Total pages in book: 109
Estimated words: 101985 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 510(@200wpm)___ 408(@250wpm)___ 340(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 101985 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 510(@200wpm)___ 408(@250wpm)___ 340(@300wpm)
Is this what the entire year will be like?
Because this is the first day, and already, I don’t think I can take it anymore.
And I don’t know how much longer getting myself off will be enough to get by.
5
ZEKE
She meant it about eating in her room. She came out just long enough to fix a plate of spaghetti and sauce, then marched down the hall and slammed the door again. I would’ve pointed out her father won’t like having to pay for a new door this soon, but I didn’t feel like having my head cut off.
What the fuck am I supposed to do with her? We haven’t been here for two hours, and already, the tension is enough to break the walls. She has no idea how close I came to throwing her over my knee and spanking the shit out of her for being such a little brat. Talking to me like she did, making it sound like I’m her father’s errand boy. A lapdog? The little tease is lucky I have self-control, or else she wouldn’t be able to sit for days by the time I finished with her ass.
She has no idea who she’s dealing with. I told myself from the beginning she would never know. The past is the past and all that. I did what I had to do. Looking after her might be boring, but it’s a reprieve from all the blood I used to get on my hands.
She’s dancing on my last nerve. I’ll be lucky if I don’t lose it by the end of this first week.
I take my time cleaning up, figuring the simple, repetitive act of rinsing dishes and pots, and putting them in the brand-new dishwasher will soothe my anger, but that’s not even close to the case. By the time the last of the dishes are in the dishwasher—aside from hers, still in her room—I’m as pissed off as ever. It’s not enough that I know she’s wrong. I want her to know it, too. I want to break her, to stare into her eyes and see fear and understanding. I want her to apologize for ever underestimating me. Just the thought of it makes my cock twitch a little bit, the idea of making her regret ever fucking with me.
Right. Like she wouldn’t go straight to her father. He’d have my head on a stick before the day was out if he knew I laid a hand on her. He might understand if I managed to get a word in edgewise before he ended me, but I don’t think he’d give me the chance.
There’s music coming from her room by the time I leave the kitchen and walk over to the closed door. Loud, driving, heavy on the drums and guitar. At least she has decent taste in music. One small reprieve. Instead of bothering her, I’ll count my blessings and leave her alone. Maybe she’ll be in a better mood by the time she ventures out.
Good or bad mood, I’m stuck here with her. That’s one thing she doesn’t understand, and I doubt she ever will. She feels like a prisoner? Welcome to the club, kid. Our situation might not be exactly the same, but I’m in a cage, too. She just can’t see past her anger.
I go into my bedroom, fucking pissed at her for talking to me the way she did—and more pissed at myself for letting her get away with it. I’m not a pushover, usually.
Still, she set me straight earlier. I can’t pretend I didn’t feel slightly like a piece of shit when she reminded me where she came from. I already knew most of it. At least, I was aware her life wasn’t easy before her father found her. She and her mom both went through a lot in the years my boss lived his life exactly how he wanted to, free and clear of family responsibilities.
What I can’t tell her is how it’s better for me to hate her. It’s easier for me to stay away and make sure there are no complications both of us would end up regretting. Safer.
I can either pace my room like a caged tiger, or I can take a shower and hope it calms me down. The bathroom is way bigger than I need, with a rainfall shower behind glass doors and a deep soaking tub. I guess hers is the same. Why would there need to be two bathrooms like this in the same condo? Knowing the boss, that was one of his must-haves, so we wouldn’t share a bathroom. I should thank him for thinking of me, I guess. Most people wouldn’t care about the comfort of the hired help.
My teeth grit when I think of myself that way, and it’s all thanks to her. It never bothered me that much before. I mean, it’s not like I enjoy having to report everything she does back to him, but I’m not some sniveling little ass kisser. Once again, I had to stop myself from screaming that in her face until she understood. I wish I didn’t want so much for her to understand.