Page 44 of His Captive

Swinging open the door I’m totally unprepared for the scene I walk in on.

Mrs. Pritchard is stirring a pot on the stove, her mouth wide with the first smile I’ve seen on her face in the four years I’ve known her. Lysetta, sits on the kitchen worktop, legs dangling from the edge, tossing blueberries across the room to Buddy, who moves from left to right, like a child’s entertainer balancing plates on a stick, as he tries to catch them in his mouth.

I stand still, while my eyes cast over the circus I’ve entered in to.

The smile drops from Mrs. Prichard’s face the moment she sees me and Buddy snaps his mouth shut after he catches the last blueberry, looking guilty as he straightens up. Lysetta’s laughter is the only sound left in the room, and that mutes too the moment she notices how serious I look.

“What’s this?” I ask, my voice stern and eyes focused on her.

“There isn’t really a name for it, some might call it fun, I guess.” Lysetta shrugs.

“Open up, I’ll toss you one,” she adds, and her newly acquired sass speaks straight to my cock.

“Sorry boss man,” Buddy says, immediately starting to pick up the blueberries that he’s missed up off the floor.

Lysetta must realize how serious I am, because she slowly slides off the worktop and stands. Mrs. Pritchard clears her throat.

“Porridge Mr. Shaw?” she asks professionally, acting innocent to the behavior I’ve just witnessed.

“Leave us,” I command, and Buddy and Mrs. Pritchard don’t hesitate as they make for the door. Lysa begins following them, but I straighten my arm out to block her.

“Not you,” I speak through my teeth, causing her to take a sheepish step back. Then I wait for the door to swing shut before I pull out a chair from the kitchen table and tell her to sit.

“What do you think you’re doing?” I rest my hands on the table behind her, caging her between my arms.

“I never gave you permission to leave your room, not last night and definitely not this morning.”

“I’m sorry Ethan, but it’s so boring up there all by myself.” Her eyes are sad as they drop to the floor. Then she looks back up at me with fresh enthusiasm.

“Maybe you could let me have the freedom of the house. You can give me some rules. You like to do that,” she smirks at me, with a tiny hint of cockiness.

“And I will promise to be good and abide by them,” she adds. Making me wonder if she knows how seductive she sounds.

Whether she’s teasing me or not, she’s making me want to bend her over the table and teach her a hard fucking lesson.

“Please, Ethan. I can help out around the house.” She fidgets with the hem of her t-shirt while she waits for an answer, and I hardly believe the words that come out of my mouth next.

“You are not to go outside.” I watch her smile begin as I continue.

“You stay out of my office and away from my room. And you agree to join me for breakfast, lunch and dinner.” I straighten my body like I’ve just laid out the terms for a business deal.

“Do not make me regret this, Lysetta,” I warn, storming out of the kitchen.

Mrs. Pritchard and Buddy are waiting out in the hall, both looking shocked despite trying to pretend like they haven’t been listening to our conversation.

“Mavis, Lysetta and I will take breakfast in the conservatory this morning,” I inform her, continuing to walk straight past them while hanging on to the thin shred that is left of my composure.

I march straight through the entertainment room and into the conservatory, sitting myself at one of the wicker chairs around the table.

Fuck.

Finding her like that slammed into me like a train wreck. Seeing her look so happy and carefree makes me curious about what kind of girl she is outside of my dark palace.

Her smile is stunning, giving off a radiance I’d convinced myself I’ve become immune to over the past few years, and I hate how my envy singed because Buddy was the one making her so happy. Not me…

I don’t know how.

What am I even thinking?

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