“Your toothbrush is here.”
I stand with my hands hovering over her shoulders, ready to catch her if she falls forward or backward. Phoenix clutches the edge of the tub and remains in place.
Her head snaps up, and she gazes up at me through slightly more sober eyes.
“Wait, I have a toothbrush?” she asks.
“You would know this if you didn’t run out on me last week.” I turn to the mirrored cabinet, take out the toothbrush I’d left out for her, and load it up with toothpaste.
Phoenix hiccups. “I was so freaked out.”
If I were my father, I would use this opportunity to interrogate Phoenix the way he employed substances to keep Mother under control. The thought of that bastard leeches my cock of all sensation.
No matter how much I try to deny it, having Crius as my only male role model has darkened my soul. My only saving grace is the compassion I have for Mother. I heard her pain, saw the aftermath of his twisted brutality, and wanted that man cleansed from all existence.
Phoenix sways from side to side, staring at the blob of toothpaste through unfocused eyes.
A moment ago, she was my disobedient little brat. Now, when I gaze down at her, all I see is an inebriated young woman who needs my protection.
“Do you feel safe with me, now?” I hand her the toothbrush.
Frowning, she sticks it in her mouth and mutters, “I was never freaked out about you, silly.”
I take a shaving bowl from the cabinet and wait for her to elaborate.
“Last week was a hundred times better than Fifty Shades,” she mumbles through brushing her teeth. “And being with you was like a drug. I didn’t want to get addicted.”
My lips tighten. It would be so easy to coax information from Phoenix with a few carefully worded questions. I could ask what she thinks about me or if she’s motivated by money, sex, or kink.
I could even demand the location of her father as well as information on Seacroft Prison.
I could do all those things but I won’t.
Consent means everything.
Anything I take from Phoenix without her permission won’t just be a violation of her, but a violation of the principles I hold dear.
“Look at you.” She waves her hand over my chest. “You’re so classy and hot and sexy.”
Suppressing a smirk, I hold the bowl under her chin. “Spit.”
Afterward, she hands me the toothbrush and swipes the back of her hand over her lips.
I pour some mouthwash into its measuring cap and order her to swill.
“The last thing I wanted was to get used to all that BDSM stuff and then you leave me high and dry.”
I shake my head. Did she think I would train her to be my perfect submissive and move on to someone else?
Phoenix glances down at the mouthwash and snorts. “What am I saying? Those books made me crave all that kinky stuff, but you came along and made my fantasies come true.”
My breath hitches. I wait for her to mention my wealth or my looks or any superficial reasons but she tips back the mouthwash and swallows.
“You were supposed to spit it out,” I mutter.
She leans to the side and chuckles. “It’s alcoholic.”
Making a mental note to try a different brand, I ask, “Can you walk?”