I nodded and watched him leave. He left the door cracked slightly open so that it wouldn’t lock me in and I pushed open the door to the bathroom. It was pretty; medium sized with glass doors on the shower, a big vanity mirror, and everything seemed to be made of marble or porcelain.
Smiling, I set my clothes on the edge of the pretty sink and leaned into the shower to turn the water on. I ran my hands under the faucet making sure that the temperature was just right before I stepped in and washed myself. I spent about half an hour in the shower, mostly just standing under the shower head and letting the hot water pour over me.
I slid one of the glass doors open when I was done and reached for the towel that was sitting, folded neatly, on top of a closed hamper. I wrapped it around myself and went to the mirror. I used my hand to wipe a diagonal clearing so that I could look at myself.
I took a deep breath and wondered what I was becoming. It was obvious by all of his “equal” talk, he was training me; grooming me for something terrible and in the kitchen, I enjoyed it.
Get a grip Riley. He’s using you and you’re letting him. You need to start fighting back and you need to start now.
She was right. My inner heroine was trying to save me from a lifetime of horrors. Maybe the only way out of this would be for him to kill me, but I wouldn’t go down without a fight.
I looked around the bathroom and saw a washcloth sitting neatly on the cabinet to my right. I went over and ran my hands along the shelf. I wondered what else could be there that I could use somehow to fight off Jaxton the next time he wanted “dessert.”
My fingers grazed over something small and sharp. “Oh my God,” I breathed, carefully sliding the dangerous, small object off of the cabinet and safely into the palm of my hand. I don’t know if he had forgotten this was there or maybe if he left it as a test, but I quickly dressed and slid the new weapon into my pocket.
I took one long last hard look at myself in the mirror and tied my hair back into a ponytail.
Today, I will become a free woman.
Fifteen
(Jaxton)
I tilted my face up and to the right inspecting it carefully. I wanted to be sure that Riley hadn’t scratched my face during our little soiree in the kitchen. I was not vain for myself, you see, I was vain for my conquests. I wanted them to always have something pleasant to look at. That’s part of the reason I kept my body in the condition it was in as well. For the length of time I kept them, I would always be sure that they would at least enjoy seeing me, even if they didn’t enjoy what I did to them.
I chuckled as I turned off the light in the bathroom and walked out. No scratches on my face and none on my body. Not that I would have secretly minded. Riley was the one for me; my match in every way and I knew it. I felt it so strongly when I first saw her that all I had to do was get her to see it too.
I walked down the hallway and toward the top of the steps when I saw Riley standing at the bottom with her back to me. I smiled and took a seat on the top step.
Out of all of the conquests I’d had so far, Riley was by far my favorite. She had renewed my taste for virgins but that was something I wouldn’t ever indulge in again without her.
But as I sat there staring at her, in her cutoff denim shorts, her black vest, and her hair pulled back into a sleek ponytail, I couldn’t find it inside of myself to discard her. Even if she disobeyed and failed me in the process of our arrangement, I wouldn’t get rid of her. I’d let her get rid of herself and then my conscience would be clear. The loss would be great to me, but it would be something that I would live with and move on.
“Hey,” I called down to her. She turned her body slightly and looked up at me.
“Hey yourself,” she replied with a smile.
I got to my feet and jogged down the rest of the way. Her feet were still bare because I wouldn’t give her shoes or sandals. If anything, they would serve to help her escape and I hadn’t lost one conquest yet to that, I wouldn’t start now.
“I have something for you,” I said pulling a small leather black choker out of my back pocket. Riley eyed it curiously for a moment before she turned around and lifted her ponytail out of the way.
“Thanks. Did you make this?” she asked running her fingers on it.
“I did. It’s actually one of a kind. I’ve never let anyone where it yet,” I replied.
“Then why me?” she asked curiously.
“Because you wanted to see what my hobby was, didn’t you? We have to go outside for that. That choker has a chip in it that will let me know where you are at all times. If you try to run, I will know where you are.”
I watched her become nervous and I knew in that moment that she still intended on getting away from me if she could. And for some reason, that hurt me; so deeply in fact that I snapped and slapped her across the face. How could she dare still think of leaving me?