TWELVE

LIBERTY HAD NEVER BEEN SO NERVOUS IN her life. She had a $500,000 price tag on her head and even she knew that she wasn’t worth that much. How am I supposed to live up to that price? What does he expect of me? she thought as butterflies danced in her stomach and she wrung out her fingers tightly while pacing back and forth in Samad’s great room. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply as she tried to calm her nerves. I know how to satisfy a man . . . he’s just like the rest of them. I can do this. Stop tripping Liberty, she told herself. She was trying to put Samad on the same scale as all of her previous clientele, but it was obvious that he was in a league of his own. She had messed with many men before, but Samad’s wealth ran deep. As Liberty walked around the room looking at all of the antique furniture and expensive artwork she knew that Samad’s money was old. He wasn’t new to this. There was nothing gaudy or flashy about the way that he lived, but everything about the remarkable property indicated that he was royalty. It was quite intimidating. She heard the doors clang open and watched as Samad entered the room. He was far from handsome . . . in fact his looks were quite unattractive. His lean figure was too slender for her tastes and his large nose took up too much space on his small face. He turned her off, and as he approached Liberty she tried to erase the look of contempt that crossed her face.

“Welcome to my home . . . your home,” Samad stated. “You’re a very beautiful girl, Liberty.”

Liberty lowered her eyes to the floor to avoid staring at his face. “Thank you.

“Umm . . . my things. All of my clothes, my jewelry, and my car are back at the mansion. When can you take me to go get them?” she asked.

Samad put a finger beneath her chin so that she would look him in the eyes. He turned her face to the left and then the right as if he were inspecting her. “You won’t need those things here,” Samad replied. “You will have an entire wardrobe fitted personally for you and you will have a personal driver to take you wherever you would like to go. Someone as special as you deserves to be catered to.”

Liberty smiled slightly, blushing as she warmed up to him a bit. His ugly appearance was rivaled by the charm of a Casanova.

“I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable here, Liberty. I would like for you to be my mate. Get to know me and I think you will like the situation that you have been brought into,” Samad stated. “You hungry? Would you like some food?” Samad held out his hand and waited for Liberty to grasp it.

Liberty sighed, figuring that she may as well become accustomed to Samad. She grabbed his hand and smiled as he led her into the chef’s kitchen.

“I’m going to make you a native dish that my mother used to make me,” he said.

“Where are you from?” Liberty asked curiously.

“The Middle East. I was born in Egypt but I was raised in Iran,” he responded.

“Do you have any family?” Liberty asked.

He looked her in the eyes and reached out to touch her cheek. “You are my new family,” he said seriously. “And you will give me my first son I hope.”

Caught off guard, she didn’t know how to respond. She hadn’t expected him to request a child from her. It wasn’t even something that she had ever thought of. The world was too corrupt to bring another soul into it, but she knew that her opinion did not matter. She cleared her throat and nodded her head in compliance while giving him an unsure smile.

“That’s my girl,” he answered.

Despite the fact that he had personal chefs on call, he fixed her a homemade Persian meal from scratch that she actually enjoyed. The fact that he was trying to impress her made her relax slightly, and she found herself having a genuine conversation with him. As they sat side-by-side at the dinner table, he wiped food from the side of her mouth.

“I’m sorry. I’m not very good at this formal dinner thing,” Liberty said as she blushed in embarrassment.

“Don’t apologize. I know the places that you have been, and the conditions under which you were forced to live. Those days are over. You are mine now. You no longer have to use your back to provide a lifestyle. All you have to do is be my woman, and I will take care of everything else,” Samad said.

She was surprised at how nicely he was treating her. His hand rubbed her shoulder gently, massaging her stress away. He looked at her clothing . . . the expensive couture dress that she had worn to the ball. “We have to get you some clothing . . . something more suitable for your new life here with me,” he said. Unable to contain himself he leaned in to kiss her. Liberty’s back stiffened at first, but the feeling of his hand stroking the nape of her neck so gently caused her to relax. She reminded herself that he had paid too much for her to turn him down. She opened her mouth and invited his tongue inside as she kissed him back, throwing her inhibitions to the wind. She reached for him as her fingers skillfully began to unbutton his Ralph Lauren dress shirt, but he stopped her as he took her hand inside his. He kissed the back of her wrist.

He helped her up from the table. “For the next few days I want you to rest. Your body has been through enough for now.”

Not used to being rejected, Liberty frowned in confusion. “You don’t want me?” she asked.

