“I’ll leave the TV on for you during the day,” he said softly, almost uncertainly. “I’d give you books, but…”
But the mitts. Yeah. I was all too aware of the limitations those offered.
“Are you ever going to take this shit off me?” I demanded, unable to stop myself.
He shook his head. “No. I like the tail and the mitts and all.” He shrugged. “You’ll get used to all of it. It can’t be that uncomfortable.”
It wasn’t, not anymore, but I didn’t particularly want to admit that to him. I grumbled beneath my breath but didn’t say anything intelligible to him. What was there to say?
Leading me over to the kennel, he let the silence fall over us again. The kennel was already open, and he ushered me inside.
It was surprisingly spacious, obviously meant for a large breed dog like a Mastiff. I wouldn’t be able to stretch out completely, but I’d be able to sit up and stretch my legs if I needed to. And the dog bed… It was made for a larger dog, too, and it was comfortable. I’d never been grateful they made fancy shit for dogs or to the rich people who bought it all before. It was probably one with support and crap.
He unclipped the leash from my harness and withdrew, closing the door behind me. There was a padlock hanging from it, and I sighed at the sight of yet another lock. The guy had to be buying the stock in the things.
I wanted to ask if he’d thought about what would happen if there was a fire or something, but I had a feeling that would be getting too close to home. Still, I didn’t like the idea of getting stuck inside and having something happen.
“What happens if you like… die from a heart attack or something?” I asked instead, leaning back against the bars. “Do you have someone to come check on you even?”
He sighed, shaking his head. “No. Not really.” He looked at me, meeting my eyes. There was something almost apologetic in them as he said, “You just need to hope nothing happens to me.”
Great. That was exactly what I’d wanted to hear. Fucking wonderful.
I didn’t want to get mouthy within minutes of getting into the luxury kennel, though. “And what happens if I start screaming?”
“Soundproof. All the rooms are. I’m a musician,” he said promptly. “I can’t have sound carrying through the house when I’m working. And if you try it, I have ball gags, remember?”
Fuck. There went that plan. Not that I really thought anyone on the outside would come running, but it had been worth a shot.
“Anything else you want to ask?”
There was a lot I wanted to ask, but that meant having an actual conversation — and that just felt awkward as fuck. The whole situation was bad enough without me getting to know the guy. Other than the whole kidnapping and insisting on turning me into some doglike companion against my will, he seemed like he was pretty down to earth.
He’d sacrificed a lot for someone else, but it had also done some serious damage, too.
“How fucked up are you in the head?” I couldn’t help but ask, just needing to get one more jibe in before he left me alone in there.
He laughed, sounding surprised. “Do you even have to ask?” he countered.
“Nah. Just thought I’d get it official, for the record,” I told him.
It was almost like he was a person and I was a person, and we were having a normal chat.
Almost.
I was too aware of the bars around me to think that he saw me as a person. He didn’t want to see me as anything but a plaything, did he? Pretty soon, he’d try for that, and I didn’t know what I was going to do.
Hell, I didn’t know what I could do.
“I’m going to get some work done,” he said, turning on the TV. “Any preferences?”
“Animal Planet?” I retorted.
He rolled his eyes, and like a fucking douche, he put it on that channel.
“I was kidding,” I told him.
“I know,” he replied. With that, he left the room, closing the door behind him.
