Yet she had participated multiple times already.
After lunch with Thunder yesterday, she’d sat in a small living room for a while, mostly sitting staring out the window, although he’d told her that she was free to choose a book to read, watch TV, or browse the internet if she wanted. Then she’d helped him cook dinner. It had been a long time since she’d had any choice in what she ate, and given that she’d only been fourteen when she was taken, she didn't really know how to cook much.
Not that it mattered, the girls joined her and Thunder, and she just followed whatever instructions she’d been given. Nobody pushed her to talk, but they also made sure to include her whenever they could.
It reinforced to her the fact that these were good people.
All of them. The guys and the girls. Thunder in particular.
Which was why this sudden rush of panic caught her by surprise.
One second, she was sitting in the conservatory, staring out at the wintry world around the house, Thunder stretched out on his back on a nearby couch, a book in his hands, the next, something somewhere went thump, and that was it.
Just like that, she was back in the cage.
A thump meant Master was coming.
If Master was coming, then she had to be prepared.
If she wasn't prepared, then she’d be punished. So she acted purely on instinct.
Without any conscious thought, Maya dropped to the floor, spread her legs, and tucked her feet up close to her backside. Just the way Master wanted her. If she was the way he liked her presented, he would just use her body, he wouldn't go out of his way to inflict pain on her.
Well, at least not too much pain.
“Babydoll, what’s happening?” someone asked, but she couldn’t remember who.
The voice was familiar, but it wasn't Master’s voice. Had he brought friends with him today? She hated it when he brought his friends, because it always meant that no matter how good she was, how compliant, she was going to walk away bleeding.
Inside her head a plea echoed, but she didn't bother verbalizing it.
Why would she?
Master didn't care if she was hurting, scared, or angry, she was a possession that belonged to him, that he was free to use however he chose.
“It’s okay, babydoll, you're safe here,” the voice insisted.
That voice didn't make her think of pain, it made her think of gentleness.
But that couldn’t be right. No one there was gentle. Everyone caused pain.
“What do you need from me, babydoll?”
The question sent her mind, already fracturing, into a tailspin.
What did she need? How was she supposed to answer that question? Maya had no idea what she needed. Or did she?
Hands skimmed down her sides, gently stroking her now-clean hair and touching her, but not her skin because she was wearing clothing. An oversized sweater swamped her petite frame, and the pair of leggings she wore beneath it bunched at the bottom because her legs were too short.
Master didn't give her clothes.
You're not with Master anymore. Thunder saved you.
Those words surged through her, giving her moments of clarity that helped her to claw her way back from the edge. She did know what she needed.
Since she was only fourteen when she was abducted, Maya had never learned to deal with problems like an adult. She’d been a hormonal teen back then, and for the last thirteen years—because that’s how long it had been since she’d been kidnapped—she’d only had one example of what grown-ups did with their bodies.
Scrambling to her feet, she blinked, and the cage faded away, replaced with Thunder and the conservatory.