My captor was an enigma.

The only thing I knew about him was his name—Carter Barsetti.

Sounded familiar, but I didn’t know where I’d heard it before.

I hadn’t seen him much for the past week. He left for a while to attend to business and had one of his maids watch me. I was chained up the entire time, even when I used the restroom. I didn’t get to shower while he was gone. Like a caged animal, I sat there and waited for my owner to come home.

Owner.

I was a slave—again.

I lay my head on the pillow and looked at the ceiling, the skin around my ankle irritated because the metal from the cuff was suffocating. There was nothing for me to look forward to. I didn’t have a TV or even a book to read. All I did was waste my life away by sitting alone in a bedroom.

But it was still preferable to Egor.

When I made my decision to go with the Skull Kings, I knew I was taking a serious gamble. But my master was so cruel, so psycho, that I had to assume a new master would be better.

But so far, I knew nothing about the man who bought me.

Other than the fact that he was young—and surprisingly handsome.

On my first day here, I saw him shirtless, in just his sweatpants. He had tanned skin, Italian good looks, and his body was carved from marble. With dark hair and deep brown eyes, he was easy on the eyes. A chiseled jaw, furious eyes, and a nice mouth, he was the kind of guy you would hope hit on you at a bar.

Why did a man like him need to buy a woman?

So far, he seemed much preferable to Egor. For one, he hadn’t hit me. I’d jumped out of his car and he’d caught me, but he never backhanded me. I came on a little aggressive, but he still didn’t strike me. I called him a bitch-hole, but he never called me something derogatory in return. But then he pinned me to the floor and threatened to rape me.

So, he wasn’t entirely good either.

But he was definitely a tremendous improvement over Egor.

If Egor ever tracked me down to retrieve me, which I doubted, I would have Carter to fight for me, since he’d spent a fortune on me. And while they fought like cats and dogs, I could run off.

But I didn’t intend to wait that long. I would find an escape route before that—somehow.

I just had to learn about Carter, to find out as much information as possible about my opponent. Other than his name and the fact that he wasn’t cruel like Egor, I knew very little about him. “Hey!” I yelled loudly, wanting to make sure he heard me from wherever he was. I hadn’t explored the rest of the house, so I had no idea what it looked like. I wasn’t even sure if I was on the second floor or the third. All I knew, based on looking out the window, was we were in the middle of nowhere—without a house in sight.

Footsteps grew louder, starting on the wooden staircase. He came closer, his footfalls sounding heavier with his approach. He wasn’t a big man. On the slender side, he had narrow hips and ripped arms. His physique was comprised of prominent muscles and flawless skin. Just like before, he stepped into the bedroom shirtless.

I knew it was summertime, but the air conditioning was on full blast. “Do you ever wear a shirt?”

He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the doorway, his eyebrows raised in amusement, not annoyance. “Not when I have a woman tied to my bed.” He cocked his head slightly, enjoying the subtle threat.

My heart pounded a little harder, but I did my best to hide it. “I’ve been chained up in this room for over two weeks now.”

“And…?” He rubbed his hand along his jaw. It was free of hair, so it seemed like he’d just shaved. “Am I supposed to care about that?”

“I would hope so. You spent a lot of money on your new toy, but you don’t take good care of it.”

He pressed his lips tightly together as he tried to hide his smile. “You have shelter, a toilet, and food. During medieval times, these amenities would be considered luxurious.”

Now it was my turn to cock an eyebrow. “Well, this isn’t ancient times, and there’s the Geneva Convention about prisoners of war. And this treatment isn’t up to par with those regulations.”

“You think those rules apply to me?” he asked with a laugh. “You aren’t a prisoner of war. You’re a hot commodity, a beautiful woman I bought for my own entertainment. I can leave you in here for a year if I want. I can let you starve to death. Doesn’t matter—because I own you.”

