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Thank you to our all our readers who keep coming back for more and leave us those lovely reviews and also a big thank you to everyone who puts us on their favorites or alert lists. It is always, always appreciated. Sorry for the wait, my schedule has been changed yet again and now I'm working 60 hour weeks and bouncing weekly back and forth between nights and days, so if you could just be a wee bit patient with us for a little bit.
A note on something. Some of our readers have really, really wanted us to post this on Twilighted and we thought about it, but I was reading through the submission guidelines and found several things that I wasn't really groovy with. The whole process just seemed more complicated than I want to deal with. Submitting a chapter, waiting for it to be "approved" and then posting it. I'm slow enough as it is, I need no other reason to be any slower. Furthermore, I don't want to get to a certain point and have something not be approved and then have to take the whole thing down. On top of that, I've heard that the place isn't a very friendly a place for non-B/E stories.
Now, that all being said. If an admin or something pops up after we're through writing it and I don't have to do a bunch of hassle with it, sure, I'll post it there. Not that I foresee that, but anything is possible. Sorry guys! We're posted at Twi-Write and we're on the forums there, so you guys can always come visit there and talk :) It's really the only place we hold discussions and stuff aside from our occasional Tweet. We're also over at The Writer's Coffee Shop if you'd like to go there too.
AND! If you haven't read Release Me by Jasper's Izzy, you really, really, really, really should. 3 J'adore!
"Submission is not about authority and it is not obedience; it is all about relationships of love and respect."
— William P. Young
"And just where do you think you're going with my broom?"
"Sweet Jesus!" I gasped, turning around to face the wrath of Charlotte, "Next time warn someone before you sneak up behind them!" I whisper yelled to her, clutching my chest.
"Well, if you wouldn't try to sneak off with other peoples things, then I wouldn't have to sneak up on you now would I?" She asked with one eyebrow cocked.
I hated the way she was looking at me. Like I was caught with my hand in the cookie jar before dinner.
"I just... Need it." I mumbled, brushing the bottom of the broom against the tiled floor.
"Uh, huh," She said with a slight smirk, "I gathered that. But just where are you going with it?"
Thinking quickly I blurted out the only thing I could think of, "I saw a spider run under the bed and I was going to take care of it."
I heard a chair scraping loudly in the next room followed by a muffled 'oomph' before Peter came bursting through the kitchen door.
"It wasn't Stella was it?" He asked, breathlessly.
"Stella?"
"My tarantula! It wasn't her was it?"
"What?" I asked appalled, looking around the ground, "Did that thing get out again?"
Peter at least had the decency to look abashed as he scratched the back of his neck, looking everywhere but at Charlotte and myself, "I plead the fifth!" And just as quickly as he stumbled into the kitchen he sped away with Charlotte looking after him and me looking around the floors for that huge hairy beast he named Stella.
The broom was taken out of my hands before I had time to make my getaway and I sighed out in frustration. If I didn't get that ring back or if Jasper noticed it was missing I was going to be in deep shit.
"Char-" I started, but stopped short when she put her hand in the air.
"You can go spider hunting later," She scolded lightly, "Right now you need to bring Jasper up his afternoon snack and get back where you belong."
Deciding not to push the issue I followed her back towards the sink and began the task of getting our afternoon snack together. I knew she was right, but I really needed to get that ring too. As soon as Jasper dismissed me today to get his snack I thought I could quickly get the ring before hand and put it back in its place but obviously that didn't go as planned. It was the first day that Jasper was back and I really didn't want to get into any trouble. Not with the ring and not with his snack being late. Deciding that the snack was going to have to take priority right now, I finished up before heading back to my Master's office.
After our snack, I was left with nothing to do and no reason to leave. I had no entertainment and if I sat here much longer I was going to die of boredom. I stopped and pondered if such a thing was actually possible. If it was, well, that was one sad, sad way to go. The last thing that I would see before I finally embraced death would be this stupid little stool. I sighed out loud and mindlessly cleaned the nonexistent dirt out from underneath my fingernails. The soft clicking of the computer keys followed by the rustling of papers and the occasional shuffle of his feet was the only sign that there was another occupant in this room with me. Just Jasper and myself in this Godforsaken office. Day after day and sometimes night after night.
