Mina half expected him to throw her over her shoulder and carry her to the bedroom and felt disappointed when he straightened up, running his hands through his long dark blonde hair and dropping back into the seat across from her. He looked up and saw the disappointment and gave her a slight grin. "Don't worry Princess. We'll come back to that. First, we need to redefine the relationship here and discuss a few things."
"Okay." She nodded and went back to her drawing. "Don't mind this; keeping my hands busy lets me focus on what you're saying."
"Is that how you became so good at drawing?"
"Yeah, I used to sketch during classes. While I was homeschooled, my mom used to put on pre-recorded classes and leave me to listen and learn on my own. I found that as long as my hands were busy, I could listen."
"When were you diagnosed with ADHD?" What Eric told him about the impulsive decisions suddenly made her suicide attempts make a little more sense.
"A couple of years ago, I have like ninety percent of the symptoms. My parents just thought I didn't listen, couldn't sit still, and daydreamed a lot which was true, but I had a medical condition making me do it. They didn't believe in mental disorders. You were under the influence of evil."
"Right." Asher shook his head. "Pass your leg up to me." She lifted her leg into his lap, and he waved the fob under her ankle, removing the bracelet and gently rubbing where it had been for a few seconds before letting her go. Mina watched him with confusion evident on her face. He placed the bracelet on the table in front of him. "Yes, we kidnapped you. Yes, we have a contract that says we will hand you and your soon-to-be ex-husband over to Draco Consulos. I told you yesterday that Les is working on getting you removed from the contract if possible. It was decided last night that we aren't handing you over. We are trying to do this as nicely as possible but are prepared to go hard."
"You're free to go. But you're better off sticking with us. We can't - I can't - protect you if you're going to go back to North Carolina. They may send someone else to get you. Your husband sold you to them, and unless you can buy your freedom, the price of which currently sits at four million. They think they own you. So when we catch your husband and make sure they aren't coming to get you, you're free to do what you want, whether that means going back to your life, starting over with a new one, or staying with us - I'm sure I can find a use for your skills - will be up to you."
"What about Derrick?"
"I'll find him; it'll just happen the hard way. The plan to get the information out of you was to make it go a little faster, hopefully." He gave her a faint smile. "Then you threw that deal at me, and I was hoping he would be in the last place we look."
Mina let out a soft laugh. "So was I." she paused. "What changed your mind?"
He reached out, took her left hand, and ran his thumb over the scar. "I realized what your escape plan was. You were detached and apathetic, and it scared me." He admitted. "I don't feel things, Mina. It's not that I'm incapable of it, it just takes a lot, and I was scared for you."
"Do I still have to be with you or Les at all times?"
"No, Eric and Greg are fine too. I'm still going to prohibit you from being alone with Joe. But you don't have to worry or be uncomfortable around him in the group; he won't bother you. We had a chat at the grocery store, he's aware he made you uncomfortable, but he was testing his limits to see if it would be a problem and assures me it won't be."
She nodded. He was still stroking the inside of her wrist, which was incredibly distracting and soothing. "And if the deals off?"
"You call the shots, Princess. But, as I said, I'll move to the other RV if you want me to, and I don't do anything without permission."
"Permission and rules are still in place from the deal then."
"If that's the case, you have a punishment coming to you."
"You never elaborated on what the punishments were."
"They'll be enjoyable, mostly for me, but you'll get yours... eventually." His icy blue eyes traveled down her face, lingering on her lips. "I won't do anything to trigger or hurt you or make you feel unsafe." He leaned back. "Why do you tense up so much?"
"Religious guilt. I'm still married, technically."
"He left you, cheated on you, and sold you to human traffickers to pay them off for murdering three of their call girls. I think God will forgive you."
"I didn't say it was logical. I panic momentarily, and it takes me a few seconds to push through it."
"These things are rarely logical, merely pointing out why you're a little justified. Did he ever care about your pleasure?"
"In the beginning." she shifted nervously. "It's my fault he got into strangulation."
"What do you mean?"
"We had to be very creative in the bedroom for him to get off, he has a micropenis, and actual intercourse was impossible. But he would get frustrated and childish about it, so we started trying different things. At one point, I kinda enjoyed it when we did it properly, squeezing the sides of my neck to restrict blood flow, but he got very excited by the whole thing and wanted to keep doing it, experimenting with different ways of squeezing my neck. Eventually, it became the only way he could orgasm, by cutting off my oxygen and feeling me get weaker and weaker as I tried to fight him off..." Her voice trailed off, and she rubbed her neck absently.
"You introduced him to something. It's not your fault he took it too far." Finally, he couldn't control his smirk anymore. "A micropenis?"
"Yeah, it was about two inches long when hard. It didn't matter though; he made up for it in other ways. He was a completely different person during the first two years we were together. He was very kind, caring, and loving. There were things that, in hindsight, I should have taken as red flags. His family, obviously, but I felt like I couldn't judge him for that. How quick he was to lose his temper at small stupid things. I overlooked it because it wasn't directed at me at first, the way he would spout off some conspiracy theory and then change his stance or say he was only joking when he saw my reaction. Then, when we got engaged, he slowly began to change. When we married, I walked on eggshells and jumped whenever he raised his voice. I was right back to being fourteen years old with my father and felt broken like I clearly must have deserved the treatment if both my father and my husband were that way because they were supposed to love me, right?" She shrugged and went back to her drawing. Asher looked down at it. She was still working on Greg's portrait, doing shading and tracing lines.
"You're very talented Princess."
"Thanks." she gave him a small smile.
"And I know your meds make your appetite go away, but you haven't eaten anything but a few grapes in the last two days, so I want you to get some food." He checked his watch. "Greg will be back soon to update us. Les will go if he feels the house needs to be watched tonight. Tomorrow, PIs Greg and Eric will talk to your mother-in-law." He stood up and moved to her side of the table.
"You know, for someone who claims not to feel things, you're very caring." She looked up at him, her grin teasing, and he felt his stomach flip.
"The problem, Princess, is when I do feel things, I feel them strongly." He bent and kissed her, he had meant for it to be quick, but his hand came up and held her head as he ran his tongue over her lips, requesting access. When she gave it to him with a soft moan, his hand tightened, and the kiss became insistent. He pulled away almost roughly, staring down at her in confusion for a second before leaving the RV without another word