Total pages in book: 48
Estimated words: 43296 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 216(@200wpm)___ 173(@250wpm)___ 144(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 43296 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 216(@200wpm)___ 173(@250wpm)___ 144(@300wpm)
Of course, love and happiness can only last so long in a place that rivals the very pits of the damned. The urge to leave had always been strong within her, but some obstacle had always stood in her path, forcing her to stay and face the abuse.
When the very people that had taken her in and cared for her were murdered, Luna decided it was time to leave or she would be the next person this rotten planet claimed. If she was going to die, so be it, but it wouldn’t be on this fucked up planet.
“Listen up everyone.” Luna forced herself to stop cleaning and turn around. Maximo grinned suggestively at her, which made her skin crawl. “I have just been informed by my contacts that tomorrow night will be busy. We are to have warriors from the Aktulla planet visiting our fair establishment in hopes of entertainment and pleasure.”
Maximo swept his gaze around the room, but his stare always stopped back on Luna.
“Not only that, they are from the royal Asek line. Whatever they want, you will give to them. You all know how wealthy and powerful the males of the Aktulla planet are, the Asek line especially, and so, it is all of your duty to show them an experience they will not forget.”
Luna knew what Maximo was truly saying. He wanted his employees to suck and fuck all patrons that entered his meager, repulsive place of business. A pimp is what she called him, but he called himself a “businessman”.
He was wealthy, though, but he looked, smelled, and lived like he had just rolled out from under a disgusting Montaka beast. Luna’s mother may have been a prostitute, but she sure as hell would not become one.
It was becoming harder and harder to fend off the suggestive comments and advances she encountered daily at Tao but especially from Maximo. His obsession with her was growing frighteningly more aggressive as of late.
Straightening her shoulders to appear strong even if she didn’t particularly feel that way, she didn’t let Maximo’s stare intimidate her.
A scowl slowly crept across his face before he regained his composure and ushered everyone to work again. The hopeful thought that he might leave her alone for the rest of her shift was just that... hopeful.
He moved closer to her, but she turned her back on him and resumed cleaning the muck off the table. He grabbed her arm with bruising force, but as she did on every occasion, she didn’t show him weakness. This argument was going to be one of the worse ones, and she knew that with clarity.
Pulling her forcibly toward the back of the building, she was shoved into his grimy office. The door slammed shut with an audible force, and she tensed. Turning so she could see him, she watched as his face colored a bright shade of red.
The silence between them was deafening. This was the calm before the storm.
After several long, drawn out moments, he seemed to rein in his temper. “I know that look, Luna.”
When she didn’t respond, the shade of red that had covered his face just seconds before returned.
“The only reason you haven’t been raped or killed is because of me.” He slammed his meaty fist against his chest as he spat the last word out.
Maximo was right, to an extent. Over the years, he had grown alarmingly possessive of her, and that only made her fear increase. The only way he would accept her sleeping with someone else was if he made a profit from it.
Although she loathed him, she admitted that there had been several times he had saved her, so to speak. She refused to thank him or show him any kind of gratitude. The protection he offered her was because he thought to gain something from her.
She was, after all, to her knowledge, the only virgin left on the planet of red dust and, therefore, a prized possession by many. He kept an ever-watchful eye on her, and she knew that when she left Tao for home, he had his goons guard his “property”.
So far, she had steered clear of his offers to “entertain” the many clients that visited Tao, but Maximo wasn’t known for his patience and was becoming more unstable.
If she could have worked somewhere else, gone somewhere else, she would have done that in a heartbeat. This vile planet was nothing but rock with this shitty, little city right in the center.
Every other business was the same or even worse than what she was already subjected to.
“I could throw you outside right now, and you wouldn’t last ten minutes without my protection. Who do you think makes it possible for you to stay safe in that shithole you call home?” He slammed his fist against his chest again. “Me. They would eat you alive, pretty thing.” He chuckled humorlessly and took a step toward her.