by Naomi West
She groaned and put the bag of gardening tools on the table next to her.
“Now, now,” Zed chided her. “No complaining. You agreed to the rules about following orders, and this is my order. Besides, you get to go outside. You should be happy about that.”
She sighed again, but lifted her hair so he could attach the collar around her neck.
Zed secured it in place and, together, they went to the back of the house.
The backyard was expansive, with lush grass sweeping out from the back porch. A high privacy fence surrounded the property, ensuring no neighbors would be able to spy into the yard unless they were in one of the second-story windows.
They both blinked as they stepped out into the bright evening sun, the whole world seeming to shine under its warm, yellow glow. Beside him, Abby took a deep breath of fresh air and seemed to immediately brighten a little.
“Come on,” Zed said, as gave the leash a gentle tug and began to lead her over to the garden.
Abby followed along beside him, not fighting him in any way. Zed couldn't help but wonder if it was working. Perhaps she was beginning to realize how much better it would be to help him with his brother.
They looked over the garden, bag of tools in hand. “Yep,” he said. “First thing is to get some of these weeds out of here. My mom always says a weed is just a plant that doesn’t belong.”
Abby smiled a little. “Sounds like she's a funny lady, sir.”
“No,” Zed replied, as he hunkered down next to the garden and peered at it. “She's a real bitch.”
She laughed as she got down next to him, close enough that her knee brushed against Zed's. “I can kind of relate, sir.”
He felt a little electrical tingle go through his body, where her skin grazed his slacks, and he glanced down at her. She'd worn short shorts for the outside work, and they left very little to the imagination. Her light cotton shirt was sheer, and he loved how he could see the faint outline of her bra through it. There was just a natural beauty about her, and a sort of femininity that made him want to grab her, hold her, and protect her from the outside world any way he could.
The key, though, was getting her to let him.
They spent the next couple of hours digging in the dirt, laughing together, as they told each other about their lives. Zed spoke about what it had been like growing up with a sibling, a twin brother, even. He told her, too, about their lives growing up with two parents who had been involved with their children, before they divorced.
“Kai and I look an awful lot like our dad,” he said as he worked a weed out of the soil. “And I think mom held it against us after he left. She didn't handle him walking out very well, which I can't really blame her for after fifteen years being married. What about you? What about your mother?”
“You really don't know anything about me, do you?” Abby asked, laughing.
He noticed she didn't use the proper word to address him, but he decided he'd let it slide this time.
“Sorry,” he said, “I've just never been much for celebrity gossip, that's all.”
“Well, sir,” she said. “My father died in a skiing accident when I was a little girl. After that, mom never remarried or anything.” She adopted her mother's tight jawed, teeth-clenched accent from the northeast. “'I refuse to bend to any new man.'”
Zed laughed and shook his head at the impression.
She glanced up at him, smiling in such a way that it warmed his heart just a little to see it. “She was always working, though. I was pretty much raised by nannies, tutors, cooks—that kind of thing. She never wanted me in show business, like she had been. She wanted me to be a real business woman—a woman with real power.”
“Was she not?” he asked.
“Oh, believe me, she was,” Abby said, her eyes wide. “She ran her own production company for decades. Did you ever watch reruns of Jeannie Riley?”
“I think I remember it. Was that the one where the woman was a single mother and a career lawyer or something?”
She nodded as she tossed some weeds. “Yes, sir, that one. My mom's company produced that show, her first big success after she semi-retired from acting. She wanted me to be like Jeannie Riley, she always said. A career woman not bogged down by family, children, or anything else.”
That made sense, Zed reasoned. Her mother was a driven woman and wanted her daughter to be the same. “So, is that why you're still single?”
Abby just glanced up at him, then returned to her work, shaking her head.
Zed didn't press the point, and they continued to garden in silence as he thought about what he was doing.
On its surface, this was all just fucking wrong. He'd proceeded without any logical course of action to get his brother out, and he'd ended up holding a high-powered, wealthy woman hostage in her fucking closet, then sexually stimulating her in her bedroom.
He shook his head. This was all wrong.
But, at the same time, he felt the connection between them slowly beginning to build and truly developing. Besides, he couldn't help but wonder if this is what life could have been like for him. —eating dinner with a beautiful woman and spending time in the garden together. This could have been his life, if Kai's psychotic break hadn't completely upended his world.
After a while, Abby spoke up. “Sir?” she said. “Can I ask you something?”
She remembered rule number two! Maybe she really was coming along? “What is it?” he asked, his voice gruff as he pulled another weed out.
“Can I check in with work? The conference should be over by now, which means they'll be expecting me soon, sir.”
She was right, he reasoned. If they expected her back tomorrow, they'd start looking for her if she didn't show up. They needed to head that off at the pass. “Yes, you can call when we get back in. Mark again?”
