front door.

He kept his hold on me even after we entered the elevator, where he said, "Your act as my girlfriend will continue. Claudio Bucci will remain in the hotel through the end of the IVC and, beyond that, I have another assignment for you. As of now, the role will be indefinite."

"Yes, Eisuke," I replied quietly, sneaking a peek at his profile. There was no sense questioning him. He'd tell me what my next job was whenever he was ready.

We had lunch at the Breakstone. Eisuke and Soryu talked about the stock exchange for a long time and I concentrated on my food. Near the end of the meal, Eisuke received some sort of message on his phone and began concentrating on that. Soryu turned his attention to me.

"Are you looking forward to the zoo this time, Olivia?" He asked with a smile. "Now that you can enjoy it without Carolina getting in the way?"

I laughed as I answered him. "Yes! This time I'll be able to focus on the animals. I can't wait. But you must feel the same way. It will be a whole new experience for both of us."

"Yeah, just like a real day of leisure. Although, I think we should avoid the lions and tigers. They'll just bring up traumatic memories for me."

"Now that you mention it, I think we should avoid the otters, too. That woman has ruined one of my favorite animals! I'll never be able to look at an otter the same way!" I joked dramatically.

"I'll buy you one of those special animal shaped popsicles to make it up to you. They looked so good, but there was no way I was going to let that woman get a popsicle in her hand," he said with a sad shake of his head.

"No, No! Don't put pictures in my head!" I held up my hands as if warding off his words. "I think we should make a pact to never speak of Carolina again. The memories are hurting my brain."

As I said this I couldn't help but reach up and rub my hand over my arm where Carolina had grabbed me. Soryu's eyes flicked down and then back up again. "She hurt you," he said. It wasn't a question.

"I… It's not like she meant to. She just grabbed my arm when she was yelling at me. She had no idea that my arm was injured," I explained, a little shaken. "I'm actually more worried about that boy band that Baba was telling me about last night. I keep thinking about them. Even Eisuke had to play tricks to stay away from Carolina. Those poor boys don't stand a chance. It's just disgusting."

Soryu glanced over at Eisuke and my eyes followed his to see Eisuke watching us with his fathomless eyes. He gave a quick upwards flick of his chin and then turned his attention back to his screen. I glanced curiously back at Soryu, wondering what Eisuke had just silently directed him to do.

"I'll see what I can do," Soryu said, his eyes meeting mine with a serious look. "Now, why don't you tell me about how you spent your morning."

"Well, I was going to explore the penthouse, but I thought I shouldn't just randomly open a bunch of doors. Maybe you can give me a tour sometime?" When he nodded, I continued, "and I found the pool, so I went for a swim."

"That sounds fun," Soryu said. "I'll have to join you some time."

"Definitely. I'm not a very good swimmer, so I need lots of practice and I wouldn't mind some pointers. I- -"

"You went into the pool alone when you don't know how to swim?"

I looked over to see Eisuke's eyes blazing.

"Well, I can swim a little and I didn't do anything dangerous..." I fidgeted in my seat as he continued to glare at me.

"You belong to me," Eisuke said levelly. "Don't endanger my goods."

While his words sank in, Soryu tried to alleviate the mood. "I'll teach you to swim, Olivia. It shouldn't take long."

"I'll take care of Olivia," Eisuke said with finality.

"I… Thank you, Eisuke," I said, feeling a little unsure because he seemed far too serious for a conversation that was about swimming.

"See that you do," Soryu said, his voice quiet and laced with steel.

I watched the two men stare at each other for several moments, and then Eisuke suddenly stood up.

"Let's go," he directed and took my hand to lead me to the limousine.

The ride was awkward, with Eisuke obviously angry, Soryu strangely amused and me squished in between them. There was plenty of room in the limo, but for some reason both of them were sitting right up against me. And Eisuke held my hand for the entire ride.

Our walk through the zoo was very different from the previous one. Both Eisuke and Soryu were often busy talking to hotel guests, just as if we are at one of the IVC parties. This gave me a lot of time to enjoy the animals, sometimes too much time. I exchanged many sympathetic glances with girlfriends, wives and children as we stood around waiting for the men in our lives to wrap up boring conversations about business.

I decided that I was going to have to start thinking ahead and preparing for times like this in the future. A cellphone would have been my best bet, but they'd never let me have one. Instead, I decided to carry a bag with a book and magazines. I'd learned to crochet when I was in high school, maybe I'd add some yarn to the bag. Anything to keep me occupied while Eisuke networked.

