She blew out a breath. "The girls are scared of what Madam will do."
"What do you mean?"
"With—with clients."
I growled deep in my throat at the thought. "She better fucking not."
"How can I stop her?"
I pulled the prepaid cell phone out of my coat pocket and handed it to her. "You call me, and I will be right over."
She took the phone from me. "I've never used one of these before."
"It's easy." I stood and shrugged out of my coat. I grabbed my phone from my jeans and sent a text to the phone number I'd already programmed into it: I like your hair up.
"Now, press this button"—I pointed at the screen—"and you can read … you can read, right?"
She rolled her blue eyes. "Yes, I can read."
I chuckled. "Just making sure."
Zell shoved my shoulder playfully. "Just show me how to use this."
I did, showing her how to text back: I like you naked.
"You didn't say that!" She laughed.
I grinned. "No one will see it. You need to make sure you hide this so Madam doesn't take it away."
"And not use it in front of the cameras."
"Exactly." My princess was learning. "You can text me anytime, and remember to call me if anything happens, and you need me. I just live a few blocks away."
"This makes me so happy." Zell hugged the phone against her chest. "I've never gotten a gift before."
I cupped her cheek and smiled warmly at her. "Once we get you out of here, I'll shower you with gifts."
"I can't wait."
"Now that you're almost eighteen, it will be easier," I stated.
"Really?"
"You'll be an adult. Madam will no longer control you."
She frowned. "Except I'm locked in here and have nowhere to go."
"I know. I'm working on it." I didn't have a place for her to go, but I had money in my bank account, and I could put her up in a hotel until I had a better plan. I wasn't sure what my father would do when he found out, but I was certain Madam would tell him. I would need to go on the run with Zell, and I wasn't ready to do that yet.
"I know. I hope it's soon."
"Me too, princess. Me too."
I helped her hide the phone. It wasn't the best hiding place, but given her small room and lack of items in it, between her mattress and box spring on the side against the wall was the best place. She could also slip her hand in while lying on her side or stomach and hide it from the camera. She would need to do it under the covers, but I had faith that she could make it work.
"You want to make out again?" I asked as we sat on her bed.
"I thought you'd never ask." She grinned.
I didn't hesitate. For the past two weeks, I'd been thinking about her lips. For someone who had never kissed before, she was a damn good kisser. Or maybe I was a fucking awesome teacher.
Zell broke the kiss. "Can I ask you something?"
"Of course."
"Can we have sex?"
I balked. "What? Are you serious?"
She turned her head and looked at the blank white wall. "The girls have been teaching me things, and I really don't want my first time to be with someone I don't know."
"Fuck, Zell. Just the thought of you with someone else makes me stabby."
"I'm scared," she admitted.
I pulled her into my arms, her head on my shoulder. I hated this shit. Even though we weren't sure if Madam would turn her own daughter into a whore, I had a feeling she would. She was a Madam in a fucking whorehouse, and Zell was just one more girl to bring in money. At the end of the day, everything revolved around money.
Exactly how my father viewed life.
Zell stayed in my arms for several minutes while I thought about what to do. It was my chance to do this for her. I wouldn't want to lose my virginity to someone I didn't know—well, maybe I would have. It was different for a guy. I was sure of it.
"Princess," I whispered, and she rose her head to look into my eyes. "If you want to do this, I will."
"I do. I've been thinking about this for weeks, and I can't imagine having my first time with anyone else."
"Okay." It felt as though we were making a business deal. It sucked. I wanted it to be hot and heavy with Zell before having sex with her, but we didn't have that option. Maybe in the future there would be a time for that, but tonight wasn't that time. It was as though her virginity was a ticking time bomb. "Are you ready?"
She bobbed her head slightly. "As ready as I'll ever be."
I cupped her cheek. "I'll go slow."
"Okay."
We both stood and started to take off our clothes like we had the last time I was with her. "Do you have a condom?" I asked.
Her baby blues widened. "No. They're in the other rooms."
"Fuck," I breathed.
"I can go get one."
"No." I shook my head. "I don't want to chance Madam waiting for us or some shit."
"Are you sure?"
"I'll just pull out." I shrugged. Because Zell was a virgin, I was almost positive she was clean. The only thing I needed to worry about was getting her pregnant, so I would pull out before I came.
"Because I might get pregnant," she said more so to herself than to me.
"Yes."
We climbed into her small bed, and I tried not to stare at her naked body, but she was beautiful. Everything about Zell was perfect and honestly made me hard. I was trying not to show her how much she turned me on because I didn't want her to get scared, but fuck, I didn't need her to do anything except get naked for me to be hard as a rock.
"Are you ready?" I asked again.
She took a deep breath and then whispered, "Yes."
I didn't realize that sex would hurt. From the books I read, and from what the girls had told me, I thought it was supposed to feel good. I'd heard the girls moan through the walls while I cleaned, and I thought they were having a good time. Was it all an act?
"Are you okay?" Frankie asked as he looked down into my eyes.
I nodded. The pain from when he'd first entered me was slowly going away, but it wasn't feeling good like I'd hoped it would. I didn't want to tell him that, though. He was doing me a favor, and I didn't want him to think he was doing something wrong or feel bad for hurting me.
"I can stop if you want."
"No, it's okay."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, I want the entire experience."
Frankie chuckled a little as he moved inside of me. "Princess, this isn't the normal experience."
"It's not?"
He shook his head. "God, no."
"Then make it the normal one."
He stopped and slid out of me and sat on his heels. "Then you'll need to relax and just feel."
"Just feel?"
"Close your eyes, and don't think about what's happening. Enjoy it."
It was on the tip of my tongue to tell him that it was hurting and that was why I wasn't liking it, but I didn't say anything. I just nodded again.