All too soon though, he yanks my head back, and with barely contained aggression says, “Enough, Pet. While I’m never opposed to a show, some things are best left behind the privacy of closed doors.”
“You don’t want to come?”
He leans forward. “More than anything, but not in front of these sick bastards.”
“As you wish, Sir.”
I cast my gaze to the ground and kneel quietly, a little sulkily to be honest, as he shoves his cock back inside his pants and fastens the zip. He grabs my chin, and I meet his eyes. His are full of mirth.The son-of-a-bitch is laughing at me. “When we get back to the room, I’m going to fuck your pretty little face, and come down your throat so hard you’ll have no choice but to swallow every single drop.”
A frisson of excitement runs through me. “I look forward to it, Sir.”
Was that my voice? How can it be that in a matter of months I’ve gone from loathing this man to . . . to loving him? My fractured mind sometimes forgets that he’s the one who stole me, who wrenched me from my life and sculpted me into his desperate, needy slut.
“Of course you do, Pet. You’re my little cum-guzzling whore, and you love the peace it brings you having my cock in your mouth.”
I blink up at him in surprise.Peace. Is that really what I feel when I am with him? Is that the reason I haven’t run from him? We’re on a grand estate. Yes, it’s fenced in, but surely it wouldn’t be too hard to climb that fence, or sneak through a gap between the hedges. The problem is I don’t know if it would be, because I haven’t tried. When I woke last night, I should have fled. Instead, Ares had gotten me so worked up that I did the complete opposite. I stayed. I played. Tonight, I will not make that mistake. Tonight, I will escape.
I’ll wait until Ares is asleep, and the house is quiet, and I’ll steal away into the night like a common thief. Only this time, I’ll be stealing myself.
“Yes, Sir,” I whisper. Because he’s right. It is peace I find when he’s inside me. Imagine the peace I’ll have when I’m free, and he’s locked in a cage where he belongs.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Pet
Istartle awake, andblink up at the dark ceiling. Ares’ body is wrapped around mine, and his heavy breathing against my hair lets me know he’s still asleep. Little by little, I ease out of his embrace, careful not to wake him. I pad softly into the bathroom to pee. When I’m done, I splash my face with water and glance in the mirror. Moonlight casts its pale glow across my face from the window, a window I never even thought to try. Not that Ares has left me alone in this room for a second.
I move closer to it and inspect the window jamb. There isn’t one, proving it’s useless for escape . . . but the door isn’t. It isn’t locked with a fucking handprint sensor like the one in my cell. It’s armed with only a key card, and just like a hotel, we don’t need a key to get out. Our bedroom door opens just like any regular door.
I bite my lip and stare at my darkened reflection. Now or never. Run or be his captive forever. My stomach twists in knots as I open the bathroom door and stand in the jamb for a beat, watching the steady rise and fall of his chest. The face of the man I love is turned away from me, but I know every line and crease. I know the prickly shadow of his stubble intimately, and I’m well aware that he’s just as gorgeous in sleep as he is awake. Maybe that’s the reason I haven’t tried to run away since we arrived. Because even though he stole me, ruined whatever life I had before, a part of me clings to him because he’s all I know. Him and his evil twin brother.
I tiptoe quietly to the door and try the handle. I’m met with no resistance. The door opens, and I freeze there on the threshold, staring at the empty hall. If I do this and I get caught, there will be punishment. But there’s punishment if I stay too—who knows how many years of it?
I creep through the door, turning to close it softly behind me. Even the quiet click is deafening in the silence. I hurriedly make my way down the stairs and take a sharp left, heading for the door to the outside patio we watched the races. It too gives way when I open it, the cold wind blasting my face. I guess Texas is not worried about his slaves escaping, though why would he be when they all sleep in the stable? I race across the patio and down the stairs, the icy path and the frosted grass biting into my feet. I run the length of the yard and then halt abruptly by the tall hedged fence. I don’t know what lies beyond. I don’t know where I am or who I am. I know only what Ares has made me. I know only him . . . and I know I can’t leave.
This is madness. I mentally chastise myself as I step back from the hedge.I’m certifiable. I have to be. Over and over I conjure images of what will happen to me if I run. If I set foot in the outside world will there be a media frenzy? Will Ares end up in jail? Will I be captured by one of the other Masters and forced to endure beatings from their crop, be forced to suck their cock? I know I won’t enjoy that. Anything they do to me really will be against my will. So what makes him different? What makes my Sir so special that I’d consider giving up my one chance at freedom?