Cruel Control by Candace Wondrak

Chapter Seven – Juliet

I ran out of that room like a bat out of… well, you know the saying. And, okay, I didn’t so much run as I did power walk, but still. The same saying applied. I could not get away from Markus fast enough, mostly because I was still reeling from everything.

And I meant everything.

The message he had taped, the one he’d send to Daddy. Tearing my shirt like that, touching me like that, saying those things to rile Daddy up—it was wrong. It was all wrong.

You know what else was wrong? Everything that happened after Markus made Jaxon leave the room. The things he’d whispered to me, how he’d touched me, how my body had reacted… my mind raced, my heart beat fast. The space between my legs was like a heater, aching and hot for something I didn’t understand.

It was as I left the office that it actually hit me: that was an orgasm. I’d just had my first orgasm at the hands of a man who had me kidnapped. A man who I should hate on principle.

Jaxon stood a few feet away from the door, and when he saw me and the look on my face, he knew something was wrong. I didn’t know if he’d heard what went on in that office, but I didn’t doubt his imagination ran wild.

Did he think Markus… I couldn’t even finish that thought, mostly because it was closer to the truth than I wanted to admit. I also didn’t want to admit to anyone how much I didn’t hate it, how much I kind of, sort of liked it—just a teeny, weeny bit. Just a little, really. It shouldn’t even be worth mentioning.

And that was me trying to logically explain it all away, but this, none of this was logical. None of this made sense. I shouldn’t even be here. No matter what Markus had said, I didn’t belong here. I was a prisoner.

Jaxon’s eyes dipped to my chest, and I imagined every bit of skin on me was beet red. He averted his eyes immediately, going to take off his shirt. In one, smooth motion, he took off his t-shirt and handed it to me, saying, “Here.”

Right, because my shirt was torn, because Markus… well, because he was a jerk.

More than that, really, but I didn’t swear, so.

I took the shirt, grateful, and slipped it on. I didn’t drown in the fabric, but it was clear the shirt was meant for a muscular guy and not a muscle-less girl. I should feel violated. I should feel something else, something more. I mean, I did feel a little mortified by it all—mostly by how effortless it came to Markus, how easy it was for him to play me and my body like a freaking fiddle.

Whatever that saying meant.

I should be mad, right?

Together, Jaxon and I walked away from the office, and the silence between us was almost too heavy. Before we reached the stairwell, he pulled me aside. We were alone, no one else nearby, and it was as he positioned himself before me that I realized he was shirtless.

I mean, duh, he’d given me his shirt, but it didn’t register until now. I’d been too in my own head about the whole orgasm thing and whether or not I felt as violated as I should be to realize it. Before I knew what I was doing, my eyes dipped low, taking in his shirtless form. He said something, looked quite concerned too, but I couldn’t hear him, the blood in my body pumping too hard, too hot, to pay attention to any words that might have been spoken.

Jaxon’s body was exactly the kind of body all the heartthrobs had on TV. Lean and muscular, fit with tantalizing abs on his stomach. His body was one that had been trained for years; you didn’t wake up one morning and have abs like that. I found myself wishing I could lean toward him, wishing I could touch him, dance my fingers across those muscles and see for myself how they felt.

But maybe that was just leftover confusion from what Markus did to me.

“What?” I barely got the word out, forcing my eyes up. Way to be completely obvious that I was checking him out. Way to go, Juliet.

“I asked if you were okay,” Jaxon spoke, brown eyebrows creasing in concern as the jade in his gaze zeroed in on my face. He sounded so candid, too—really freaking confusing, since he was the one who kidnapped me and brought me here, all because Markus told him to.

I found myself shrugging. “What does it matter? It isn’t like you can do anything if I’m not okay.” That much, at least, I knew to be true. Jaxon was too devoted to his family, loyal to a fault, although I supposed I couldn’t blame him. These people, Markus—they were the only family he’d ever known, and I was just a girl he’d been told to bring here.

Just a girl. Nothing else.

Jaxon looked as if he wanted to say something, like he had an argument planned out for me, but in the end, all he did was shake his head.

