Raw, A Dark Romance by Tawny Taylor

leave.”
    I dropped my hands and looked Sid in the eyes. “Is that what Tonya said? That I told her to leave?”
    Sid nodded. “Yes, Ken.”
    “And you believed her?”
    “Um, yes. I know you.” Looking uncomfortable, Sid fidgeted with the bed’s coverlet. “I…know how stubborn you can be—“
    “That was a lie,” I interrupted, even more furious and shocked than before. What wouldn’t these people do to make a fucking buck? How far would they go? “Everything was a lie, Sid. Why I was brought here. Everything.”
    Sid’s mouth twisted, her brows scrunched together. “I don’t understand. Are you saying you didn’t meet Kace Ramos?”
    “Oh, I met him all right. But we didn’t go on a date. He didn’t pay to fly me all the way here so he could take me out to dinner or on moonlit strolls on the beach.”
    I stood and unzipped my pants. There was one surefire way to make Sid see the truth.
    I turned around and yanked down my pants and panties, baring my bottom.
    “What is that?” she screeched.
    “He beat me.” I jerked up my pants and spun around. My ass burned like hell as the material skimmed over it. The friction felt like fucking sandpaper. “Sid, Ramos paid your boss over two million dollars for my virginity. Did you know that?”
    Sid’s jaw dropped. Her eyes bugged. “No.”
    “It’s true.” I lifted a hand, displaying two fingers. “Two fucking million dollars.”
    “Oh, God.” Sid’s face turned the shade of paste. “Did he…did he…?”
    “He didn’t. He just did this.” I motioned to my butt then gingerly sat. “Turns out he buys virgins so he won’t fuck them. Demented, isn’t it?” I rolled my eyes. “Seems I got lucky , being bought by Ramos—if you can call it that. He doesn’t fuck the girls he buys; he does other stuff to them. He ties them up. He whips them. He tortures them.”
    Sid’s eyes bugged even bigger. “Oh God. I can’t even imagine. I…at least you’re still…”
    “Sure, I’m still…a virgin. But I’m fucked in the head after this.” Recalling the last conversation I’d had with him, I knew that much was true. Why I had felt anything but hatred for him, I had no idea. It had to be temporary insanity. What did they call that mental illness—when a captive started feeling for her captor? Stockholm syndrome. That was it. “And Sid, if FI did this to me, then they have done it to other girls too. There are others out there as fucked up as me, or worse. And all because of your boss.”
    As I said the words, a giant weight seemed to lift off my shoulders. I’d done it. I’d told Sid the truth. She knew everything. She could do something about it. No other girl would ever have to suffer through what I had. I’d done the right thing. But I could see by Sid’s reaction that she was having a hard time dealing with the truth. It was a shock. Putting myself in her shoes, I could understand her reaction.
    Sid’s mouth moved but she didn’t speak. She shook her head. She blinked. She shook her head again. “I…I’m at a loss.”
    “How did they know about me? That I was a virgin?” I asked, my voice softer now. I had poured all my anger and confusion into that confession. I felt cleansed. But this one question still nagged. How had they known? “I didn’t write that on the application.”
    “I…” Sid visibly swallowed--hard enough for me to see her throat working. “I told her. I told Fallon. It’s my fault.”
    Sid’s confession floored me. I didn’t know what to say. Why would she tell her boss something so private? Why?
    As if she could read my mind, she explained, “We’ve talked about how some of our wealthiest clients prize a virgin wife, even in this day and age. So when you weren’t getting any responses to your application, I told Fallon that you were still a virgin, hoping it would stir up some interest.” Sid’s hand shook as she tucked a strand of hair that had fallen from her ponytail behind her ear. “I never