Wiped Clean

4. Where's the fun in that?

The car ride to Annika's mansion had been long and silent. Neither of them had attempted conversation, for which Caia was thankful. She took the chance to take stock of her new master, compiling all the information she already knew about Annika to form a picture. She was powerful, clearly a woman who rarely heard the word no. The stylistic choices, the hair, the heels, the tattoos, seemed like a strategic move to turn what would ordinarily be a rather feminine, beautiful woman into a towering figure of intimidation.

Luxury seemed to be Annika's theme, from the name of her club to the designer labels and black Bugatti. All symbols of status.

After leaving the city, they had driven along the coast for thirty minutes before pulling into a large estate. To describe it as private had been an understatement. Security measures, from the tall fences to the biometric scanning at the gate, were in place everywhere to make sure no unwanted visitors could enter. All secure. A fortress.

"I will escort you any time you leave the house," Annika said as she pulled into the garage beneath the mansion. "This is all here to keep people out, not in. If at any point you want to end this arrangement, you're welcome to go."

"What will you do to Dan if I do?"

"That is none of your concern."

Only it was her concern, because whatever fell upon Dan would be brought down upon Caia's family. She had no doubt that if she walked away, something terrible would happen to Theo and her mother. Her family wouldn't be safe until the fifty thousand dollars Dan owed Annika was paid.

"Will you kill him?"

"You don't want to know the things that happen to those who betray me, Caia." Annika glanced sideways at her. "Please don't ever become one of them."

They walked through the house in silence, and to Caia's surprise, it was unremarkable. Warm. Homely. Nothing of the drug lord mansion she had expected. The living area and most of the bedrooms upstairs all had views of the ocean, with floor to ceiling windows in most.

"This will be your space while you're here," Annika said, entering one of the bedrooms. "However I will expect you to spend most nights with me in my room."

In her room. In her bed. Caia wondered whether she could do it. Annika was beautiful. If she focused on that, she'd be able to bring herself to sleep with her and do any number of the submissive things on the list. The ones she said she would be willing to try.

The room was bigger than Caia's own bedroom. The wardrobe almost as big, as was the exquisitely designed ensuite with the deep set tub. It wasn't the worse place to spend a month. But a month was a long time to live with a stranger. Someone who Caia couldn't figure out, not yet at least. Annika was intimidating, terrifying, but she had treated Caia with nothing but warmth and kindness so far.

"Empty all your belongings onto the bed."

Caia's brow rose. "What?"

"From your bag," Annika said. "Take out everything and show me the empty bag."

A few seconds passed as Caia stared at Annika, before relenting. She removed her clothing, then her toiletries and footwear, before she froze.

"Everything."

Caia slid open the zipper on the inside pocket and removed the bag of pills she had stashed there, then tossed them onto the bed.

Annika eyed the bag, before plucking it up and examining the contents. "Do you take all of these regularly?"

"No, just the oxy."

"I don't allow drugs in my home." Annika counted the foils of oxycodone, frowning. "So we can do this the quick way, or the long way, but either way, you're getting off these."

A bitter laugh left Caia's chest. "You're a drug lord and you don't allow drugs in your house?"

Annika lifted one brow. "No. I don't." She picked up the duffle bag and shook it, feeling around for anything Caia may have hidden. "Remove your clothing, down to your underwear."

"Why?"

"Because I said so." Annika crossed her arms.

If Dan ever managed to escape Annika's wrath, Caia was sure she would kill him herself for getting her into this situation. She reluctantly removed her shirt, then her shoes and jeans, until all she wore was the black set of lingerie she had put on that morning.

She felt Annika's eyes on her, searching her body, paying keen attention to every single inch of her. "How long have you been taking oxycodone?" Annika asked, sitting on the edge of the bed. Sitting there, while Caia stood almost naked, laid bare for her and feeling more vulnerable with every minute that passed.

"Four... five months. Why?"

"And how often do you skip meals?"

"I don't know."

"While you're here, you're going to eat properly." Annika clasped her hands in front of her. "Withdrawing from oxycodone isn't going to be pleasant. I'll give you time to settle in, and then we will begin. If you can tolerate it, going cold turkey will be quickest, if not we can taper down, but I'll need to acquire more for that, which won't be difficult."

"I've tried before... I don't think I can."

It had been hell. She had tried the day her boss had sent her home on a leave of absence when she had been reported for being high at work. She had tried her hardest to get clean but the pain in her body had been excruciating. The nausea, the sweats. She hadn't been strong enough to tolerate it. So instead, she went back to it and returned to work, trying even harder to cover up her drug use.

"I'll help you," Annika said, so plainly, as if they were friends.

"Do I have a choice?"

A genuine smile lifted Annika's lips. Not a predatory smirk, but a true smile. "I suppose you don't." She looked at her watch and stood. "Is there anyone who will be looking for you over the next month?"

Caia shrugged. "Not really."

"Family, work?"

"No. It's just me."

The sadness in Annika's eyes seemed to mirror Caia's. She looked down at the pile of clothes on the bed. "Those won't do. Word will have spread by now that I've take you as payment, which means you'll be expected to accompany me to any events I hold within the next month." She eyed the casual clothing with disdain. "We're going to need to go shopping."

"Or you could just leave me here for the month."

A wicked grin shone in Annika's eyes. "Where's the fun in that? Now, get dressed."

Once the door was closed, Caia released a sigh, falling against the bed. Shopping was not what she had in mind. Neither was stopping the drugs her body had become so accustomed to taking. It wasn't what she had expected.

Being used for sex, she could handle, but this level of control, of care, was more than she had bargained for. Surely it was all a game. Annika would pretend to care for her, before showing her true colours and enacting whatever it was she had in store for Caia. Why else would she have accepted her as a down payment? Surely not to make sure she was well fed and healthy.

Perhaps that was her thing. Take care of her, look after her, lull her into a false sense of security before taking her to bed. If that were the case, Caia would rather just get it over and done with and go straight to the sex. She was sure she could do it, especially with Annika who, unless she had some twisted perversions, was sure to be decent enough in bed. She was beautiful, and Caia had certainly had worse.

But this, she wasn't sure she could do. It was too personal. Too caring. She had signed on to be a sex slave. Not whatever the hell this was.