We went back to my room, so I could change and give him his shirt back. I’d never seen a guy’s chest in person before, never seen abs in real life… I could’ve added having an orgasm to that list too, but not anymore.

What was my body’s problem?

Never been on a date. Never been kissed. Been touched between my legs, yes, but a kiss? That was just too much, apparently. My life could not even pretend to be normal anymore, not while I was in this house, subjected to the men who lived here, especially Markus.

I couldn’t believe it. How could I know what an orgasm felt like before knowing what a kiss was? It was backward. Completely, utterly backward, I decided, and as Jaxon and I made it to my room, as I turned my back to him and went toward the closet, where I’d hung the clothes Tori had brought me, I figured it was dumb. So dumb to worry about this when clearly there were no boundaries here.

I pulled out a shirt, its fabric soft in my hands, and my mind went back to Markus and what he’d whispered to me once Jaxon left the room. Why didn't I fight him more? Why didn’t I do something besides let him make a fool of me?

Because that’s what it was. I was naive but I wasn’t stupid. That was him showing dominance, and I greedily lapped it up, like I couldn’t get enough.

Seriously, what was wrong with me?

“Um,” I started, once I held onto the shirt I’d change into, and Jaxon gave me a wicked grin—along with a wink that sent my insides tumbling—before turning around and giving me his back.

I watched him turn, wondering if he wouldn’t sneak a peek. Just to see, just to know, I decided to take off his shirt while staring at the back of his head. I dropped it on the floor, sure to make enough noise that he’d hear me, but still he didn’t turn. I took off the torn shirt, mostly just its sleeves were intact now, nothing more, and I let that fall, too. I stood there in nothing but my bra and the leggings for a good thirty seconds before slipping on the other blouse—and not once did he glance over his shoulder at me.

I wasn’t sure if that put me at ease or not, honestly. After what happened with Markus and my body’s reaction to it, I was just so confused. So confused I didn’t know what to do with myself. I was never this confused at home, but then again, I was never near such testosterone-riddled bodies at home. Just Daddy, and Daddy didn’t count.

Slowly, I bent to pick up Jaxon’s shirt, moving toward him with quiet footsteps. As I inched closer, I studied his back muscles, his shoulder muscles. Everything about him was perfect, really. I couldn’t see a single scar on him, at least above the waist.

What about beneath it?

My cheeks burned when my mind went there; I should not be thinking of anyone below the waist. Not here. Not about the one who kidnapped me and not about the man who basically said he was going to torture me and break me for whatever Daddy did.

“Here,” I whispered softly, “your shirt.”

Jaxon turned, meeting my eyes, a slight twinkle to their green hue that instantly drew me in. Oh, he was cute. He was insanely cute, and I knew right then what girls meant when they said they felt butterflies in their stomachs.

A girl shouldn’t have her first orgasm before a kiss.

It might’ve been the stupidest thing I could’ve done, but I found myself leaning forward, on my toes, bringing my mouth to his. Who knew? I might run, Daddy might listen to Markus and I might be let go… and then I’d be stuck in that house again, wondering. Always wondering.

His lips were softer than I imagined. They felt nice as they brushed against mine, but before anything else could register, Jaxon pulled back, setting a hand on my arm and pushing me away. The expression on his face was unreadable, and I could not fight the instant hurt growing inside.

God, what was I thinking? I was horrified. Horrified and embarrassed, because I’d bet anything that kiss was awful. Someone like him, I bet he had a lot of experience. Me? I was as inexperienced as they came, and three times as awkward as a normal person.

“I’m sorry,” I blurted out. “I shouldn’t have—I didn’t mean to.” The words came out in a rush, and I wanted to throw myself on the bed and hide. Hide because Jaxon currently gave me a look that said the last thing he wanted to do was kiss me. Just because he was cute and near my age didn’t mean anything. He might have a girlfriend outside of this house, for all I knew.

“No, no, it’s…” Whatever he was going to say, he stopped. He stopped to put his shirt on, as if hiding his muscles from me would stop me from making a fool of myself again. Which, hey, might not be wrong, but it didn’t make me feel any better.

