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People got tired of her, bored. For a while, she served their purpose, and then they lost interest. Daniel had wrung everything he wanted out of her, squeezed her down to the last drop, before he ripped her to physical and emotional pieces.
Her father was cut from a similar weave of cloth; he hadn’t used her for sex, although God only knew if he’d gained any sexual pleasure from belting her mercilessly every Sunday. Maybe that was why he’d been so vicious, trying to beat his demons out of his daughter rather than himself.
But unlike Daniel and Gregory, the promise of punishment by Evander’s hand didn’t make her wonder if she’d die from the pain. He was as careful as he was firm, using patience and compassion along with his dominance instead of wielding it like a weapon to batter her into submission.
“No, Sir,” she mumbled, sighing softly. “I’m sorry, Elias.”
With a low sound of approval in his throat, he stepped forward, hesitating before lifting her chin with two fingertips. “It’s not my place to interfere, Callie. I’m just your caretaker when needed. However, I am going to offer you some advice; whether you listen to it or not is up to you.”
Because he was so serious, she made a concerted effort to take in every word.
“Evander is a man who won’t say anything he doesn’t mean. If there’s a chance a promise he makes will be broken, he won’t take that risk. I realize you’ve been together a very short amount of time, but what you don’t know is that he doesn’t pick up random women and whisk them away on business trips. Ever.”
Callie swallowed. “Just me?”
He nodded once. “Just you in the ten years I’ve known him. In the very unlikely event that things don’t work out between you two, he’d never walk out and leave you stranded. It’s not his way. Unlike the prick you were with previously, you can trust him, little one. I wouldn’t say that if he wasn’t the most honorable man I know.”
A large part of the knot of tension strangling her insides relaxed. Elias might be a stranger—albeit one who’d had his head planted between her legs, doing dastardly things with his mouth—but his zero-bullshit demeanor gave her the confidence to believe him.
“Evander gets what he wants because he works hard for it. His business is a success because he won’t allow it to be anything but. He knows how to charm, schmooze, cajole, strongarm, and be a downright bastard, but all of those things don’t change who he is at the core.” Elias dropped his hand away from her face, but she remained in the same position, keeping her eyes locked on his. “On a personal level, he’s never waded in this deep, this fast. He’s finally found the woman who ticks all his boxes, and decided he deserves her. In my opinion, you’re more than worthy of him, and though there might be bumps in the road, there aren’t two people in the world more suited to each other.”
Eyes stinging, she reached out and set her hand on his arm, realizing Elias had given them—her—his blessing. His approval. “Why are you telling me this?”
“Because he won’t. Evander believes you shouldn’t be put under undue pressure, that your past might sway your decision if you feel cornered.”
“Don’t you agree with him?”
“I’m not as close to you as he is. I see how you are when he’s not within reach—this morning is a prime example. While he’s trying not to scare you off, you’re in desperate need of validation, reassurance, connection.”
Callie grimaced. Wow, that made her sound like a needy, high maintenance kind of girl. The kind of girl who got beaten bloody by a cane before the man she’d chosen to be in her life walked out.
“That’s not a bad thing, little one. It just means you’re seeking stability where you’ve had none in the past. A safety mechanism,” he said quietly, “when all you’ve known is cruelty. How can you offer everything you are to him without feeling secure?”
She didn’t like these questions, rhetorical or not. It was like Elias kept plucking thoughts out of her head, reading her far too efficiently.Maybeit was soothing to be understood by someone who didn’t live with the crazy in her head, but on the same token, guarding her emotions and internal processes ensured she didn’t have to suffer at the hands of another person again.
Instead of answering, she fired a question back at him, hoping to deflect his intense observation. “What about you? How do you fit into all of this?”
“Me?” He smiled ruefully. “I left a job I hated and stumbled into another that makes me happy. Gained a friendship, built a better life, and now I’m privileged to watch a man I consider a brother fall in love.”
Sucking on her bottom lip, she said, “You’ve shared women with him…before me.”
“I have. Willing subs. None of them were you.”
A warm tingle fluttered in her chest at the thought of being special.
All her life, she’d been told she wasnothing. Her parents hadn’t wanted her to succeed in anything but being their humble little houseslave. On her knees, bowing and scraping in fear of the belt, cooking and cleaning so they could have the retirement they felt they deserved. Chained to a house that was a vessel for all the pain and fucked up memories from her childhood.
Daniel was no different. Whatever his motives, he hadn’t desired a maid to cater to his every whim, but a woman—with no self-esteem, no self-confidence, no family—to play his sick games with.
No, notwith.
She hadn’t signed up to be humiliated, treated like a whore, whipped and caned like a dog. His idea of a good time wasn’t hers, and he simply hadn’t given a damn.
“Did you enjoy being between us last night, little one?”
Callie’s head jerked up as she shoved aside memories. Heat crawled up her neck into her cheeks. “If I say yes, does that turn me into a slut?”
Elias chuckled. “The chances of you being a slut are zero to none, Callie. Taking pleasure from the attention of two men goes against everything we’re taught by society, which is just bullshit. The only thing that matters is whetheryouliked it or not.”
