Page 30 of Dozer

Driving her home was a test, because — other than the fact she was barefoot — she’d think it safe to jump out of the vehicle at a red light, and we’d be driving right through the tourist district of downtown Chattanooga, meaning we’d be stopped a whole helluva lot.

But Marco’s SUV was soundproof, so no one would hear if she screamed for help, and Marco had let me know the doors would all lock when I started the car even though they would look as if they were unlocked. She wouldn’t be able to get out, but she’d think she could.

Also, the side windows were heavily tinted, and at this time of the evening, no one would see in from the outside.

I carried all our things to the SUV first, walked the house to be certain I had everything, and put her into it last, locking the rental home’s door on my way out.

She chewed at her bottom lip and looked around as if it’d been months since she’d last been outside, and I suppose it probably felt close to it, for her.

I began with the bad news first, so she’d hear it before we hit the red lights. We were on the Northshore, about a mile from the river, so I didn’t have much time to tell her the worst of it. Once we were through the majority of the city, I’d tell her the better parts.

“Things will be different in my home. You had the run of the downstairs in the rental home when I was awake, for the most part, but I have a jail cell in my basement, and that will be turned into your room. I’ll let you out when I have need of you, or when you have tasks to complete. You’ll have time out to clean the bathrooms, mop, vacuum, do laundry. The basics. I’ve ordered a few exercise machines for you, and they’ll be in your cell so you can use them when you wish. I’ll also provide some books here and there, if you’ve earned them. We’ll start by weighing you twice a week and see how it goes, but if I don’t think you’re eating enough, I’m going to start ordering you to eat more. Same goes if I think you’re eating too much, though — I reserve the right to restrict how much you can eat as well.”

I could scent her unease, but she didn’t interrupt. I gave her a few seconds to let it all sink it before I said, “Permission to speak.”

“Your slave doesn’t like being locked up. Being locked in my room when you went to bed was awful. I hated it.”

“I generally work evenings, so I’ll be with you during the day. If you continue to prove your trustworthiness, you’ll eventually have a bedroom upstairs, and your cell will only be used when you’re being punished.”

Would I ever let her free when I was asleep? Odds were, she’d be locked to her bed while I slept for years to come. I couldn’t imagine trusting her enough to sleep in my bed with me, but deep down inside, that was the hope.

“What can your slave do to prove her trustworthiness, Master?”

“I have nothing specific to tell you right now. Follow orders and do your best. Eventually, you’ll have opportunities to fuck up, and if you can prove trustworthy and responsible, you’ll gain more privileges.”

My dick nearly went hard when her teeth softly bit into her bottom lip. Why in the hell had I considered breaking her of that? “But you’re not giving your slave a chance to fuck up, now?”

“Oh, you have lots of chances for small fuckups every day, and the more of those you manage to sidestep, the more freedom you’ll get, which will mean bigger opportunities to either fuck up or show you’re trustworthy.”

She put her arm on the rest in such a way, I had a feeling she was debating whether to remove her seatbelt and open the door all at once, and try to run for it — or whether to stay put.

I have no idea if she decided to stay put because she didn’t want to run, or didn’t think she’d pull it off. Or, more likely, whether she figured out it was a test, and she wouldn’t be able to run even if she tried. Daisy’s smart, so there’s a good chance it was the latter.

Marco would be visiting my home in three weeks, and we were going to share Daisy again. He’d tell me, at that time, why she made the choice not to go for it. He didn’t feel as if it would be productive for her to remember us sharing her, which was a relief to me. Also, he was willing to negotiate so this was the last time we shared her.

Chapter 25

Daisy

I’d haveneverpicked Master as a boyfriend, and yet, the more I got to know him, the more I liked him.

Also, he owned his own home, and he owned several motorcycles, plus the truck I’d stolen. Dray had always been coming up with ways to get rich, but mostly, we barely scammed and stole enough to survive, and one of the things he did was troll social media to find people going out of town for a while, so we could just live at their house while they were gone. We’d follow their trip and know when they were due to return home, so we could be sure to clean up and leave before then. It was a pain in the ass because we had to park way down the street and then come and go when the neighbors wouldn’t see, but a few times we found houses kind of off by themselves with no neighbors to notice, and that was way more fun. Mostly, we stayed in run-down by-the-week motels, or we stole a van and put an air mattress in the back and slept in it.

I’d gone from the rich princess sent to live with the dragon because the King and Queen couldn’t be bothered to care for her, to poor thief, and I wasn’t a fan of either.

There was no way for me to make a living, a legitimate living, without my parents’ approval, and they were never going to approve of anything I wanted to do. Master had assured me a few days before that he could get me another identity, so I could work and file taxes, and my parents wouldn’t know. They’d neverfind me. A regular paycheck and a way to buy a car and rent an apartment, maybe even eventually purchase a small home. A life all my own. My choices.

I’d believed Dray when he’d convinced me to run away with him, and I shouldn’t have.

I was afraid to believe Master, but the truth is, I didn’t have much of a choice.

I thought about trying to jump out of the SUV and run, but there had to be a trick. After keeping me locked up so well for so long, there’s no way Master would give me a chance to jump and run. He’d have locked me in a trunk or something if he didn’t have a way to keep me from escaping.

I mean, I was barefoot, but if I truly wanted to get away, that wouldn’t stop me.

But Idesperatelywanted what he was offering — a chance at a life I could eventually choose. A way to earn money with my art.

We left the downtown area and headed into a not-so-great part of town, and he told me, “You’ll have more time when I allow open conversation moving forward, because I believe you’ve learned the things I’ll find acceptable to talk about versus the topics that will annoy me.”

---