Things were getting superfluous and my days were once again monotonous. Three days had passed since Jasper returned from his mission and in those three days he never let me out of his sights unless it was to bring him his meals. Even going to the bathroom required him to accompany me; which made peeing on command a not so easy task. It was like having to take a drug test, knowing you had to do it, but having to go through forcing yourself to go. But a part of me was grateful for his presence, while another part of me almost resented not getting my alone time any longer. I almost missed just the quietness that Vladimir and Stefan offered, and even the quirky comments from Peter. But at the same time, this time that I got with Jasper was almost nice as well. The way his fingers felt as they brushed through my hair or the gentle demeanor in which he spoke to me.
I also noticed how my body wasn't on guard at every moment either. No longer was I afraid of James popping up unexpectedly because now, Jasper was always by my side. The tension that I must have been holding in during the time that Jasper was away had built up in my back, forming knots. But after a few days of no tension the pain ceased, only leaving me feeling relieved and stress free. For the most part anyway. I even slept better and didn't have the ridiculous dreams my imagination had let run rampant.
During the past three days where I was glued to Jasper's side, he would once in a while have a visitor that would take a seat in one of the leather bear clawed chairs that sat in front of his desk, but they never concerned themselves with me. I was never even glanced at. Like they couldn't see the human sitting not two feet from Jasper. At his feet. On this fucking stool. A good thing about being see through though was that I was able to absorb a lot of information on the going-ons of this place. And absorb it I did. Like a fucking sponge in hot water.
They talked about the illegal workings of shipping girls and firearms and even the occasional rival that might try to take over business or get in their way. I always shook my head when I heard them speak of taking out a competitor of theirs but I never felt bad about it. The way I saw it was they were just taking out more drug leaders and more men that might kidnap innocent girls like myself. If Jasper and his 'men' got rid of other men like themselves, who was I to judge?
I glanced up from my nails to see Jasper holding another cookie in between his fingers. My stomach grumbled suddenly making me painfully aware that he somehow forgot about lunch. Without further instruction I leaned forward and gently took the cookie from his fingers, careful not to touch them with my teeth or my tongue.
"Good girl." He praised as he ran his fingers through my hair, while I happily chewed on the chocolate topped cookie.
I don't know how much more time had passed when Jasper stood up from his chair, and began walking the room.
"Do you remember what today is?" He asked while not looking at me.
I clenched the nail file in my hand and bit my tongue until the temptation to be a smart-ass passed. Of course I knew what today was. I dreaded it and yet looked forward to it all at the same time.
"Today is the day that Master Bal comes to stay with us... Master." I said not too kindly.
"Watch your tone, Isabella." Jasper warned, shooting me a glare.
I quickly bowed my head so Jasper wouldn't see the fire that no doubt burned behind my eyes. Taking that as a sign that I accepted the chastisement Jasper continued on.
"You know the rules that I have set up for you while Bal and his slave are here," He said, "You are free to talk to Makenna on your own time, but in the presence of us, you will remain silent at all times unless asked something directly. Understand?"
"Yes Master." I said.
"You might even learn a thing or two from her." He said, sitting back down behind his seat.
I inwardly scoffed at that statement. The only thing I wanted to learn from her was how to pick a lock. Instead of saying anything, I just shifted on my stool and went back to playing with my nails. There was nothing that I could say that would change the situation. And if I was being honest with myself I did want to see Makenna again. Not a day went by where I didn't think of her and wonder what had happened to her. I just didn't know which one of us drew the shorter end of the stick. Me being stuck with Jasper as a 'Master', or her being stuck with Bal. Both men were terrifying in their own ways and the fact that they were good friends didn't bode well for either of us. Seeing the sliver of brown out of my peripheral vision along with the smell of the sweet chocolate, I looked up and once again leaned forward as Jasper offered me the tasty treat. This time before I was able to take the cookie from him, he held my chin in between his fingers, his eyes burning with some kind of intensity.
"You will be on your best behavior while they are here," He demanded, "Or else I will not hesitate to put you back in the isolation room."
I felt my face drain of the little color it had as he mentioned the isolation room and immediately knew that I would not screw up while they were here. Another spanking I think I could handle, but not the isolation room. Never the isolation room.
"Yes Master." I breathed.
