Chapter Four

Natalie

The milk is sweet, and despite Evander’s promise that it isn’t drugged, I find my eyelids drooping closed as I drink.

It’s weird, but comforting in an odd way, to suck at the rubber tip like a baby.

I should be terrified, and in some deep, buried part of my brain, that fear definitely lurks.

But mostly I’m just too curious, too in awe of this strange place to be afraid.

My mind drifts, first to the memory of Jasper and Juliet on the top of the Empire State Building, Juliet’s blonde hair in two braids while she pouted up at her stepbrother and insisted she didn’t need a nap.

Daddy, she’d called him, and at the time I’d considered it odd but assumed it was just some weird kinky nickname.

But then another image comes to mind, of the two women I ran into on the street in town, the smaller of the two decked out in layers of tulle and silk and lace. Like something a baby doll might wear. Or a toddler on their way to Easter service.

Is that the dark secret of this island? Women being kept as children for… what, exactly? What do the men and women keeping them here get out of it?

Those questions and more are still bouncing around in my brain despite my drowsiness when the car slows to a stop. Evander pulls the bottle from my mouth and smiles down at me.

“You nearly finished the whole thing. There’s more after dinner if you’d like, but for now we need to get you cleaned up and in some more appropriate clothes.”

“Baby clothes, you mean.”

His gaze sharpens, and for a moment my heart races as I worry I’ve said the wrong thing.

“You really are a very observant Little girl,” he says after a long moment, a smile curving his lips. “Perhaps too observant. But that’s something to be discussed later. First, a bath.”

He pauses just long enough to strip my overalls completely from me before leveraging us both out of the car.

It’s an impressive feat, and even though I’m not keen on being half naked in front of a man known far and wide for his capacity for violence, I also know that arguing with him won’t get me anywhere.

Best to just go along as much as possible and do my best not to irritate him.

Besides. There’s so many interesting things happening around me.

Head swiveling, I take in my surroundings as he carries me up the stairs of a stunning, sparkling white home. The architecture is a bit out of place for the tropics, as it seems suited more to the Mediterranean area, but it’s a stunning house, nonetheless.

The interior is no less gorgeous, with its acres of white and cream and earth tones. It looks as though I’ve just stepped into a home in Athens, and my mouth falls open as I take it all in.

“Ah, I see you found your little kitten.”

Lucas .

Evander’s chest rumbles with laughter. “I did. Hiding in the woods. She’s faster than I expected.”

“And more clever.” If I’m not mistaken, there’s a hint of pride in Lucas’s voice as he comes to stand in front of us, smiling down at me like an indulgent grandfather.

Without thinking, I throw myself at him, into the safety of his arms. “Lucas! You have to help me! He beat me with a stick!”

Chuckling softly, Lucas lets me wrap myself around his torso, his large hands patting my bottom, and even though he’s being gentle his touch reignites the ache left behind by Evander’s punishment. “There, there, little one. Your Papa is right here.”

Papa? My mind races, trying to piece together what that could possibly mean.

Behind me, Evander sighs. “You’re going to spoil her.”

“As is my privilege, as her Papa. I assume she means you took a switch to her naughty bottom?”

“I did. As is my privilege as her Daddy.”

“And I would never suggest otherwise.” Craning his head to look me in the eye, Lucas tries to look stern but the effect is ruined somewhat by the amusement sparkling in his dark gaze. “It was very naughty of you to run from your Daddy, little one.”

As I listen to them speak, dread settles in my stomach. Whatever protection Lucas may have provided me on the boat clearly does not extend to the island. Or, at least, does not extend to the man behind me.

“Put me down.”

My demand is met with a raised eyebrow from the man I thought would be my savior. Though now I wonder why I ever thought that in the first place considering the spanking Lucas delivered on the boat, at Evander’s command.

“Don’t be rude, Natalie Quinn,” Evander scolds. “Your Papa is right. It was very naughty to run from me.”

Twisting around in Lucas’s arms, I glare at the darkly handsome man with the scarred face who calls himself Daddy. “I was running because I was scared, you jackass!”

The arms around me tighten and Lucas’s chest rises and falls with a sigh. “Oh, little one. Your Daddy is going to make sure you regret that.”

Evander

Lucas is right. I have every intention of making sure my naughty kitten regrets her choices, so much so that she never even thinks of calling me a name again.

“We should take this conversation upstairs.”

Little Natalie is still glaring at me, but Lucas nods, shifting her onto his hip. “The nursery?”

