17
Trish was not pleased to have to return to the Wolf’s compound.
It was like putting on an old piece of clothing—not a well-worn, comfortable piece, but something she’d grown out of that was now too restrictive, too tight.
She’d loved the house Jordan had brought her to. They’d had dinner with Marek and Laura before giving them a tour. Then Jordan and Marek had watched her and Laura play in the waves on the beach before taking them back to their respective homes. Trish had been a little disappointed their evening hadn’t been more… graphic.
While she still didn’t like the idea of a large audience, Trish couldn’t deny smaller audiences, and especially Laura and Marek’s presence, turned her on. They definitely turned Jordan on.
The house had everything Trish could have ever wanted and was near a school she could go to if she desired, with all her credits transferred over from her old university. When she’d asked if her scholarship would transfer, too, Jordan had told her not to worry about it, which… she’d struggled with. Trish liked having someone take care of her like this, but she wasn’t used to it, and Rio was a strange blend of her old life and her new life.
No soldiers, no Wolf, none of the Moon’s excesses, casual cruelties, and maneuverings being shoved in her face, no reminders that she had once been a Moonie, too. But Jordan was still there, taking care of her, cooking for her, picking out her clothing, and tormenting her with pain and pleasure.
Trish had earned her first spanking when she’d wanted to go to the beach and he’d told her to give him half an hour. Instead, she’d walked out on her own and had received a very public spanking on the shore as a result. Well, it hadfeltpublic, even if there had been hardly anyone else out there. There definitely had been less people than would have seen her at the compound. She’d been lucky: a few hours later when Jordan had taken her to the beach, her bottom still stinging from the spanking, it had been much more crowded.
She’d reveled in this new life. It had been all the things she’d wanted: her classes, the feeling of being loved, all the food she could eat, a beautiful home, the beautiful beach, and even all the needs she hadn’t wanted to admit to having were being met.
Coming back to the Wolf’s compound was nearly as bad as how Trish had imagined returning to the Moon would be after having lived in the compound. At least she and Jordan had only been in Rio for a few days.
Everything was back to politics, maneuvering, and all the reminders of the terrible manner in which her life had changed for the better. Trish didn’t like thinking about how her new life had come about; she just wanted to get back to it. She also didn’t like being anywhere near the Wolf, who was the only person Jordan was willing to be ordered around by. While she could often predict what Jordan would do, the Wolf wasn’t predictable at all.
He also had two new kidnapping victims, which only reminded Trish further about how she’d come to her current position in life. Though Jordan was slowly handing all hisduties over to Zadia, he was still the Wolf’s right-hand man. He preferred to have Trish by his side, which, by default, meant she was spending a lot of time in the Wolf’s presence, with his “Bitch” and “Slut.”
Bitch was Ken, son of one the most powerful men on the Moon, and he was a bitch in every sense of the word. He never stopped bitching, he acted like a little bitch, and he’d also been a bitch to Trish after he’d found out she was from the Moon. He thought her low social status there meant she was even lower than his position here.
Slut was Lisa. She was better than Ken, especially after she had ended up spending some time with Trish at the pool. Despite having cheated on her previous boyfriend with Ken, Lisa didn’t seem to like him any better than Trish did. Trish had been prepared to dislike her, too—she’d gotten disturbingly jealous when Lisa had thrown herself at Jordan—but Lisa wasn’t half bad. Sometimes she said insensitive things, but it was out of ignorance, not malice.
After she’d had some time to calm down and take in the way things were around the Wolf, Lisa hadn’t looked at Jordan twice. And she’d been really nice to Trish.
Trish wanted to dislike Lisa anyway because she’d cheated on Alex with Bella’s boyfriend, and Trish felt a kind of kinship with the other two captives who had been kidnapped along with her, even if she had been kept separate from them. But it was hard to dislike someone who was in a pitiable situation. The Wolf would amuse himself by giving Lisa the choice of doing something humiliating and sexual with him or Ken, and she would always choose the Wolf.
Maybe she was just looking to get in good with the most powerful man in the room, but the expression of revulsion on her face whenever she looked at Ken made Trish think Lisa would prefer to have nothing to do with her fellow captive, at all.
Sitting on Jordan’s lap while he idly fondled her breasts was likedéjàvu, except it was Lisa and Ken at the Wolf’s feet instead of Alex and Bella. Trish was glad they’d gotten to return to the Moon, but she missed them too. It was messed up, since they hadn’t wanted to be there, but it didn’t make the feeling go away.
Even if Trish didn’t completely dislike Lisa now, she didn’t feel the same kind of connection with her that she had with Bella.
“The ships have begun construction,” the Wolf said, studying the papers Zadia had just handed him. “Then we’ll have to stock them. In the meantime, a route is being plotted.” He turned his gaze back to Jordan. “Are you sure you don’t want to go?”
Jordan’s fingers slid through Trish’s hair. “We’ll talk about it.”
The Wolf nodded and looked down again, and—with a jolt—Trish realized Jordan meant he’d be talking toherabout it. She wished she’d been listening a little more closely, even if it was difficult when Jordan teased her breasts and nipples, and she was preoccupied by her own thoughts.
While Jordan slowly became better at communicating in general—he was almost talkative sometimes, now—it wasn’t as though he wanted to talk all the time. Trish still initiated most conversations, although his answers to her questions had become more descriptive and involved as he’d made an effort to be more open with her.
“It’s not going to be an easy life for anyone who goes,” the Wolf said, musing. “But it’s the best hope most people will get. Life here may or may not be sustainable within a few generations, depending on whether or not we can turn around the damage that’s already been done.”
“Good thing I’m retiring then,” Jordan said, and Trish stared at him. Had he just made a joke?
The Wolf chuckled. Apparently, he had.
Being in Rio had loosened Jordan up more than she’d realized.
As if sensing her regard, he tilted his head to catch her eye, a tiny sparkle in the normal icy blue. Trish’s lips quirked in acknowledgment.
She wasn’t the only one who had changed since she’d been taken by Jordan.
When the Wolf dismissed them, his eyes turning toward Lisa and Ken, Trish was surprised when Jordan wasn’t inclined to stick around and watch the show. He usually enjoyed watching as much as he did being watched.
