Page 56 of Savage Desires

I blush at his compliment. I like him complimenting my fighting ability even more than telling me I'm beautiful. One is just nature, and the other is pure grit, determination, and hard work. Yeah, I will take his compliments of my abilities over my looks any day.

We follow the same routine as yesterday. I load up my plate, and he gets me a glass of water and lemonade and a cup of coffee for himself before filling his own plate. I'm glad that the other girls aren't at the table yet. I like most of them, but I don't feel like dealing with their judgment. Even though Lucy is the only one brave—or stupid—enough to say something, it isn't hard to see what the others think about how Kisten is with me.

I'm sure they think I'm suffering from Stockholm syndrome or something. That's not the case at all. And it's not hero worship or any other explanation they could use to make sense of it. Honestly, I don't even understand. I'm just not questioning it anymore. I want to be with him, and he wants me here. That's all I need to know.

I've finished half of a cheese omelet, almost a whole waffle, and a slice of bacon when my stomach starts to ache. Kisten slides my plate over and finishes off my breakfast for me. Every time he eats my leftovers, I fall a little more in love with him. Love is a weird concept to me. I've never experienced it with anyone but my dad. I never thought I would. Feeling this strongly for Kisten so quickly seems impossible, yet here I am, falling in love with him.

"I don't understand why we have to leave so early." Lucy's whining voice sounds from the hallway, and I cringe. Of all the girls, she's the one I least want to see.

"Your flight leaves at noon, and you'll need time to check in and find your gate," Kisten says.

"I still can't believe I have to fly commercial! Ugh! Do you even know who my father is?!"

I roll my eyes at her theatrics. "Pretty sure everyone you've ever come in contact with for over a minute knows who your father is. You can't shut up about him."

Her mouth falls open, and she stutters. "I always knew you were a stupid bitch."

Kisten lets out a warning noise. If he were an animal, it would be described as a feral junkyard dog seconds before the attack. "Watch your mouth. You're lucky to be taking a plane. I could drop you at the bus station with a couple hundred bucks and send you on your way."

"You wouldn't dare!"

His smile says that he absolutely would. I almost wish he would. It would serve her right for being a horrid human being. She smartly shuts up. After breakfast, everything moves quickly. We say goodbye to the girls who are going to Hope House in a couple of days. I share an awkward but tearful hug with Gladys, who makes Kisten promise to bring me the next time he visits. It's odd having someone care enough to want to check up on me. It's an uncomfortable feeling, but I also like it.

Unfortunately, we are Lucy's ride to the airport. During the entire drive, she prattles on about everything she will do when she gets home and how she can't wait to return to the real world. I personally feel like what we've been through is a more accurate depiction of the real world than anything about my old life.

The last six years have shown me the darkest depths of humanity. The men who owned me and the clients at Mecca all live nice, normal lives. They have families and jobs. Some are regular businessmen; others are men tasked with protecting and serving their communities.

That's the real world. Not the nice, cushy life in L.A. where daddy hands you his credit card and lets you do whatever you want. That's just a lie. The real world is ugly and cruel. Even my quiet life with my dad wasn't the full scope of reality. I saw violence and met a lot of people who did terrible things for the right reasons. I now understand the wariness they carried around like a cloke.

The men who were ex-military were hardened by all they saw and did. It was always easy for me to pick out the men and women who came to the gym to exorcise their demons from the ones who wanted to make a name for themselves and knew my dad was the ticket to get them there.

I understand their motivations better now. I also understand better why my dad pushed me. He wasn't just training my body. He was strengthening my mind, showing me how to overcome the weaknesses of my physical body with mental fortitude and determination. Because of that, I'm here now. I'm not a broken doll like so many other women I've seen over the years.

Kisten reaches over the console and puts his hand on my thigh. I love how he always seems to know what I need. I put my hand on his. He turns his hand, threading his fingers with mine. I don't hide my smile.

Showing emotions is also new to me. I had to hide my feelings because they were dangerous. I had to put on an act. Showing my real emotional responses always ended badly. It didn't take long for me to figure that out…

If they beat me, they wanted my screams and tears. My natural reaction was anger and threats. During sex, they either wanted compliance and enthusiasm, or they wanted a fight—just not a real one. They wanted the illusion of a fight. A rape fantasy that was very real for me but had zero repercussions or dangers to them. I learned the hard way that actually hurting the men was a bad idea. I blooded a man's nose with a well-timed headbutt. I was hoping to break his nose, but bloodying it and giving him two black eyes was satisfying, too. That punishment was well worth the pain.

At the airport, Kisten hands Lucy an older model cell phone that I know is an untraceable burner phone. She whines when he pulls her two large suitcases and carry-on bag out of the trunk and passes them to her. She is clearly unhappy when he moves to get back into the car. I am fighting my giggles when I watch her struggle to drag the two large suitcases into the building. It serves her right for demanding so much stuff.

"She will be so mad when she sees her flight plans. I almost wish I could see her reaction."

Kisten smirks. "She's definitely going to be surprised. I bet she tries to talk her way into an upgrade that won't happen."

A sudden, unpleasant thought hits me. "What if she tells people about what you do? What will happen to Gladys?" I ask.

I don't know why that didn't occur to me before now. Now that I've thought about it, I'm worried.

"Gladys will be fine. She has security. But Lucy is oblivious and wasn't paying attention to her surroundings. Everyone was too on edge the night I brought you to Gladys's to know how to get there. She couldn't find Gladys if she tried. As far as her telling people about me, bring it on."

"You're right. She's too self-absorbed to have paid attention. I doubt she'll want her image ruined by what happened to her anyway. Who knows how her dad will react since he's so important in their circle."

He grunts his agreement.

I sit back and watch as the city passes by. I've never had the opportunity to see the city even though I've been here for at least four of the six years I was kept captive. It's bigger and busier than I realized. I'm overwhelmed by how many people I see. Mecca's main floor was busy at times, but this is worse. I'm relieved when he pulls into a parking garage and away from the hustle and bustle of the city.

Unlike Lucy, Kisten won't let me carry my own bags. I have a large suitcase and a nice leather satchel with my new art supplies in it. Annie really thought of everything when she shopped for me.

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