It was during this trip that it really hit home that I didn't have any money. I couldn't wander over and buy myself a soda or a snack, I had to wait and ask Soryu to do it when he wasn't occupied. I couldn't even put a coin in a little machine to get money to feed the animals. While my needs were being taken care of, it was still frustrating to feel the boundaries of my cage. No phone, no cash, no wandering ahead by myself to look at another animal.

Eisuke was regularly attentive. As soon as he finished a conversation, he'd look around for me and take my hand or put his arm around my waist. If we had a few minutes to enjoy looking at an animal together, his hand would rub my back or he would give me little kisses. It was nice. Enjoyable. Not stressful and intense the way that things had been when we were trying to convince Carolina to give up on him. It was much easier to rein in my own wayward feelings and remind myself that everything was fake when he his touches were brief and light.

On the way back to the hotel, Eisuke finally explained what my next assignment would be.

"Takahiro is suspicious," he said to Soryu. "You start an investigation. Olivia will work with him and report back to us."

Soryu was nodding as if this was a typical command, but I was nothing but confused.

"Wait are you talking about Kuroba Takahiro? The concierge?" I looked between the two men, bewildered.

"Yes," Eisuke said, staring at me as if I were offending him by asking questions, but I couldn't stop.

"Why is he suspicious? Is he doing something wrong like stealing from the hotel? Isn't that a matter for security or human resources?"

Soryu put his hand on my arm and gave a little tug, indicating that he wanted me to turn his way.

"Olivia, you have to remember that things are very complex. In this case, you simply do as Eisuke says. You don't ask questions." His voice was firm and his eyes were staring into mine, reminding me of the conversation we'd had the night before.

"Okay…Yes, of course," I said, trying to pull myself together. "What exactly do you need me to do?"

Eisuke looked down his nose at me as if I were an annoying bug. "I'd already planned to order a new female concierge training program implemented, but I was going to wait until November," Eisuke explained. "There aren't any female concierges at the moment, and that is unacceptable. Appropriate candidates will be paired with current concierges to learn the ropes in order to be ready to take over concierge positions when they open up. We'll have Olivia act as a test for this idea. She can begin shadowing Takahiro on Monday. Olivia, you will report everything you see, hear or notice about Takahiro."

"I can do that," I said. Even though it sounds absolutely crazy.

"Soryu, arrange everything and prepare Olivia," Eisuke said and then turned to glare at me with cold eyes. "Olivia, you must always remember your place. Any attempts to escape or inform anyone of your true situation will only end in severe punishment. You have a great amount of freedom now and you are about to be given more. Don't fuck it up."

"Yes, Eisuke," I breathed, my heart pounding. I'd just been internally bewailing my lack of cash and a cellphone, but what would happen if I screwed up and Eisuke decided to keep me locked in the penthouse...or worse?

I needed to focus on the positive. I was going to be able to go to work! I'd see my friends and have something like a normal life. Eisuke may have some weird suspicions about Takahiro, but I knew that the concierge was a really kind and dedicated employee. There was no bad here, I was even going to be training for an important position in the hotel. This assignment was so much better than dealing with Carolina Bucci!

"Are you sure about this," Soryu's voice was edged with anger. "You could be putting her into danger."

"It's your job to ensure that she is safe, Soryu," Eisuke replied, his voice had slipped back into it's usual bored tones. "Do your job."

Eisuke and I had dinner at the Purple Horizon with a couple from France and he spoke to them the entire time in French. I'm fairly good at speaking English, so I tried to talk to the wife, but she was definitely not interested in speaking to me. I spent a boring meal, concentrating on my food and watching the other diners in the restaurant.

Some of them were celebrities and I remembered the conversation that I'd once had with Sakiko. It seemed like a hundred years ago. By now I'd seen countless celebrities at hotel restaurants, IVC parties and even today at the zoo. They held zero interest for me. They were just the same as the rest of the rich people, boring and superior. As I watched people chatting and laughing at their tables, I reminded myself that at least a few of these people had probably been at the Auction. I never wanted to forget that they may seem beautiful, but their hearts were cold and black. They'd watched a woman be sold and hadn't done a thing to intervene.

My eyes skipped over to the pretty French woman who was laughing at something that Eisuke had said. Is that why she wouldn't talk to me? Because she knew that Eisuke had bought me at the auction? All of those girlfriends and wives at the zoo, all of us standing around waiting for the men to finish networking and no one every spoke to me. I had always said hello to them, I had always done my best to appear open to a conversation, but none of them had talked to me. Was it because they all thought I was just someone that Eisuke had purchased?

