I was back on my feet at the bottom of the stairs, then led toward the couch in the living room.
“Sit. I’ll be right back.” Sir waited until I sat down, letting my body seep into the cushions. My breath hitched briefly as I scooted backward, but then settled again before Sir returned with a bowl of some sort of soup.
“Asher heated it up. It’s hot, so be careful.”
Carefully, I took the bowl from him, trying to hold it one-handedly while sipping from the spoon. It was a bit more complex than I had planned, but it worked well enough. Each bite I took quickly made the bowl emptier and emptier. My stomach growled when the soup was gone, asking for more.
“Did you eat anything at all at that place?”
I slowly shook my head, letting Sir take the bowl from my hands. Then, he called for Asher, who was there way too quickly.
“Hey. Glad to see you awake. Want more?”
“No, thank you,” I answered, even though I really did want more. I hoped Sir would forget his question as the boy took the empty bowl. Even he didn’t believe my lie.
“I know what you need!” he nearly bounced on his toes. “Be right back.”
“He’s been a godsend the last couple of days,” Sir spoke, shifting to see me better. “Now, answer my question.”
I kept my gaze down at my lap, hoping he’d forget about it. My answer didn’t matter. It was only part of my punishment.
“Boy.” His voice turned growly. “Answer.”
What would he do if I didn’t?
I shook my head, trying to pull myself inward as much as I possibly could. However, Sir hadn’t told me to eat. And no one there did, either.
Sir sighed. This one was full of disappointment.
Before I could get my body to kneel on the floor, begging for forgiveness over something I wasn’t sure I did wrong or right, Sir lifted my chin with a finger under my chin.
He waited until my eyes met his to speak. “You are to eat no matter where you are. Three meals a day.”
I blinked back tears, not able to say a single thing.
“Lack of food won’t help you heal, boy.” He shook his head. “No wonder why the meds were so much stronger than they should have been.” That wasn’t exactly meant for me to hear, so I didn’t bother with a response. “You are to take care of yourself.” He said that before. But it still didn’t mean anything to me.
“Here you go—a chocolate chip cookie. I made them earlier, and Allister thought they were pretty good,” Asher spoke as he walked around the furniture and basically sat on the arm of the couch next to me.
Only then did Sir let go of my chin, and I took the still-warm cookie from the boy. He beamed, showing off his slightly crooked teeth.
“Allister says they are the best he’s ever had!” Asher went on.
“They really are good,” Sir laughed lightly. “Be right back.” He stood as the doorbell rang.
As I took a small bite, Asher all but sat right next to me. There hardly was room for a feather to be placed between the two of us. Unsure of what he was doing and obviously thinking the boy had no idea what personal space was, I just took another bite of the cookie.
It was pretty good. Not too sweet and still warm.
“So,” Asher leaned into me even more, lowering his voice. “Can you believe Allister doesn’t want sex from me? All men want me.”
What the hell was I to say to that?Instead of answering, I shoved the rest of the cookie into my mouth. But that little action did nothing to deter him from continuing.
“It was the first thing he told me. I didn’t think he was real, but he’s super nice. Did you know he wouldn’t let me be naked around him? I don’tunderstand him at all. Donald always wanted me naked if he was near.”
I guessed the man Asher was talking about was his owner, but it wasn’t something I was going to ask.
“It’s nice to have clothes, though.”
