Her gaze flicked back to him and away again before she shrugged once more. "It's true, though. You all bring something to the group. I've brought nothing but drama and heartache."
"And fashion sense," he teased, tugging at her pretty floral top.
She rolled her eyes, but the corners of her lips lifted slightly. "Impeccable fashion sense, yes. But that's not much, in the grand scheme of things."
"I don't know." The song on the radio changed, and Jason twirled her a few times in tune with the more upbeat song. Her surprised laugh echoed around the room, warming him from the inside out. "If you can get Ro to keep her shoes and bra on, you'll make O the happiest man alive."
"He's already the happiest man alive. He adores her. Just as Luca does Teagan." The smile faded. "They're all very lucky."
The sadness in her eyes shattered him. He wanted to give her everything she deserved—loving arms and strict but careful discipline. Everything the bastard they'd rescued her from had denied her. But he'd promised himself he would wait for her to be ready.
He could give her something, though, in the meantime. "Evelyn, I want you to listen to me, very closely." He waited until her gaze shifted back to him. "What he did to you, has nothing to do with your worth. Got it?"
"Yes." Though she said the words, he could see it on her face that she didn't believe him.
Screw it. He could wait for her to come to his bed, but he'd be damned if he'd sit around while she continued to believe she was worthless. Without warning, he stopped swaying and led her to a desk at the far end of the living room. Pulling out the chair, he pointed to the seat. "Sit."
Evie frowned at him. "Why?"
"Because you were told to. Sit, Evelyn."
"But—"
"Sit."
Huffing at him, she sat and crossed her arms. "Now what?"
From the top drawer of the desk, he pulled out a pad of legal paper and a pen, and sat both on the desk in front of her. "Now, you're going to write. Once you've finished your first assignment, we can discuss the next."
The same wariness he'd seen in Teagan's eyes earlier now filled Evelyn's. It baffled him how they could look exactly the same and yet so different at the same time. "What kind of assignment?"
"You're going to write this, a hundred times." Jason picked up the pen and carefully printed out a sentence at the top of the paper. "Read it back to me."
"Why are you doing this?" Her voice was a hoarse whisper, and he hardened his heart against the possibility of tears. Sometimes tears were necessary, and he couldn't shield her from feeling what she needed to feel.
"Because you are going to learn to respect and love yourself again. Read it,tesoro."
"My worth…" she paused and swallowed, "… my worth is not defined by the actions of others."
"A hundred lines. Call for me when you're done, but don't leave this chair."
"Yes, sir."
The quiet response had his cock hardening, but he ignored it for the time being and went back to the chair he'd been occupying during their earlier conversations. It was harder than he'd anticipated to keep himself occupied as she wrote her lines. Part of him wanted to scoop her up and carry her upstairs to tuck her into bed. But she needed this. She needed to know someone cared enough not to let her disrespect herself. After three years of being pushed around and belittled at every turn, she needed to know she had worth.
So he sat, and he waited for her to call him. "I'm done, Jason."
He returned to the desk and lifted the legal pad to inspect her work. The perfect penmanship didn't surprise him. Neither did the slightly wrinkled spots where he could see her tears had dripped onto the paper, though they broke his heart. "Repeat it back to me," he said softly, sitting the pad in front of her again.
Her voice was stronger, more confident this time. "My worth is not defined by the actions of others."
"Good girl." Unable to help himself, he ran his hand over her hair. "Ready for your next assignment?"
"I'm tired, Jason." There was just enough petulance in her voice to take her from commanding ice queen to adorable little girl.
"We're almost done,tesoro."
With a sigh, she nodded her consent.