Back at the penthouse, I had my team rush through getting me ready for that night's IVC party. After hurrying them out to the elevator, I went into the living room and confronted Soryu. By that time, I'd built up quite a bit of anger.

"You worked to spread the rumor around the hotel that I'm the sort of idiot that falls down a bunch of stairs and falls in love at first sight with her boss. And I'm the sort of slut who would move in with him an hour later and quit my job! You guys didn't care a bit about my reputation as long as everything worked out for Eisuke's story," I said accusingly.

Soryu stood up, his eyebrows raised, obviously surprised by how angry I was. He raised his hands, palms down in a 'calm down' motion. "Olivia-"

"But you didn't think about the other side of the story! All of the rich people know what Eisuke bought me! All of those women at the zoo and the woman tonight at dinner, no one would talk to me! They think I'm a fucking sex slave!" I yelled. "You have to fix this, Soryu, just like you fix everything else!"

"Olivia, it isn't that simple-" Soryu began, but Eisuke's cold voice cut him off.

"What's going on down here?"

I spun around to face him, too incensed to think about my actions. "All of your friends think I'm a sex slave!" I shouted at him. "You didn't notice that that woman tonight wouldn't even speak to me?!"

"I see," Eisuke replied, his voice absolutely calm. "Soryu, take care of it with the same lie that Olivia told Carolina. Let's go."

He started walking towards the front door and gave a little flick of his hand, indicating the we should follow him. I glanced up at Soryu who gave me a 'well, there you go' smile, and the two of us followed him to the elevator. I felt deflated. I'd been so angry, but Eisuke had defused me with just a few words. I'd been worked up for an argument, but it had never come. I felt cheated.

The IVC party was just as tedious as the first one that I had attended. If anything it was worse since I had just had a very boring dinner and the trip to the zoo had been on-and-off boring. Once again I followed Eisuke around the party while he talked and networked or whatever it was that he was doing. More than half of the time he wasn't even speaking in Japanese. Sometimes he would speak in English, but his words came out too fast for me to even hope to catch more than one or two per sentence.

I tried to play little games to amuse myself. Things like, 'How many of these women look like they're going to go home with a strange man tonight?" or "How many celebrities are acting like spoiled brats?" but the results of the game were always far too disillusioning to be fun.

Finally, I looked up and saw Soryu walking towards us. I stepped away from Eisuke and met Soryu a few yards away.

"Jesus, Soryu, this is killing me!" I complained. "When I was working at the hotel, everyone always talked about how Eisuke was a total player and never kept a girlfriend for more than a few weeks. Is it really true that he was the one breaking up with them? Because if they had to do shit like this I'm pretty sure they were the ones doing the breaking up. This is torture!"

Soryu had been taking a drink from a lowball glass while I was talking. He ended up laughing and spraying whatever alcohol he'd been sipping on out in a wide arc. I jumped away to avoid the worst of it and laughed. To my surprise Soryu just kept laughing. Carolina had been wrong, he wasn't a lion. He reminded me of a bear as he laughed deeply, his sparkling eyes meeting mine and sharing his humor.

Suddenly I felt a hand on the small of my back and look up to see Eisuke standing next to me.

"We're leaving," he said, giving a nod to Soryu. "You take over."

I called goodbye to Soryu over my shoulder. I didn't know why Eisuke had decided to leave early, but I certainly was not going to complain.

When we arrived at the penthouse, Eisuke said, "We're swimming."

"Oh...Okay," I replied, and followed him up the stairs to the bedroom. Swimming sounded much better to me than hanging out at the IVC party and the sooner I improved my skills, the sooner I could swim whenever I wanted.

Upstairs, I popped into the bathroom and then right back out again, turning to leave the room.

"Where are you going?" Eisuke asked. He'd taken off his suit jacket already and was removing his cuff links.

"The maid already took the bathing suit that I had hanging in the bathroom," I explained. "I'm going to go down to my salon and change into a different one."

He gave me his usual curt nod of approval and I hurried from the room. It really looked like he was just going to get undressed out in the open, rather than changing in the bathroom. Which shouldn't have been too much of a surprise, he had gotten into the bed naked last night, but I definitely did not feel ready to see him naked with the lights on and his eyes reading my every thought. It was going to be bad enough to see him in swimming trunks.

Please don't let him wear a speedo. Please don't let him wear a speedo.

