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SAMUEL
This is not my normal behavior, but Avery makes me lose my goddamn mind. I wouldn’t mark anyone else but her. Fuck, I’m half tempted to go out and buy her a collar. If I cage her, though, she’ll run away. As much as she wants me—and my cock—she wants freedom too. And love. I know she wants that most of all, but it’s not in my nature to love. I tried with Stephanie and failed.
The thing is, if I could love someone, it would be Avery. She’s one-of-a-kind.
I don’t have class today, so I clean myself up and get dressed. When I see the black marker sitting on the bedside table, pride swells in my chest. There’s a first time for everything, and marking her up like a semester exam was a genius fucking idea.
I don’t expect to hear from Avery, because she usually hides after I send her home. She wants love and she fears rejection. As much as she loves calling me “Daddy,” she definitely has issues with her father. It’s clear he didn’t show her much affection and she craves it like her next meal. But she also doesn’t want to be cast aside. Rejection is something she doesn’t have to fear from me. I can’t get enough of her, and I doubt I’m going to get rid of her any time soon, if at all.
I pick up my cell phone and shoot a text to my friend Julian.
Me: What can I get a woman to show her she’s mine forever?
Julian: An engagement ring.
Me: Fuck no. No marriage. No love. Only commitment.
Julian: An engagement ring.
Me: Thanks for nothing, asshole.
Julian: I know someone who makes custom pieces. I’ll send you their information. I think they’ll have what you’re looking for.
I spend the day wandering aimlessly. I have the key to my penthouse copied for Avery. I open up a line of credit for her with my bank. I purchase all the girly shit she might like to use while she’s with me. But I absolutely do not go near the jeweler.
When I return to my building, my phone rings.
Avery.
“Sorority sisters not up for a gang bang tonight?” I answer.
On the other end, all I hear is crying. I was not expecting that.
“Avery? What’s wrong?” Instantly, I’m on high alert.
“Can you…can you just come and get me?” Her voice is small and shaky as she sniffles and starts sobbing again.
“I’ll be right there.” I hurry back to my car, tossing the bags back in the trunk, and then speed toward Sorority Row.
All the lights are on in the house, and I take the front porch steps two at a time. When I bang on the door, I don’t give a second thought to which of her sorority sisters might have been my students and which I might have slept with. That’s all in the past. Avery is my present and my future.
A sleepy-eyed brunette opens the door. “Can I help you?”
I don’t answer. I just push past her.
“Hey! You can’t just barge in here like that,” the girl protests.
“The fuck I can’t!” I shout back as I march up the steps toward Avery’s room.
When I finally find her, she’s curled up in a ball on her bed. Her t-shirt is shredded and her face is red and tear-stained. My heart constricts in my chest as fear unlike anything I’ve ever felt over takes me. I move on autopilot, heading straight for her, slipping my arms underneath her, and lift her.
“It’s okay,” I soothe her. “Daddy is here, and he’s going to make it all better.”
She latches onto my neck and hides her face as I carry her out of the room. I’m careful as I walk down the staircase and then out the door.
When I settle her in the car, I glance back at the house. There are faces pressed against the window, watching us. I’m sure we’ll start the gossip mill, but none of that matters. Someone hurt my Avery, and when I find out who, they’ll pay.
As I drive across campus and out into town, I keep one hand firmly on Avery’s thigh. She grips my arm tightly and stares blankly ahead. No questions are asked, not yet.
