Page 33 of Taming Liberty

“When’s the last time you heard of someone dying because of a little water?”

“It’s called drowning, Mr. P. Not exactly a rare occurrence,” Sawyer pipes in. He pulls himself out of the water as Mr. P flips him off.

Anna follows in nothing but a pink bra and panties. She waves excitedly at me, and I don’t have to force the smile I give her. It’s genuinely nice to see she’s still happy. I thought she was ridiculous at first, but now I’m a little envious of the blissful denial.

“Whatever, you know what I mean,” Mr. P laughs even though I get the sense that he’s embarrassed. “Come on, hang out.” He gestures to me. “It’s good for them to socialize.”

It’s good for them to socialize.

My jaw drops.

He does realize I’m standing right here, doesn’t he?

And what is thisthembullshit? Like I’m what, a pet?

I look at Angel like I expect him to attack the guy for saying something so fucking … I don’t even know.

“Yes, please, stay.” Anna presses her palms together and raises them in front of her, puppy dog eyes beckoning Angel.

Angel. Not me, not like I have any say. Fuck this place.

Angel looks at Sawyer, and I feel a tense exchange between the two. Like Angel’s silently asking him something.

“Mr. P’s right,” Sawyer says, meeting my eyes. “It isn’t good for Ivy to be by herself all the time.”

“Her name’s Liberty,” Angel corrects. “I changed it.”

A moment passes, then Sawyer nods. “Cool.”

Ice, ice, baby.

Angel looks down at me with the silent question, and I give him a tentative smile. I really wish Jasper would fuck off and die, but I don’t mind hanging around for a little while if Angel wants to. It’ll be nice to see Anna.

Angel takes my smile as an answer, and he turns to the others. “Why not?”

9

Angel

Aurora, Patrick’s slave, lets out a loud squeal as she jumps from the cliff overlooking the water. I peel my eyes off Jasper long enough to glance at her. She, Anna, Patrick, and Lib all climbed up a few minutes ago.

At first, I was surprised Lib agreed to go with the others, but I’m sure it’s because she wants to speak to Anna without Sawyer and me present. But cliff diving? Aren’t there simpler ways to get Anna alone?

Once Aurora hits the water in an ungraceful, pigeon-like pose, I return my scrutiny to Jasper who’s only a few yards away from me. He’s leaned back on the grass, beer in his hand, with his forearms propping him up. He has one foot crossed over the other and has his lips lifted into a smirk while he watches the others.

When I catch Sawyer out of the corner of my eye, I turn my head to see him emerging from the woods. He disappeared for a minute to take a leak, so I expect him to follow the others onto the cliff, but he veers my direction instead.

I face forward, my legs dangling off a boulder and my toes grazing the water. I peer up and watch Patrick jump from the cliff next, taking on a cannon ball pose. Lib’s mouth moves close to Anna’s ear, and I see Anna nod.

Sawyer climbs onto the boulder and sits down beside me, but I don’t take my eyes off the women.

He holds a beer in front of me, and I take it.

Sawyer takes a swig of his own beer, then rests the bottle in his lap as we watch Patrick swim to the shore.

“Annie really likes her,” he says. “She asks about her all the time.”

Anna still hasn’t budged with Lib’s mouth moving by her ear. It’s suspicious, but I wouldn’t expect anything less from Lib.

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