Down in the salon, I took the time to recheck, but I already knew the truth. I'd worn the only one-piece bathing suit earlier that day. I was left with three bikinis. At that moment I would have traded every article of clothing in that room for one of the full body costumes from one hundred years ago, but that wasn't an option. Instead, I looked carefully at the three choices available to me.

The white one was out. It looked like it was made of a crocheted lace and only fully covered the barest amount of flesh to make it legal. Besides, it was also made of a material that didn't feel like it was meant to be in the water. It was probably for rich women to lounge around poolside, looking fabulous and sexy, without ever actually getting wet.

That left me with a red one that didn't cover much more than the basics, and a black one that was full of ties. It tied together in the front between the breasts and on the side of each hip. It had the most material and would offer the most coverage, but it left me looking like a present begging to be unwrapped.

With a sigh, I put the pink robe on over the black bathing suit and went out to the first floor living room to meet Eisuke. It didn't matter if the suit was full of ties or not. It probably didn't even matter if I wore a suit. If he wanted the suit to come off, it would come off. I wasn't permitted to tell him no, and I knew in my heart that I wouldn't have been able to manage it even if it was allowed. Whether he demanded it or I gave it willingly, it was all the same in the end. If he wanted me naked, I would be naked.

Once we were in the water, he was all business. While I tried not to stare and admire how amazing he looked in a pair of black trunks, Eisuke recited a list of appropriate pool behaviors that he must have memorized when he was a child.

"...sure to wait twenty minutes after eating before entering the water. Never swim alone. Don't engage in horseplay..."

His voice droned on. The swimming area was well lit, despite the darkness of the night, and I slowly sank down into the water until I was neck deep. I was doing my best to convince myself that my nipples were hardening because of the cool water and not because I was all too aware of Eisuke's perfect body standing nearby glistening with drops of water. I made sure the offending nibs were hidden below the waterline, out of range of his all-seeing eyes.

"Let me see your technique," he directed, and I swam around a little using the dog paddle that had always sufficed the few times that I had ever had the opportunity to go swimming.

"That's terrible," he concluded coldly. "You're lucky to be alive. Get over here."

I approached him, and he quickly ordered me into the sort of position that you see on television, with me lying across his arms, practicing strokes, while he barked commands down at me.

It just didn't work. I'm far from coordinated, so trying to move my head, arms and legs in new ways, while Eisuke's impatient voice criticized and demanded, and my own body sparked with awareness at his nearness, was simply doomed for failure. I did my best, though, kicking my feet and reaching out with my arms while awkwardly turning my face in and out of the water, silently praying for him to let me go.

And he did, just not in the way that I'd wished for. His arms suddenly disappeared and I plunged down into the water like a boulder, resurfacing moments later, choking and sputtering and as mad as hell.

"What are you doing?!" I screamed, pushing my drenched hair back and swiping water out of my eyes and off my face. "Seriously, what the fuck?!"

"There must be something wrong with your brain," Eisuke answered coolly. "Even children can learn this."

"Something wrong with my brain?! There's something wrong with your brain, you fucking Frappuccino Zoolander! I could have drowned! You scared the shit out of me! You don't fucking care about anyone's feelings except your own! Do you even have feelings?!" I shouted at him, completely forgetting myself. "You don't get to teach me to swim anymore! Soryu will do it! You don't get to touch me!"

He moved towards me. I was so enraged that my brain was caught in a holding pattern, waiting for his response so that I could screech at him again. He moved me back until I came up against the side of the pool, and my brain had still not caught up. My hands distractedly pushed at him, trying to get him further away so that my poor mind would have more space to think and come up with arguments.

He caught my wrists in his hands and held them. I looked up, belatedly spying the anger flashing in his eyes.

"Who can't touch you?" His voice was on fire.

Before I could pull my thoughts together to answer, his mouth was on mine, his lips forcing mine open and his tongue entering in an act of ownership, hot and demanding. As his tongue began claiming every centimeter of my mouth, his hands loosened on my wrists, his fingers trailing lightly over my forearms, sending shivers up and down my spine, continuing up my arms and over my shoulders, until they buried themselves in my hair.

This is what I have been waiting for. I opened my mouth fully to him and my tongue met his every stroke, moaning into his mouth, pleading for more. This is what I'd wanted, this is what I'd needed, everything was okay now that he was holding me in his arms and I could taste him. Now that he was blocking out the rest of the world and there was only him. His deep, endless kisses were waking up every part of me, bits that were normally dormant, all of me was filling with desire, stretching and pressing towards him, inviting him in, begging to be claimed completely.

