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“Yes, but you aren’t my mother.”
“Good mothers raise good men. Maybe your mother didn’t do her job well enough.”
I could deal with her insults and her sassiness, but I drew the line when it came to my family—especially my mother. “Don’t talk about my mother like that ever again.” My heart pounded harder in my chest because her insult bothered me all the way down to my core. I was livid, to say the least.
She must have understood that because she didn’t rise to my words. She turned quiet, focusing on her dinner instead of me.
When she backed off, I picked up my fork again.
“This is really good. So much better than the sandwiches I was eating every day.”
“Thanks.” My sour mood still hadn’t recovered. My family was the most important thing to me, and I couldn’t handle anyone saying anything negative about them. I grew up watching my father defend his brother when he wasn’t around, but the second they were alone together in a room, my father insulted him left and right. But only he could insult him—no one else.
“You’re still angry.”
I locked my gaze on hers. “Yes.”
“Well, would it help if I apologized?”
“Is it possible for you to apologize?” I countered. “You don’t seem like the type.”
“You’re right, I’m not. And I definitely don’t apologize to men who kidnap me,” she said coldly. “But I have a soft spot for mothers so…I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to insult her.”
“Thank you.” I was close with my father because we had more in common, but I’d always been a momma’s boy. My mom stayed home with us when we were growing up, so she took us with her to the store, made dinner for us, and spent all summer with us. She dedicated her whole life to raising us. She deserved all the respect she had earned.
“Are you close with her?”
“Very.”
She was about to put a bite of food into her mouth, but she hesitated. It seemed like she was going to say something but decided against it.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“You were going to say something.”
“Nothing you want to hear. Don’t want to piss you off again.”
I should just let it go, but now I was curious. “What?” I pressed.
She finished chewing before she spoke. “Well, if you love and respect your mother, it usually means you respect all women. I find it surprising that you think it’s okay to buy a woman for your own amusement, considering your fondness for your mother.”
She didn’t know that I bought women with the intention of returning them to their families. In this instance, I looked like a bad guy. But since I couldn’t tell her the truth, I had to pretend her opinion of me was correct. Egor told me not to tell her the truth, and I agreed with him. After seeing those scars on her back, I knew returning her to him was the last place she ever wanted to go. If I told her the truth, she would panic and become impossible to control. I still had two weeks with her. I didn’t want to spend those two weeks keeping her chained to a wall. “She did her best to raise me right. It’s not her fault I’ve turned into an asshole.”
She dug her fork into her food and didn’t continue the conversation. She didn’t wear makeup because she didn’t have any, but she still had undeniably beautiful features. Large eyes in the shape of almonds and thick lips that looked utterly kissable. She had long brown hair, and even when it wasn’t styled, it was beautiful. It was the perfect length to wrap around my fist. She was a rare beauty, with natural looks that didn’t require cosmetic enhancement. She was perfect all on her own.
No wonder Egor was willing to pay so much for her.
I’d been with a lot of beautiful women, models, dancers, strippers, all kinds. But I could honestly say I’d never met someone with her unique qualities. Her beauty stared me right in the face, but I couldn’t put my thumb on the single quality that made her stand out. Maybe it wasn’t her looks at all—but that smartass mouth of hers.
“So, what do you do for a living?”
A few hours ago, I’d released her from the shackles and watched her shower, treating her like an inmate in prison. Now we were talking casually, like two friends catching up. “Does it matter?”
“Just trying to make conversation.” She rolled her eyes. “I can only assume your trade is in the criminal sector, so nothing you say is going to surprise me.”
I didn’t see the harm in telling her, not when she had no power over me. She couldn’t run away, and once she was back with Egor, I would never see her again. “I own a car company. I design them and market them.”
