Why had she come back? Why would she put herself in harm's way? In Brian's way?
Lindsay cleared his throat to wake her. When her eyes fluttered open he said “What are you doing here?”
He didn't call her by his pet name for her, and it was clear from the expression on her face that she'd noticed this omission.
“Master, I...”
“No,” Lindsay said. “I gave you to Brand. He's your master, now.”
Tears began to well in her eyes. Lindsay's jaw tightened. He couldn't be moved by her tears. She had to understand this. He'd done this for her. For her safety. Damian was a better match for her in every way. He had more time for her. He was near her age. He didn't live in an isolated mansion with a psychopath who wanted to destroy her.
“Fuck that, and fuck you!” She ripped the blankets off and stood, staring him down. Technically she looked up at him, but she may as well have been glaring down her nose for that look in her eyes.
He almost took a step back even though he was twice her size because he'd never seen her with quite this much fury before. He noticed suddenly that she wore his collar. How had she gotten into the locked drawer?
“Did Damian harm you?”
“No, he didn't harm me. But I want to be with you! Don't you want me anymore? You'd just... throw me away? You didn't even let me have a say in it.”
“You were mine to do with as I wished.” He said the words coldly, hoping he could dissuade her and push her back into Damian's arms even as he wanted her in his own.
“I want to be yours again,” she said.
“We can't... Brian will...”
“Fuck Brian. I'm not willing to lose this... what we have, over... that psycho. There has to be another solution.”
“But you like Damian. And he's closer to your own age.”
“I don't care! I want you! I want to be with you. You made me trust you and fall in love with you. You woke up something inside me I thought was gone forever. You think I can just shut that off because you've conveniently found some hot guy who can give me orgasms?”
Lindsay let out a long breath trying to ignore most of that little speech because he wanted to give in. He wanted to keep her. Even though he knew it put her in danger.
“Even without Brian... I'm so much older than you, and some day...”
She interrupted him. “Some day isn't today. If you aren't going to keep me, just give me back to Brian and let him kill me. If I can't be with you, he wins anyway.”
He'd had no idea she'd gotten this... attached. Or that she ever had this much fire inside her. It was so painfully attractive.
“How did you get here?” he asked.
“I figured out the security code and stole his car.” Off Lindsay's shocked and somewhat amused expression, she continued, “What's he going to do? Go to the police? And say what? My slave escaped from me and stole my car and took it to the criminal enterprise where they trained her, please go get my car?”
It wasn't certain Damian would know where she'd taken his car, but point taken.
How was it possible that this woman... this strong, brave woman could have been at the point of suicide only a few short months ago? How was it that she had faced Brian again, the sum of all her fears, and even then had come back to this house? From a therapeutic perspective she was an amazing successful case study. But she wasn't a case study. She was Shannon.
Lindsay sighed. “Even if you could stay, you know you'd have to be punished for... all of this.”
“I know,” she said, looking down, that hint of submission resurfacing at even the hope he'd take her back into his bed and his life.
“Go into my room and stay there. Lock the door, and do not open it until you hear my voice on the other side. I need to call Damian, and I need to talk to Brian.”
“I'll be yours again?”
“I don't know yet. I can't promise anything.”
She went into the room, and slammed and locked the door, making her displeasure at his hesitance known. It wasn't as though he didn't want her. For god's sake she was everything he'd ever hoped to find. But he couldn't put his own needs above her fucking life.
He looked up to find Brian lurking a few yards away in the hallway, looking as though he'd heard, if not everything, then most of everything.
Lindsay moved toward the other man to keep their conversation well out of Shannon's hearing.
“She's safe with me,” Brian said before Lindsay could go into one of the versions of the practiced speech he'd been trying to form before he'd noticed Brian standing there.
“And why would I trust that?” Lindsay asked. “After everything that's transpired. After yesterday, do you actually believe I would trust that you no longer have it out for me?”
Brian laughed. “I said she is safe. I'm not over what you did when Mina came to the house. I'll probably never be over it. But your girl, is safe. I'll honor your claim on her. But it's for her, not you.”
“Why?”
“She's brave. She impressed me. I think it's wasted on you, but whatever.”
“So you regret what you did to her?” Lindsay pushed. Could Brian be growing as a person? Could there be a conscience somewhere inside him?
The other man laughed, a cold cruel sound bouncing off the walls of the tight hallway. “Do you need to go back to Shrink School, Doc? Do we need to go over the sociopath section of the lesson plan again? Fuck no, I'm not sorry. I've never regretted anything except for one person.”
Mina. Her name hung on the air between them unspoken. It baffled Lindsay that Brian could feel such regret and horror for a mistake he'd made with Mina that in many ways paled to what he'd done to Shannon, yet could feel nothing when it came to Shannon's pain and suffering at his hands.
“Fine,” Lindsay finally said. He'd only just started his day and already he felt exhausted. And Shannon still had a punishment coming.
“Great. Are we done with the touchy-feely hug-it-out session? It's making my skin crawl.”
“We're done. But if you ever touch her...”
“I know... you'll become the new resident killer. Blah blah blah. You didn't do it yesterday, so I don't see why you think it's a credible threat now, barely twelve hours later.”
Lindsay stepped closer into Brian's personal space. He was actually a bit taller and broader than Brian. It was only the other man's unapologetic sadism and unflinching willingness to torture and kill people that made him seem like the biggest, scariest thing in the house.
Brian saw the intimidation tactic for what it was and sneered.
Lindsay lowered his voice. “I didn't follow through because I knew it would destroy Mina, and she would probably kill me for it. But during the night I've worked through that. If you ever touch Shannon again, I will kill you both.”
Brian looked confused a moment. “Me and Shannon?”
Lindsay rolled his eyes. “You and Mina.”
Something went dark and cold inside Brian's stare. Darker and colder than usual. “Don't you dare threaten her again,” he growled.
“Then don't touch Shannon.”