His mouth broke from mine, releasing my gasps and moans to the night air, his lips trailing hotly to my ear.

"Say it," he commanded.

"I belong to you," I cried, knowing exactly what he wanted. "No one else can touch me."

His lips and tongue slid down my neck, leaving a hot trail that cooled quickly in the night air, coming to rest at my collarbone, licking and sucking and nibbling. My own hands moved restlessly, stroking over his strong biceps, weaving their way through his silky hair, while my body stood on tiptoe, pressing towards him, offering myself up, endlessly begging for more.

His hands moved to untie the bow holding the top of my bathing suit together, and he knelt before me to drag his tongue in a long lick up the valley between my breasts. I reached back and untied the bow at the base of my neck, pulling off the scrap of fabric and tossing it away. I didn't want anything at all to come between us.

He began to lavish his attention on my breasts, his movements methodical and seemingly perfect. His hot mouth teased over my water-cooled skin, exploring my breasts without touching my nipples, his tongue lapping over my soft curves, his teeth grazing gently, his lips taking nipping kisses that sucked at my tender flesh. He continued until I was whimpering and begging, my pleas echoing up into the night sky, my fingers running over his strong shoulders and pulling at his hair.

Finally, his mouth closed on an aching nipple, his tongue swirling, his lips sucking, his teeth catching and tugging. I thanked him with moans of pleasure and traced my fingers over the delicate swirls of his ears. He was slightly rough, as if determined to wring every bit of sensation possible from my breasts.

His hand slipped around me to stroke circles into the small of my back before dipping below the fabric of my bikini bottoms and cupping my ass with this hot fingers, starting up a rhythmic squeezing that echoed the throbbing ache in my lower belly.

I clutched at his shoulders, my knees had begun to tremble, my legs losing strength as his mouth moved down, tracing a belt of kisses and hot licks over my waist, where the cool lapping waves contrasted perfectly, sending shivers down my spine and legs. His fingers untied the bows at my hips, pulling the last barrier that covered me from between my legs and setting it free to float atop the water.

His hand moved to explore my slit, stroking over my tender flesh with hot fingers, slipping through the burning slick of desire that waited for him there, cold water swirling in the mix, increasing the pleasure the his touch ignited in me.

"Eisuke, Eisuke," I cried, tugging at him, filled with nothing but wanting, wanting, wanting. He was giving me so much pleasure but it was only compounding my need for more.

He rose up quickly in the water, waves flowing down his body and splashing onto my fevered skin. His hands closed firmly on my waist and he picked me up, settling me carefully on the side of the pool so that my ass was at the edge and my legs dangled into the water. I leaned back on my elbows, my eyes following him as without a moment's hesitation, he stepped between my legs, his hand falling hotly on my water-cooled thigh and lifting my leg, opening me to his invasion.

I watched, mesmerized and with bated breath, as he spread the lips of my throbbing pussy with his fingers and lowered his head to slowly lick through my soft folds and over my clit. "Oh God, Oh God," I cried and moaned loudly at both the sensations his tongue sent flowing through me and the overt sexiness of the sight of his tongue on me.

He tipped his head up, his eyes meeting mine for a moment before his tongue flicked out to lick over his upper lip and his mouth dipped back down to devour my pussy.

"Jesus fucking Christ," I quavered, giving up my last threads of self-control. I lay back on the cold wet tile, writhing, screaming, feeling nothing but the pleasure that he was giving me with a focused mastery.

He attacked my sex with a shameless verve, no hesitation, no holding back. His tongue exploring thoroughly, claiming every centimeter of my soft flesh, branding me with his heat. His lips tugged, his teeth nibbled, his fingers opened, massaged, stretched and smoothed.

Finally, he moved to tend to my engorged clit, starting with tiny flicks from the tip of his tongue that slowly progressed into a firm, lapping massage. He slid two fingers inside of me, curved to stroke over my g-spot, and began to caress them in and out in an ever increasing rhythm that matched that of his tongue.

By this time I was so desperately aroused, it felt as if my body had opened up to him completely, in ways that I had never imagined possible. His fingers and lips pushed me higher and higher, my body tightening, trembling, as his mouth and fingers pushed me closer and closer to the edge. With a swirl of his fingers and a wicked suck from his lips, he flung me over into a wrenching orgasm, ecstasy coalescing at the point where his mouth met my body, tensing deep, arching my back and increasing the pitch of my screams.