A look crossed her face as she shook her head. “No, sir,” she said. “Definitely not Mark. My assistant who you met at my office, Jackie.”
“Well,” Zed said, as he looked around at the backyard. “Sun's about to be down anyway. We won't be able to see if we're pulling up tomatoes or dandelions soon.” He stood up, chain leash in hand, and dusted off his knees. “Come on, let's go in.”
She stood, her eyes sweeping over the backyard. “Yes, sir,” she said.
They went back up to the porch. Standing out there, soaking in the last of the day's warmth, Zed pulled out her phone and opened it up. He pulled up the contacts list and scrolled through it. “You said Jackie, right?”
“Yes, sir,” she said again, her hands folded in front of her like a prim and proper woman.
He found Jackie and hit call, then handed the phone over to her.
Abby put the phone to her ear. After a moment, her eyes brightened and she smiled a little. “Hello? Jackie? Hi, it's Abby.”
She nodded along to the phone conversation.
“I need you to do something for me, Jackie. Can you let everyone know that I'm having to take a little bit of unexpected time off and won't be as reachable for a short while?”
She shook her head, and Zed could just barely hear Jackie ask about the car accident lie Abby had fed to Mark. “No, no,” she said, laughing a little, her laugh like a songbird to him. “I'm fine.”
A pause. Jackie asked about coming over, Zed thought. Abby's eyes flickered up to his, and Zed shook his head, his brow furrowed. “No,” Abby said, not too forcefully. “You definitely don't need to do that, Jackie. In fact, I met someone. We're just getting to know each other, and we need our privacy. That's all.”
Abby smiled a little. “Oh, believe me,” she said. “It's as big a surprise to me.”
She needed to cut this conversation short. But, still, he was surprised at her change of heart. She seemed to be really coming along on her journey, and finally coming to accept that she could only get what she needed from him.
He didn't want to startle her, though, by suddenly forcing her off the phone. Jackie might catch wind of what wa
s going on and try to put a stop to his plan. Zed smiled at Abby. He crossed his arms across his chest, tugging at her leash a little as he did, and turned around, hoping to give her a moment's privacy so she could finish up with her employee.
“No, he's just a guy,” Abby said behind him, the smile coming through in her voice.
As he listened to her laughing with Jackie and trying to get off the phone, his eyes continued to search the backyard, just taking it all in. He pictured other projects that might liven up the space.
He almost started to believe that he'd changed her, and that she was really beginning to come around. Those thoughts didn't last long, though.
Because that was when he saw the security camera pointed at the garden.
Chapter Nine
Zed
Zed whirled on Abby, his face twisted in rage. “What the fuck is this shit?” he yelled.
She recoiled, surprised at his sudden outburst. “What are you talking about, sir?”
Rage filled his mind, clouding his senses. After all the time and effort he'd put into this, after his feeding her and carrying her to the bathroom, after the pleasure he'd given her, this was how she betrayed him? He ripped the phone out of her hand and stuffed it in his back pocket as he yanked the chain leash towards him. “This,” he growled, as he turned and began to drag her protesting form off the patio and over to the security camera.
“You-you're hurting me!” she complained, as she scrambled to catch up with him.
“Shut up, bitch!” he snapped, as he yanked harder, causing her to stumble into the grass and fall. He didn't slow down when she fell. Instead, he dragged her across the soft, gentle green of the lawn, not giving her a moment to get to her feet.
She managed to find some purchase, and shakily rose from all fours. “What, sir?” she asked again. “I don't understand!”
He dragged her to a stop beneath the security camera and turned back to her. He stabbed at the piece of surveillance equipment with his finger. “That! Why didn't you tell me this was back here?”
Her eyes spun wildly around in her head, like she was desperately searching for an answer. “I – I – I didn't think about it. I really didn't. I completely forgot there was even one outside!”
He wanted to believe her, but he didn't. And now there was a piece of evidence that he had been here. Zed brought the chain in closer as he advanced on her, a grimace spread on his face as he forced her to close the gap. “Show me the tapes,” he growled.
She nodded, her eyes like dinner plates as she glanced down at his hand holding the chain. “Yes, sir! I'll show them to you!”
They went back into the house and headed for her office. She sat down in front of her computer, with Zed standing behind her, leash still tightly gripped, and logged in.
He was seething with rage. His breath felt like steam and fire in his chest, burning as it filled his lungs. He watched her as she brought up a folder filled with files labeled with dates going back over the last two or three days, from multiple cameras. “You forgot about all of these?” he growled, yanking the chain for emphasis.
She cringed. “I'm sorry, sir,” she said, her finger nervously tapping on the mouse.
