“So how am I supposed to eat?” I demanded, even though common sense dictated exactly what I had to do: get down on the ground and eat out of it.
His eyes bored into me, and I squirmed beneath the weight of his gaze.
“Okay, okay,” I muttered, slowly lowering myself to my knees.
The scents coming from the bowl were heavenly, but I couldn’t help but look at it in dread.
“You can do it,” he said.
I shot him a withering look. “Wanna come in and demonstrate?” I snapped.
He arched a brow, and I instantly shut up. I didn’t want to make this worse for myself. It was already bad enough as it was.
It wasn’t so hard at first, when I was just eating off the top of the bowl. I could do that easily enough. It was weirdto chew and swallow while on all fours, but I was hungry enough to where I didn’t really give a shit.
But I was still starving by the time I started to reach the bottom of the bowl, and that was where things got messy. My nose kept running into the side, making it impossible to chase a bite of chicken and get it into my mouth.
I triumphantly grabbed a piece between my lips, only to have it fall when I tried to chew. I let out an irritated noise, getting frustrated, and I settled down a little more so I could hold the bowl between my forearms. I couldn’t use my hands, but my arms helped at least keep it in place.
It didn’t help a whole lot, not for the food that had been pushed up against the sides. My nose was covered in juices from the chicken and vegetables, and my mouth was smeared all over with them…
But I wanted those last few bites of food. I needed them. I didn’t know when he was going to feed me again.
Time and again I tried to go after a bite, only to have it move instead of letting me grab it between my teeth.
“People are not supposed to eat like this,” I snarled at him when I got tired of trying.
“Yes, well, you aren’t a ‘people,’” he said. “You’re a puppy.” A satisfied smirk settled onto his lips.
Right. He’d been watching that little bout of humiliation. I blushed.
“Puppies have trouble learning at first too. We can try mouthfuls of kibble next time if you want,” he dared me.
So help me, I didn’t know if he was serious or not.
“Real funny,” I muttered.
“I wasn’t trying to be funny. Come here.”
I stared at him, not wanting to go anywhere near him, but I realized he was holding out a cloth.
“I’ll clean your face,” he said, as though it was really that easy. Just go over there and let him wipe my face off?
It beat letting all this crap dry on my skin though…
Reluctantly, I scooted closer to the edge of the cage, and he reached through. I let him wipe my face clean even though it was utterly humiliating, then I turned just in time to bite his arm.
He obviously hadn’t been expecting it, and my teeth connected with flesh. With a harsh grunt, he pulled back before I could break the skin. He stared at me, shaking his head, then reached in to snatch out the food bowl.
“You’re going to regret that,” he snapped, glancing down at his arm. He’d have a bruise there, that was for sure, and he’d have to explain why he had human bite marks on him if he headed out.
As soon as the thought crossed my mind, I realized I was wrong. If he even did go out instead of just having anything delivered, he could always wear long sleeves. Even if he didn’t, someone might just assume he had a particularly kinky sex life.
No one had any reason at all to connect him to me. Why would they wonder about a random bite mark? He was a celebrity, even if they’d mostly written him off when he’d had his accident.
I couldn’t even remember his name — which mattered, because I wasn’t going to call himMaster.
“I already regret everything that made me end up here,” I snarled back at him, even though my voice was quivering.
