"That's why I'm used to it," Derek replied, wryly, and lightly kneaded her thigh. "So, let that answer be the context for my other answers. I had a slave, who I loved, and I lost her." He paused, because he'd done a lot of talking of late, but there wasn't any point to not answering. "I knew I would never have that again. And then Kate...happened." That seemed the best, most neutral way to say that she had seduced him, lied to him, and killed his family.
"And after that, I never wanted a slave again. When I found Isaac, I had no intention of making him my slave. We'd grown up together, played as children, and when I found out that he'd been sold into slavery and abused I just couldn't....I couldn't leave him in that situation. I didn't know just how broken Isaac was...how badly the abuse had changed him." The Isaac he had found was so far removed from the sarcastic little shit he'd remembered it was like night and day. "When we finally brought him home it was...difficult. He saw me as his Master, since I held the papers, but I'd never intended to keep him. Werewolves can be freed by their owners, but every time I broached the subject with Isaac he panicked. Eventually I stopped trying, and decided that I would do my best to care for him. I thought it would be enough, if I let him do things for me, but I vowed never to touch him, sexually. I saw it as taking advantage of his gratitude. And for over a year, I didn't." Derek paused, rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.
"So when you ask me if I ever intended to have three slaves--the answer is no, but it doesn't follow that you're unwanted, or less important because I didn't go to the auction house to find you. You found me, and I think that is the greatest gift that I could ever hope to receive."