Free Screaming in the Silence by Lydia Kelly

had cut on my neck.
    He stared into my eyes. His fingers glided over my collar bone.
    "Why are you doing this?" I asked.
    "Doing what?" He looked at my lips as he spoke.
    "Why are you being nice to me?"
    His mouth stretched into a smile. "I'm not a bad person, Raleigh. I've just done some fucked up things lately."
    I raised my eyebrows at his understatement. "So now you're feeling guilty for what you've done? Are you trying to make it up to me, because, believe me, that's never going to happen."
    Kaden lay there for a minute without moving his lips, just staring at me. Finally he spoke, "I'm not trying to atone for my actions because I don't regret anything I've done. I'm learning to live with the decisions I've made and am making the best of them."
    With that I sat up and pushed his hand away. "And what about me, Kaden? I'm not a bad person either but I've been forced to live with your decisions. I have no say in any of this, no hint or insinuation about what's going to happen to me. I live, day to day, wondering if you're going to speak to me, kill me, or worse."
    Kaden didn't sit up, allowing me, for once, to look down on him. "I agree, it's not fair to you. But what happened yesterday isn't worse than death. I know you know that."
    "You don't know how I feel. You don't know how terrifying and humiliating this is."
    "I don't want you to be scared when you're with me," Kaden said, sitting up and reaching for my hand. "You never need to be scared."
    "You say that, but look at what you've done to me!"
    "Let me explain it to you, then." I could tell he was getting upset. His eyes started to squint and his lips pressed tightly together. "When you and I are alone, when Ray and Marshal are out of the house, you belong to me."
    I pulled my hand away, shocked by his words. I would never belong to anyone, especially Kaden. "What about that statement wouldn't scare me?"
    "Just listen to me." He put two hands on my thighs to keep me from moving. "What I meant was, just let me finish."
    I glared at him. It was a simple and common mistake to make. It had happened with my closest of friends and we always laughed about it. But Kaden had felt some remorse for his slip of tongue and I wasn't about to comfort him over it.
    "I want you with me all the time, Raleigh. I meant what I said that night, about not being able to push you from my mind. Ever since I kissed you, I've wanted nothing more than to be with you. I thought that I would be able to forget about you, let you waste away down in the basement until I no longer recognized you. But then yesterday you made me so angry that I lost all sense of self control and now it's too late. I've had you once and I need you again. I don't know if I will ever stop needing to touch you or wanting to feel you against me."
    I turned away from him, not caring if he had anything more to say. Everything surrounding me was tranquil and serene but I felt like a ticking time bomb, ready to explode. The water gently lapped against the rocky shore. The trees displayed their fall colors, hardening for the rough winter that lay ahead. The blue sky was flawlessly clear. How could things remain so beautiful in the outside world when my entire existence had just been claimed by a man who was little more than a stranger?
    I felt my body start to shake. I blinked away a few tears and tried to compose myself. Kaden's strong arms pulled me close to his hard chest, wrapping around me securely.
    It wouldn't be that bad, would it, allowing Kaden absolute control over me? In some sick and twisted way, he seemed to care about me, enough to let me cry on his shoulder, at least. No, things could be worse. All three of the men could divide ownership of me, and at least one of them wasn't as kind as Kaden proved he could sometimes be.
    So I made up my mind and lifted my head to Kaden's. As soon as our eyes met, I spoke. "I'm yours, on one condition."
    A quick raise of one eyebrow told me I had surprised him. "What's that?"
    I