Hanging on the wall above his bed is a huge charcoal sketch of a wolf in the snow that is absolutely breathtaking. A sense of peace and comfort envelopes me in this house, and I wish I could stay here forever and never go back to my real life.

I slide open the cabinet in the credenza by the front door, curious to see what may be in there. Inside is an envelope of photos of him holding a baby. As I flip through the photos the baby is getting older, growing into a little girl. She had his eyes, and was incredibly adorable, always smiling. I can tell she’s the kind of little girl that makes you want to have a child. I carefully put the pictures back where they were.

“Come on, Sterling,” I say, heading for the kitchen with him at my feet. “Let’s see what kind of dinner I can make.”

Vandal

The road is long and void of many cars, with sprawling views over the various lakes that scatter the mountain. This has always been my favorite road to ride. The turns are perfect, like the curves of a woman, and spaced out just right. The air is clean and crisp and feels good in my lungs. When Gram suggested I buy a “mental vacation house”, I knew this was where I wanted that house to be. As luck would have it, the house I now own had just gone on the market when I started house hunting. Built ten years ago and barely lived in, it had everything I wanted.

Hanging out and playing my acoustic this morning with Tabi fucked me up. Bad. The way she half-closed her eyes and swayed to my music, becoming one with the song and feeling it course through her veins as I do spoke volumes to me. She would be an amazing muse. Hell, she is an amazing muse. That melody I played this morning was everything she’s made me feel pouring out of me. Music has always been how I best express myself and she totally felt it. This chick might really get me.

Her willingness to give in scares the shit out of me because the more she lets me do, the more I will want to do, and I want to do a lot. She brats out and resists a little, but I can see in her eyes and feel in her body that she wants everything I’m unleashing upon her. She melts beneath me like butter.

I ride into one of the nearby towns and buy a charger for her cell phone, feeling like an asshole that I basically kidnapped her and took her without any regard to anything she might need. Like clothes, which worked in my favor, but it was still an epic douche maneuver for me to do. On my way to the register I see a display of little angel statues and one is holding a cat, so on a whim I buy it for her. I grab a box of cookies, too.

Pulling out my phone, I log into the portal of my indoor surveillance cameras and find Tabi in the kitchen, holding Sterling, staring into the open refrigerator. Her mouth is moving so I turn up the volume on my cell phone.

“Let’s just order some take-out and tell him we cooked it. Do you think he’ll know?” she’s saying.

I laugh, watching and listening to her. She’s having an entire conversation with the kitten and pretending he’s answering her. A big smile spreads across my face and I shake my head in amusement as I watch her moving around the room, opening and closing cabinets while having a conversation with my cat. She’s fuckin’ adorable.

I ignore all the emails in the inbox of my phone and log out. I’ll deal with all that shit later.

As I’m putting the stuff I bought into my saddlebag, a pretty girl walks by and tries to get my attention. When I ignore her she comes over to me.

“Oh my fucking God, aren’t you Vandal Valentine? From Ashes and Embers?”

“Yup.” I try not to make eye contact with her because female fans can be like psychotic vultures sometimes.

“Holy shit! I love you guys!”

“Thanks.”

“Is this your bike?”

No, I’m stealing it.

“It is.”

“Motorcycles are so fucking sexy. Will you take me for a ride? I would so love that!”

I lower my sunglasses over my eyes before standing to look at her. “Sorry, I’m heading home.”

“Do you live up here? I live right down the road.”

“No, I’m just visiting a friend.”

She forms her big red-lipsticked mouth into a fake pout. “Well that sucks!”

I mount the bike and nod at her. “I’ll see ya around.”

I ride away quickly before she tries to jump on the back or some other crazy-ass shit. That scene was a harsh reminder that I can’t take Tabi for a ride with me because the same thing could happen if we stopped to get a cold drink or to use the restroom, and I’m not ready for her to know who I am or to subject her to women like the one in the parking lot.

Will I ever be?

I’ve fucked myself into a corner, good. Once our month is up, I have to take her home and I have to get back to my life. Since Asher’s got me on fucking band probation I’m definitely going to work at the tat shop with Lukas, because sitting around doing nothing is just going to invite me to start drinking and partying all over again. There will be no way for me to continue with Tabi in my day-to-day life and not have her find out who I am, and eventually find out that I’m the one who caused the accident, and then she will leave.

