Page 42 of Under His Control

“Through good behaviour.”

“Exactly what kind of good behaviour?”

“Any that pleases me. None that displeases me.”

Her suspicious stare lingers on me. I’m thinking what she’s thinking too, try as I might to stop myself.

Good behaviour that isn’t good for the two of us. The kind that involves her on her knees or on her back. Preferably on my face.

She returns her attention to her plate, fiddling with the collar while she eats without enthusiasm. Then she pauses and looks at me.

“I want you to tell me the truth.”

“About what?”

She hesitates. “Will you ever stop hating me?”

Her question catches me off-guard and her solemn stare makes me uncomfortable.

“I don’t hate you, Penelope. I never did.” I stab one of the baby carrots on my plate and push it around. “I hated your mother, but I only feel resentment toward you.”

“I’m pretty sure hate and resentment are the same.”

“Not to me. Hate is straightforward. Someone you hate is someone who doesn’t matter. You wouldn’t give them a second of your time if it benefited them in the slightest. Resentment is complicated. Someone who matters to you made you feel like you didn’t matter to them and this imbalance angers you.”

“You mattered to me,” she says quietly. “You still do.”

“Because I have something you want.”

A moment passes before she responds, her features resolute.

“I’ll show you I’m not who you think I am, and you’ll change your opinion of me.”

Penelope’s words linger in my thoughts as she resumes eating. My opinion of her is already changing. I’m not sure if it’s for the better or the worse. I dislike that my attraction to her is gradually displacing my distrust and clouding my judgment.

She takes a sip of her drink.

“Can I go outside after dinner? I want some fresh air.”

“You can open a window.”

“I need to stretch my legs or I’ll go crazy.”

“Barely one day and you already have cabin fever?” Then I give her request some thought. “There’s a snowstorm coming but we can go for a quick walk.”

She perks up. “What about my phone or my tablet? Can I use one of them too?”

“No.”

“Just a little—”

“Keep pushing and I’ll go for that walk by myself.”

Her expression turns sullen and she finishes her food in silence.

After dinner, Penelope and I dress for our trip outside. I frown at her jacket. She was shivering the entire time we were at the tow yard yesterday.

“You knew you were driving north, yet you still wore such a thin jacket?”