“Of course I want you, but I want you to want me back. This is no longer a job, Liberty. Become my woman,” he whispered. He led her upstairs to the master bedroom where he unzipped the back of her dress. “Rest for the night. I will see you at breakfast in the morning.”

Liberty watched as Samad left the room, leaving her head spinning in confusion. If he didn’t want sex, she didn’t know what to give him. It was all she had to offer. She hadn’t given her companionship to anyone since she was a little girl. She didn’t even know how to love a man anymore. In her eyes they all wanted something . . . including Samad . . . she just hadn’t figured him out yet.

Liberty awoke to the sound of people talking around her and as she slowly opened her eyes she noticed two women standing at the foot of the bed. The doctor’s masks they wore over their faces let her know that they were medically trained but she felt violated as one of them said, “Put her feet in the stirrups,” without even acknowledging Liberty.

“Stop! What are you doing?” Liberty shouted, kicking her legs in protest as two women tried to force her legs into the stirrups. “What are you doing?!”

One of the women came to the side of the bed and spoke calmly. “Relax, Liberty. My name is Dr. Kapoor, and I am here to give you a medical examination. The woman at the foot of the bed is one of my nurses. We are not here to harm you in any way. In fact, it won’t even hurt. You will feel a slight discomfort, but it isn’t painful. We are just giving you a pap smear,” the woman said.

“A pap what?” Liberty asked as she panted angrily and sat up fully.

“It’s a medical test that will tell us if you have any sexually transmitted diseases or any issues with cervical cancer. It’s just a precaution to make sure that you are healthy. We will also perform a routine physical when we are done,” the doctor explained. “Lay back and try to relax. I promise it will not hurt.”

Liberty reluctantly lay on her back as her legs were hoisted into the stirrups at the end of the bed. She cringed as they performed the procedure feeling more violated than she had in a long time, but as promised there was no pain. Samad entered the room while her legs were spread wide open and she turned her head in shame. She didn’t even know him and he was standing at the foot of the bed, peering at her insides as if he was entitled to.

“How does everything look?” he asked the doctor.

“Looks good. Very healthy considering,” the doctor replied discreetly. “I’ll have to test her cultures to verify, but this one is in good shape.”

The instruments and fingers were removed from Liberty’s womanhood, and she quickly snapped her legs shut as she watched Samad walk to the head of the bed.

He stroked her hair gently but she jerked her neck to the side, clearly upset.

“You’re displeased with me?” he asked.

“You could have let me wake up first before you had them pry my legs open,” she snapped.

“I could have, but I did not,” he answered simply.

“I don’t have AIDS or no bullshit like that,” she said, slightly insulted. “If you even thought so why would you pay so much for me?”

“I did not get where I am today by making assumptions, Liberty. The only thing I know to be fact is what I witness with my own eyes and ears. You are addicted to heroin, am I right?” he asked. Liberty lowered her eyes and didn’t respond. “And you have slept with a lot of men for money?” Samad continued, asking probing questions that pointed out just how seedy Liberty’s life before him had been. Still she didn’t answer, but her silence was all Samad needed to know that he was speaking the truth.

“I am just taking the proper precautions, Liberty. Please understand,” he stated. Seeing that she was upset, Samad grabbed her hand. “Come on. I have a surprise for you. A new wardrobe and some expensive jewelry always make a woman feel better.”

Liberty got out of the bed and followed Samad to the walk-in closet. He went over to the wall where a 42-inch LCD monitor sat. A number pad was displayed on the screen, and Liberty watched as he punched in a four-digit code. One of the walls in the closet slid to the right, opening up a hidden room that was illuminated in blue light. Liberty gasped as she looked at the showcases of jewelry that sparkled inside. Beautiful stones of rubies, emeralds, diamonds, and onyx, lay inside. Her hands shook as she walked around the room, her fingers lightly touching the glass cases that held the expensive pieces.

“Is this all yours?” she asked in amazement.

“Now it is all yours,” he answered, while standing with his hands clasped behind his back.

She stopped when she got to a necklace that caught her eye. The black diamonds set in platinum called out to her. “It’s so pretty,” she said.

Samad reached into the case and removed it before stepping up behind Liberty and putting it around her neck.

“I can give you the world beautiful,” Samad whispered in her ear. “All it takes is your cooperation and obedience.”