His lips turned up in a half smile as he fed me the last cookie before once again turning back to his computer screen, leaving me alone with my thoughts. Not knowing when Bal and Makenna were due to arrive I had just decided to lay at Jasper's feet for a quick cat nap when there came three sharp knocks on the door. As I startled awake I groaned quietly to myself, unhappy to be disturbed from my would-be nap. If it was another one of Jasper's men come to talk more strategy with him that was going to take longer than an hour, I was going to take my nap anyway. I just hoped Jasper wouldn't mind it in the presence of "company".
"Come in." Jasper stated firmly, not even looking up from his computer screen.
Instead of the usual goon that came in though, I was surprised as Vladimir and Stefan entered. No longer tired, I watched as they moved as one to the chairs in front of the desk and sat down easily, their facial expressions giving nothing away. Jasper didn't say anything to them and they didn't offer anything in return. Instead they kept their eyes on Jasper as he finished whatever it was he was doing on his computer. After the last few days that I was alone with them and their somewhat easy going disposition around me during that time, I thought that they might have looked at me or something, but they never once took their eyes off of what was ahead of them. Not even a glance my way in acknowledgment. It almost hurt as the weight of everything came crashing down on top of me. They were not my friends. And they never promised to be so. They were my baby-sitters while my "Owner" was away. And if there was any doubt of that in my mind, it fled as Jasper opened his mouth to speak.
"What's the status report?"
"Your slave was well behaved for us while you were away," Vladimir said, while Stefan nodded along, "You will hear no complaints on our end. She did as she was told and not once even needed a reminder to keep her tone in check. Usted debe estar muy orgulloso. Not many new slaves would adjust so well the first time their Master is away."
I turned to Jasper as Vladimir stopped speaking to see what he would think of my behavior while he was gone and wasn't surprised that his face held no emotion. Instead he inclined his head that he understood before speaking again.
"And the pantry incident?" Jasper asked, his eyes hardening.
"Cuidado de." Said Stefan, his eyes also narrowed, "We took care of him and left him alive for you to deal with as you saw fit."
"I want to pull off his fingers one by one and shove a grenade up his ass and watch him explode into tiny pieces," Jasper growled, "Remind me why I keep him here?"
"They are the best we have in maintaining innocence in the legal system when one is guilty and the other isn't. With them it can't be proved because they do their jobs so well." Vladimir said with a shrug, "You get rid of one and it wrecks the setup. It is you who will not kill an innocent. Aunque creo que deberia hacer una excepcion. Just as long as you're sure you are picking the right one."
By now my head was slightly dizzy from going back and forth as the men conversed between each other. But, my mind was completely lost. What in the hell did that mean? To get rid of one you wreck the setup? And who in the hell was the innocent? Surely he wasn't talking about getting rid of myself? I was for sure, the only innocent thing in this room. No, in this entire fucking household, besides Charlotte. Feeling like I was on the edge of a panic attack I missed out on the rest of the conversation and just focused on not passing out. Had I become so much of a burden to Jasper that he was ready to get rid of me? Had I not shown enough progress for him that he was getting impatient and ready to either be done with me or to go back on his one promise to me? The words that Peter spoke to me just a few days ago bounced around inside my already muddled mind. "If you respected him a fraction of the amount that you respect myself and the others, your life would be so much easier. He truly only wants your respect, honesty and loyalty. Quite frankly you're lucky to still be amongst the living, not to mention relatively unharmed."
Have I not shown my respect or my loyalty to him? My inner voice scoffed at that passing thought and I knew it was right. I haven't shown Jasper shit, but then again, a part of felt he wasn't worthy of it. But was my thinking going to wind up getting me killed? Peter did say that I was already lucky that I was still living, not to mention unharmed, and now... I would have to agree.
My head was suddenly picked up, none too lightly and warm breath fanned across my face, bringing me back to the conversation at hand, "How many incidences have there been with him touching you, Isabella?" Jasper whispered.
I tried to speak, but the hair that was wrapped around Jasper's fist was pulled too tightly and my throat was raw with emotion. I had to clear it twice just to get what I needed out, "J-Just the two, Master."
His hand immediately left my hair, my head pulled into his chest. I breathed out in relief and could feel the tears poking at the corners of my eyes. What was going to happen to me now?
"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't toss you back into the Isolation Room?" Jasper asked, bringing my face away once more to look me in the eyes.
