Page 27 of Penny
“It’s not worth it. Where do you want me?” she conceded, but her shoulders remained steady, and her seething glare never wavered.
“You can go upstairs to my room and get changed. You’ll pay for that outburst later,” I said, stepping back to give her space to turn.
She didn’t look back as she stomped up the stairs, leaving me with a trail of indecisive ideas on how I should punish her.
“Do you even know how to read a room?” Liam laughed from behind me.
I turned on my heels, shooting daggers at my brother.
“What does that even mean?” I hissed, sick of putting up with his patronizing bullshit.
“You forced her to stay downstairs and then didn’t let her sit alone or just pretend she wasn’t here. She didn’t want us,” he said, crossing his legs and leaning back into the couch.
I was supposed to be training her, and in doing so, she was stripped of herright to make choices for herself. She should have felt happy that I wanted to make sure she was comfortable. I wanted her in my sweatpants and shirt, pressed against me and falling asleep to crime documentaries.
“Why would I care what she wanted?” I scoffed, plopping back on the couch. My skin felt hot, and I scratched at my wrists to keep my mind focused on this conversation and not the amber liquid in my room.
“To gain someone’s bond and trust enough to work for you in this world, you have to make planned sacrifices for control. I’ll help you.” He folded his hands behind his head, looking over at me while he spoke.
“I don’t need your help. She is made for this life, and if our dear ol’ dad won’t take my recommendation for putting her in the auction, then I’ll be the one to get her where she needs to be,” I snapped, feeling my stomach sink at the thought of her ingraining deeper into my senses. She was a searing brand, hovering over my skin. A few unconscious movements and the incandescent metal would burn into me.
“How are you going to do that?” he asked, arching his brow at me like a smug fuck.
“I don’t need to explain myself to you,” I retorted, mainly because I didn’t know what my steps were. His puffed-up expression told me he wasn’t buying it. “Fine. What would you do?”
“I’ll show you. Let me do minor things throughout the week, and I’ll take the lead,” he pleaded, convincing me to let him take the lead. Well, I would let him take the lead onsome things.
***
As I pushed the bedroom door open, I was greeted by the tranquil smell of Emily. The room was dark, but her tangled in my sheets was a beacon I didn’t want to recognize. Grabbing my guitar, I sat on the foot of the bed, careful not to wake her.
The strings shook with the music notes that had circled around in my head today, imploring me to play more. I closed my eyes, remembering Emily’s empty stare filled with desire while she’d ridden me this morning. Her acceptance of who I am was already searing in my subconscious, and I wanted to refute it. I needed to.
She rolled over, grabbing my attention. Her eyes fluttered open, and she let out an airy hum. The song continued to flow through me, only growing as I looked at her sleepy gaze.
I continued to play until the orange sun started to peek through the blinds, then she pulled down the comforter, tapping the mattress next to her. I sat the guitar down and pulled her into my arms, falling asleep to her soft breaths.
Chapter 16
Liam
The past two weeks at Connor’s penthouse put me through a grater, shaving away slices of my organized structure. I longed for coffee that didn’t take all my focus to make and my color-coded home. Connor playing his guitar every night for Emily was a daunting realization of everything I had done wrong. His pleas to run away when we were kids stained my dreams, and I wanted to rewind the choices I’d made.
When we had the nights where Emily was forced to curl into Connor’s lap and watch T.V., all I could see was how good this life would have been for him. His drinking was slowing, but not completely gone. The burden of my failures was a looming shadow that adhered to my subconscious.
Steam billowed from my coffee mug, and I breathed it in deeply. The kitchen was empty, and it was the only time I had to myself. Days were spent running my porn studio from my phone and training Emily for her future. A future that wouldn’t have Connor or me in it. I planned to have someone else manage her when she took her place as a high-end escort. Connor didn’t see it yet, but he was too invested in her to watch her be with someone else every night.
Soft footsteps from the spiral stairs made the hairs on the back of my neck stand. I clicked on the obnoxious coffee machine without being asked and pulled a large mug from the cabinet. She pulled open the fridge, grabbed her half-and-half, and stepped beside me to pour the milk into the frothing machine.
“Thanks,” she whispered, looking up at me.
Her endearing appreciation was always the hardest on me. Every morning, we spent our time drinking coffee in silence. I would manage my workload, and she would sketch in the notebook I’d given her. She chose to keep it a secret from Connor, and I let her. I wanted her to trust me so I could prepare her faster for her future. Lingering, nagging voices reminded me that I couldn’t lie to myself. I wanted her to look up at me the way she did because I’d given her what she needed. I gave her a place to escape, just like I had for Connor when we were kids.
She looked up at the ceiling as we heard the running water from Connor’s shower stop, then she got up and hid her sketchbook under the couch cushion. I watched as she walked to the sink to wash the graphite from her hands, rinsing out the residue, and then started to prepare a cup of coffee for Connor. By the time Connor came down the stairs, she had his cup prepared, and she stood patiently, watching him.
He grabbed the cup from her hand and swiped her stray curly hairs from her face. She followed him as he took a seat, and instead of sitting on the other side of him, she chose to take the chair between us on the island.
“Let’s get breakfast in the city,” Connor announced, taking a big gulp of his coffee. “We should test our work and see if my captive will try to run or tattle on us.”