The things he whispered in her ear were so enticing that she found herself spreading her legs as he reached his hand between them and began rubbing her clit. There was nothing attractive about Samad, but his lifestyle was gorgeous and the authority that he held when dealing with her made her wet. She loved his take-charge attitude and as he dipped his fingers in her love box she moved with his rhythm, fucking his hand and growing hotter by the second. The mirrors that surrounded the room reflected their heated sex session as Samad bent her over the glass showcase and entered her from behind. She had never had raw sex before. She always made her clients strap up and when he entered her without protection she tensed slightly.

“Relax,” he said. “I want to pump you full of babies. You are mine now.”

Liberty closed her eyes remembering that Samad had purchased her for the long term. He’s right. I am his. He wouldn’t have paid so much money for me if he didn’t want to keep me around, she thought. She threw her hips back onto his shaft as he stroked her from behind. His uncircumcised penis felt strange and his extra skin felt out of place as it rubbed against the lips of her vagina but she pushed all of that to the back of her mind as she put on a performance. She went to work, going through the motions, but deep inside she felt cheap. Not even the half-million dollar price tag on her head helped to increase her self-worth. She went through the motions until she was sure that Samad was satisfied.

“Go get cleaned up and then meet me in the garment room. I have a completely new wardrobe for you,” Samad said. “Nothing but the world’s best fabrics is good enough to grace this skin.”

She did as she was told and as she washed her body she realized why all of the other girls had dreamt about being chosen by Samad. He treated her well, but her heart wasn’t in it. She would meet his expectations, but she couldn’t help but wonder when a man would live up to hers. It had been so long since she had felt the nervous butterflies that came with new love that she had forgotten how good it felt. She knew that her life was missing something, however. Even with her newfound independence she still felt trapped . . . cheap . . . worthless. Not even Samad’s abundance of wealth could buy back the pieces of her soul that she had sold over the years. She enjoyed the shower so much that she let the water run cold and then quickly exited the bathroom. She noticed a short silk kimono lying on the bed and she wrapped herself up in it before going to search for Samad. The estate was so enormous that she didn’t waste time going from room to room. She hit the button on the intercom system and said, “Samad . . . where are you?”

“I’m in the garment room on the west wing. Come out of the room and make a right . . . just keep walking until you get to the end of the corridor,” he explained.

Liberty couldn’t help but chuckle as she shook her head and went to find the room. Expecting Dolce, Prada, and Fendi she grew excited thinking about all of the fine threads that Samad had waiting for her. As she stepped into the room her face fell in confusion as she saw the odd looking clothing hanging off the many racks.

“What’s this?” she asked.

“These are called burqas,” Samad said as he removed one of the full body coverings. “I made sure the seamstress made them of the highest quality.”

Liberty frowned slightly as she looked at the traditional Muslim garment. The room was full of them.

Where are the designer clothes . . . my Gucci and Louboutin? she thought as she tried to hide her shock. This was definitely not what she had expected. Samad had thrown her for a loop.

Samad pulled a head covering off the rack. “This is a hijab,” he said. “Whenever you leave the house you are expected to wear the full dressing. When you are here with me you are only required to wear the hijab.”

“But I’m not Muslim,” she said.

Samad gave her a sharp look that caused her to stop speaking. For a brief moment his face turned cold and a dark glare came over him as he stared at her.

“You are what I say you are,” he said with authority. “You belong to me, Liberty. You are mine now and no other man needs to see what is mine. I’ve invited you into my home and in my home you are expected to worship two things . . . Allah and me.” He held one of the burqas out for her. “Put it on.”

Her heart pounded furiously as anger overtook her. How dare he force his beliefs on her? She wanted to give him her ass to kiss but he held her entire livelihood in his hands.

“Can I ask you what the jewels are for? If I have to wear these they will be covered anyway,” Liberty protested.

“That’s the problem with women like you. You always want to be seen. So much flash . . . you require so much attention. The jewels are for you, not for the world to see. This is non-negotiable. Now let me see you in it,” he insisted, this time more sternly.

Liberty took the garment and hesitantly slid out of her kimono robe before dressing in the burqa. The fabric swallowed her shape, hiding her curves and concealing her beauty. The only thing that could be seen were her eyes, which were pooled with fresh tears. She now realized what the catch was. Her life was not entirely her own to live. Her time with Samad would not be as glamorous as she had thought. She didn’t see the point of having money or beauty if she could not flaunt it for others to see. The venomous look she had seen in Samad’s eyes let her know that he was a snake and if provoked he was capable of spitting his venom her way.