“Oh, God,” I muttered, stepping away from him, getting out of his grip. Holding me at arm’s length, like I was repulsive; it didn’t make me feel too good about myself. Not that I had much self-esteem to begin with—hard to have a lot of it when I didn’t have any experience dealing with people my age.

Or people in general.

Jaxon looked like he wanted to say something, but before he could, a child’s voice rang out from the doorway, “There you are! I’ve been waiting.” Tori stormed into the room, her mouth puckered like she was pouting. “Come on.” She offered me her small hand, and I could not even look at Jaxon as I took it.

Yes, I’d rather have a playdate with this strange girl than spend another moment under his confused stare. No, thanks. He didn’t have to worry, though, something like that would never happen again.

Tori pulled me along, and I let her, not resisting in the slightest. At least the girl would get my mind off what happened with Jaxon, right? And what happened with Markus. I could focus on her and block out all of the men in this house, of which there were many.

Too many.

Too many with attractive faces.

Jaxon said not a word as Tori lugged me along, and I didn’t dare look over my shoulder at him. My cheeks were still hot; even my neck burned with embarrassment. I really wished my skin didn’t get so red when I was embarrassed. It was a key giveaway as to what I felt. It’d be nice if I didn’t wear what I was feeling on my sleeves, so to speak.

Keeping things to myself in a house like this seemed like it would be very beneficial.

Tori led me through the halls, and it took a long time for me to find my voice after that little incident, “What are we going to do?”

She shot a smile up at me. “We’re going to play a game.”

I had no idea what type of game she meant. A game like hide and seek, or a game like a videogame? I’d never done either, obviously. Daddy never got me any videogames growing up, which was why I watched so much TV.

Tori brought me to a room that was full of cushions on the floor, a huge flat-screen television set mounted to the wall. It looked like the perfect room to lay around and watch movies in. I saw the television was on, a cartoonish-looking home screen on it that said Mario Kart.

“No one likes to play with me,” she said, sounding a little sad as we sat down on the floor cushions. “Mom tries, but she sucks. The only one who’s kind of good is Uncle Markus, and he always says he’s too busy to play with me now.”

I could not picture Markus ever playing a videogame, especially with Tori. I couldn’t picture him dealing with a child at all, really. “I’ve never played any games,” I told her, fighting the lingering embarrassment that had followed us from my room.

Jaxon didn’t, I noticed. I was alone with this ten-year-old girl, which was probably a good thing, after that stupid kiss of mine. If you could even call it a kiss. Who knew? Maybe I did it wrong.

“Never?” Tori exclaimed, eyes widening. “Not ever?”

I chuckled. “Not ever. My dad, he… he’s very particular about things. He never let me play.”

“Your dad sounds like an asshole.”

Again, I could not believe the words that came from this kid. “Are you sure you’re allowed to say those words? I’m not even allowed to—”

She waved a hand through the air, dismissing my worry. “My dad swears all the time, even at my other dads. I’m not allowed to say those words at school, but here? I can say whatever I want.”

Tori had two controllers set up, wireless, and she handed me one. I glanced down at it, feeling… uneasy. Uneasy about everything, to say the least. “Do you… do you know why I’m here, Tori?” Besides the swearing, she seemed like a normal kid, although I supposed I wasn’t the best judge of that. Maybe she’d be able to find things out for me.

The truth. The truth about Daddy and what he did or didn’t do. Why I was here, why Jaxon had kidnapped me, why Markus was so intent on breaking me and taunting Daddy with me. There had to be more to this than I knew, which wasn’t saying much, since I knew nothing at all.

Her thin shoulders shrugged. “I don’t know. Mom said you’re Uncle Markus’s new job, but that doesn’t make sense, because if you were, wouldn’t you be in the basement?”

“The basement? Why would I be in the basement?”

Tori squinted her eyes at me. “If you don’t know what happens in the basement, I’m not allowed to tell you.” Her tone was suddenly serious, too serious, and the way she spoke of the basement gave me pause.

What on earth went on in the basement? First off, this house was big enough, why did it need a basement? Secondly… the way she talked about it did not sit well with me. Like the basement was even worse than up here, like it held dark secrets only the Scotts could know.

