The profanity made her more afraid, and she dropped to her knees. “II’m sorry, Master,” she whimpered. “Please. I’ll do whatever you want. I’m sorry. I’m sorry, I’ll be better.” “No. This isn’t working.”
At that, her body stiffened. And he knew what she feared without her verbalizing it. If this wasn’t working, would he kill her? Given what she must suspect about his family, it wasn’t an out-there assumption, but he wasn’t in the business of killing women.
“I’m not going to hurt you, but you’re too scared of me. You don’t have the same kinds of needs and desires I have, and while I think it’s possible to train a body to want these things, I’m not a sick enough bastard to do it to you without your consent. Get up.”
She pushed herself up off the floor, still trembling, staring at the ground as if she could become invisible and safe that way. If he went any further he’d break her beyond repair. He found he didn’t have the stomach for it. Why couldn’t she have been a sub? Why couldn’t she have been wired so that they could both find happiness together? He could get his fantasy, and she could get hers. But this wasn’t her fantasy. It was her nightmare.
“Get your cat, and come with me.”
She looked confused and still afraid, so he added, “I’m giving you your own room in the east wing. You’ll be far from me. I’m sorry I can’t set you free, but I’ll let you live here without having to be afraid I’ll touch or hurt you. All right?”
She gave a quick nod and scooped up her cat.
***
The sound system played an ominous version of Carol of the Bells as Leo led her through his massive estate. Faith silently berated herself.
Why couldn’t she give in to him? She’d dated a lot of guys and none of them were as attractive or rich as Leo. Though Italian men weren’t a rarity in the city, Leo made it look exotic and wild. Why couldn’t she do what he wanted? He didn’t repulse her. Wasn’t that something at least?
But she was too afraid. The things he’d hinted he was into… well, she didn’t know a lot about them. But she knew they scared her. She knew the spanking he’d given her the previous night had scared, humiliated, and hurt her. She knew if that was the first thing he did to her, that things would become horrible. Whatever else he had going for him… this was too much. And then there was the family of killers. These people weren’t like her. They’d kill anybody who saw too much, knew too much, or got in their way.
Still, if he followed through on his word to let her live in another wing of the house and not hurt her, she found herself extremely grateful-enough so that she wished that what he wanted was normal. If he wasn’t into scary or painful things, she could almost see herself letting him touch her without cringing. If he’d only let her get used to the idea. Give her time.
Leo stopped in front of large, white double doors and pushed them open.
Faith followed him and set her cat on the carpet to poke around and wander, she’d have to go back for the litter box.
The room was nearly as big and nice as Leo’s, with a bathroom and large closets and a fireplace. The difference in this room was the light. There was so much light, and more so with snow on the ground. Threefourths of the wall space was taken up by windows.
A large Christmas tree with tiny white lights that dimmed and brightened in a slow pattern stood next to the windows. Green and silver ornaments decorated the tree, and a silver- and green-patched skirt was wrapped around the bottom. Squish was already burrowing underneath the tree skirt to take a nap.
“The rooms on the farthest ends of the house are like this, but this one is the best,” he said. “You’ll get a lovely sunrise each morning.”
She knew she should thank him, but she was still too afraid he’d go back on his word, or that he would use all that he was giving her as justification for taking what he wanted later. The way he looked at her, she knew how badly he wanted it. That morning, his erection had pressed up through the sheets, and she’d been terrified he was about to force himself on her. She’d drawn herself tightly into a ball against the headboard, trying to keep her tears quiet so she wouldn’t wake him, her breaths coming out ragged and panicked.
“I’ll have someone bring your things. You can go anywhere in the house, except my room, the cellar, and the back of the house that contains my office and operating theater.”
“Operating theater?” That sounded macabre.
“I’m a surgeon. At least that’s a part of my work. I run a private practice here with a separate entrance in the back. We probably won’t see each other a lot, but if you need anything, use the intercom system.” He indicated a white box on the wall beside her bed. “Someone will come and take care of you. You don’t need to be afraid of anybody who works for me. They’ve all got orders to leave you in peace.”
Faith remained quiet, unable to bring herself to look into his eyes. She was afraid if she did, she’d see the devil trying to drag her into hell.
She’d seen crucifixes in various places about the house and a few other religious iconographies, like a Virgin Mary statue in the entry hall, so she knew he must be Catholic. She was a lapsed Catholic herself, and wondered if being taken was some kind of punishment for her sins. She hadn’t been to church in longer than she could remember. She couldn’t call this place Heaven, but if Leo stayed true to his word, it wasn’t Hell, either. She silenced the voice in her mind that whispered, purgatory.
“I’m truly sorry you’ve been taken from your life and your friends. My brother has a bad sense for what is an appropriate gift to give someone. I’ll leave you alone, now.”
“Thank you,” forced itself out of her throat after the door had clicked shut.
Half an hour later servants came through with her things. They’d put her stuff back in the bags and boxes they’d brought them to the house in and left everything on the floor beside her bed. No comments were made, but she wondered how much any of them knew.
Did they know their boss was sexually twisted? Did they know she was meant to be his slave to serve those needs? What would they think about her being moved to the other end of the house? Would they think he found her lacking or that he’d had mercy on her? Why did she care what they thought?
She stayed out of their way until they left without uttering a word to her. She went to work unpacking and arranging everything in the closet. Squish came out from under the Christmas tree to poke her nose into all the empty boxes and bags. Faith put the luggage in the closet, stacked and folded the rest of the containers, and put them outside her door in the hallway. Surely someone would take them away. It wasn’t as if she’d need them ever again. She’d resigned herself to this large, ornate prison. He couldn’t let her go.
Faith sprawled across her bed, and the cat hopped up to snuggle with her. What if Leo got tired of keeping her as a house guest when she wasn’t giving him anything? What if he got tired of feeding her and taking care of any other needs that came up? Would he make her disappear? What if he couldn’t maintain the self-control not to try again to make her his slave? What was she supposed to call him? Did he still consider her his property? It wasn’t realistic to assume she’d never see him again. What would happen when she did?
She reached across the bed to find a remote on the night table. She didn’t see anything it could possibly go to, but when she pressed the button, a large flat screen television rose out of a white chest at the foot of the bed. She pressed the button again to let the screen go back into its hiding space.
Would there be a story on the news? Probably not. In the grand scheme, she was a nobody and people disappeared in the city all the time. Still, she wondered about the reactions of her friends. They might not have been best friends but they’d notice her missing.
She imagined her boss would be angry at first, with plans to fire her when she returned, and then the slow, dawning realization that she wasn’t coming back at all. Would they notice when her final paycheck wasn’t cashed? Would they worry or care? Would anybody file a missing person report?
Her life might not have been much, but it was hers. It was a crappy apartment but she could pay for it on her own. She was frugal and careful with her money, and had some savings. She’d been proud of her ability to save so much… until Leo had taken her. If he knew what was in her bank account, and the fact that she thought it was a lot of money, he might never stop laughing at her.
But maybe, if he wanted… she could use her own money to repay him for what she ate… for a while, at least until it ran out. Maybe if she made an effort, he wouldn’t resent her or grow angry. She couldn’t imagine him being okay with this setup indefinitely.