“Yes. Obviously my Little girl needs some help understanding her place in this house.”

Turning, I lead the way up the stairs to the first door just to the right, which already bears a plaque with my Little one’s name on it.

“Wait. That’s my name!” she says, echoing my thoughts with her surprised outburst.

“It is.” Reaching for the knob, I turn it, pushing the door open to give my Little one her first glimpse of her new home.

Unlike the rest of my house, her nursery is bright.

Colorful, with the walls painted a deep purple that offsets the white furniture beautifully.

Along the walls are paintings of various farm animals dressed in human clothes doing human jobs.

A rabbit in a construction hat next to a half-built house.

A flamingo in a tutu and ballet shoes. A shark wearing a suit and carrying a briefcase.

I found them through an artist online who has a particularly whimsical style I believe Natalie will be fond of.

“Oh.” The word is practically a sigh and her eyes are round as she takes in her surroundings. “This is beautiful. You did all this for me?”

“I did. I’m glad you approve.”

“How did you know purple’s my second favorite color?”

“I know everything about you, kitten. Where you grew up, who your childhood best friend was, even your standing order at the pizza place a block from your house. One small pizza, all meat, and a side of their bacon cheese fries. Not a single vegetable in sight, which is an oversight I will certainly be rectifying.”

Her eyes narrow slightly, though not in anger. More like she’s studying me again, with those stunning, shrewd eyes. “You’ve been watching me. For how long?”

Shrugging out of my suit jacket, I lay it over the back of the gliding armchair to my right and pop the button on my sleeve. “Nearly as long as you’ve been snooping around my airport.”

“You knew about that?”

“I did. I know all about your investigation. You don’t really think you conned your way onto that ship all by yourself, did you?”

One sleeve rolled to my elbow, I glance up, and nearly laugh out loud at how insulted she looks.

“I did a very thorough job with that, thank you very much.”

“You certainly did a better job than I would have expected of someone without the proper… connections. I was impressed.”

Her face lights up, replacing the pout with a smile that takes my breath away. “Yeah?”

“Yes. You owe Lucas an apology, though. Poor man hasn’t worked that hard in nearly a decade. He only took the job on as a favor to me, to keep watch over you.”

“Why?”

“Because, my curious little kitten.” With the second sleeve out of the way, I reach for her, capturing her face in my hand. “I knew from the moment I laid eyes on you, that you were meant to be mine . And I always protect what’s mine.”

Her eyes have gone even wider, and her breathing is ragged. “You can’t just decide that you own a person. There are laws against that kind of thing.”

“As your Uncle Jasper is fond of saying, the only law here is my word. There is no government here, no police. You answer only to me, Natalie. And when I am not around, you answer to whichever adult has been given the responsibility of caring for you. I should warn you, if another adult has reason to punish you, then you will receive a second punishment from me as well. I expect you to be a well-behaved little kitten, even when I am not around.”

“Adults.” She says the word slowly, rolling it over her tongue like it’s foreign to her. “Because here, I’m just a child.”

Clever Little girl. “Yes.”

“And if I don’t want to play your twisted games? If I want to go back home to New York? To my life?”

“I’m afraid the time to make that choice was before you got on that boat, kitten. The moment you stepped on that ship, you sealed your own fate.”

“Well that hardly seems fair since I didn’t know that’s what I was doing.”

“You knew you were snooping somewhere you shouldn’t be. You knew you were treading dangerous waters with dangerous men. Honestly, you should consider yourself lucky that I don’t take a strap to your bottom for putting yourself in that kind of danger.”

“But I didn’t know ?—”

“Enough.” I hold a hand up, cutting her off as Lucas tries to hide a smile.

“Whether you knew the full extent of what you were doing or not is neither here nor there. You came to me, whether you meant to or not. Now you are mine, and you will follow my rules or you will be punished. Those are the only options left available to you any longer. Do you understand, little one?”

“I understand that’s how you think it should work.”

Oh, I am going to have fun taming my feisty little kitten. “The first order of business is to clean up that filthy mouth of yours. Come.”

Trusting Lucas to follow, I head for the bathroom, where I open a small package of soap. “Put her on her knees, Lucas.”

“Don’t fight, little one. That will only make it worse,” he whispers encouragingly as he lowers her to the floor.

“Make what worse?”

As the water runs, I reach for the buckle on my dress pants, pulling it free and wrapping the thin leather around her throat like a leash.

“Your lesson, kitten. Open that pretty mouth so Daddy can show you what happens to naughty Little girls who don’t know how to keep a civil tongue.”