Page 17 of Freedom Mine
Back and forth on the porch, Kayo paced as he mumbled to himself. His foot hit an empty bottle and the bottle slid off the porch, landing with a crash on the ground. The sound didn’t slow his pacing, probably because he had a second, full bottle in hand.
“I made you something to eat,” she spoke up, despite the clawing need to run and hide. She’d been around drunken owners before; she never fared well in those situations.
“Leave me alone, Blue,” he said, taking a swig from the bottle.
It wasn’t an order so much as a plea, though something in the way he’d said it pulled at her. Here she was bringing him food, but not because he or anyone else had ordered it. She should be making herself so repugnant that he’d never want to come near, let alone touch her.
Except the idea of him touching her didn’t repulse her. Just the opposite; she was drawn to him, which was scary.
Kayo wasn’t like other men. Sure, he was powerful enough to take what he wanted, but he hadn’t. He seemed to want to do right by her.
She left Kayo to his thoughts and his drink and returned to the kitchen. As she put the food in the chiller, she leaned in for a moment, to cool off.
She’d have to stop thinking of him touching her if she was going to learn how to survive here with all these men around. Correction, with just the one man, living in the same house, a man who still owned her, no matter how free he claimed she was.
Alli cleaned up and then retreated to the attic for the night. A good night’s sleep would get her mind off of Kayo. The moment she opened the door to the attic, she froze, the old fears and memories rising to the surface in one jarring blow. She didn’t have to activate the lights to know Kayo was there, waiting in the dark.
His masculine scent hung in the air, a quick reminder that he could go anywhere he pleased, do what he pleased. No matter what pretty words came out of his mouth, heownedher.
The sense of betrayal weighed on her as she reached for the control panel and braced to see him waiting for her, in her bed. He’d spoken of freedom, but he was here to take, as all her owners had in the past.
The light filled the attic, revealing an empty room, and a perfectly made bed, just as she’d left it this morning. There, on edge of the bed, a pile of the softest towels she’d ever felt, and a handful of small soaps awaited her.
She took a deep breath, inhaling the flowery scent of the soaps, but all she could think of was Kayo. He’d given her soap—real soap that wouldn’t be harsh on her skin. He hadn’t betrayed her at all, he’d done something no one had ever done before. Kayocared.
