Page 51 of His Toy

CHAPTER 13

Heather

The bidder of my auction, the abductor of my sister, my trainer in high protocol, my mentor in the art of submission, my protector from the monsters, Zaid, had kissed me.

It was confusing, the back and forth between master and slave, toy and trainer, even stranger and captive. But I knew there was something there, something different in his actions. The closed-off Zaid, who hardly spoke about himself, had opened up last night. He had touched me. I knew, even if he didn’t say it, that he was scared too. For me. He had held me close, held me tight. I was safe in his arms. And I knew he blamed himself for what I did to upset Eric.

Despite my better judgment, I liked the kiss. I liked the feeling of his arms around me. His lips on mine. Like I was able to go home.

But it only lasted so long. He held my hand on the drive back, but once we were in the house, he vanished. It was hard to know what to expect.

A gut feeling made me hold onto the fact that he had left the collar on my neck. Taken the key with him. He was too purposeful to have forgotten it.

I was grateful that his kiss made it easier to forget. I could focus on this small moment of happiness. And forget about the woman’s screams.

It had been a full day since I had seen him. But I knew he was watching me from afar, and that made me feel safe. He was there with me. Always.

In the computer room, I checked on Hazel. She was ripping the pages from the books, crumpling them into tiny balls, throwing them at the door where they bounced and landed in a pile, a barricade of paper balls. Another stack of books was next to the door, and within the pile of crinkled balls, lay empty covers, like shed reptilian skin.

We needed to end this thing with Eric soon. We needed to get my sister out of that isolation,

We.

I wanted to think of us that way. We were a unit, fighting to help the people we loved.

A knock sounded on the doorframe. Dressed in black, Zaid looked sleek, refined. His black boots gleamed in the light. He smiled, a gentle, subtle grin, at me.

Yeah, there was something different about him.

Zaid motioned for me to follow him. We went to a new, warm room I hadn’t been to yet, filled with screens displaying different surveillance footage. He pulled out a map of Mount Charleston. He pointed to a thick dot on the map.

“This is my house. My property goes to this line.”

He traced his finger to the dark blue line on the map, following the outline around the house. If this was scaled, then that meant he had a ridiculous amount of land.

He already had rooms he rarely used in the house. Why did he need all of that space?

“That’s enormous,” I said.

“About ten acres,” he said bluntly. As if to say, half an acre or ten, what difference did it make? “There are markers at the edges. Blue ribbons in the trees. You will not go past them.”

“Huh?”

He pointed at one of the screens. “This section covers the edge of the property. I have men scattered throughout the neighborhood, waiting as well. If you disobey me, I will know exactly the moment you cross that boundary.”

I blinked, still staring at him. Was this a joke?

“But…you may explore the property,” he added.

“Really?”

“You need the freedom to be outside.” When I began to squeal, he added, “Don’t make me regret the decision.” But the look on his face showed that he was teasing.

“By myself?” I asked. He nodded. He was beginning to trust me. What did that mean for our goal, for our relationship dynamic?

I was different too. I wanted something else, in addition to freedom.

“Come with me,” I said. A stern look crossed his face. “I mean,pleasecome with me, sir.”