Christmas Captive - Isabella Starling Page 0,2

Are you angry that I'm here?"

I gently pried her fingers off my expensive suit, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "No, I'm not angry, but I don't have time for you right now."

The lie slipped from my lips easily, and Lyra's bottom lip wobbled at the words. "Please, Sir, I'll do anything, just don't make me go back home."

She had my interest now. Any time a woman promised everything, I got fucking excited. It meant I could push them to their very limits.

"Anything?" I wondered out loud, and she was quick to nod, so very eager it was almost laughable.

"I'm so sorry, Sir, please, let me make it up to you... I want to give you everything, please, let me show you how grateful I am."

I pondered her words for a beat too long, enjoying how nervous it made her to see me contemplating her fate.

"What do you want, Lyra?"

"To come upstairs with you," she begged. "Please, Sir..."

She attempted to touch me again, but thought better of it when she saw my annoyed expression. Quickly, she retrieved her perfectly manicured hands, bottom lip trembling with barely held back desire.

"You'll be a good girl for me?" I wondered out loud. "You'll do anything I fucking want, Lyra?"

"Of course, Sir," she purred. "Please... let me show you how sorry I am. Let me give you everything... Let me offer my body for you to take. You can do whatever you want. Kiss me, fuck me, hurt me... I won't say no to anything tonight, Sir."

I pondered her words, wondering whether I should give in. A long night stretched ahead of me, promising hours of solitude I would surely spend thinking about Lyra and what could have been. The thoughts about finding a perfect submissive would fill my subconscious yet again. I'd be wondering about whether a woman who could satisfy me even existed long into the night.

The girl misconstrued my silence as denial, and her bottom lip wobbled as she moved in closer, never quite touching me. Our eyes locked and she leaned in to whisper in my ear.

"I'll do anything you want, Sir... You can fuck all my holes. My pussy, my ass, my mouth—they're all yours, all for you... Please?"

"Fine," I said firmly, moving back and motioning for her to follow me to the lift that would take us directly to my penthouse. "Come on then. I'm not waiting up for you."

Finding my perfect woman would have to wait a while longer. I'd already made up my mind—that night was going to be all about pleasure.

My pleasure.

Chapter 1

Amicia

"It's just not good enough."

The words echoed in my mind as I made my way down the wintry street. Not good enough, for how many times in a row? At times it felt like I'd never make it. And normally, I managed to lift my head higher and make the best of it. But that day—just that day—I was letting it get to me.

Every single time, the same answer. Every week, another rejection. It didn’t matter where I went. Nobody was going to give me a job as a dancer without me having done any dance training. And I couldn’t afford training.

At twenty-two, I was nearing the wrong end of my prime shot. I wanted to be a dancer. I’d dreamed of it my entire life, but my foster parents never had any money to pay for traditional lessons. I learned by myself, watching videos, reading books. I danced to music the way I wanted to. But to succeed in the highly competitive world of cutthroat ballerinas, I didn’t have the education I should’ve started building early on. I brought raw passion to an artform that required precision and years of training.

I needed to do this. Especially now that Margaret was gone.

Currently, there was only one job that was hiring dancers like me, and while it wasn’t the classiest place to work at, it paid well, and at least I got to do what I loved.

I pushed the door of Le Cabaret open, sliding into the room unnoticed. They never noticed me. Not until I started dancing. When I twirled, every pair of eyes in the room followed me.

As I entered, a figure bumped into me from behind, making me stumble forward and crash to the floor. Before I managed to get a look at him, I’d caught the attention of my least favorite person in the place.

“Amicia, get the hell up.” Two bouncers stood by the front door, all