Her mind screamed yes while imaginary fingernails ripped at his skin, but the reality was more muted. She looked down at her hands and quietly whispered, “No.”
“No, Master,” he corrected.
Her eyes widened and her lips pressed into a firm line. She couldn’t be his slave. Thinking of herself as his prisoner had been bad enough. She was a human being. The fact that he could demand so demeaning a title from her meant everything she suspected he’d take from her would happen, and if he didn’t hurt her, she wasn’t sure how hard she could fight someone so overwhelming and seductive and experienced. He was quite a bit older than her, a grown, mature man, whereas the guys she’d been involved with were silly boys by comparison.
“Are we going to have to pull the car over again?”
The threat had the intended effect. The lesson was too fresh in her mind. She recoiled as she heard herself say, “N-no, Master.”
“Good. Now, there are servants in the house. Don’t take that as hope. They will not help you. The phone goes through a switchboard. The operator won’t help you either. If you seek their help, they will report it to me and you’ll be punished.”
She flinched at the warm hand on the back of her neck, but he wasn’t there to hurt her. Instead, he massaged the tight muscles, a feeling that was comforting in spite of everything. She shouldn’t want his hands anywhere near her, but if she was stuck with this man, she much preferred kindness to cruelty or pain.
“I can’t let you go, and I won’t be able to resist taking you. But I’ll be good to you if you let me, Faith. Are you going to let me?”
Each time her name rolled off his tongue, it was as if a piece of her will broke off from her and floated away. She wanted to argue about belonging to him but knew that wasn’t the way to get to the kindness he offered. She nodded, not wanting to have to call him master again. He let it slide.
“That’s smart.” He took an exit and the city began to disappear behind them as buildings became fewer and trees more common. “Are you married?”
“No. I-I’m just twenty-two.”
He cursed, and she worried he’d take her back to Angelo.
“Way too fucking young.” He shook his head. “Boyfriend?”
“No.”
“Faith… I’ll pull the car over, and I’ll do much worse. I am your
Master. You are my property. Now say it. No , what?” “N-no, Master,” she forced out.
“Good. Family?”
“No M-master.” Not anymore.
“Friends?”
“A few girls at work.” She was beginning to be thankful she was alone. At least there was no one in the world he could use to hurt her further.
“You’ve got less to leave. That’ll make it easier on you.”
He didn’t know what he was talking about. Having nothing to leave was never easy. She’d been thrown into Miami’s foster care system when she was twelve. Her foster father had beaten her, and as she’d grown into a young woman, he’d attempted other things. A college scholarship in New York had been her escape hatch before he’d gotten a chance to succeed. Now her earned freedom felt unreal because this man would bring to fruition her foster father’s sick desires. Why else would he take her? Why else would he emphasize that he owned her? Leo wasn’t the first man to make such a claim, and this wouldn’t end any better. Only there was no ready way out this time.
She didn’t know how to be around people. How to talk to them and make real, close friends. She’d never learned how trust worked. Now all she was leaving was a too-small apartment and a few shallow friendships. Fresh tears flowed down her face, and she thought she might never exhaust her supply of them.
“I have a cat. She’ll starve without me.” The only being she’d miss was reliant on her for survival. She couldn’t stand to think of Squish suffering and dying alone in the studio apartment. That cat had seen her through her senior year of college and getting her first real adult job.
Leo’s hand was still at the nape of her neck. “I’ll send someone to retrieve your cat.”
Faith’s head snapped up, and she stared at him a moment, trying to determine if he was playing with her. “You’d do that for me?”
“I told you I can make your life easy or hard. Give me what I want, and I’ll make it so easy. When we get to the house, you can write down your address and make a list of anything else you want from your former residence.” He stressed the word former.
“My key is at Angelo’s. He took my purse.”
Leo nodded. “That’s no problem.”
Faith tried not to think about the price he’d extract from her for all this kindness. A tab had started, and there was no doubt he’d take it out of her body. Even so, she couldn’t help the instinct that made her want to cling to him for his protection, however irrational or foolish such an instinct may be.
When they arrived at the house, Faith’s mouth fell open. House was an understatement. It was like calling an ocean a quaint body of water. She was glad he’d gotten rid of the blindfold, ropes, and gag. With all the guards and household staff, it would be mortifying to be brought in like a prisoner, though that was her status. Slave, her mind whispered.
She tried not to look like a starry-eyed tourist outside a celebrity home as they made their way inside.
