Chapter 5

God.She’s pretty when she cries. I almost wish I didn’t cut off her breathing that first night, so I could hear her make those whimpering noises over and over again. I don’t know what it is about her. I want to consume every part of her. She even bleeds for me. I’m feeling like a giddy schoolboy because she is mine. She was always meant to be mine. I’m leaning over her and enjoying the sight of her essence and mine swirling together, when I hear Josh. I groan inwardly at him. He always comes in to ruin my good mood.

“I see you got a new pet. I really hope this one doesn’t try to leave you too.”

I look over at him. He’s standing in the doorway to the basement, leaning against the frame with his arms crossed over his chest. He looks exactly like me, only he’s older and better looking. He doesn’t have this fucked-up eye or scar like I do. He knows bringing up the past infuriates me.

“Will you leave us the fuck alone? She isn’t like the others. She won’t leave me.” My eyes cut over to him; he better not fuck with my good mood today. I know she won’t run. She’s different, and I picked her for that exact reason.

Focusing my attention back on her, she’s looking over at where my brother stands. “Hey. Hey, look at me.” She’s looking at me with confusion. Her eyebrows are furrowed with a deep groove between them. I gently rub my thumb between her brows trying to ease her worries away. “Let’s get you cleaned up. Yeah?”

She gives me a slight nod.

Standing up abruptly to grab the key for her cuffs, my head spins and black spots appear in my vision. There’s a moment when I think, This woman will be the death of me. I stand there for a second until the head rush subsides and stride over to my workbench where the key rests. Going back to her, I unlock the cuffs, and she rubs at the red marks marring her smooth skin. Those marks aren’t permanent, but one day I’ll give her something to remember me by. A gift she’ll never forget.

I undo the clasp on the gag and remove it from her mouth. A trail of saliva comes with it, and I’m mesmerized by her swollen glistening lips. I lean over and give her a sweet full kiss, darting my tongue in between those parted lips. She hasn’t said anything yet, just gives a sigh of relief. I think she’s still too blissed out from the full body orgasm I gave her. Don’t worry, little butterfly, I feel it too. I lift her up in my arms and carry her up the stairs.

The old wooden floors squeak and creak as we ascend to the ground floor. I took over the basement when I was in high school. It was my place of peace. A place I could escape. Growing up here wasn’t easy for me, but now I have this whole three-story barn house all to myself. Well, for the most part anyway. It could use a little TLC. It’s old, passed down through three generations. I never seem to have the time to give it the love it needs with my extracurricular activities getting in the way.

We pass through the outdated kitchen and minimally used living room to the main staircase in the house. This one too has a few warped boards, but it’s not as bad as the one that leads down into the basement or the one going up to the third floor.

Carrying Skylar into the bathroom, I lay her down in the tub and get some warm water running. I turn toward the cabinet, looking under the sink. I know there’s some eucalyptus Epsom salts in here. My little butterfly’s going to need that to help with the soreness. I pour some in, and the medicinal floral aroma fills the bathroom. She’s just sitting there staring off into space. She’ll come to terms with everything. She is mine. I’ll take care of her. Eventually she’ll see that too.

I step into the bathtub and sit behind with my legs on either side of her hips. It’s a tight fit, but we make it work. I lather up the soap and start to clean us both off. She holds her arms covering herself. I know this must be all new to her, but she is a firecracker. My mind flits back to the way she smiled back at me when I held her throat the first night. She has the darkness in her I’ve been looking for. She just needs to come to terms with her demons. I run my fingers lightly over her arm and lean in so my lips brush the shell of her ear.

“There’s no need to be shy, little butterfly.” Her breath hitches, and I can’t help the smile that plays on my lips at how shy she is after what we just did. “You don’t need to cover yourself for me. Every curve is a work of art.”

She hugs herself tighter and turns to face me with her head resting on her knees. “I don’t even know your name.”

Her eyes are burning into my soul as if she can see right through me and see all my dirty little secrets. They’re a shocking green, rimmed in black with trails of mascara from our earlier romp. We have chemistry. I can feel it in the way her gaze sets off butterflies in my head.

“Alex,” I say, clearing my throat, shocking myself. I’ve never told anyone my real name before, but for her I’d jump off a bridge and deep dive into those eyes. “Alexander, but you can call me Alex.”

She accepts this with a nod and turns back around so I can start washing her hair. Running my fingers through her hair, I work out the tangles and rinse us off. She gives a slight shiver, and I’m out in a beat to get us fresh towels. I need to warm her up. The shock of everything is probably still coursing through her mind because she hasn’t asked me anything since I gave her my name.

I led her to the room across the hall and started scavenging for some of the shorts my mother tailored for me. She always made my clothes too big for me and since Skylar is curvy with that lush ass and thick thighs, they might actually fit her. Plus, they’re made from athletic material so they should stretch some.

When I find them, I go to where she sits on my bed and give her the shorts, and a plain white shirt of mine. She dresses quickly with a warm blush that spreads across her cheeks. She’s still embarrassed around me. Eventually I’ll coax that demon out of her, and that shy girl will be gone.

“You can sleep in here. I have work to do, so I’ll be gone for a while.” It’s late, the sun has completely set, and she’s probably tired and sore. I won’t try to do anything with her tonight.

“I want to go home.”

“You are home now, little butterfly. This is your home with me. I’ll take care of you.” Her head is dropped down with her hair curtained around her face. She’ll come to terms with everything. She lays her head down on my pillow and I tuck her in. She doesn’t say anything else. “The front door is locked, and there are bars on the windows. So don’t even try to waste your efforts with escaping me, little butterfly. Get some rest.”

As I leave the room, I turn on the space heater for her. This old house tends to stay cold which is also a good thing for me in some respects but not so much for my girl.

She will be okay in time. She will come to accept us.

I’ve got some work to do. Making my way to the office room at the end of the hall, I notice my brother in one of the side rooms. He of course can’t help but make a snide remark, tarnishing my good mood.

“Having fun with your new pet, I see? How long do you think it will take before she realizes how messed up you are and leaves?”

“She won’t leave me. She’s not like the others.”

“Says every other girl who found out your dirty little secrets.”

“Shut up! You’re just trying to get under my skin. It’s not going to work. She is different.”

“Yeah, so you keep saying.”

“It’s true. She was made for me.”

He looks down at his fingernails feigning disinterest. I guess he’s done with this conversation, and that’s okay because I am too. I have work to do.

I power on the desktop. It’s the most expensive thing I have in this house because it’s what keeps me going. Technology has really upped its game and made it easier to live for people like me. I’d rather live in the shadows than have the judging eyes of others prying into my life.

The computer powers on to where I had it last. Monitoring Skylar’s room from her desktop camera. It was really easy to get into once her friend clicked onto the giveaway tickets I sent her.

Her friend, Nicci, is laying on her bed with a stuffed animal over her face and a muffled scream comes through the speakers. I’m guessing the police aren’t doing anything, as per usual, with a missing girl from a concert. If Skylar had a more concerned father, then they would probably take this more seriously.

That’s okay, little butterfly. That’s what we have Momma for.