"I'm sorry," I whispered, a tear falling down my cheek, "I didn't think you would believe me. He's a man of yours, and... I'm not. I'm just a slave. You have no reason to believe me over him. Please don't send me back there," I begged desperately, "Please."
I closed my eyes and just waited for Jasper to give the order to Vladimir to take me back to the room of horror. Not only did another man touch me, his property, but I didn't even tell him about it. Which I was sure, meant a one way ticket to the Isolation Room.
To my complete surprise and relief though Jasper chuckled darkly, causing my eyes to snap open, "You get off on a technicality here, Isabella," He warned, "But in the future if something like this happens again, you are to inform me or one of your guards immediately. Do you understand me?"
"Yes Master." I said quickly, and a bit breathlessly.
"Very well."
It wasn't that much longer later when Jasper's phone rang once more, alerting us that Jasper's guests have arrived. I stayed seated on my stool and waited for instructions. I was dreading meeting Bal again, though he was nice enough to me the first time. But a part of me was more afraid of seeing Makenna again.
What if Bal abused her? What if she was too frightened to even talk to me? What if Bal didn't let her? But the more pressing thing on my mind was that I had no idea what to expect. We only spoke shortly once, and that seemed like a lifetime ago. And during that time she was trying to convince me to embrace my slavery and to survive. I did a quick mental run through of my body and besides a sore, somewhat bruised ass, I guess you could call this surviving. The only problem was that it was not living. And there was a big difference between just surviving and living. I blinked in surprise as Jasper's hand came to hang in front of my face, palm up, before I hesitantly put my palm in his. His hand was warm, yet smooth. And oddly enough, familiar. It was the one constant thing in my life, as bad as that sounded. Whether that hand was spanking my ass, doing my hair, or helping me off the stool, it was always there. And yes, sometimes it brought pain, but at the same time it brought me comfort. I shook my head of those contradicting thoughts and dutifully followed Jasper out of the office and down the stairs. I barely even registered the jingle of my collar any longer. It just seemed to be a part of me now.
As we descended the stairs the first thing I saw was the smiling face of Balthazar. His hands were in the pockets of what looked like an expensive suit and his smile was genuine. As if there was nothing more in the world that he wanted than to be at Jasper's house.
"Jasper, my old friend," He said joyfully as soon as we were standing beside him, "It has been too long."
Jasper laughed as they embraced as brothers might do, "Too long Bal?" He asked, "I just saw you a couple of days ago."
"Ah yes, but really, when did we have time to talk and relax when we were ridding the world of the competition?" He asked rhetorically with a hearty laugh.
It took every ounce of self control I had not to snort at that statement. Ridding the world of the competition? At that point I tuned out Bal and Jasper as my gaze fell on Makenna. I startled in surprise by her appearance. I didn't even see her standing there! She was mostly behind Bal, off to the left just a tad bit with her head down so she was looking at the floor. Her midnight black hair was longer than it was last time, hanging around her face like drapes. My eyes inspected her as much as they could and to my relief I couldn't see any physical marks on her but that didn't mean anything. Maybe they were where they weren't visible to the public eye? Bal seemed to have the same fashion sense as Jasper did because Makenna was dressed in a simple yellow dress that hung to just before her knees with flowers embroidered on the side. Her feet were donned with simple white sandals that secured her ankles.
Seeing nothing out of the ordinary on her I brought my attention back to Jasper and Bal just as Jasper was instructing me to take Makenna to the room they would be staying in to get settled in a bit before dinner.
I mumbled a quick 'Yes Master' and reached out for Makenna's hand. After looking to Bal and getting a small nod of approval she intertwined her fingers with mine, picked up a small black bag and nodded her head for me to lead the way. Remembering that Peter's demonic pet was still on the loose I scanned the floors quickly before making the way to the staircase.
"Watch your step," I advised her, "You never know when Peter's pet will be lurking around the corner, waiting to attack."
I looked to Makenna to see she was looking at me questioningly, "Pet?" She asked, "What kind of pet?"
I nodded solemnly as I heard Jasper chuckling in the background, "A Mexican Red Kneed Tarantula." I said shivering. "We think it's trying to mate. So there could be more around, but hopefully not." I added in seeing the look of terror on Makenna's sweet face.
