Total pages in book: 98
Estimated words: 91423 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 457(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91423 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 457(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
She thinks about that for a moment.
“Leo hunted me down and found me in my room, and…”
“Yes. We are hunters. I am not telling you that we are good men. I am telling you that we are not the same kind of man as the one we are now hunting, and I am telling you that the man who killed your parents, and our brother, is dead.”
“Then can I eat like a normal fucking person?”
It is a good moment to push the point, one at which I am trying to define myself as something other than a complete monster.
“Do you think that the role you played in Teddy’s passing has been atoned for?”
I see storm clouds gathering in her eyes, and I know she is about to lash out.
“Fuck you,” she says.
How delightfully predictable. It’s quite cute.
She gets up and storms out of the room. I let her go. She will learn that the leash and the paddle and the table with the stocks and even the bowl on the floor full of caviar and truffles were not what was really causing her pain. What truly caused her agony was knowing what she did to deserve them—and that has not changed.
She will be back on her knees soon enough, and this time she will beg us to punish her.
CHAPTER 13
Aiden
I relax my rules around Ella. I let her live as a human, which I suppose would not be considered a huge kindness in most cases. I also allow her to interact with my brothers as she and they wish. But I know the storm I saw in her eyes has to break at some point. None of us can flee it forever.
It takes about a week, in which the household conducts itself more or less as usual. Leo and I are busy killing those who deserve to die, and to be fair to Luke, he spends a lot of time in the gym. We don’t use Luke to do violence. He is quite sensitive and we don’t want to risk a relapse if he becomes traumatized by what we do.
Ella could run away if she wanted, but she doesn’t really want to. In spite of the humiliation of her treatment, she feels safe with us. She would never admit it, of course, but it shows in all the physiological signs of relaxation that are so evident, like the way she flips Leo off when she’s making toast.
“Stop it!” she squeals as he wraps an arm around her waist, sweeps her off her feet, then pins her up against a very expensive refrigerator.
“If you think fucking with me is a good idea, I have a lot to teach you,” he growls, his teeth snapping at her nose.
“Fucking you isn’t a good idea. Maybe fucking with you is a good idea.”
She’s trying to bait him into rough sex.
He knows it. He flashes a smile and puts her down, patting her on the head. “Nice try,” he says. “But if you want that, you are going to have to ask nicely.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she lies.
“Of course you do. Say the word, and I’ll bend you over the counter, whip your ass until you cry, then fuck you until you can’t come anymore.”
She opens her mouth, but he interjects. “Say any word, and I’ll do that.”
She closes her mouth again, and looks over at me. I return her glance with a steady gaze that I hope makes it obvious that I, too, believe him.
“I didn’t think so,” he says. “Learn to act with some respect, or your time here is only going to get more painful. I don’t feel bad for you the way Luke does, and I don’t feel responsible for you the way Aiden does. When it comes to me, you’re capital F fucked, little girl.”
She hides her smile behind a glass of orange juice, and I am absolutely certain she has gotten what she wants: the energy of being dominated without the pain of being punished. She is playing a very dangerous game, one she will soon lose.
Fortunately for Ella, fate is once again on her side.
“Hey, princess,” Luke says, striding into the kitchen. He is wearing a black singlet. His muscles are bulging and he smells like the gym. This doesn’t bother Ella at all, because she is head over heels for him.
She blushes as he kisses her cheek, then goes into the refrigerator to retrieve a vast amount of eggs and bacon that could probably feed a small army if we had one. He starts cooking and chatting with her, and the tension of the moment dissipates as Leo slides out of the kitchen in that smooth way he has.
I know that Leo is going to go out and oversee the final mopping up stage of BP’s organization. We got the man himself days ago. The way he died was very unpleasant, relatively slow, and highly satisfying. I am certain there are fresh stains on my soul as a result, but I bear them gladly for Teddy.