“But that’s okay,” she went on, back to her happy-go-lucky self. “You’re up here, so we can be friends.” She clicked a button on her controller, and the screen on the TV changed. “But not if you get Bowser before me.” A bunch of cartoon characters popped up on the screen, and she hurriedly chose a creepy-looking turtle. “Hah! I got Bowser. He’s the fastest.”

“Oh, okay…” I mimicked the way she was holding her controller before glancing up at the screen. “Who’s second-fastest?”

“Hmm.” Tori thought on this, and soon enough, after a fit of giggles, she told me the lady in the pink dress was second-fastest. Princess Peach? What a strange name. But then again, why would a turtle be named Bowser?

We started playing. It was a racing game, with tons of different tracks and things you could use to better your position in the race. I pretty much got dusted immediately; even the computer-driven characters were doing better than me. I took turns too fast and tended to tumble off cliffs.

Tori could not stop laughing at me, either. Every single time I made a misstep in the game, she let me know it. Eventually, she settled with saying, “You suck. You’re even worse than my dads at this, and I thought they were the worst.”

She actually had to sit there and wait for me to finish the last lap—although, once the seventh driver crossed the finish line, I was automatically put in eighth place. The stupid game didn’t even give me a chance to finish. What the heck?

“It was my first time, okay? I think I did pretty well—” My words sounded much bolder than my actual gameplay suggested, and Tori gave me a look. It was a look she had mastered at a young age, apparently. The one eyebrow up, mouth slightly frowning look, and it told me she wasn’t having any of it.

I bet the girl I’d do better in future races, and she put me to the test. She put me to the test and even chose the easiest track in the game. Hardly any sharp turns, pretty much a racetrack. I got seventh, at least—and I was pretty proud of my improvement.

Still, Tori was not impressed. “Just wait until Rainbow Road.” Her words were whispered seriously, and I stared at her, not knowing what in the world she was talking about.

“What’s Rainbow Road?”

Someone other than Tori answered me, “Pretty much exactly what it sounds like.”

My heart did a flip in my chest at the voice, and I was slow to look towards the door, where Jaxon stood, leaning against the door frame. He glanced at Tori, but soon enough those green eyes were fixated on me and me alone. And, in case you were wondering, he was just as cute as I remembered him being before.

“Can I steal her for a few minutes?” Jaxon asked, dimples appearing on his cheeks. Dimples like that made me weak. Who knew? I certainly didn’t, but now that I did, I would try doubly hard to keep my guard up around him.

No more random kisses. None of that.

Tori let out an annoyed sound. “Fine.”

Seeing as how I had no other choice but to go speak with him, I set my controller down and got up, unhurriedly moving toward him. He pushed off the door frame and moved out into the hall, and I followed him, feeling awkward, to say the least.

“Look,” Jaxon started the exact same moment I said, “I—” Both of us stopped, waiting for the other to continue, and when neither of us did, the same thing happened again. We both tried to speak at the same time.

I swallowed down what I was going to say, glancing at my bare feet.

Jaxon rubbed the back of his neck. He tossed a look down the hall, both ways, to make sure we were alone. “Juliet,” he said, so earnest I found myself meeting his stare in spite of everything inside telling me not to. “I didn’t push you away because I… because I didn’t want to kiss you. I mean, look at you. Who wouldn’t?”

Was that supposed to be a compliment? I didn’t know, but I found myself blushing anyways, like a fool. Like a fool, a fool with a crush.

Was that it? Was that why I felt this stupid? Because I had a teeny crush on the guy and he denied me? I mean, why would I even like him when he was the one who kidnapped me? Just because he was the first cute guy in my life didn’t mean anything.

Or, at least, it shouldn’t.

It looked as if he itched to move closer to me, but he remained rooted where he was. His voice came out low, so low I felt it in my soul, “If things were different, I’d love to kiss you.”

“You have a girlfriend?” I shouldn’t have spoken, but I couldn’t stop myself. Him having a girlfriend was honestly the only thing that would make me feel less like an idiot at this point.

To my horror, he shook his head. “No, I don’t have a girlfriend.”

“Then why?” It shouldn’t matter, but no matter how many times I tried to tell that to myself, I couldn’t get it through my thick skull. Jaxon was no one to me. I shouldn’t care that he pushed me away. I shouldn’t have even kissed him to begin with.