I would give anything to be able to break these chains and strangle this man. Egor reminded me that he owned me every single day, and now this man was repeating those disgusting words. I was tired of being owned, tired of being treated like second best. For every woman who’d ever felt powerless in this world, I had to do something about it. Instead of years of abuse breaking me down and making me give up, it invigorated a fight within me. I wasn’t going to stop until I was free.

Because I had something to live for.

His smile slowly started to fade. “Pissed you off, didn’t I?”

I brushed off the comment. “Take these chains off. You can’t keep me like this forever.”

“You bet I can.”

“If you plan to keep me forever, this doesn’t make any sense. And I saw the bandage you put on my ankle. What the hell did you put inside me?” If it was a birth control device, it was totally pointless. I didn’t need one.

“A tracker.”

“Then what do you need the chains for?”

“So you won’t pull another stunt like you did in the car. And if you sit there and tell me you won’t, you know I’ll never believe you. I admire your fire, but I don’t admire your stupidity. I underestimated you once, but I definitely won’t underestimate you again. Now it’s your turn not to underestimate me.” He turned around and walked out of the room.

I didn’t want to sit there for another two weeks with these chains around my ankles. I used to be locked in a hole in the pure darkness for days at a time. This was nowhere near that, but I still didn’t like it. “Wait.”

To my surprise, he actually turned around. “What?”

“If you don’t underestimate me, then you should no problem letting me walk around the house.”

He smiled again, in amusement. “The rest of the house is my turf. I have no interest in sharing it with you.” This time, he shut the door when he walked out.

Damn.

Some middle-aged man I’d never seen before brought my meals to me. He seemed to speak only Italian, so I couldn’t communicate with him at all. Days passed, and I wasn’t giving the opportunity to shower. I was starting to get restless, needing to do something other than sit all day.

I was a prisoner, just like I’d always been, but this time, there was no threat of torture. Carter never came in to hurt me. He never came in to rape me either.

Not that I could blame him. I looked like hell from not showering.

But then, what did he want me for?

Why did he pay so much money for me to do nothing with me?

I couldn’t figure it out.

“Carter!” I yelled for him at the top of my lungs, desperate to get his attention. Sometimes he came, and sometimes he didn’t. I had no way to know if he was home or not.

A minute later, the bedroom door opened and he stepped inside. This time, he was dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, looking just as attractive with clothes on as he did when he was shirtless. “Yes?”

“Please let me go.” I was never the kind of woman who begged for anything, but I was starting to lose my mind. I grabbed the metal around my ankle. “It hurts so much that I can’t sleep. I need to shower. Let me walk around the house. Let me watch TV. Do something…”

He didn’t step into the room, choosing to hover by the doorway. “Is your request supposed to mean something to me? You’re a slave, which means you don’t have any rights. I don’t care how uncomfortable you are. So just shut up and stop bothering me.” He turned away to walk out.

“What the hell is going on here?” I snapped. “Why the hell did you buy me if you’re just going to keep me in here? It’s been two weeks. Men keep slaves for labor or for fucking. You haven’t done either of those things. So, what is the deal?”

Carter stared me down with his cold gaze, giving nothing away.

“Tell me.”

“You’re in no position to make demands.”

“I’m no position to do anything…so tell me. Why am I rotting away in here? If you can’t trust me whatsoever, then I’m just a liability. And if I’m more work than pleasure, there is really no purpose in keeping me.”

His eyes narrowed, full of hostility. “Would you rather I kill you?”

I didn’t know anything about this guy. I didn’t know if he would make good on that threat or not. A part of me, a big part, wanted to say yes. Being a prisoner for so many years had taken its toll on me. There were so many scars on my back that I looked like I’d been burned alive. I wanted this life to end, to close my eyes forever and never open them again. That wasn’t a weakness, just admission of exhaustion. If my life never improved, then there was no purpose. But there was one thing that kept me going, one piece of hope that wouldn’t allow me to ever give up. There was someone waiting for me, someone I could never abandon. “No.”

“Alright, then.” He turned away again.

“Carter, come on.”

He stopped on the threshold then slowly turned around.

