Page 14 of Risky Behavior: Submitting to the Ruthless Guard

“He won’t hurt you, not now. He needs you this weekend. Remember that.”

She gathered herself and, without a word, walked into the room and took the seat across from Carter. The man was dressed in a beige three-piece suit and looked like a stuffed pig. I stood directly behind her, only acknowledging him when he nodded in my direction.

“Talia, my dear. It’s good to see you’re feeling better and able to join me for breakfast.”

“I am, thanks.”

“I understand you’ve been eating well since I made the changes in your diet and that pleases me. When I heard of the meals they were offering you, I was enraged. You deserve the best, and it seems you haven’t been receiving that since you’ve arrived.”

“The best?”

“Why, of course. I wouldn’t want my future bride missing out on things she needs here.”

Talia’s body tensed and I prayed she would keep her mouth shut just this once. I was certain even without looking she had a face of sheer confusion, but that was exactly what he wanted. She was a smart girl. I had to trust that she’d play along with his game.

“I appreciate you making the changes, as well as hiring Leo. He has been a great help in allowing me some freedoms that I understand would have been otherwise difficult.”

There’s my girl.

“Yes, Leo has been a great asset to my security team. He will continue to work with you, as well as Anderson, as long as we don’t run into any issues.”

“Issues?”

“Eat up.”

Talia reached for a few items from the table and placed them on her plate. I could tell her suspicions were at an all-time high because she just pushed food around a bit before speaking again. “And my meds? I don’t see them here.”

“They will be brought out after we have spoken. I wanted to ensure you had a rational mind as I explained my expectations for you this week.”

“I see.”

“Nadine has left and she won’t be back for a few weeks. The other girls aren’t for the public’s eye, so you will accompany me to a fundraiser this weekend. I have already spoken with Leo about it. You will follow my instructions implicitly while we are out. If for any reason I am led to believe that you are not in complete compliance with what is asked then there will be repercussions for your behavior that will make the night with the candlestick look like child’s play.”

Talia’s breath caught in her throat at his comment. I had only made it so far through the footage of her arriving here and couldn’t remember anything about a candlestick. He had to have been referring to the night that she said the sun went out. The night something terrible happened and she wouldn’t talk to me about it. I went to step forward, but my movement caught Carter’s eye and his attention was immediately on me.

“Do you have something to say, Leo?”

I took one look at his two guards, whose hands were now on their guns, and thought better of it. They may be useless, but two guns against one with an innocent between us was never a good idea. I stepped back in place and waited for her next move. I just hoped it wouldn’t be one that would ruin us both.

Biting my Tongue

Talia

DoingwhatI’mtoldwas never something I’d been good at, and the tension between Carter and Leo was so thick it was suffocating. One wrong word from me and it seemed as if the entire place would ignite. This man liked games. I could tell from every interaction I’d had with him and the rumors I’d overhear as people whispered about the things he did. Power was his kink, and that was fine. Two can play at that. Leo looked like I slapped him across the face. I guess in a way I did. I hadn’t meant to tell him what happened that night, but the second he told me I needed to make Miles believe I’d behave for him, I hated him just as much as the man who ruined me. His expression went from shock to anger as I watched. There was a tick in the side of his jaw that wasn’t there before, and he turned from me, taking a few steps away. The rejection was clear, Leo Rand had just made up his mind and any fantasies I had about a happily ever after with him were gone. I was nothing more than a victim to him now, a job to be done with.

“I’m sure I can be the woman you need me to be for the public’s eye. Hiding who I am as a person shouldn’t be that hard, at least for a small moment in time. Many people have different masks and personas they put on for the benefit of others. In time, I can perfect it for you.”

My comments caught Carter’s attention, and even though his stare gave me chills, it was better than what was happening in the silence between him and Leo.

“I’m happy to hear you understand the importance of this. After the event, I will reward you.”

“Reward me?”

“Of course. You will move into my room and into my bed. On the nights I do not want the others, you will be the willing cunt I need.”

Bile rose in my throat as he stuffed a sausage into his mouth. Grease dripped from his open mouth and he didn’t even bother to wipe his face before sticking a piece of toast in right behind it. Everything about Miles Carter disgusted me. The memories of what he had done to me the night the sun went out ran through my mind. The crazed look in his eyes as he tore the clothes from my body and made two of his men hold me down while he assaulted me with that stupid fucking candlestick felt so real in that moment that I was having a hard time separating my current reality from what my mind was identifying as a certain threat. He continued to eat and talk with a mouth full of food as I tried to steady my breathing and willed away the black spots that were clouding my vision. I pulled at the collar of the ruffled shirt I had been told to dress in and leaned back as the jeans I was wearing felt as if they were cutting me in two.

He was muttering something and gesturing towards my plate, but I couldn’t seem to lift my hand. My arms felt useless, and I looked down to make sure they were still attached to my body. Tears filled my eyes as fear gripped me, and that’s when I felt it. Leo’s warm hand between my shoulders was the grounding force I needed. He was patting me on the back like a small child who had choked on something and I looked up to him to find that’s exactly what he was saying.