Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 66062 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 330(@200wpm)___ 264(@250wpm)___ 220(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 66062 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 330(@200wpm)___ 264(@250wpm)___ 220(@300wpm)
“Keep your voice down,” the man said, looking out the window at the Dubai scenery.
Glancing at the partition separating them from their driver, Aiden scoffed. “What, don’t tell me you’re ashamed of buying a person? I can’t imagine why.”
The sheikh’s jaw clenched.
Aiden studied him curiously. Was it possible that he actually did feel ashamed?
But then the man turned his head and pinned Aiden with an unreadable look. “I’m not proud of it,” he said without much inflection in his voice. “I’ve never thought I’d have to resort to something like this. But I’m not the person who kidnapped you. If I didn’t buy you, someone else would have. And acquiring you was the solution to my problem.”
Acquiring him? The way he’d said the word was infuriating, as if Aiden were a horse or a car.
Aiden laughed. “What, you can’t get laid like all normal people do?” Frankly, it was hard to believe. The asshole might be intimidating, but he emanated a certain magnetism, the way confident, powerful men often did. His chiseled features helped too. Aiden might be—probably—straight, but even he could see that some people would find this man sexually appealing. Some other people.
“I have no interest in you,” the sheikh ground out, his eyes flashing with some intense emotion Aiden couldn’t identify. “I acquired you for my brother. Not me.”
Aiden stared at him. “What?”
The corner of Rahim’s mouth twisted into something hard and uncompromising. “My younger brother is an irresponsible fuck-up who can’t keep it in his pants when he sees an attractive man. I’m tired of cleaning up his messes.”
Aiden frowned, trying to make sense of it. Right—they were in a country in which homosexuality was punishable with imprisonment or perhaps even death, if rumors were to be believed. It seemed Rahim’s brother wasn’t discreet about his affairs with men, and Rahim was forced to intervene—and likely bribe the authorities—in order to protect his brother, and he was fed up with it.
“And you think buying him a personal sex pet will help?” Aiden said, not bothering to keep the snideness out of his voice.
“It will if he knows what’s good for him. I can’t forbid him from having sex entirely—the brat would never agree to it—but if I present him with an attractive, discreet solution, he’ll have no choice but to agree to my conditions. He will agree. And it will be your job to keep him in line.”
Aiden was honestly speechless.
“My job to keep him in line?” he finally managed, his hands balling into fists. “You actually think I’d do anything to help you?” He laughed. “You bought a person like cattle! You’re out of your mind if you think—”
“Stop your hysterics and listen for a moment,” Rahim said, his voice quiet but steely. “Gadiel is leaving for Oxford next summer. You need to keep him in line until then. After that, I’ll let you go. This is the best possible outcome for you, so you should be grateful that it’s me who bought you and not some sick pervert who would have used you for decades and then killed you when you stopped being so young and pretty. Gadiel is a harmless kid. He won’t hurt or mistreat you. Help me protect him from his own stupidity, and I’ll let you go.”
Aiden opened his mouth and closed it without saying anything. A year of being a sex slave really was much better than decades, but it was still a year of being a sex slave.
“Grateful,” Aiden repeated. “I’ll be grateful to you when hell freezes over. Why can’t you just ship him to the UK now? That would have solved the problem without fucking buying him a person!”
“If it were possible, I would have done it. Our father will not let him leave the country now. Besides, Gadiel is getting married next year, and he needs to be in the country for that.”
Aiden stared at him. “He’s getting married. And you bought him a sex slave. What a thoughtful brother you are.”
A muscle jumped in Rahim’s cheek. “It’s an arranged marriage to the daughter of the emir of Abu Dhabi who also happens to be the president of the UAE. Al Sharabi will not hesitate to have Gadiel killed if he ever learns of his proclivities. That’s why it’s paramount for him to be discreet this year. Al Sharabi is the richest, most powerful man in the country.”
“I thought you were the richest man in the country,” Aiden snarked.
Rahim shrugged. “The Al Sharabi fortune comes from the oil and gas industry. Mine is in real estate. It’s hard to compare. And it changes nothing. Emir Al Sharabi is a ruthless man set in his old ways, and so is our father. They both will kill Gadiel if they find out about his inclinations.”
Despite his own situation, Aiden couldn’t help but feel sorry for this guy he’d never met. If his own father would kill him for something Gadiel couldn’t help, it was beyond fucked up. Christ, sometimes it still hit him how much harder gay people had it in some countries. It was the twenty-first century, for god’s sake.