“Please. I’m not the kind of woman who begs…but here I am.” I stood next to the bed with the chains around my legs. I brought my palms together and sighed, hoping this man would grant mercy on me.

Something I said must have changed his mind because he walked over to me and unlocked the chains around my ankles.

“Oh…god.” I rolled my head back and rubbed my swollen ankles. “That’s nice…”

Carter watched me, a new expression on his face.

I knew those moans came out inappropriately, but I didn’t care. The shackles were too tight, and my skin burned from the irritation. It was nice to feel free, even for a short while.

He walked into the bathroom and turned on the hot water before he retrieved a towel. “Get in.”

I walked into the bathroom then stood in the oversize shirt I’d been given. I waited for him to leave so I could shower. Whenever someone watched me in his stead, it was usually a woman, so I didn’t care about changing in front of her.

He leaned against the wall, the steam starting to fill the room. “Take off your clothes, or don’t shower at all.”

Even though I’d been raped and beaten more times than I could count, I still hated taking off my clothes against my will. I still respected myself, still thought I should have the right to say no. So pulling those clothes off stung, stung just like it did the first time.

Carter looked at me, his eyes scanning over the old scars along my collarbone and forearms. My back was the worst part because Egor thought my front was too beautiful to defile. Carter looked at me with restrained sympathy, like he didn’t want to feel bad for me but couldn’t help it. But there was also a hint of arousal as his jeans tightened over his front, his large package forming a defined outline near his crotch. There was both darkness and light in him. He was neither good nor evil.

I’d been the recipient of a look like that many times, except Egor never showed me a hint of compassion. If I didn’t sob during a beating, he wouldn’t stop until the tears emerged. He got off to pain only, not pleasure.

I held my head high as I stepped into the shower and let the glass door close behind me. The warm water felt so good that I stopped caring about the man staring at me. My hair turned heavy from the water, but it also became lighter as the oil from my scalp was washed away. I rubbed the soap into my body and cleaned under my fingernails. Then I massaged the shampoo into my scalp and watched all the dirt and oil swirl down the drain.

The shower was so nice that I wanted to stay there forever.

When I looked out the glass, he was still watching me. As if there was a stunt I could pull, he kept his eyes glued to me. But after the few stunts I’d already pulled, he didn’t trust me at all. He wasn’t stupid. He knew I was a fighter, and I wouldn’t give up until I was free.

So he would never stop watching me.

I shouldn’t have underestimated him. I should have waited until the perfect opportunity arose before I made my move. Now, he would always anticipate it. But when he first bought me, I had no idea what kind of man he was. He could have been worse than Egor for all I knew.

Thankfully, he was much better.

I finished my shower and then dried off with the towel Carter handed to me. I dried my hair, moisturized my skin, and then prepared to put on the clothes I’d left on the bathroom floor.

“I have something else for you.” Carter grabbed the outfit from the bedroom, a pair of jeans, a bra, and a t-shirt. “I think it’s your size.”

I took it with gratitude, finally holding real clothes in my hands. Egor never allowed me to wear clothes. “Thanks.” I shouldn’t have to express my gratefulness, not when I was the one with no rights, but I did anyway. I put them on and felt like a new person.

“Your ankles look pretty bad,” he said as he stared down at my feet.

“Yeah…I’ve had solid metal wrapped around them for weeks. Gets old.”

He walked toward the doorway and nodded for me to follow.

Was I finally getting to leave the bedroom?

“Let me give you a tour.” He stepped into the hallway and then pointed toward the opposite end. “These are a few guest rooms, my office, and my bedroom.” He headed to the spiral staircase and moved to the large sitting room that had several couches and a large flat-screen TV. “Living room. And here’s the kitchen.” He led me into a large room with a big kitchen island. There was plenty of counter space and a separate dining room.

“You live here alone?” It was a big place for one person.

“Yes.” He opened the fridge and pulled out a few ingredients. “Hungry?”