Jaxon let out a sigh. “No one in this house is supposed to touch you. You’re off-limits—which is why Bennet was lucky it was me walking into the dining room and not someone else. It’s why Markus flipped when he saw Will with you. We’re not… we’re just not supposed to.”

“Says who?” Didn’t know why I was arguing this. It should be a good thing no one in this house was allowed to touch me. It meant I was a little safer, right? Or did that just mean it would only be under certain circumstances when others would be allowed to touch me?

Like during a video to Daddy, for example. Making a point to him, whatever the point was.

When Jaxon spoke again, I wanted to smack myself in the head. “Markus. He was very particular that we stay away from you. Well, keep our hands and other things off you, anyways.”

“Why? Why does it even matter? You kidnapped me—”

“I had to. Markus wanted you here.”

“And I still don’t know why,” I said, feeling like I wanted to pull my hair out. Around and around we went in circles; would we ever stop? Who the heck knew! It got kind of old after a while, not going to lie. “Why have the doctor ask me all those questions? Why give me a physical? Why keep me here? What did my dad do to deserve this?” My voice quieted. “What did I do?”

Seriously, what did I do? I knew I’d made some mistakes, tried sneaking out of the house before, years ago, when I was feeling rebellious. But I’d been a good girl lately; I stayed put, waited for him to come home. I did everything I could to be the daughter he wanted, and this was where I ended up, in a big house full of dangerous men.

“None of this is your fault,” he told me. “None of it. Don’t beat yourself up over it. There are just some things in life you can’t control—”

“Unless your name is Markus Scott,” I mumbled, causing Jaxon to grin.

“That’s right. So, now you know why I pushed you back. Just… please don’t think it’s because I think you’re repulsive, because I don’t.” Jaxon’s gaze dropped to my feet, slowly traveling up, studying my body in a way he never had before. “For what it’s worth, I think you’re very, very pretty—too pretty to be in this house.”

Well, that didn’t stop him from kidnapping me, did it? But I didn’t say that out loud. I couldn’t say anything out loud, not in response to that. So instead, I simply turned and walked back into the room, where Tori waited for me.

Jaxon thought I was pretty. I didn’t know why, but it made me smile. And then I thought about what else he’d said, and the smile faded from my face pretty quickly.

So, none of the others could touch me, but Markus could? That much shouldn’t surprise to me, but as I sat back down with Tori and played with her, it was an interesting bit of information.

Why?

The next day, I had another meeting with the family doctor. Theo Ward, I was pretty sure his name was. He gave me vitamins to take every day, told me how much water I should be drinking each day as well, like I was new to being alive or something.

I sat in the chair facing his desk, eyebrows creasing as I looked at the jar of vitamins he’d given me. The seal was unbroken, and it looked like something you could just go to the store and buy.

“Why do I need to take these?” I asked, looking up. There was something else on his clipboard, but he hadn’t given it to me yet. I hoped there wasn’t more. The vitamins were creepy enough, don’t you think?

“They’re good for you” was his answer, and his amber gaze twinkled behind his thin-rimmed glasses. He smiled at me, and just like before, his smile was disarming and almost too easy-going, considering where his office was: in the Scott household.

“But why? I’m stuck here. It isn’t like I chose to be here. Why does it matter if I take vitamins?” This wasn’t exactly a vacation, and yet Theo looked at me like I was nuts.

Yeah, please sense the irony there.

“Short answer is because I told you so,” he deadpanned. “Slightly longer answer is because Markus told me to tell you so.” Theo adjusted his glasses as he looked at me. “Just… they’re good for you, Juliet, okay?”

I sighed. What else could I do? I guess I’d take the stupid vitamins, even though I didn’t see a point. Oh, and drink at least seventy-two ounces of water a day. I wasn’t exactly sure how much that was, but it sounded like a whole lot, like I’d be making a lot more trips to the bathroom.

Since Theo had quieted, I started to get up, thinking it was over, but Theo stopped me by saying, “Before you go, there is… something else I’m prescribing you.”

