Page 17 of Savage Daddies
“Be a good girl and do as Daddy Nash says.” Axel’s gaze is hot on me, the lamplight spilling over his handsome features and making him look like some sort of dark prince from a fairytale. I have the sudden urge to approach him and run my hands through his wavy shoulder-length hair, but I don’t dare perform such a bold action. I don’t want the brothers. I don’t. I can’t want them. They’re everything I’ve been taught is wrong.
But everything you’ve been taughtiswrong, my mind whispers.
“Josie?” Nash asks in a concerned tone. He’s at my side in a second, his hands on my shoulders as he peers down at me, his brow furrowing while he looks me up and down as if expecting to find me injured. “Are you all right, little one?”
I hear Axel moving closer, and soon I feel his body heat as he stands beside me.
“I-I’m fine.”
“You’re not fine. Tell us what’s wrong.” He pauses for a moment. “Are you nervous about your spanking?”
“I’m a bit overwhelmed right now,” I finally admit, “about all I’ve learned about the techno-cities. I can’t believe they kill us when we’re sixty-two, all to make room for the new batches of babies. All the Wise Leaders told us about the human body not being able to survive past sixty-two, well, I-I believed it without question.”
Axel reaches for my head and strokes my hair. “Out here in the wildlands, I am certain you will live a long, healthy life. You’re a free woman now, Josie, no longer bound by the laws of Emerald and the other techno-cities.”
I glance from brother to brother. “But I’m not free.”
“I think you will find that you have more freedom belonging to us than you did in your previous life. At least out here you’re not living under the rules of a misguided government.” Nash taps the side of my head. “You’ll be free up here, no longer living a lie. While our way of life will take some getting used to, my brothers and I will always be honest with you. With us, you’ll have a home. Arealhome.”
Chapter Eight
Home. I like the ideaof having a real home, and it’s all I can think about as Nash removes my robe and the brothers both help me into the steaming bath. Axel pours water over my hair and massages shampoo into my scalp, while Nash proceeds to run a soapy washcloth all over my body.
It’s bliss and I can’t help but occasionally moan as they tend to me. I close my eyes and sink lower in the water, thankful the hot bath is soothing my aching muscles.
“We’re lucky the Lamberts’ Inn has running water.”
My eyes pop open and I look at Nash. “What do you mean?”
“Many houses and entire villages in the wildlands don’t have running water.”
“What about your house?” Horror clutches me at the prospect of living in a place without the simple amenity of running water. I can’t imagine living otherwise.
Axel finishes rinsing the shampoo from my hair. “If our house doesn’t have running water by the time we return, it will soon. Erik and Gage were nearing completion on the project before we left our village. They’re both excellent at building things. They designed a water tower for our village and a neighboring village to use, and that project was completed several months ago. Having clean, filtered water readily available has made a world of difference in our village. Less people get sick now and our overall quality of life has improved.”
“I see,” I reply, impressed by Erik and Gage’s ingenuity. I’ve always taken clean water for granted and feel a stab of guilt knowing that the people living outside the techno-cities live in such primitive conditions. I also feel another stab of guilt for my initial upset over the prospect of no running water at the brothers’ house. They’re doing the best they can.