I’d been eating nothing but sandwiches and chips all week. I was desperate for something more substantial. “Yes.”

“Alright.” He tossed a few veggies at me. “Wash these.”

“You’re going to let me help you make dinner?” I asked in surprise.

He got to work on the meat, slicing it into pieces. “I’ve got to put you to work, right?”

Just a few minutes ago, he’d made it sound like he would never allow me to leave that bedroom. Now, he’d abruptly changed his mind. It must have been the scars on my back that made him rethink his decision. He pitied me. I never wanted a man’s pity, but right now, I would take it.

It made me realize that this man was more good than evil. He was aroused by my scars, but he also pitied them at the same time. Perhaps my standards for men had changed since becoming a prisoner because Carter’s feeling and behaviors were still morally wrong.

But they were nothing compared to what I was used to.

“I’m going to cut you a deal.” He sliced the meat on the cutting board before he set the knife down. He gripped the edge of the counter with both hands as he looked at me across the kitchen island. “Behave, and I will reward you.”

“What does that mean?” I asked. “I don’t speak dog.”

He grinned at my smartass comment then laughed.

“What’s so funny?”

“You remind me of someone.” He scooped up the meat with his hands then placed it in a stainless-steel bowl.

“Who?”

“My sister.” He moved to the sink and washed his hands with soap. Then he patted them dry with paper towels. “She’s the sassiest woman I’ve ever met…until you.”

“I like her already.”

“I think she’d like you too.” He snapped his fingers and pointed at the vegetables. “I told you to wash those.”

There was another sink on my side of the counter, so I got to work. “You were saying…?”

“Don’t try to run. Don’t try to kill me. Don’t be a pain in the ass.” He looked at me head on, his gaze turning serious. “And you could be very comfortable here. Don’t give me a reason to hurt you, and I won’t. Don’t give me a reason to fuck you, and I won’t.”

What kind of reason was he talking about? He was the one who’d forced me to shower in front of him. “That sounds too good to be true.”

“It’s not. I don’t want to chain you up in a bedroom any more than you want me to. I don’t want to have to come to you every time you call out my name. I don’t want the work that comes with managing a rambunctious prisoner.”

“Then why did you buy me in the first place?” This man seemed to have everything. He was obviously rich, and he was obviously good-looking. He didn’t need to buy a woman when he could pick one up on his own.

“Doesn’t matter.” He got to work on the sauce for the meat, pouring different spices and flavors into the bowl. “That can be our arrangement if you’re willing to accept it. What do you think?”

I still didn’t understand the offer, and without understanding what I was agreeing to, I didn’t know what I was getting myself into. “I need to know why you bought me, Carter. Because, in my experience, men don’t buy women to be nice to them. So what’s the deal with you?”

He held my gaze, his temper starting to flare. “We aren’t friends. I don’t owe you an explanation. I can do whatever I want with my money—no questions asked. Don’t forget that you’re still a commodity—and I still own that commodity.”

I may have to settle for never knowing the truth. “What are your terms?”

“I already said them.”

“Can I leave the house?”

He chuckled. “No. You can’t leave the perimeter of the property—and I will know if you do.”

“Okay.”

He dropped what he was doing to look at me again. “If you cross me, I will hurt you. That’s not an empty threat. It’s a very potent one.” He gripped the counter edge again. “I will have to punish you, to make you think those scars on your back were just a massage in comparison. Don’t mistake my niceness for weakness. Do we have an understanding?”

The only reason I took his threat seriously was because I didn’t know him at all. He was an enigma that made no sense. He bought me for a fortune but had no plans for me. He didn’t outright hurt me, but he didn’t respect me either. There was nothing more terrifying than being with someone with unknown intentions. When you didn’t understand what a person wanted, they became unpredictable.

Carter was completely unpredictable.

If I the possibility arose, I might take it. But if I learned more about Carter, perhaps I could persuade him to let me go. He understood compassion, so it wasn’t impossible. I would take the time to learn more about him before I made my decision.

I had plenty of time.