I sat back down, letting out a disbelieving chuckle. “Oh, my God. Of course there’s more. Why wouldn’t there be more?” When I met Theo’s eyes again, I said, “What else is there? What else could there be?” I rambled when I was nervous, obviously.

Theo took the other thing off his clipboard and slid it over to me. I had to reach toward his desk to grab it. It was a small, rectangular thing. At first glance, I wasn’t sure what it was. Plastic, obviously, but beyond that, I was clueless. Literally clueless.

“Is this supposed to be good for me, too?” I asked, holding it up. Whatever it was.

“Ah, that—that’s actually, uh, not quite like the vitamins,” Theo spoke, unable to give it to me straight, apparently.

Since he was being so unhelpful in telling me what it was, I pressed on the edge of the plastic and opened it. It was sort of like a small, thin box, and when I saw the rows of pills inside, labeled by weeks, I was even more confused. More confused, mostly, because I think I knew what these pills were for—and, Theo was right, they were not like the vitamins at all.

“Tell me this isn’t…” I couldn’t even get the whole sentence out, mostly because my heart started pumping so fast I couldn’t think straight. I could not look away from the pills. Such small things, white and circular. I’d never seen them before in real life, but again, it would be hard to not know what these were.

Theo broke into my thoughts, “Birth control pills.” He sounded like he was going to say more, but I jerked to my feet, both afraid and fuming.

“Birth control?” I echoed, raising my voice.

He was slow to stand, his button-up shirt tucked into his pants like the doctor he was. “I’m very aware that this might be startling for you, but—”

“Are you?” I cut in. The vitamins were left forgotten on the seat, while I clutched the birth control packet so hard the plastic squeaked. “Startling. What is wrong with you people? I’m not stupid. There’s only one reason why you’d put me on birth control.”

Theo looked so ungodly uncomfortable. It was probably a good thing he wasn’t a normal people doctor, because he didn’t have great people skills, either.

I whirled around, not saying a single thing more as I stormed out of his office. I passed Jaxon, who instantly looked alarmed. Theo must’ve followed me out, but I didn’t stop, I kept going. I heard Jaxon ask him, “What’s she doing?”

“I don’t know,” Theo answered. “But I have the feeling it’s not going to be good.”

I didn’t hear whatever else they said, steam coming out of my ears as I stomped all the way to Markus’s office. Pushing in, I didn’t even knock, which was sure to irritate the man, but I didn’t care. How could I? How could I care when apparently I needed to drink more water, take vitamins daily, and, oh, get on the pill so I wouldn’t get pregnant?

“What is this?” I waved the birth control packet in the air.

Markus sat at his desk, writing something down, and the blasted man didn’t stop to look at me. He didn’t even glance up at me. It was like looking at me was the last thing he wanted to do.

I threw it at him, and the packet landed on his chest, sliding down to his lap. “Take your own birth control,” I told him. If I started taking it, that meant… that meant, what? That we would—that I would—I couldn’t even think it.

“I highly advise you to take these,” Markus said as he slammed the birth control on his desk, finally looking up at me with those intense black eyes, “and have your tantrum somewhere else.”

Tantrum? Was that what he thought this was? Oh, this wasn’t a tantrum. This was… well, okay, fine, a bit of a tantrum, but I think it was warranted, given the birth control and all. I mean, how was I supposed to react to being given a pack of pills like that?

“No,” I said. “You don’t just get to give me those pills and think everything’s going to be fine. You don’t get to do that.” Behind me, I heard the office door swing open, and I figured it was Jaxon, having followed me from the office.

Jaxon or Theo. Either one, didn’t matter.

“I’m not taking those,” I stated, holding my head high.

A harsh sound that was halfway between a breath and a growl left Markus’s chest as he set his pen down and got to his feet. He grabbed the white packet and moved around his desk, heading right for me. Before I knew it, my throat was in his other hand, fingers curling around it, reminding me once again he was the king, the one in control. Not me. Never me.

“You will start tonight,” Markus growled out at me, frowning, his annoyance plain as day. “If you do not, I will have Jaxon force it down your throat.” His towering height dwarfed mine, and for a split second, I was reminded of how easily he’d bent me over his desk, how I didn’t fight him nearly as much as I should’ve.

