Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen

Roselia woke with a start sometime later. It was dark. After a fleeting moment of panic, she remembered where she was.

Stefano's arms were around her, and he stroked her forearm. "I'm right here, sweetheart. You're safe. Lean into me."

She let her body relax against his and took deep breaths until she fell back asleep. The same thing happened a few more times before morning, but Stefano never let her down. He was with her every time, calm, soothing, and caring.

Loving.

"Thank you," she whispered when she finally opened her eyes to find the room bright with sunlight.

"Always, Rose. Always." He rolled her to her back, cupped her face, and smiled down at her. "I love you so much."

She smiled back. "I love you, too."

"I'm more than twice your age," he pointed out with one brow raised.

"I don't care. Do you?"

"Other people will judge us our whole lives." He chuckled. "That's not true. People will judge me . They will think I'm a pervert for luring such a young girl into my web."

"I'm not that young. I'm almost twenty-two."

He chuckled again. "That's pretty damn young for a forty-five-year-old man, sweetheart. Can you take the heat when we get stared at in public?"

"I don't care what other people think, Stefano."

"I will care if they upset you with their judgment."

She shrugged. "Let them judge. They don't know you like I do. They don't know how kind and caring you are, how you dote on me and take care of me. They will have no idea that you saved me."

"You saved yourself, sweetheart. All I did was pick you up when you found a way to escape."

She shook her head. "I couldn't have done it without you. I wouldn't have made it out the door without knowing to cover the prongs in the shock collar. Plus, I don't know how to pick a lock. If I could've done those things, I would've snuck out sooner."

He gave her a crooked grin. "So, we're a team. Fuck what other people say."

"Yes." She grinned back. "Also, will you do something for me?"

"Anything, sweetheart."

"Make love to me."

He swallowed, his face growing serious. "Eventually. When you're ready. You've been through hell. I don't want you to make rash decisions."

"It's not rash. I've thought about what it would be like to be yours for over three years. I've pictured it in my head a hundred times. Make it a reality for me."

He groaned and dropped his forehead against hers. "Not yet, sweetheart. I would never want you to regret giving me that perfect gift."

She frowned at him. "Does it bother you that so many people have touched me? Are you afraid I won't be able to think about you while you're making love to me?"

"Fuck no. I will erase them from your memory little by little until they're gone. I will do it by loving you with my mind, my hands, my mouth, and eventually my cock. One day, you will sleep all the way through the night and wake up knowing you're in my arms. You won't flinch because your subconscious will replace all the evil with my love."

She smiled. That sounded so nice. She hoped he was right, but she wasn't too pleased he was turning her down. She wasn't a baby. She was a grown adult who wanted to have sex with the man she loved.

Her next move was so unlike her it startled her. She pushed out her lower lip in a pout and batted her eyes.

Stefano groaned before lowering his lips to hers and gently sucking her protruding lip into his mouth. He stroked it with his tongue, holding her gaze until she moaned. It was so erotic.

When he released her lip with a pop, she was panting.

"We should get up. I need to feed you."

She sighed. "How long do I have to wait for you to have sex with me?"

He chuckled and rolled off the bed. Bending over to set his palms on the mattress, he said, "I'm not putting a timer on it, sweetheart. I'll know when you're ready."

She pushed to sitting. "Why do you get to decide?" she grumbled.

He lifted her chin with one hand. "Such sass from someone who insists she's old enough to have sex."

She gasped. "I'm almost twenty-two. How many twenty-two-year-olds haven't had sex?"

"Not many, I'm sure. But this one is special. I will not have you doing anything you might later regret."

"I would never regret having sex with you," she insisted.

"Especially not if we wait." He grinned at her before planting a chaste kiss on her lips. "Breakfast."

Stefano's huge intake of breath had Roselia looking over at him. He was seated at the table, using his computer. She was on the couch, reading from the eReader. "What's wrong?"

"Come here, sweetheart." He held out a hand to motion her toward him.

She set her eReader down and went to him, letting him pull her between his legs and wrap his arm around her.

He was staring at the computer screen.

She shifted her gaze to see what he was so intently looking at.

He held her tighter. "Apparently, Leonardo Vanderbilt committed suicide four days ago. Single gunshot to the temple."

Her knees gave out as she read the police report.

Stefano lifted her onto his thigh and kissed her temple. "This must have been soon after he found you missing."

"My God," she murmured. She wasn't sure how to feel about it. She'd caused that man to kill himself.

Stefano turned her to face him. "Listen to me, sweetheart. He was not a good person. He probably assumed you'd gone to the police and that he would be arrested at any moment."

She nodded slowly. "Still…"

"Don't you dare feel guilty for his poor choices. He kept you as a slave. Not even a human being. He put a shock collar on you, Rose."

"I know," she whispered. He deserved to be dead. Now, he couldn't buy another woman and hold her captive, work her to the bone, or cane her when he felt like it.

Roselia swiped at tears. "He made up reasons to hit me because it amused him, and he liked to see me suffer."

"Yes, sweetheart. And now, he can't do it ever again."

"Okay." She nodded, trying to agree. It felt wrong to wish another human dead. She wondered about all the other men who'd played a role in her kidnapping and torture. Part of her wished they'd all die in a terrible fire—especially Master J.

She had no idea how many other women he'd trained. Had he worked with groups of six before her group? Did he already have another group forming in his home?

The idea made her want to vomit. "Am I doing the right thing? What if Master J has already kidnapped another group of women?"

"I can't promise hiding will be a good permanent option for you or for us, sweetheart, but for right now, all I care about is keeping you safe and making sure you heal." He held her tighter, turning her so he could hug her close to his body.

Roselia was kind of surprised that he was so nervous and protective, especially now that they knew Vanderbilt was dead. Did he worry Master J would come after her? She certainly did, but the threat seemed less likely with Vanderbilt out of the picture.

Would Master J go to the trouble of hunting her down and punishing her for her escape? Maybe he wouldn't even know she'd escaped. It wasn't as if the police report had mentioned a missing slave.

Roselia felt unsettled about Master J. He'd warned her about any attempt to escape or doing anything that made him look bad. She'd certainly made him look bad, and she'd definitely escaped.

"You're shaking, Rose." Stefano rose, holding her in his arms, and carried her to the couch. He settled himself against the cushions and sat her on his lap, straddling him.

She wrapped her arms around him and held on. She could sit like this forever. She felt loved and cared for. He doted on her and made her feel safe. His hands roamed up and down her back, reminding her that there were no longer welts on her skin, that she had clothes on, and that she was worthy of a caring touch.