AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She remained pressed against the corner. So still. The weird thing was, he was only now noticing she was naked. That should have been his first observation. Ordinarily he would have taken it all in and been gleeful about his find and all the depraved and sadistic things he could do—both sexual and non-sexual—to his captive. But with Mina, the overriding thought in his mind had been that she was in a cage, and he didn’t want her there. In fact, it began to irritate and grate on him, causing that burning itch that usually only hurting someone stopped.
“It would be better for you if you come out on your own.”
Mina considered this, then slowly crawled out. She hesitated before her lips brushed over his boot. She didn’t attempt to rise until he helped her up and led her to Lindsay’s bathroom.
“I’ll wait out here.” Another thing he wouldn’t normally give a woman here… privacy. What was going on with him?
The lock clicked over, and he wondered if she might stay in there all day, considering it a safer cage to be in where he was concerned. But when she finished, she came back out. Her hair fell over her face as she looked down, and the trembling starting again. He didn’t say a word as he led her back to the closet and into the cage.
She didn’t go to the corner this time. Instead she chose the center of the enclosure. He could reach her if he stretched, but not as easily as when she’d been pressed against the bars. He watched while she stared at the bottom of the cage.
If he let her go, Lindsay would be furious and probably punish her worse. If he took her down to the dungeon suite, he’d have a fight on his hands with the other partners—since it had been decided without his input once again that a girl here was off limits to him.
Brian retrieved his cell from his pocket and dialed Lindsay from the contact list. The doctor answered on the first ring.
“I’m currently standing in the walk-in closet with your newest caged acquisition. She’s naked. She’s vulnerable. And she can’t get away from me. Three of my favorite things. You might consider rescuing her before I decide to get creatively sadistic. Just a thought.”
Brian hung up and waited. It didn’t take long.
Less than five minutes later, the door flung open to reveal Gabe full of puffed-up righteous indignation, as if he’d somehow been personally slighted by this.
“Lindsay said you knew you weren’t allowed near her,” Gabe said, the rage barely concealed. Let him be angry. This house didn’t function properly without Brian. Good luck getting these lightweights to enact any real discipline.
Brian raised an eyebrow. “I’m sorry, since when do I obey your orders? I’m an equal partner here, or have you all forgotten? I may live underground, but that doesn’t make me some low-ranking servant. You don’t get to keep any girl within these walls from me. Just because I more or less stayed away from Vivian doesn’t mean that’s the precedent we’re going to follow. If Lindsay didn’t want me near her, he shouldn’t have brought her here. Or he should have cleared his policy with me, first.”
“You can’t touch Anton’s slave,” the blond said.
“Annette has a collar. She belongs exclusively to him. I respect that claim. Mina, however, has no such collar to protect her. Tell Lindsay to leave her locked up alone anywhere in this house at his own risk.” He moved forward, invading Gabe’s space. “Have you read the contract for her?”
Gabe gritted his teeth. “I have.”
“Then know this. I will break every boundary in that contract if I find her in such a vulnerable position again. Every. Boundary.” He turned to Mina, who shrank back. “What was the crime that got you put in the cage?”
“I-I spoke without permission, S-sir.”
Brian turned back to the blond. “A rebel, this one. Certainly it was worth the risk I pose to her.”
“Isn’t it your day off?”
“It depends. If you’re leaving her in the cage, I’m playing with her. What about the remotes for her bracelet?”
Most of the trainers kept a small remote that allowed them to send a shock to a bracelet. It was an effective form of training and punishment.
“Her bracelet hasn’t been programmed that way. The remotes won’t work.”
Was that relief Brian felt?
Gabe shoved past him and input the code. “It’s all right, Mina,” he said as he helped her out.
He took a blanket from one of the shelves and wrapped her up to help stop her shaking. Brian had wanted to do the very same thing, but it would have looked strange, and he didn’t want the third degree. It was easier to play to type. He got what he wanted, and nobody thought he’d gone insane. It was better that he try to come to terms with his odd reaction to her on his own.
Brian caught Mina’s gaze. “Don’t wander alone in this house. I might not be able to keep my hands off you. Ask Gabe; he’ll tell you what I do with these hands. You and your delicate sensibilities wouldn’t like it.”
He watched as she moved closer to Gabe for his protection—such that it was. Then he turned and left Lindsay’s room and the house, trying hard to get the dark, fragile beauty out of his mind.
4
Mina watched Brian’s retreating form. Empirically he’d freed her—an obvious kindness. Yet he’d threatened her as well. But he could have acted on it before calling Lindsay. Why hadn’t he? She shook her head to clear it. She knew this. It was the same set of games Jason had played. Gain the captive’s trust with small kindnesses mixed with a touch of cruelty to keep her off guard. Find the most entertaining moment… and strike, unraveling any sense of safety she ever had.