Maybe birth control wasn’t such a bad idea, but that didn’t mean I would ever admit that out loud, especially to him.

He handed the birth control to Jaxon, and then he walked me backward, to the door, never once breaking eye contact, never once letting go of me. “Now, get the fuck out of my office,” he hissed, and once we were at the door, he pushed me out.

I stumbled back, sending him a glare. Jaxon exited the office, slipping between our glaring contest before Markus slammed the door shut. My ever-present shadow looked at me, and then he looked down at the pills he held onto. And then he swallowed, because he knew what those pills meant.

He might not be allowed to touch me, but Markus was. Why else would he want me on the pill? So he could further remind me that he was the one in charge here, not me. So he could take things further with me, so he could show me just how much he was in control. Control of this house, of me, of my body.

I know I didn’t swear, but right now I really, really wanted to. At Markus, at Theo, even at myself—because I was curious. Of course I was. I had hormones. I’d been locked away my whole life and now I had all these cute guys around me. So what if they were crazy? So what if they were dangerous? That didn’t mean I couldn’t wonder, couldn’t be attracted to them even though I knew it was wrong and dumb.

I didn’t linger there. Instead, I turned and stormed away from that stupid office and the man inside, furious at myself and at him, at this whole situation. Sure, I’d dreamed of my freedom before, but never like this.

My legs took me away from Jaxon, past Theo, who’d come to try to smooth things over, or something. I didn’t know, and I didn’t really care. All I cared about was understanding this and obviously getting away from the shackles Markus clearly wanted me in.

I missed home. I missed Daddy. Even though sometimes I didn’t like being locked up, I would much rather be locked in my room than in this house, with these strange men that made me feel all these weird things. Because, the feeling in my heart, the way my body got all hot and bothered when they were near—it wasn’t normal. It couldn’t be. A good girl would not even be curious.

But I was, and I think that’s what bothered me the most.

Eventually, I found my way outside, to the large concrete patio the house seemingly wrapped around. I made it to the pool’s edge, breathing in the chemicals in the air before plopping myself down beside it and laying down on my back, staring up at the sky.

It was a clear day, the sky a bright, pure blue. No clouds to be seen, nothing but the sun shining down, dancing across my skin, soaking in. It felt nice to just lay there, but I’d bet it would also feel nice if I was anywhere else but here. This place might look like a freaking castle, but it was the opposite of heaven.

Someone crouched down beside me, and I didn’t look to see who it was. I wasn’t feeling very talkative, that much should be clear to anyone. I realized I didn’t have good people skills, but I liked to think I wore my emotions on my sleeve. All these years, I’d never gotten good at hiding them.

“I know it’s a lot,” the man beside me spoke, and I saw it was Theo, not Jaxon. He was crouching, at first, but then he moved his legs out and sat beside me, his hands hooked in front of his knees as he gazed out at the pool, then at me. The sun sparkled on his brown head, making the amber eyes behind those glasses seem even warmer. “Being here, I can’t imagine what it’s like for you.”

No, I supposed he couldn’t. I supposed no one here could, because no one knew what I’d come from. No one knew how badly it hurt me to think of Daddy and what he’d feel when he saw that video. No one could possibly know how much I hated to disappoint him.

After realizing I wasn’t going to speak, Theo went on, “I’ve been here for quite a few years now, you know. I thought it would get easier. I’ve never seen what they do firsthand, but I know. Some days it’s hard.”

I was slow to turn my head towards him, staring up at him through squinted eyes. From this angle, he looked almost sullen, morose, not at all the usual laid-back doctor he pretended to be. Did anyone in this place not wear a mask?

“But, like you, I don’t really have a choice. Once you’re in debt to the Scotts, that debt is never settled.” He sighed, and then he met my eyes. “You might think you can escape, you might think you can wait for the first opportunity to run, but you can’t. They’ll find you, they’ll bring you back, and they’ll make you wish you’d ducked your head and did everything they asked.”

Silently, I sat up. Theo was less than a foot away, and as the warm breeze blew between us, I felt my shoulders slump. I could see Jaxon standing just inside, watching Theo and me from the window, still holding onto the blasted birth control pills, along with the vitamins—Theo must’ve given them to him. My stomach twisted at the thought, but maybe not from the righteous indignation it should.