As our feet touched the first stair Jasper's humor filled voice called out to us, "Makenna, I can assure you that his pet is securely locked up tight in its cage and will not be bothering you. Isabella is over-exaggerating. She's still bitter because said pet was hoping to mate with her."
At those words Bal roared with laughter and even I had to quirk my lips in amusement. It wasn't very often that Jasper made jokes. At least not in front of me. And to see him like he was now, with a genuine smile on his face, well, it was a different side of him that I rarely got to see. And a part of me wanted to see this side of him more often, even if it meant I was the butt of the joke. As the men went back to their conversation I gripped Makenna's hand tighter in my own and led her down the long hallway to the third bedroom on the right.
"Master's room is the first door on the right, so there's a bedroom separating us to give the two of you more privacy." I explained to her as we went inside the bedroom.
I closed the door a little bit, only leaving it open a crack, not sure if we could have the door fully shut or not. I turned around to see that Makenna had stashed her bag in one of the closets and had made herself at home on the floor. Not sure where to sit, I followed Makenna's lead and sat down on the floor in front of her, folding my legs beneath me so I didn't flash her my panties.
"You look like you're managing well." Makenna said softly, brushing a stray piece of her hair behind her ear.
I shrugged my shoulders and made a strange noise in my throat. Now that she was here in front of me I had no idea what to ask her or what to say. We were both slaves and held against our will... Right? Why was this so difficult? Not to mention that the last time I saw her, she had seen me at my absolute worst, having bathed me and shaved me, prepping me for Jasper.
"Isabella," Makenna said softly while moving to her knees, closer to me and taking my hands in her smaller ones, "You don't need to be afraid. Whatever is said in this room, I will not repeat." She promised.
"There's really not much to say," I whispered, "I'm still here. And I'm still nothing more than a pet."
"A cherished pet," Makenna countered, "Someone that will always have the best of everything, and want for nothing."
I felt my jaw drop open at her simple agreement with me. Cherished pet though? I didn't think so. Makenna must have seen the doubt cross my face because she stood up and pulled me into a hug.
"You'll see," She said, "You will see that sometimes things work out certain ways for a reason. Even if we can't see what those reasons are just yet."
The bedroom door opened then so I never did have a chance to respond. Instead Bal and Jasper stood in the entryway of the door, both beckoning us with their hands to come back out to the living area.
Letting go of one another I watched Makenna closely as she immediately bowed her head and stepped forward to grab Bal's hand. Looking back to Jasper I saw him watching me as closely as I was watching Makenna and I couldn't help the blush that spread across my cheeks. Raising my head high, I reached out and grabbed his hand as well, barely holding on. Together we led the way back to the living area where trays of snack foods were set up. Jasper took a seat in one of the black, leather recliner chairs, motioning for me to sit at his feet. Inwardly rolling my eyes, I plopped down on my knees beside the arm rest of the chair. Balthazar led Makenna over to the love seat directly across from us, settling her in between his legs. I watched as she knelt down gracefully, folding her tiny hands in her lap, still keeping her head bowed. With a casual touch to the top of her head, Makenna looked up at Bal and the look in her dark eyes was a look of something that I never thought I would see coming from her. She looked at Bal with devotion and respect, and if I wasn't mistaken, perhaps even love. I watched incredulously as Bal fed her bits and pieces of fruit and crackers from his hand, occasionally running his fingers through her hair.
"It's incredible to watch, is it not?" Jasper's voice whispered into my ear.
I didn't even realize I was staring. Turning my gaze quickly away, I instead focused on Jasper. He was shifted in his seat so that he was leaning towards me on the right hand side, his hand stroking the top of my head.
"I don't understand." I muttered to myself.
My eyes stayed locked on Jasper's blue ones as he smiled half-heartedly. "There's nothing to understand," He said wistfully, "They have a bond that is impenetrable. She is just as devoted to him as he is to her." He said.
I turned back to the couple in front of us at a loss as to what to think. Makenna practically revered him. But why? Turning back to Jasper and remembering the way he defended me against James, I could see a possibility though. Jasper was my protector. He was the only one that I was in constant contact with and because of that, it made us have a bond that I would never have with anyone else. Jasper never let anything bad befall me, purposefully. Like the spider, and James. And I most certainly didn't have it as bad here as some other girls out there. In a sense I had come to trust Jasper for a lot of things. Food, shelter, clothing... Things that I used to never give a second thought about because I provided for myself and didn't have to rely on anyone else. I looked back to Jasper as he held a green grape in between his fingers. Gazing into his eyes for a moment I leaned forward and took the offered grape from him with my lips. I pulled back quickly and chewed on my grape thoughtfully, letting the cool juices slide down my throat as Jasper continued to brush his fingers through my hair. Instinctively I leaned into his touch, my head resting in his palm.