Leo exchanged a few hushed words with a man that looked like head of security while Faith looked around the entryway. It was decorated for Christmas, and there wasn’t a nook or cranny that didn’t have an ornamental flourish or a string of glittering white lights. A high-quality sound system played Christmas carols just loud enough to notice if you paid attention, but still unobtrusive enough to go about your day without undue annoyance.
“Faith. Come with me.” Leo took her hand and led her through the marble-tiled foyer, up a grand staircase, and down a hallway.
Her heart was in her throat as he urged her inside a room with a large and ornate bed. A fire roared in the fireplace, and a Christmas tree stood near the windows. A golden retriever hopped off the furniture to greet them, tail wagging and tongue lolling out.
“Hey, Max,” Leo said, bending to pet the dog.
How monstrous could the man be with a golden retriever? Though Faith knew this wasn’t a real marker of a man’s overall goodness or evil, it gave her a spark of hope.
The sitting area in front of the fireplace had a small coffee table, a couple of high-backed chairs that looked comfortable despite their opulence, and a love seat. A bathroom led off to the side, and Faith had no doubt the closets alone were probably the size of her studio apartment. At the back of the room was a large set of three bay windows with thick drapes that reached the floor. In front of the windows was a writing desk with fancy stationary and pens.
“Sit and write down your address and make a list of everything you need. There’s a heated pool here, so you might factor that in.”
Faith didn’t say anything. She couldn’t say anything. She just sat, uncapped a fountain pen, and stared dumbly at the paper. Was she a prisoner or Cinderella? Had she experienced the worst luck of her life or the best? What he was doing wasn’t okay, but here she was, surrounded by people in a nice place with a man who, despite realities she couldn’t yet cope with, was prepared to… what? Take care of her like she was his girlfriend or wife?
“Leo …” she said, forgetting herself for a minute.
He patted the dog one last time and straightened, his face stern. “Master. Not Leo to you. Ever.”
With that pronouncement, her silly little-girl fantasy came to an abrupt and screeching halt.
“I’m sorry, Master.” She’d never get used to the title. “Why are you doing all this? I don’t understand why …” It wasn’t a question of why he was doing something so immoral. The real question was why was he wrapping it so nicely, making it a seduction that part of her couldn’t help wanting to fall for?
Aside from the slavery aspect, wasn’t this what most girls fantasized about from childhood-Prince Charming swooping in and taking care of all their needs, showering them with safety and security, and living happily ever after?
Despite escaping her foster family, things hadn’t gotten much easier. The brief party of college and dorm life had been fleeting, only to give way to a cold world that demanded she produce or sleep in a gutter. She’d barely been eking out a living, squirreling away every spare penny she could, hoping it would be enough to keep surviving. Because what if she lost her job? She had to have a safety net.
It had taken a lot of nagging from her friends to get her to go out drinking, but she needn’t have worried. There had been plenty of men to buy her drinks so she didn’t have to dip into her own funds.
Leo strode over to her and she couldn’t help cringing, afraid of what he might do. So maybe it wasn’t such a dream-fantasy after all. She was still bone-chillingly terrified of him.
He stopped at the other side of the desk, regarding her calmly. “I have specific requirements in a relationship. Certain… kinks and desires…”
Faith’s mind immediately flashed to images of whips and chains. But with the title he’d demanded, hadn’t that idea drifted through her mind already, no matter how much she’d tried to push it away? She might not be into that, but she wasn’t oblivious.
Given her current circumstances, it would seem most appropriate that such things would happen in a dirty, dank basement where she’d be fed crumbs and kept in a cramped cage, but she imagined whips and chains with this man would be dressed in refinement.
“A-are you going to hurt me?” Plenty of women lived in abusive relationships that looked like pampered luxury on the outside. Faith didn’t want to be one of those women. Give her a simple studio apartment with an uncertain financial future any day over riches that obscured a nightmare of ongoing torment behind closed doors.
“I don’t know what I’m going to do yet, but if you obey me and honestly seek to please me, you’ll remain safe and may even come to be happy here. Now make your list.”
She tried to quiet the whirring questions and relentless fears. His word meant nothing. He could promise anything he wanted, but trusting in such a promise would be too naive-no matter how much she wanted to. Her only desire was to find safety here. All thoughts of rebellion and escape left her in light of the hope she had of garnering his favor.
Faith scribbled down her list, hoping it wasn’t asking too much, and handed the sheet to Leo. He looked it over briefly and nodded. “I’ll take care of it. Stay here.”