He still didn't believe her. How could he? Who could forget about their house being covered in security cameras? “Delete them, then,” he said, gripping the leash tighter. “Get rid of them and any other backups you have. Now.”
“Yes, sir,” she said, nodding as she set to the task he'd ordered.
He watched her with disdain. This was the problem with everything. Everyone lied, and everyone was underhanded. She'd been playing with his emotions since last night. She had no intention of helping him, and no intention of trying to get to know him better, like she'd told Jackie on the phone.
“You're the fucking problem, Abby You, and people like you,” he growled. “Corporations too giant to fail control everything, with dirty, conniving people at the top of each and every one of them. All you do is crush little people like Kai and me, ruin our lives, and cash in on your stock options and your fat salaries. You people make me fucking sick.”
“But I—”
“Come on,” Zed said, yanking her lead and pulling her from the chair.
She grabbed onto the edge of the desk to stop him from bringing her along, but Zed whipped around when he felt the resistance.
“Keep fighting it, and it'll be worse, Abby,” he growled.
She let go of the desk and came along with him.
“Don't worry,” he said, as he pulled her along to the bedroom. “I'm going to make you better than them. You'll see.”
# # #
Abby
“Strip,” he commanded, as she followed him into the center of the bedroom. “Now.”
Abby went to pull her shirt off, but realized the chain was in the way.
Zed growled in frustration, as he grabbed the scissors and turned to her.
Oh God, this was it. She'd finally pushed him too far.
He grabbed the front of her shirt and cut the bottom of it, splitting the hem. He gripped both sides of the separated fabric and tore it apart
She took a deep breath and closed her eyes as he disrobed her so unceremoniously. She bit her lip, her breath coming faster as his warm, strong hands brushed over her flat stomach. He continued to tear her shirt up the middle, until it was just a destroyed rag that did nothing to cover her.
“Now,” he commanded. “Finish.”
She nodded. “Yes . . . yes, sir,” she replied, as she stripped down to the lacy white bra she'd picked out earlier in the day. She reached behind her back, unsnapped it, and dropped it to the floor. Her nipples rose immediately as the cool air struck them, and she sucked in a sharp breath as they stiffened.
“The rest of it,” he barked.
This was it. This was her third offense against the rules. Something like fear and nervousness warred together in her body, one trying to dominate the other.
She undid the front of her shorts and shimmied them down her body, stripping her white panties along with them. Now, as she thought of her choice in underwear, she realized it looked like she was subconsciously trying to hold onto some sense of purity. Maybe she was, in her mind, at least.
Abby quickly realized it was just her mind trying to hold onto that innocence. The smell of her musky excitement filled the air as she dropped her clothes in a pool of cloth at her feet.
Zed took a deep breath. She knew he could smell her, too. He stepped forward, the cold chain shifting so it grazed over a stiff nipple.
She sucked in a sharp breath as a wave of kinky pleasure she knew she shouldn't have been feeling washed over her. She bit her lip, sealing in a moan as his hand came up again and cupped her other breast.
Her body wanted to push her breast into that rough, firm palm. Part of her wanted to beg him to fill her—to take her. But her mind wouldn't allow it. It was still bent on resistance and on fighting against his will.
His hand still holding her lead, he walked around behind her. The cold, metal chain brushed over her skin as it wrapped around the side of her stomach and over her arm, leaving goosebumps in its wake.
God, she wanted him to use her. She could feel her unbidden excitement dripping down the insides of her thighs, clear evidence of how much she needed his touch. She needed to do as she was told.
Zed grabbed her ass, just like he had the first day he'd taken her, when he'd forced her to strip in her living room. He was more gentle this time, though, not squeezing with his fingertips. Instead, he rubbed her, kneading her rump.
She pushed back into his hand before she could catch herself, her hips subtly urging him to take his time and enjoy himself. She cursed herself for letting her hormones and lust take control. She bit her lip and looked back over her shoulder at him.
He stared down at her ass, unaware she'd turned to watch him, as he continued to massage her. Then his eyes snapped up to meet hers. “Eyes forward,” he barked.
“Ye
s, sir,” she said quickly, as she turned and looked straight ahead.
He let her cheek drop, producing a nice, womanly jiggle from Abby, and walked back around in front. He stopped inches away from her, his body imposing as it blocked her entire view of the room. His breath was coming heavier and faster now, heat rolling off his body. He was so hot that Abby felt she could survive winter by just standing close to his musclebound form.
“On your knees,” he growled.
She paused for a moment. Was he really going . . .?
He shot her a look, his eyes narrow and intense.
“Yes, sir,” she said, knowing exactly what the look meant. She dropped to her knees and let her legs fold beneath her, the collar chafing against her neck as he tightened his grip on the chain. All she could hear was the sound of her own breath filling her body. Breathe in, breathe out, each one thunderous and all-encompassing.