While Bal and Jasper continued to catch up I kept my eyes trained on Makenna, with the occasional look to Jasper or Bal. But mostly I watched Makenna with a vivid interest. Sometimes her hand would rub on the inside of Bal's thigh and other times she would lay her head down on his lap. Not once did Bal stop his ministrations of touching her hair or some other part of her body. It was like he couldn't get enough of her and vice versa. It was...odd. Yet, inside it was something that I was beginning to crave for myself. My body had gone so long without loving, intimate touches from a man, that I was almost envious of Makenna at this point. Sometimes I found myself lost in the feeling of Jasper's hands that I didn't even realize that I was enjoying his touches until it was too late and I was too far gone to fight them any longer. Though, true to his word, Jasper never touched me sexually, or tried to force me into anything sexual at all. It was just the little touches and brushes from him that I craved, and that craving made me sick to my stomach. I was sick. My mind had begun to twist irrevocably but I couldn't bring myself to care too much about it.
"Isabella?"
My gaze quickly turned from Makenna to Bal, my trademark blush heating up my face at being caught gawking at our guests. I kept my eyes trained on Balthazar though, since he was the one to pull my attention away from my jumbled, albeit fucked up thoughts.
"Yes Master Bal?" I asked as politely as I could muster.
"My pet has been looking forward to seeing you again for a while now," He said smiling fondly at Makenna, said pet, "Perhaps you would be so kind as to take her on a tour of your Master's home before dinner?" He asked.
I smiled hesitantly at him knowing that his request was not a request at all, but more of a demand. Looking over to Jasper to see what he thought of that I saw that he was smiling and nodding his head.
"I would be happy to." I replied.
"Wonderful!" Balthazar said enthusiastically, "Slave, go with Isabella and enjoy yourself. I'll come and get you for dinner." He said standing and helping Makenna to her feet.
I looked on unabashedly as Makenna rose gracefully and lifted her head towards Bal. Knowing what she was looking for Bal immediately leaned down closer to her and took her mouth with his. Confused as hell I watched on as Makenna grasped his upper arms in her tiny hands, holding on to him with what looked like all her might. Bal simply continued to nip at her bottom lip, causing her to giggle softly. His arms were holding onto her lower back, but she wasn't trying to get away from him. In fact, she was pressing herself against him as if she was trying to get into his pocket! Thoughts that maybe she was required to kiss him before she left immediately flew from my mind as something told me that kissing him was something that she wanted and liked to do. I turned away from them as Jasper's hand wrapped around my waist once more, bringing me closer to him. I looked up into his eyes to see him watching his friend as closely as I was. But what I saw shocked me more than their display had. He almost looked... Wistful. He sighed out softly before looking back down upon me, all traces of emotion gone from his face. Instead he smiled lightly at me, turned me back around to face the happy couple in front of us and kept his hand on the back of my neck, playing with the strap of the collar. I kept my arms pressed to my sides, yet let my side melt into his frame. Just one moment of needing that touch, I promised myself. Just the one time of actually wanting to be close to him and I would get it out of my system. As soon as Makenna and Bal broke away, he smiled down on her before whispering something into her ear, too low for us to hear. Whatever he said made her sober up quickly as she nodded her head and replied back quickly. Wasting no more time Bal gestured for her to go to me and together we gave one last look to our Masters before we hastily left their presence. Questions were running through my mind a mile a minute and I needed to get them out before I exploded.
Taking Makenna out to the back yard first so that we wouldn't be overheard I quickly pulled her down the stone steps not even giving the body guards a second glance as we settled into the garden.
"What in the hell was that?" I asked her shocked and no longer able to hold it all in.
My breathing was hard and if I was completely honest with myself their little display of public affection scared me. What if Jasper expected that from me now? I knew that I saw something in his eyes as he watched them and whatever I saw scared the hell out of me. It was longing. Like he wanted nothing more than to be in Bal's position. But with Makenna or with me? A little nagging voice inside my head scoffed at my obvious denial. It's obvious he wants you, it said mockingly. And it's just a matter of time until he takes what he wants.
