Maybe he thought it was a joke, but I certainly didn’t. “Yes.”
His incredulous look slowly evaporated, replaced by a look of sadness. He never asked me about my past, where I came from, and he’d waited a few weeks before he bothered to learn my name. He’d seemed indifferent to me. “Well, you can eat whenever you want while you live here.”
A sense of gratitude welled up inside me, and it was so strong that I nearly let tears form in my eyes. His gesture wasn’t even that kind, but it meant the world to me. It was one of the few times I’d been treated as a human being in the presence of a man. He had more power than me, but he didn’t abuse it like the others did. “Thanks.” I walked back into the kitchen, made something for myself, and then joined him at the table again.
He read the newspaper, took a few phone calls, and then picked at his food slowly. He paid more attention to his coffee, savoring that more than the food. He didn’t make eye contact with me once or attempt to make conversation with me. Then the phone rang again.
He nearly did a double take when he saw the name on the screen. He took the call quickly, hardly letting it ring. “Hey, man. How are you feeling?”
I couldn’t hear the voice on the other line, but I knew it was someone special. Carter spoke to this person differently from all the others. He was excited, invested, and enthused. Even his tone was different.
“How’s the wife?” He listened to the man talk on the other line. “I’m glad you’re doing better. How much longer will you be staying with your parents?” He leaned back in his chair and looked out the window. “I’ve been meaning to stop by, but…I’ve had my hands full.” His eyes finally moved to my face for the first time since I sat down. “Yeah, I’ll talk to you then. Bye.” He hung up and set the phone on the table.
“Who was that?”
“You’re nosy.” He picked up his mug and sipped his coffee.
“I only ask because he seemed important to you. You spoke to him differently from everyone else.”
He set down his mug then looked at me, his brown eyes bright as they reflected the morning light coming through the window. His hair was messy because he hadn’t showered yet, but the sleepy look suited him. I imagined the women he brought home loved that look every morning. So far, I hadn’t seen him bring anyone home. If he wasn’t fucking me, then he must be fucking someone. “My cousin. But he’s more like a brother.”
“Is he okay?”
“He had an incident a few weeks ago, but he’s going to be alright.” He didn’t elaborate and didn’t invite me to ask questions.
Now I knew he was close with his cousin as well as his mother, along with his sister. It seemed like he had a nice family he could always turn to. If he had people in his life, what did he need me for? “I’ve been trying to figure out why you want me around, but I haven’t figured it out.”
His hands came together in front of his chest. “Maybe you’re overthinking it.”
“I thought you’d want me for sex, but you don’t look like the kind of man who struggles to land pussy.”
The corner of his mouth rose in a smile. “Why do you say that?”
“Uh, it’s obvious.”
He narrowed his eyes on my face. “Not to me.”
“Oh, come on. You’re hot.”
Now he grinned completely, the corners of his mouth rising toward the ceiling. “Hot, huh?”
Maybe Carter was a psychopath who was just trying fuck with me, to lure me into a false sense of safety before he struck. Knowing I could eat whenever I wanted and didn’t have to wear a chain around my ankle made me feel like a real person. That gift of slight independence and freedom had improved my mood incredibly. But I would be stupid to assume it would always be this way. Men didn’t buy women for a fortune just to keep them around. “A tad. So what does a man like you want with a woman like me?”
He shrugged. “That’s my business.”
“Since I’m one of the two of us, I think it’s my business too. If you don’t want to torture me or fuck me, then what do you want?”
His eyes darkened in a new way, locking on to my face with laser-sharp precision. “Who said I didn’t want to fuck you?”
The air left the room with his comment, and the peaceful morning suddenly became potent with silent threat.
“I just said I wouldn’t fuck you if you behaved. But the second you screw up your end of the bargain, I’ll screw up mine.” Without taking his gaze off me, he grabbed his coffee and took another drink.