Unless …

Unless I take her submission to a higher level, and let her live with me and keep her entirely secluded from everyone. Never let her meet my friends or family. Or maybe just let her meet Lukas and Ivy but make them keep their mouths shut about the band and the accident. I would hide her from my public persona and not subject her to the slutty fans, the prying eyes, the photographers and the rumors. She might actually like that since she acts as if she wants nothing to do with the outside world. She hasn’t mentioned any friends or family that she wants to talk to. I don’t think she has any interest in going back to work or living in that house she shared with her husband.

That could work. She would have to go willingly, of course. I could sell my house and buy a new one for us, something she likes and that has a lot of theme rooms for us to play in.

The thought of selling my house has crossed my mind several times to escape the memories of living there with Katie. The constant pain of that will continue to eat me alive. I could keep Tabi and give her everything she wants and needs, and have her safe and content. I would cherish her like the little doll that she is and she would never want to leave. I could see those big eyes staring up at me every single day, hear her orgasmic screams of pleasure, let her dig her nails into me when I allow her to touch me. We could explore so much of each other. She could be totally mine and I wouldn’t mind being totally hers. At all. My heart pounds against my ribs and my cock grows harder the more I think of how amazing life could be with her. She could make my fantasy a reality.

I’ve basically just devised a plan to keep this woman as a pet.

I’m a sick fuck.

***

As I walk through the garage door into the kitchen I’m greeted by her bouncing over to me, a big smile on her face, clapping her hands.

“You’re just in time. Dinner is ready. And I didn’t ruin it!”

Her giddy excitement over non-ruined dinner is cute but also serves as a warning for meals to come. Too bad I can’t get her into a cooking boot camp with Gram.

I kick off my boots and throw them onto the shoe mat by the door. “Is this a new accomplishment for you?” I ask, grinning.

“It is. Nick worked a lot and always came home at odd hours so we kinda lived on frozen dinners most of the time because they were quick and easy to make without any planning.”

“Trust me, I’ve eaten my fair share of frozen pizzas and fast food drive-throughs, but I’d much prefer a real meal whenever possible.”

“You better order some cookbooks then, or else I’ll be making you grilled cheese and soup every day.”

“Is that what I’m eating tonight?”

“No! There was a big package of ground beef in the fridge, some eggs, and bread. And I found all your spices, so I made a meatloaf. I cut up some potatoes and made mash with a little bit of sour cream.”

Smiling at her and with a look of suspicion, I peer into the oven expecting to see a misshapen mass of meat, but it looks perfect.

“I’m impressed, doll. It even smells good. I’m gonna go wash the road off me—why don’t you set the table? I’ll be back in ten.” Realizing I’m still holding the bag of things I bought for her, I hand it over. “These are for you.”

“Oh my charger? Thank you! My phone finally died last night. I’m going to have to call my mother and best friend to let them know where I am.” She goes to the oven and checks on the meatloaf. “I’ll do that after dinner … I don’t want to hear all the lecturing right now.”

I’m a little worried about how those conversations will go and how she’s going to react to them. Is she the type to cave if someone else gets on her shit about something she’s doing? What the hell would she tell them about me? Or, maybe she won’t mention me at all and will lie about her whereabouts.

After a quick shower, I find her at the table, holding the little angel statue with a faraway, almost sad, reflective look on her face.

“What’s wrong? You don’t like it?”

She has tears in her eyes when she looks up at me. Shit. What the fuck did I do wrong now?

“I love it. I kinda collect little things like this … but you wouldn’t know that.”

Yes, I do.

“I love the little cat with her. This will always remind me of being here with you and Sterling. Thank you.” She wipes her eyes with her napkin. “And you got me cookies! Are you one of those rare men that actually listen?”

Taking my seat at the table, I grin over at her and slice the meatloaf, place the first slice on my own plate and the second on hers. “I never used to be. I guess I didn’t want you to go into cookie withdrawal.”

Her meatloaf turned out excellent and her mood is considerably better than it’s been before. Her eyes are brighter and she looks more alive. She’s much more animated when she talks to me, too. My own mood is better as well now that I have her to look forward to.