“I love that you know what I like,” he says to Jett, pleased. Something inside me hiccups at his approval. He grabs my leash and commands me to rise. “Let’s go, kitten. I’ll show you the house.”
ELLIE LOOKS FUCKING GOOD ENOUGHto eat. When Jett text me asking if he could take her out of her room for a while, I was completely against it at first. I don’t want her to know or see too much. For Ellie, the dark is the safest place. But she’s been cooped-up in that room for almost three weeks and I knew the request was inevitable. The wordnowhen it comes to Ellie is never an option, even if she’s unaware of it. I wasn’t going to let Jett be the one to take her though. My kitten. My responsibility.
I also wanted to be close in case Javier got any stupid ideas seeing her out of her cage.
I failed her once, I wouldn’t do it again. I wanted to kill him right on the spot. I wanted to tear out his fucking throat and watch him bleed the white carpet in Ellie’s room red. But that wasn’t an option. At least not right then. But soon. Very fucking soon.
I tug Ellie’s leash. It’s time to go. I lead her out of the room and down the hall. She’s walking two steps behind me with her head down, dressed in that fucking little outfit and those boots that drive me absolutely insane. But right now isn’t about me. It’s about Ellie and keeping her sane. But fuck man, does Jett know what he’s doing when it comes to dressing her.
I tow Ellie down the long corridor of doors. I put her in the very last room for a reason. I know she has questions, I know she’s remembering what she saw the last time she walked this hall and my threat to string her up and feed her to the wolves. That’s all it was too, a threat. I would never have done it. I would never let anyone else touch what’s mine.
The main staircase is a sweeping three-level butterfly affair made out of white, pink, and black marble. The decor at the mansion is over-the-top, ostentatious, and impressive. It’s supposed to be that way. The clientele who come here are top of the line, prestigious, and expect nothing less than luxury and complete and utter anonymity. I walk Ellie into the west wing and through a long, glass enclosed entryway that leads to the utmost back of the house. Once at the end, I unlock the lavishly decorated doors carved out of wood and push them open.
“Ellie, look up.” I jiggle her chain.
She raises her head and gasps. This is my favorite part of the mansion, a botanical garden that holds dozens upon dozens of exotic flowers and wild birds. We enter together and I watch as Ellie’s face lights up. I grab her hand and she jumps from the contact. Then she relaxes and gives me a small smile. It twists my heart. I stayed far away from Ellie for a reason. My life, my world, is dangerous. I never wanted to bring her into that. But when the opportunity presented itself, I couldn’t resist. Having her here these last few weeks, owning her, a slave to my bed, is my most vivid fantasy come to life. And, being the selfish bastard I am, I’m going to take advantage of every second I have with her. I’m going to push every limit, because when it’s over, I’m confident Ellie will never want to see me again.
“It’s not exactly paradise, but it comes damn close,” I say as we walk farther into the conservatory.
“I love it,” she replies as we stroll through a field of orchids sprouting purples, pinks, and whites out of the ground. Then she frowns and I know exactly what’s upset her. She still thinks she’ll never see paradise. She still thinks her freedom is gone. And for now, it is. I have to let her keep believing that. I squeeze her hand tighter as we make our way deeper into the gardens. Cranes dance by us and cockatoos display their colorful feathers as we come to the waterfall in the middle of the room.
“This is amazing,” she breathes as she watches the water trickle down and pour into the clear blue pond below.
After a while of standing hand-in-hand among the peaceful surroundings, I catch Ellie glancing at me out of the corner of her eye.
“Ask me, Ellie.”
She turns her head. “I’m just trying to understand. This place, you.”
“All you need to know is that I’m an entrepreneur who owns you.”
“An entrepreneur who deals in women?” There’s a hard edge to her tone. I let it go, this time.
“Not everything is as it seems. You’d do best to remember that. And every woman in this house is here of her own free will.”
She glares. “Except me.”
Shit, she’s got me there. “Except you,” I confirm callously. “And that isn’t up for discussion.”
She huffs with tears in her eyes. Those deep green, hypnotizing eyes. I yank her to me, capturing her in my arms. “Don’t make me bend you over and give you something to really cry about.”
She sucks in a breath, fighting the urge to unleash her emotions.
“Let’s not ruin the moment.” I dip my head and whisper in her ear. “Mine, Ellie,” I remind her.
She nods, composing herself, but the tears are still evident.
We spend the rest of the afternoon wandering the gardens in silence. I never let go of her hand, and she never tries to pull it away. It sprouts a small seed of hope inside me.
Once we leave, Ellie’s relaxed energy shifts as we climb the staircase toward her ivory tower.
Her attention catches when she hears music coming from one of the rooms in the hallway. She really is like a curious cat. I stop, licked with an idea. I drop Ellie’s hand and take her leash. Her anxiety spikes as I grab the door handle and turn the knob. She resists, but I yank, pulling her into the room. She flushes cherry red once inside. The room is occupied by two women and a man. One of the women is tied to the bed, arms and legs spread eagle. The man is straddling her head, thrusting his cock in and out of her mouth while the other woman has her face between her legs. Ellie tries to look away, but I grab her chin and force her to watch. Her chest expanding and contracting swiftly as her breathing picks up.
“We shouldn’t be in here,” she states in a low, uneasy tone.
“Of course we should. And no talking.”
I pull her over to the couch against the wall directly across from the bed and command her down to her knees. We both sit facing the threesome with Ellie perched between my legs. It’s fucking hot. Besides taking part in it, nothing gets me harder than watching two women go at it. Except maybe if Ellie was one of those women.