I shook my head and dropped down onto the bench in front of the fountain that took up residence in the middle of the garden. The garden was mostly dirt but it was filled with plants and flowers here that were native to Mexico and the Southwest. Which was obvious, anything less than a native flower wouldn't survive out in this dry heat. But the fountain was one of my favorite things... Not that I would ever admit that out loud though. Sighing loudly I saw Makenna plop down gracefully next to me, and I was thankful that she was letting me have a moment to myself. I couldn't handle this shit. My body and my mind were at war with one another and it was spinning me into a total mind fuck. My body yearned and needed the touches that Jasper gave me but my mind called me a sick fuck for enjoying them so much. The man kidnapped me! He spent an obscene amount of money to acquire me and was keeping me as his fucking pet! It was Stockholm Syndrome at its best.
"You are confused." Makenna said, kneeling beside me.
"I just don't understand." I admitted softly.
She didn't answer right away, instead she looked around the garden with a small smile on her face.
"He is more than just my Master," She said quietly, "Or my owner. Though he is both. But... He is also so much more."
I looked at her in shock to see that she was watching me closely, the smile never leaving her lips. She looked happy, contrite... In love. And it was something that I was not expecting. She was in love with him? The man that took away her freedom?
"He bought you!" I exclaimed, "You're his slave."
"He saved me." She countered. "And technically, he never bought me." She added on as an after-thought.
Grasping my hand in hers she tugged gently until we were both standing.
"I don't understand how you can be saved from something worse than slavery." I countered as we continued walking the garden.
"There are many evils in this world, Bella," Makenna said sadly, "But this life is the lesser of them. Bella, I know that this is something you are having a hard time grasping, but believe me, this life is much better than some of what is out there. I know. I've seen it... I've lived it."
I nodded my head slightly and patted her arm in return in what I hoped was a soothing manner, "I believe you," I said, "But I've never been in your position. Compared to the life I had before this, this life right here is the evil one. Where I come from there are no lesser of the two evils. There was no being thankful for being a servant rather than a sex slave... Where I'm from I had a choice. I had a family. A future. I was happy... And now I'm nothing."
I didn't say anything more as we went back inside the house. I took her on a general tour, but not really paying much attention to what I was pointing out to her. We ran into Charlotte about halfway through who brought us back to the kitchen so we could help set up everything for dinner. As Makenna left through the swinging door to deliver a plate of food to the table, Charlotte turned to face me, handing me a plate to take in after Makenna.
"I informed Jasper of the spider you saw underneath his bed," She said casually, causing my blood to run cold, "He and Balthazar went up there now to check it out for you. I know how much you hate spiders."
I could practically feel my eyeballs bugging out of their sockets as what she said sunk in. Jasper was up there now, looking around under the bed for a nonexistent spider. Instead he was going to find the ring. The ring that I took out of the drawer without his permission. The ring that I lost.
"Are you okay, Bella?" Charlotte asked, feeling my forehead, "You went awfully pale just now."
I felt a bead of sweat drop in between my shoulder blades and I'm sure I looked deathly pale. But what was I supposed to say to her? She had no idea that by doing that she just signed my death certificate. Okay, maybe that was an over-exaggeration, but I knew that my bottom was not going to come out of this unscathed. Hell I would be lucky not to get the Isolation Room for this. I shouldn't have lied in the first place! If I had just been honest with her up front she might have been able to help me. Now I was completely on my own and completely screwed.
"I'm fine." I whispered, willing my hands to stop shaking before I dropped the rice bowl.
I walked out slowly to the dining room, relieved to see Jasper and Bal not seated yet. Makenna was standing by her Master's chair, her head bowed in submission. I set the bowl on the table and took my place next to Jasper's chair, as was expected, wringing my hands together. It felt like a lifetime later when I finally heard the men's voices and steps as they came to the table. Keeping my eyes on the ground I didn't move until Jasper said to have a seat beside him. I kept my eyes trained on the white table cloth though, not daring to look up and see the fire of fury he was bound to have in his eyes. But, that did me no good. My eyes widened in horror as Jasper slipped the ring into my eyesight. He had found it.
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