She stuck her tongue out at him without thinking, and he quirked a brow.
“How long are they staying?” he asked coldly.
“A couple of weeks? I just need time to find them good homes. I’ll post online first thing tomorrow.”
“For their sakes, I hope their new owners have better taste in names.”
Asshat.
He glared at them, then at her, and walked away. However, she could have sworn he looked at the pile of fluffy black-and-brown puppies longer than was strictly necessary.
Chapter Fourteen
For a few days the girl tiptoed around the house. Afraid to attract his attention? Possibly. A few people came by the house to look at her mutts, but left empty handed. They were up whining at all hours of the night, and Severin found the commotion and yipping irritating.
He stormed in and out, but spent most of his time working on the ugliest bike he’d ever made, forging and welding and attaching gruesome flourishes that probably weren’t street legal, but it was hard to care. It would end up in his personal collection if no one would buy it.
The girl came to the forge at mealtimes, bringing trays of food he usually forgot to eat, then stole off again before he could punish her for annoying him. A cough – a soft word – anything could set him off. She hadn’t run from him again, just submitted to his moody but controlled discipline and thanked him for it when he was done. He knew what she was doing, and maybe somewhere deep down he appreciated it, but it was hard to think past what he’d lost to think about how his behavior was affecting her.
Eventually, though, his self-imposed solitary confinement got lonely. He found himself looking forward to her visits, even though he was angry at her because there was no one else around to be angry at. There was a time where he’d been able to fake normalcy, but he couldn’t remember how to do it. He couldn’t even remember how to talk to someone he shared a house with. Barking at one of the only people who acknowledged his existence was stupid, and he needed to try to stop.
Having no one left to lose would be easier, but he was dependent on Minnow to make his life not suck. And even though he kept testing her, she kept not leaving. It went against everything in his head to trust that she wouldn’t betray him and leave too, but there she was again, at the door. The prettiest zookeeper in the history of zoo keeping.
Most pathetic zoo ever. Him. Mutts. At least the mutts were cute.
Lunch came on a tray carried by a sexy little slave who wore a frilly, thigh-length dress and wooly white over-the-knee socks with pink ribbons laced through the tops. The cold had turned her normally pale skin pink. She set down her tray, turned to close the door then arranged the steaming bowl, sandwich, crackers, and utensils in an attractive display on a table.
“Mister Leduc, would you prefer coffee or beer? Or I could go back to the house for something else?” Her voice was low, neutral, but held a hint of fearful anticipation. He’d been unpredictable for days, even to himself, but wasn’t sure how to apologize for that when it would probably keep happening. Maybe he did need help, other than the pretty girl who’d only been hired to teach him social skills. Instead, he’d taught her to endure his lack of social skills.
“Just leave everything there.”
She nodded, hesitating by the table, either wanting to say
something or wanting him to. He hadn’t fucked her since the night in the woods. Was that what she wanted, coming into his space dressed like a naughty little girl who wanted attention?
“Is there anything I can help with?” she asked, her voice timid.
“Come here.” He waved her over and she came to him immediately. He didn’t need help, but his inner pervert wanted to get a better look at what she was wearing. “Straddle the seat and hang onto this piece.”
Without hesitation, she put one of her sexy legs over the seat of the bike, flashing her little panties at him. The bike seat rucked up the hem of her dress, and the fluffy white eyelet made for an interesting contrast with the ugly Frankenbike.
She held the piece he’d indicated, and kept it still while he welded it in place. Over the past few months she’d helped often enough that she didn’t even flinch anymore. He surveyed the piece longer than he needed to after it was firmly attached, but only as a cover for his perusal of her bared thighs. The over-the-knee socks with the dress. Hair in pigtails. Completely distracting.
Finally, he stepped back, knowing she’d caught onto the fact that it was her he was looking at, not the bike.
“Is that all, Mister Leduc?” she asked, getting off the bike while doing her mock best to maintain her modesty with a hand holding down the bottom of her skirt. She looked up at him coquettishly from under her lashes. Afraid of his moods but too horny to stay away?
“Did you come in here dressed like that because you need spanking?”
Her cheeks glowed pink, matching the ribbon around her waist, and the ones at the tops of her socks.
“I bought this online the other day. I thought I’d try it on and see what you thought.” She put the end of one pigtail in her mouth and sucked on it. “Do you like these sorts of games, Mister Leduc?”
He wasn’t sure how he felt about her pretending to be younger than she already was, but his dick was damned sure he was enjoying the view.
“I’m not sure how I feel about it,” he admitted. “It’s you, so it’s hot, but it reminds me of how young you actually are.”
He moved closer, and she tipped her head shyly to one side. Slowly, he reached out and touched one of her pigtails, then wrapped it around his hand and gave it a tug. The girl gasped in outrage but her eyes flared with lust. He led her to the table where she’d set out his lunch and pushed her belly down over an empty section, admiring the way the ruffled crinoline barely brushed the bottom of her ass. Minnow was made for him to fuck.