I opened my eyes and watched Eisuke as an exquisite relaxation flooded over me, my mouth gasping for air, my body still trembling with deep echoes of pleasure. He drug the back of his hand over his lips before pushing himself out of the pool and kneeling down beside me, droplets of water falling from his body and splashing onto my quivering skin.

At that moment, he was so fucking beautiful that it was nearly painful. His eyes glimmered as light and shadow played over the flawless lines of his face. His hair was a rumpled, half-dry mess, lending him an air of vulnerability that I had never seen before. The lines of his body were hard and well-defined, perfect, and I wanted nothing more than to have him covering me, so that I could feel his warmth all over my body.

He drew his fingers through the wet folds of my pussy and then moved to take his cock into his hand. At first, I just watched with surprised curiosity as he began stroking his shaft. When it dawned on me that he was going to get himself off, my hand moved to touch him, join him in some way. But he slapped me away with a quick flick of his wrist, leaving me to do nothing but watch, my eyes glued to the sight of him pleasuring himself.

He came with a soft moan, aiming his cock so that his jism splashed over my stomach. I gasped in surprise as the hot wetness fell on my night-cooled skin.

Eisuke immediately moved to the side and slipped back into the pool, walking through the water to retrieve the bottom of my bikini. He tossed it over to the side of the pool and said, "Stay out of the water unless I'm with you," before exiting the pool and going back into the penthouse, apparently unconcerned by his nakedness, without a backward glance.

I continued to lay on the tile, my legs still over the edge, dipping into the water of the pool. My breathing calmed, my heart rate slowed, my skin began to shiver in the night air. Thoughts swirled through my mind. That had been my best sexual experience, ever, and we hadn't even actually had sex. I had never been so aroused, I had never cum so hard. It was really weird that Eisuke hadn't fucked me, since I'd certainly been more than willing, but was there anything normal about him? At all?

I glanced down at the jism that he'd splatted over my stomach. No man had ever done anything like that to me. Actually, I didn't have a lot of experience having sex… It wasn't easy to do in the city, in apartments, considering my penchant for screaming… But, I decided that I liked Eisuke cumming on me. Turns out I'm a perv. The thought felt empowering and made me laugh to myself.

I glanced over at the french doors that lead into the penthouse. Eisuke was inside, and he probably didn't have a reason to come back out. I quickly slipped into the pool, cleaning off my tummy and then dipping lower to wash the sweat from my skin. I scampered up the stairs and out of the pool, my eyes darting to the doors to ensure that Eisuke wasn't witness to my disobedience. I couldn't help but giggle to myself. Maybe being punished by him wasn't so bad?

I put the pink robe on and walked curiously over to the edge of the rooftop area, trying to find a way to see what was on the other side of the privacy fence that surrounded it. What else was up here on the roof? I racked my brain, trying to remember anything that I may have been told about the rooftop. Certainly, the Purple Horizon must be up here somewhere, but was it nearby? And the Sky Lounge? Was there another rooftop pool for guests? Or some sort of area for enjoying the outdoors? Who could have heard me screaming when Eisuke's head was buried between my thighs?

With a sigh, I gave up trying to figure it out. Whoever had heard, it was all over and they certainly couldn't have guessed who was making all of that noise anyway...right? I went upstairs – there was no sign of Eisuke anywhere – and took a shower and changed into my pajamas. The pajamas were black with thin white stripes. Just how many patterns do these pajamas come in? Is someone getting them from a shop in the hotel, or are they ordering them from a factory now?

After fetching my ring from downstairs – as silly as it was, I didn't want to go to sleep without it – I climbed into Eisuke's bed. The futon was gone and I just had to assume that was where he wanted me. I lay there until I fell asleep, holding back judgments or worries about what Eisuke and I had done. I'd parse through everything tomorrow and call myself all sorts of names, but for that night I would just lie there in the big comfy bed and enjoy the warm feelings of happiness and pleasure that were still flowing faintly in my veins.

Eisuke's Mental Notes 7/16/18:

…Kuroba Takahiro is concealing feelings of hate and truculence. Olivia to be used for gathering information on him. She is becoming a challenge, forming bonds with Soryu and he is indulging her. He 'had a talk' with me tonight and told me that I am being too hard on her, expecting too much. He is preoccupied with her comfort. She is mine and she will go where I place her and do as I please. I will use any means necessary to make her understand that she is mine. Eating her pussy is a uniquely pleasurable experience, perhaps because the only goal is to make her scream. It will be interesting to continue playing with her...