I… I wanted to. I wanted to know what it was like, just like a kiss. And I didn’t mean that pathetic attempt at a kiss I’d tried with Jaxon; I meant a real, world-stopping one. A kiss that made me forget everything about my situation, about my life. A kiss that made my knees weak and my heart go wild in my chest.

And then… and then I wanted to know what everything else was like. I knew I’d never get a chance at home. Daddy never let me out, he didn’t want me going to college unless it was online, and he’d never let me date. This might be my only chance, as sad as it was.

Maybe I wasn’t such a good girl. After all, what good girl would want something like that?

That said, I didn’t like anyone making the choice for me, and I refused to sit back and let Markus make every single decision when it came to me. It was my life, and I would not let someone else drive.

Not that I had a license, but that was beside the point.

“I’m sorry,” Theo whispered. “I know it’s not worth much, but… I know you don’t belong here. You shouldn’t be here. This house is no place for someone like you.”

“And what about you?” I asked, needing something from him. Needing to know I wasn’t the only semi-normal one here. Surely if anyone was not a hulking creep or a sadistic freak, it was Theo.

“What about me?” he echoed, smiling softly. “My family’s been in debt to the Scotts for a while. My father used to be their family doctor, and once I got old enough, they paid for my medical school so I could take his place. I’m pretty much stuck here like you, forced to do whatever they want.”

“But you’re not. You could leave.” I stopped myself from telling him he could take me with him; I knew enough to know Theo would never willingly go against the Scotts, and even though I’d seen the power of feminine wiles on television, I didn’t think I had it in me to seduce and try to get him on my side.

Theo shook his head. “I can’t. From what I hear, Juliet, you’ve lived a sheltered life. You don’t know the ways of the world. You’re…” He paused, letting out a chuckle of disbelief. “You see everything through rose-colored glasses, but out here, things are just different. If you have no loyalty, then what are you really left with?”

I said nothing, because I didn’t know the answer.

“And, anyway, do you think Markus would simply let me be if I walked out of that door and never came back?” Theo grinned and shook his head again, his good mood having returned. “No, he’d send someone to find me, or he’d find me himself. I might look like I have power here, but I don’t. Just like you, I’m forced to defer everything to Markus.”

I sighed. “It sucks.”

“It does, but we have to learn to live with the hand we’re dealt,” he told me. He looked like he wanted to say something else to me, but he bit it back, slow to get to his feet. He extended a hand to me, offering to help me up, and even though I didn’t want to, I took his hand and let him pull me to my feet.

Theo’s hand was soft in mine, softer than I expected. It made me remember the physical he’d given me, how gentle he was with me. I tilted my head back, gazing up into those amber eyes, wondering how he could work for a family like this and still be so sane.

You know, comparatively.

“I know it might not seem like it, but everything’s going to be okay,” he told me—and then he realized he was still holding onto my hand, and he quickly dropped it, taking a step away as he adjusted his glasses, a fidgeting gesture if I ever saw one.

I followed Theo inside, stopping near Jaxon. I watched Theo walk away, replaying what had just happened in my head. How sincere he was, how tender he’d held onto my hand, how fast he’d dropped it. And then I remembered what Jaxon had told me: no one was supposed to touch me. Markus’s orders.

Jaxon stared at me, not saying a single word, though his gaze did drop to the pills and vitamins he held onto.

I didn’t want to take them. Taking them from him felt like I was accepting this, whatever this was, but then again, what choice did I really have?

I did nothing but take the stupid things from him, not saying a single word as I turned to storm away. Away from Jaxon, away from everybody in this stupid house. Away from all the crazy males that made my mind think of things it shouldn’t.

“Uh,” Jaxon’s voice broke through the silence of the hall, “if you want to go to your room, it’s going to be that way.” He pointed in a different direction, and even though I didn’t want to listen to him—didn’t want to listen to anybody right now—I went.

My room was the only safe place here, go figure. Although, that little fact changed once night fell and Markus himself appeared out of nowhere, like the angel of death had come to take me in his embrace.